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The Pickup Place / Re: PAF pickups that are close in brightness to singles?

« on: November 22, 2024, 01:34:54 PM »

I have experience with all three in both positions, with the exception of the PAF Master bridge: From Darkest to brightest are (neck wind) PAF Master (throaty, low output PAF), Air Classic (Ideal PAF), then the EJ (a PAF wound to sound more like a FilterTron). Though all three are in the low output range of Dimarzios, I'd say EJ>PAF Master>Air Classic describes how the output feels, from lowest to highest. I currently have a PAF Master neck in a Strandberg, with tuned coil splits shunting the inside coil through a 1.5k resistor. It doesn't sound as good split as the Bluesbucker it replaced - but the series voicing for the humbucker works better for that particular guitar when I'm playing bad jazz.

If you want any of those humbuckers to sound more like a single coil when in series mode, you could use 1M pots and attenuate any unwanted high end with the resistor trick to get the individual pickups to see a different load.

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The Pickup Place / Re: PAF pickups that are close in brightness to singles?

« on: July 01, 2024, 04:05:37 PM »

I've used 1M pots with underwound/low-output PAFs for a more strident, single coil-like top end. My first Vigier Shawn Lane used Air Classics with those pot values. Because it used a FS-1 single in a splitting HSH configuration, I subsequently auditioned resistors of various values (332k, 470k, etc.) in parallel with the FS-1 to try to tune the pot loads in the 2 and 4 positions.

For production PAFs which have a lot of single coil character, I've found the Suhr Thornbuckers, Zhangbucker Telebucker and Woodbuckers, and Fralin Unbuckers to get in the ballpark. For Dimarzio offerings, a Bluesbucker in parallel will sound more single coil-like than in series (which is between a P-90 and a PAF), while sounding much like a Fender Texas Special in split mode.

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Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: The Bluesbucker

« on: September 09, 2023, 11:58:39 PM »

Is there anything special that allows it to perform better in split mode than a more traditional humbucker?

The screw coil is 7k, with a pair of ceramic magnets the same dimensions as humbucker spacer bars, of the same polarity, touching each side of the screws. The slug coil is 3k, with a spacer-sized magnet of opposing polarity; for humcancelling. The slugs are either unmagnetized or nearly so; so the coil is a poor transducer - The slug coil is essentially there only for humbucking. Think of the Bluesbucker as a hot noiseless 7k single coil in a humbucker size housing (with its dummy coil adjacent, rather than stacked beneath it).

It's a very clever design; and I lament that Dimarzio didn't do more with it. A comparable design would be Dean Zelinsky's Sidekick/TruTap humbuckers; which are similarly unbalanced for strong splitting.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Satch Track vs Bluesbucker (bridge position)

« on: March 03, 2023, 05:28:47 PM »

I have pertinent experience and; personally, did not care for the Satch Track (or similarly-voiced PAF Joe, for that matter) in the bridge position when I tried for the sake of experimentation. They were designed to be neck pups; and those characteristics just didn't usably translate between positions, for me. The Bluesbucker works fine in either position, but it has a sound all its own (I liken it to a Fender Texas Special strat pickup into a clean boost). I love the Bluesbucker and Satch track in neck position - But, as others have stated or implied, there are pickups better-suited to versatility in bridge position.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck Pickup

« on: February 15, 2023, 07:29:47 PM »

Keep in mind that DiMarzio's F-spacing is only 51mm

Fascinating, if true. It seems to be 53mm according to retailer and OEM specs. I'm not saying a bobbin you measured isn't 51mm, or that the 53mm spec'd bobbins don't actually measure 51mm - I'm just stating that this is news to me. If this happens to be true across the board, a lot of folks should update their info.

Edit: I see the official Dimarzio spacing template specifies 51.05mm measured from the center of the outside polepieces. I wonder whether the 53mm figure comes from people measuring end-to-end, or if everyone just parrots 53mm as being F-spacing across all brands, despite it not being one-size-fits-all?

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck Pickup

« on: February 14, 2023, 04:17:59 PM »

I'm unsure why they specified F-spacing when it clearly doesn't need to be F-spaced in the neck position.

I'm oversimplifying this, but: Wider bobbin pole spacing = greater length of wire per wind rotation to cover circumerence = greater total DC resistance and capacitance. All things being equal, a pickup with a 53mm bobbin should have slightly higher output and a slightly lower resonant peak than the same pickup wound on a 50mm bobbin.

Some winders are superstitious about bobbin size/pole spacing: Michael Frank Braun, for example, believes some vague quality of "PAF magic" is lost when the humbucker is wound on bobbins with a greater than 50mm pole spacing. Though I don't necessarily agree with this, I don't have to buy his pickups, either.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Air Classic Neck in Bridge for HSS

« on: December 13, 2022, 11:06:06 PM »

I take it your recommendations are the neck versions of each pickup?

With the SDs; yes. Being as I do the opposite of what you're shooting for (I dial in the bridge pup first), I can't say whether the Air Classic neck will work for you - I ended up preferring the bridge model or a non-airbucker PAF to give it a bit extra body that the AC neck was missing in my case. It honestly seems like you're in for a bit of trial-and-error. I look forward to reading what ended up working for you. In my head, it seems that whatever PAF ends up balancing with the Area single will likely come down to adjusting pickup heights more than anything else.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Air Classic Neck in Bridge for HSS

« on: December 13, 2022, 06:31:12 PM »

I've used both Air Classics and the EJ Custom in the bridge position. I'll also throw the Bluesbucker out there as a contender (though its character is more aggressive than the other choices). If you're willing to entertain non-Dimarzio options, I've found the Suhr Thornbucker, Duncan '59 and Seth Lover, and Kiesel Allan Holdsworth (Essentially their take on the double screw version of the SD '59 neck) to achieve the same end. And that's without getting into how great modern active designs such as the Fluence Classic and EMG '50s lineup sound nowadays.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Al Dimeola Bridge

« on: October 20, 2022, 07:33:00 PM »

So, as far as the ADM is concerned, would you say it's overall feel is warmer in the hi-mids than the AN ?

In my experience, yes. Have you tried the 36 bridge or Fortitude? As far as other offerings go, those may be more in the direction you’re describing; whereas the ADM is the opposite: A great pickup, but not aggressive in the mids in the way the Nortons or others are.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Al Dimeola Bridge

« on: October 20, 2022, 02:12:36 PM »

Hey mmmguitar, would you mind elaborating a little more about the Air Norton in the bridge vs. Al DiMeola bridge?

If you want more aggressive mids, I’d suggest de-airing or going full Norton like you were thinking. The ADM is voiced differently from the AN; and my endorsement was to do with feeling the ADM was a better fit for a particular guitar (a Strandberg) than the AN was. The AN emphasized the mids in a way that I enjoyed in other guitars, but didn’t fit so well in that one. The ADM smoothed it out and added body in a way I preferred.

In my meager opinion, I rate ADM bridge>Breed neck>Air Zone>Tone Zone as similarly voiced pickups from lowest output to hottest, according to one’s needs (e.g., if you want more output out of a PAF Pro, try the Breed Neck. If you want a warmer vintage-output PAF but don’t want to get into hotrod territory in terms of output, the ADM may be worth trying backed off from the strings a bit. Etc.).

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The Pickup Place / Re: Options to replace Air Norton neck on mahogany J.Custom?

« on: September 13, 2022, 04:12:12 AM »

Already replaced. The Gravity Storm neck is a keeper at this J.Custom! It has a special character and the harmonics easily come out of nowhere at the slightest touch of the right hand thumb when picking. None of that was present with the Air Norton. It did not sound bad at all (requiring some surgical EQ to make it shine), but just a "correct" pickup without special sauce

I'm glad to read that you're enjoying it. If you think of it, please bump this thread later on with your subsequent impressions of the pickup.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Options to replace Air Norton neck on mahogany J.Custom?

« on: September 07, 2022, 03:04:26 PM »

Hopefully I haven’t led you back to the same terrain you were trying to escape! 

For what it’s worth: I’ve owned a lot of guitars that arrived with an Air Norton in the neck, and I always end up replacing them with a Bluesbucker or one of the other pickups I mentioned, for the same reasons you mentioned. I replaced an AN/TZ set in a 24 fret guitar with a Gravity Storm set, then ended up selling the GSs after deciding I preferred lower output pickups. But I did prefer the GS neck to the Air Norton.

All that being said, the AN can make for a great bridge pickup. I just never understood Ibanez and other brands deciding that it was the only Dimarzio they liked in the neck position.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Options to replace Air Norton neck on mahogany J.Custom?

« on: September 07, 2022, 12:42:32 AM »

If you don’t mind some counter-recommendations:

If your guitar has 24 frets, I’d suggest a Gravity Storm neck over the PAF Joe (both are medium output tweaks on the PAF Pro, for players who play leads with the neck pup). Same goes for subbing the Bluesbucker for the Air Classic at the lower end of the output spectrum (I find they’re better for clean work while still sounding great overdriven). The GS and BB both have terrific split sounds, as well.

Edit: I looked and saw that you’re already experienced with the Gravity Storm. I found the PAF Joe less aggressive (going for more of a  “Les Paul neck pup without the mud” vibe), with the split tone just not as god as the GS.

The Humbucker from Hell is more on the extreme end of what you seem to be looking for; and none of the others are really a substitute for what it does (neck pup that sounds like a bridge pup).

The 36th is the only one mentioned that I haven’t tried (I tried the PAF Master neck first and have stuck with it, so far).

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Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: Humbucker From Hell

« on: July 01, 2022, 02:19:05 PM »

Overall it definitely does not sound like a single coil - way too much bottom end. To me it sounds like a PAF with an extended treble and high end (which is fine btw), and that extended high end may be what some perceive as "single coil tone".

I had a similar impression of the EJ Custom. I get that EJ asked Steve to wind a PAF-style HB that would make his Les Paul sound like a Gretsch but it, the HFH, and Bluesbucker each have their own vibe, rather than sounding like facsimiles of a Filtertron, hot single coil, or P90 (as the marketing dept has variously claimed over the years).

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The Pickup Place / Re: New Tone Charts!?!

« on: June 15, 2022, 06:21:27 PM »

Under the new system, the Air Classics, the PAF Masters, the PAF Pro and the PAF Joe are all suddenly tighter and brighter than the Bluesbucker. What happened?

Marketing happened.