1066

The Pickup Place / Re: Chopper - Cruiser - Cruiser in a Strat

« on: May 04, 2015, 12:28:05 PM »

I generally don't like the Chopper with 500k, but the cruisers demand it, so if you already know you like the Chopper with 500k, go for it.  The Cruiser is an interesting pickup.  If you find the chopper too bright, you can always use a resistor to drop the load until it sounds ok.

Ray, many thanks for this. Since I use a regular 5-way (not a 24 pole) I will try the "bending the rivets trick" if I need to use a resistor on the Chopper.

Cheers Stephan

1067

The Pickup Place / Re: Chopper - Cruiser - Cruiser in a Strat

« on: May 04, 2015, 12:26:39 PM »

I use the Chopper in the bridge of my strat with a pair of Fast Track 1's.  Sounds great and covers a lot of ground.

That would also be an interesting combination but since I already have one Cruiser I will try that first.

Thanks,
Stephan

1068

The Pickup Place / Re: Chopper - Cruiser - Cruiser in a Strat

« on: May 04, 2015, 12:25:39 PM »

Make the 2 vol/1 tone mod to your strat, and use 250kohm for the chopper bridge, and 500kohm for the cruisers, best of both worlds.

Thanks. I strongly prefer one master volume to two separate volumes. Besides, the Chopper with the 250k volume is not bright enough for me so I will try the set up with the 500k pot.

Cheers Stephan

1069

The Pickup Place / Chopper - Cruiser - Cruiser in a Strat

« on: May 02, 2015, 03:21:16 PM »

Has anyone tried this combination in a strat with 500k pots? What were the results?

The reason I am asking is that I am not quite happy with the Chopper - 58 - 67 and 250k pots in that strat. The 58, 67 and the combination Sound fine but the Chopper in the bridge is too soft and the bridge + middle combo does not quack properly.

I am thinking of either replacing the Chopper with a Virtual Solo or replacing the 58 and 67 with a pair of Cruisers (I still have one left over) and change the pots to 500k. The Chopper T in my telecaster with a 500k pot sounds terrific.

Any particular preference whether to use the Cruiser bridge or neck (my model is a bridge one)? I am thinking to get a neck model to put in the neck and put the bridge model in the middle.

Thanks for your input,
Stephan

1070

Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: Review: Injector Neck in the bridge position, Area 61 in the neck position

« on: April 30, 2015, 04:09:06 AM »

Try the 67 in the neck and the 61 in the middle.

I know I'll like the 67 in the neck but why the 61 in the middle?

Because you already have it - there is no harm in trying.
Cheers Stephan

1071

Gear Closet / Re: Mesa Boogie Flux Drive

« on: April 27, 2015, 03:40:16 AM »

I did not try it as a boost, just as overdrive before a clean amp. The midrange hump was there but a bit less compared to a Tube Screamer that was also on the board.

Cheers Stephan

1072

The Pickup Place / Re: What is "normal" turnaround time for pickup installation?

« on: April 21, 2015, 11:57:35 AM »

You can replace pickups in about half an hour. You need a 25 or 30 watt soldering iron, solder, a piece of sponge and a screwdriver or 2.

Fully agree.

What also comes in handy is a long piece of insulated stranded wire (1.5 to 2 ft). When you desolder a pickup from its connections solder the wire to one of the pickup's wires. When you remove the pickup you automatically pull the wire through the wire channel. When you solder the new pickup to the wire you just pull on the wire, and the wire of the new pickup (provided it is long enough!) comes in without a hassle.

Cheers Stephan

1073

The Pickup Place / Re: What is "normal" turnaround time for pickup installation?

« on: April 21, 2015, 11:54:19 AM »

That was why I started working on my own guitars. I hated to leave the guitar at the shop for a pickup, pot or cap change for 2 to 3 weeks and paying for the work. Same for set ups. It's basically a matter of acquiring the right tools and know-how but it's not rocket science.

For serious work, i.e. woodwork of any kind I still have to rely on shops or luthiers though.

Cheers Stephan

1074

Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: Review: Injector Neck in the bridge position, Area 61 in the neck position

« on: April 21, 2015, 11:47:17 AM »

Try the 67 in the neck and the 61 in the middle.

Cheers Stephan

1075

Gear Closet / Mesa Boogie Flux Drive

« on: April 21, 2015, 03:54:50 AM »

Had a chance to play one in a shop for about an hour through a clean amp next to a TS-9.

My impression was that compared to the TS-9 it had "more of everything" - more drive on tap, more bass and more bite.

Not that I really "need" another OD pedal but I really liked this one.

Any other experiences with this pedal?

Thanks, Stephan

1076

Guitar Lounge / Re: Help with pickup vs wood type

« on: March 19, 2015, 04:37:01 AM »

The guitar wood does not effect the tone in any way.Just the pickups.

We had that discussion here http://www.dimarzioforum.com/forum/index.php/topic,5138.0.html, starting after reply #9.

Cheers Stephan

1077

Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: Dimarzio Area Pickups for Telecaster

« on: March 17, 2015, 05:23:56 AM »

I have to modify my verdict on the neck pickup slightly. When I posted the above comment I used it mainly overdriven, and there it works as described. However in a clean amp setting the output is noticeably lower than the bridge pickup so if you want something to better balance with the neck, I guess the regular Area T or Area 615 would be better.

I solved the "problem" by setting the Virtual Hot T lower. This gets a reasonable balance between the two pickups, although it sacrifices some of the "Hot" in the bridge pickup.

Cheers Stephan

1078

Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: Dimarzio Area Pickups for Telecaster

« on: March 03, 2015, 07:42:32 AM »

BTW: has anybody ever removed the cover of the Area Neck T?

Thanks,
Stephan

1079

Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: Dimarzio Area Pickups for Telecaster

« on: March 03, 2015, 07:41:28 AM »

If you want a warmer tele tone with good output that does not overpower the neck pickup the Virtual Hot T does it.

I have to modify my verdict on the neck pickup slightly. When I posted the above comment I used it mainly overdriven, and there it works as described. However in a clean amp setting the output is noticeably lower than the bridge pickup so if you want something to better balance with the neck, I guess the regular Area T or Area 615 would be better.

1080

Guitar Lounge / Re: Help with pickup vs wood type

« on: February 25, 2015, 05:19:42 AM »

There's another thing that perhaps many will disagree with me on, but certain pickups do excellent job in masking the guitar's tone. In general, a large magnet ceramics do this the best (aside the obvious active pickups) to my experience, but also, for some reason, the Air versions of some higher output pickups (as far as DMZ goes) as well. I'm not saying Air Zone or Air Norton sound the same in mahogany alder or ash, but I am saying that, for some reason, these pickups tend to filter the negative aspects (overbearing highs of maple, muddy lows of specific heavy mahogany piece etc) of a finicky guitar wood much better, giving a predictive sound that is quite similar in many different woods. This might explain why you liked the AN on the bridge as much, since it remedied some of that muddiness/darkness of the wood without adding any unnecessary brightness.

I noticed that as well. Some pickups can sound radically different in various guitars whereas others try to dominate the guitar - the latter is often good for finicky guitars.

Cheers Stephan