DiMarzio Forum

DimarzioForum.Com => The Pickup Place => Topic started by: Strangeman86 on November 27, 2018, 04:28:08 PM

Title: Another weird mod'...
Post by: Strangeman86 on November 27, 2018, 04:28:08 PM
Warning, the following modification, if performed incorrectly, can easily cause damage to your (specifically) Dimarzio humbucker!  It involves cannibalizing parts from another pickup as well, so now you know.  Also, if someone has done something with the same ideas, I'm sorry in advance.

I took some cylindrical hex-top pole pieces (like the ones that are in the Imperium and I believe the Super Distortion as well) and used those in the holes for the virtual vintage pieces in an Al DiMeola bridge humbucker.  The trick was to get them all the same distance into the bobbins without causing the top of the bobbins to bulge, then to balance them properly while screwing them in place on the base plate.  I used a home-made pad of layers of bobbin tape to keep the standard 1/8" magnet flush with the bottom of the bobbins.  Since the ADM uses regular screw-like pole pieces, this setup created the good ol' air-bucker mod' but also the virtual vintage mod' at the same time (but the thicker cylindrical pieces still touch the magnet). 

Sound-wise, there is a bit of extra warmth, but there's almost no discernible drop in output thanks to the increased inductance (those cylindrical pieces are quite a bit larger than the standard pieces dimarzio uses; I also believe they're a different alloy, but I'm not sure about that).  I'll likely try this on a different 'bucker as well, just to satisfy my curiosity, more results to follow.  Good luck and happy mod'ing!!
Title: Re: Another weird mod'...
Post by: buddroyce on November 27, 2018, 06:30:42 PM
Sounds interesting. Got any pics of the final product?
Title: Re: Another weird mod'...
Post by: Strangeman86 on November 27, 2018, 06:43:59 PM
I wish had seen this before I put the guitar back together  :P

I'll pull it apart in the morning and put up a picture.
Title: Re: Another weird mod'...
Post by: buddroyce on November 27, 2018, 11:56:38 PM
Don't worry we've all ripped apart our guitars for all sorts of reasons before.


Looking forward to seeing it!
Title: Re: Another weird mod'...
Post by: marcwormjim on November 28, 2018, 12:31:25 AM
As someone who has an ADM bridge in a bright guitar, this has my interest. It also reminds me to bump a thread.
Title: Re: Another weird mod'...
Post by: Strangeman86 on November 29, 2018, 06:54:18 PM
Here are the gory details for better or worse.  I'm not a photographer and I loathe taking pictures without manual focus, but I believe you can still see the results. 
Title: Re: Another weird mod'...
Post by: buddroyce on December 05, 2018, 05:41:22 PM
That does look rather interesting.

I'm actually tempted to try this myself!