DiMarzio Forum
DimarzioForum.Com => The Pickup Place => Everything you wanted to know about .... => Topic started by: CityofBlindingLights on May 29, 2009, 11:52:12 PM
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Lots of players tend to prefer the Air Norton for its distorted tone. It's a very fat, full, thick tone that's rather well-rounded and can coax some interesting harmonics.
Personally, I've never been a fan of the Air Norton in the bridge (but then again, I've never really been a fan of the Air Norton... ;D)
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I love mine in the neck position, even in the coil split mode. Just wished it was a tad hotter sounding...
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The Air Norton produces a tone very similar to a hollow body guitar and works well in the neck position in combination with virtually any medium to high output pickup. Tonally, it is definitely more on the warmer fatter side of things, so much so that it can sound muddy if you're used to hearing clean tones from a strat. There is no bell-like quality here with the pickup on it's own, but when used in single coil/split mode or in parallel with the bridge pickup split, the clean tones are very acoustic-like.
Now odds are, if you were even considering the Air Norton, you wanted something shreddy or ultra smooth sounding and if it that's the tone you've been wanting, this is the pickup to deliver it.
The Air Norton is by far one of THE most popular neck pickups for that sweet smooth lead tone. Whether you want soaring lead tones for shred or smooth fluid tones for some smooth jazz, this will do it.
NOTE: The Air Norton was also called the Norton Lite back before it was released as the Air Norton. This was the same pickup that was featured on the Ibanez JPM models.
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Something that gets mentioned rarely or not enough for me; a major bonus to this pickup is the ability to be be flipped over (installed with the screw coil towards the bridge) this lightens the low mid honk that some may find MUDDY and translates it more into the realm of smooth thickness. I prefer the Air norton this way.
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http://www.dimarzioforum.com/user_uploads/luredmaul/AirNortonFlipped.mp3
http://www.dimarzioforum.com/user_uploads/luredmaul/AirNortonFlippedDirty.mp3
Clips
These clips where done quickly and with slight reverb only and without mastering.
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Love the Air Norton as a neck pup, and the Air Norton - S is great, as well. :madness:
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New Discovery (for me anyway) GREAT bridge pickup for Mahogany. I liked this better than Evo2 or my trusty Air Zone.
http://www.dimarzioforum.com/user_uploads/luredmaul/AirNortonBridgeMahogany.mp3
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...oh my
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Wow I love how that Air Norton Sounds in the bridge! It's got that old George Lynch tone he had during the Dokken days. Totally wicked man!! I also like how the tone is a tad bit brighter with cleans with the air norton flipped in the neck.
Maybe you should direct link some of those tracks onto the threads here.
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... Not bad...
I'm just a fan of the good ol' Norton in the bridge. A bit rawer, which suits my tastes
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So today I took an Air Norton and Half Aired it.
I took the pup apart and removed the AIR spacer & added a Dimazio regular spacer to the screw side coil ( why the screw coilyouAsk?.....No Idea I just picked one...lol) It added abit more bite and crunch I think. Alot more FEEL too.
http://www.dimarzioforum.com/user_uploads/luredmaul/HalfAiredNorton+Solo.mp3
This is a Custom Alder Jem.
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Is that in the bridge or neck position?
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sounds like bridge pos from that clip...
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Moral of the story: go out and buy a regular Norton ;D
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.....and half air it?
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In theory... err... you could, but why (even half) air it when you can have a perfectly good Norton?
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For my own personal interest? Lately I'm finding the Norton to be vaguely too rude despite the lovely clarity
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Yeah, then that'd work.
If you find the Norton too rude, ever considered a FRED?
I don't have anything against the Air Norton, it's just another suggestion...
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Bridge position ;D
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If I split an Air Norton and an Air Zone and had both running together maybe I can create an Air Fred :madness:
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If I split an Air Norton and an Air Zone and had both running together maybe I can create an Air Fred :madness:
zOMFG
Or, you could route out another pickup slot in the middle of the two, airbucker a FRED (interesting thought...), and put that in the middle.
Imagine what'd happen if you combine THAT with Air Norton/Air Zone...
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the Fred "lite" as they called it in the 90's was a smkin pickup.
They came in Frank Gambale model Ibanez I believe
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the Fred "lite" as they called it in the 90's was a smkin pickup.
They came in Frank Gambale model Ibanez I believe
Yep, there's a post of it somewhere around here, along with the PAF Pro lite
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I know there are many reviews here but this pup deserves yet another. I have this pickup in an RG and in my Gibson Explorer. I love how fat and smooth this pickup is. I play classic metal, rock, blues, instrumental, and the pup does each well. One of the coolest things about the pickup is how well it splits into single coil mode. I get close to a strat sound from my Gibson making it very versitile.
I liked the split so much that I split the 36th Ann Paf in the neck of my Gibson V. I did not get the same results. The volume drop on the 36th Paf is way to much and the tone is nowhere near as good as the Air Norton's split sound. I'm considering putting an Air Norton in the neck of the V as well.
Air Norton gets a great high gain lead tone or Fat old school Gibson tones. Can't say enough about the pup; if you like smooth, fat, and sweet, it's a great pup, split it and get a great single coil tone as well.
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For anyone whos interested in putting the Air Norton in the bridge..
Ive used the Norton exclusively in the bridge position of my guitars for awhile now but lately Ive wanted a slightly brighter and more dynamic Norton.. Normally I pair the Norton with a Bluesbucker in my HH guitars but running a new HS guitar with an Injector bridge model in the neck I realised I needed a lower output pickup to match the Injector with. Finally I decided to try the Air Norton and so far Im impressed. It sounds just like my Nortons but has better dynamics and lower output. Since I can put the Air Norton closer to the string then my Nortons it does sound a bit brighter and a bit meaner. Also it seems like the bottom end is less spongey (not that it was ever an issue) than my Nortons.
Like I said Im impressed. If you like the Norton and wished it matched with singles better then Id try out the Air Norton in the bridge.
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It's rumored that Buckethead used a atypical setup of an Air Norton in the bridge and Tone Zone in the neck for at least the period around 2005-2007. Most of his high gain riffs came out of bridge+middle, but he used the bridge alone when he wanted to back off a bit.
I believe it.
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No offense but that sounds like a horrible combo. That TZ has to be muddy as hell and way louder then the AN lol. But then again Buckethead was never someone who's tone I felt inspired me. He's a great player but his tone is definitely odd.
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I know there are many reviews here but this pup deserves yet another. I have this pickup in an RG and in my Gibson Explorer. I love how fat and smooth this pickup is. I play classic metal, rock, blues, instrumental, and the pup does each well. One of the coolest things about the pickup is how well it splits into single coil mode. I get close to a strat sound from my Gibson making it very versitile.
I liked the split so much that I split the 36th Ann Paf in the neck of my Gibson V. I did not get the same results. The volume drop on the 36th Paf is way to much and the tone is nowhere near as good as the Air Norton's split sound. I'm considering putting an Air Norton in the neck of the V as well.
Air Norton gets a great high gain lead tone or Fat old school Gibson tones. Can't say enough about the pup; if you like smooth, fat, and sweet, it's a great pup, split it and get a great single coil tone as well.
This is extremely encouraging! On paper, I chose the Air Norton to fatten up the bridge of my cheap Squire Start ( yes, I have lots of Strats, and some expensive ones), and my main concern is that it still be able to perform blues/Blues based Rock.' Rude' is okay for that 'ol skool nasty blues sound for my application.
I had tried a 36th Annv., but it didn't fill out the guitar, although to be fair, I had 250K pots, so I'm going to fatten the highs of the Air Norton with 250K tone and 500K volume.
I also am going change out the overwound Van Zandt blues I have in the neck and switch in a Fat Start pickup in the neck.
This and a swap to a Rosewood neck ought to add some thickness to the sound I hope.
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Hey guys!!! Been a long time,I absolutely LOVE the air norton.Installed in my ibz eg with a TONE ZONE in the bridge the AIR NORTON ALWAYS gives me PUNCH & DEFINITIONSINGLE coil & parallel add TONS OF VERSATILITY when playing with various degrees of distortion & helps me CUT THRU a live mix!!! Peace brothers
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I tried it in the bridge, but its the AIR NORTON 7. and i felt it too clean when used with distortion AND well, not for Metal and extreme metal. AKA Death and technical . it looses the Punch one needs to play metal in the bridge position.
But in the neck its awesome. i would ONLY add 1 or 2 points UP in the HIghs , cause for me it needs it a bit MORE. and i would preffer it to DIGGEST the distortion MORE and interact to it, instead of sucking it into a clean sustainless tone .
i have the air norton 7 in the bridge but i was using it in the neck. and its going to get back to the neck position or ill sell it. i tried it in both positions .i sensed a slight difference.
New Discovery (for me anyway) GREAT bridge pickup for Mahogany. I liked this better than Evo2 or my trusty Air Zone.
http://www.dimarzioforum.com/user_uploads/luredmaul/AirNortonBridgeMahogany.mp3
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The Air Norton 7 probably isn't the best thing around for metal or anything where you want a lot of percussive rhythms. It's designed to sound more fluid and would probably be best for the 7 string guitar players that aren't looking for seriously heavy crunch. I'd probably use a dual AN7 if I ever had to do something where the guitar is just there to FILL the void in the background and support a singer.
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Only thing is that I wish the Air Norton had slightly more output. Could never seem to balance the volume of mine with a Tone Zone in the bridge (which is weird, as people seem to get along just fine). Whenever I set my Tone Zone to the right height (and the height adjustment on a Tone Zone is super sensitive IME), the Air Norton wouldn't be loud enough in the neck. If only Dimarzio made a neck pickup that had a Air Norton with higher output...
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Can more people attest to that the AN should sound brighter with the screw-pole pieces towards the bridge, when it's in the neck position?
I currently have it set-up in my Burny Les Paul, because the previous owner cut the leads really short (like 3") and while that was fine when I tried it in the bridge position, now in the neck position -with self-soldered leads added- it's not. Of course I could solder longer leads to it, but meh... ::)
Also, how do other people feel about its split and parallel tones?
I love how it adds some bluesyness when split, whereas parallel I found it a bit bland.
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Can more people attest to that the AN should sound brighter with the screw-pole pieces towards the bridge, when it's in the neck position?
AFAIK, that is true...
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Something that gets mentioned rarely or not enough for me; a major bonus to this pickup is the ability to be be flipped over (installed with the screw coil towards the bridge) this lightens the low mid honk that some may find MUDDY and translates it more into the realm of smooth thickness. I prefer the Air norton this way.
That sounds very interesting. I was thinking of doing this mainly to get a staggered polarity in order to fit a P-style megaswitch which will give me the PRS combinations with two humbuckers without hum.
Cheers Stephan
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I can vouch for the Air Norton having a brighter flavor when flipped. It's how I had mine installed in my LP.
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I flipped mine yesterday. I hear a difference but it is nothing drastic - which is good. I perceive it as a bit more open.
Cheers Stephan
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DiMarzio Air Norton Bridge Demo: http://youtu.be/u_l-vJ_yqN0
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Here is a link to a thread in the LP Forum. See reply #12 for a description of Air Norton in the bridge and Bluesbucker in the neck.
http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=140916&highlight=nash
I have that combination in a guitar that is acoustically rather dark sounding and it works very well.
Cheers Stephan
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Forgive if this is out of line, but I saw that my video has over 1,300 views which had to have been driven mainly by this forum. Would folks like to see more DM demos on dimarzioforum?
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Here is a link to a thread in the LP Forum. See reply #12 for a description of Air Norton in the bridge and Bluesbucker in the neck.
http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=140916&highlight=nash
I have that combination in a guitar that is acoustically rather dark sounding and it works very well.
Cheers Stephan
I can imagine. When I had the AN in the bridge of a bighter Les Paul, the combination was nice, but almost too vintage-y bright. You know, certain Les Pauls have that jangle, where others are way darker.
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Did lots of modification to it over the years. Was much harder to feel confident compared to my tonezone but.best to my ears was (and still using it that way) is half-airing, magnet touches the screw coils while slugs are aired but still has metal spacer.
It gets very touch sensitive, more open sounding. Its the brightest I could get while still keeping it solid for shredding (so notes like 12. fret low E string doesn't sound bridge like).
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Did lots of modification to it over the years. Was much harder to feel confident compared to my tonezone but.best to my ears was (and still using it that way) is half-airing, magnet touches the screw coils while slugs are aired but still has metal spacer.
It gets very touch sensitive, more open sounding. Its the brightest I could get while still keeping it solid for shredding (so notes like 12. fret low E string doesn't sound bridge like).
I agree with everything said. Fwiw, both AN and TZ sound a little brighter/clankier flipped around to my ears. I fiddled with TZ personally (it sounds incredible with small ceramic magnet and full hex poles), not so much with AN, since I just didn't want to ruin it (but I did however tried it with A8 in the bridge so thick and agressive but still pleasant sounding), AN is pretty great to begin with imo, though I'd love it to be just a tad brighter for the neck (as I'd love the same for Air Zone in neck too) without getting louder (not needed imo).
While most of my lesters have SuperDs since it is my favorite, I think that there's really something to the Norton/Air Norton combination in a les paul, sounds like it was intended to sound like that from the factory (with lack of better words to describe it).
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I'm not entirely sure about this but AN's nowadays has the screw poles connected with a metal part (while still aired)?
Mine didn't have this being from the 90's, when tested this that connection darkened the sound on cleans. But downside was without it distortion could get problematic on lots of gain which I guess is the reason they modified it.
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I usually prefer PAF types in the neck position, but if you have a 24 fretter that is bright, this might be the key to get a great, warm but clear sounding neck position. I'm surprised to see how well it suited for jazzy runs on my PRS SE Akerfeldt, the other PAFs I tried before are too hollow and dry sounding in that guitar.
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A few days ago I put mine which I had lying around in the bridge spot of a HSS stratocaster. Middle is an Area 58, Neck an Area 67, 250k volume, 500k tone with 0.0015uf just for the bridge, 250k tone with 0.0022uf for everything else. The AN replaced a Virtual PAF bridge.
I slightly prefer the AN in this guitar. The guitar is quite bright so the slight increase in output and midrange over the VPAF is welcome but it is a close call. Both are fine pickups in that application. Where I noticed a definitive improvement with the AN is the combination with the middle pickup which was a bit too bright before. Now it is just right.
I had an AN in the bridge position of a different strat a few years ago (I converted that one to SSS) and I really liked it there as well. It definitely likes loads much below 500k - 250k to 350k is the sweet range to my ears.
Cheers Stephan
EDIT: The VHPAF I thought I had turned out to be a VPAF bridge.
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Went to a guitar store recently to try out some ibby's for a friend, I kept asking myself why doesn't my (20 something year old) AN sound like these newer stuff.
Long story short, my AN came with the unpolished side facing the PU and when flipped to the polished side the sound was there. I hear on my guitar the high E strings highs are more rounded and towards the low-E it really brightens up, a bit of a problem with OD pedals since they cut the low-end...
So its tilted a bit more than usual toward the low-e to get enough bass. Adjusting PU height from a DI input of soundcard is likely unconventional but a very detailed way to sort these problems.
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I have an Ibanez Artist AR2000, which has a thinner mahogany body with a flame maple top. Thinner than a LP, but thicker than an Ibanez S-series.
I've got an F-spaced Norton lying around, and was thinking about putting that in the AR2000 bridge, and maybe a regular-spaced Air Norton for the neck.
As stupid as this probably sounds, do those two pair well together in that bridge/neck config?