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Thanks for the review on this long existing pickup. Surprisingly it seems to stay under the radar for many players.
Thanks to nienturi's excellent review of the Air Zone (thanks for posting this on here), we have 8.3k for the screw coil and 9k for the slug coil, assuming the coils of Air Zone and Tone Zone are identical.
Cheers Stephan
It took me a while to read your review. Many thanks for posting such a detailed review with specs and pics included, very much appreciated.
Cheers Stephan
I just read your review, and coincidentally I read it the day after I 1/2 aired my vintage Tone Zone. Your finding that the factory AZ still contains the spacer and so is a 1/2 aired TZ came as a surprize. Nonetheless, your detailed comparision discription is spot on to what I am observing. You nailed it.
I had to change the pickup height settings and the pole piece adjustments slightly to get back to the sound I liked so much in this guitar all these years. This would seem to confirm your thoughts about resonate peak differences.
The reason I decided to try the 1/2 air mod was because of the lower mids congestion. With this guitar I play mostly single note solo stuff and I always loved how the TZ made singles notes played up higher on the neck not sound thin, but still have a PAF vibe. But the lower mid congestion always made chord work a little less than ideal. I can run it in parallel and it clears up, but then series works better for an overdriven solo tone. It's kind of PITA to switch back and forth. The difference between the stock TZ and the 1/2 aired TZ is subtle, so I don't think I will need to go to the hasle of reversing the mod. It's a win win.
Btw, I did try the AT1 before trying the 1/2 air mod on the TZ. Nope. Hated it. I don't want to disparage the AT1, it's a good pickup, but it has no PAF vibe at all. And its so dry. I will take a TZ or an AZ, for fat plus PAF type tone, thank you. I have kind settled into the PAF tone area for all my humbucker equiped guitars, and I love the 36th B, but for this rather bright guitar I need a little more.
The PAF Joe neck pairs great with the Air Zone as well. The note bloom and sustain is one thing I love about the Air Zone. The old Atomic Humbuckers that Fender put in the HSS Highway One Strats were similar to the Air Zone, but with a bit more presence. I've always thought those two were very well balanced pickups. The Air Zone fattens up a thinner sounding guitar very well.
Nice review, I like the technical depth and the details in specs! Well done and thanks for sharing.
How does the HFH sounded in split?
I actually just installed an HFH in a clients Les Paul with the Dial-A-Split control instead of a tone and to be totally honest, running the HFH in single coil mode sounds pretty much the same as it does in humbucker mode, except it's got a little less output and it's got the 60 hz hum.
Hey mate. Old bump in post. I have wired the ability to split a HFH in the neck of one of my guitars (outer coil closes to the neck), but did not bother trying out the inner coil (coil closest to the bridge). I have it mounted where the wire is exiting towards the bridge side. Just wondering if you have tried splitting each coil and hearing/measuring the differences
Hi guys, long time no post on my end (happens when we get old). I ordered a Super PAF Ceramic and installed it in my Kiesel Delos which has 2 bridge Cruisers in the neck and middle. It replaced the Air Classic that I was running. The sound, for me, was too compressed (less openness than the Air Classic). I'm currently playing classic rock in my current band and recording progressive rock at home and various jams. It just didn't have the openness that the Air Classic has, and for me, it was an exchange for another (a PAF 7 for the neck of my 7-string Delos with an Air Norton 7 in the bridge). It was just too much squeeze for me, as I find myself going to more vintage pickups these days. Some will like it, but for me it wasn't to be.
Yours in
Walt
Hi Walt. As a Zappa fan, glad to meet you
Virtual Hot PAf with A2 is something i really like to hear yet i'm afraid to spoil the pickup somehow. Did you leave the "airbucker" tech or took the ring out and put spacers?
Thanks for your review.
Nevertheless the result was too obvious; results from air classic to Super PAF are, you know, inevitable
I had replaced the cruisers with an Injector neck and Area 58 middle with a full strength Norton in the bridge. So far/so good, but I due suffer from this disease called "I know how to solder" which seems to help keep Larry DiMarzio in business (all these years of loyalty and not even a Christmas card
I actually have an original production (not the custom shop ones) Virtual Paf neck and Virtual Hot bridge along with another Virtual Hot with an A2 magnet swap. And I also have another strat that is over due for surgery, what fruits might that bare, time will tell.
BTW, I'm a big Zappa fan
Hi guys, long time no post on my end (happens when we get old). I ordered a Super PAF Ceramic and installed it in my Kiesel Delos which has 2 bridge Cruisers in the neck and middle. It replaced the Air Classic that I was running. The sound, for me, was too compressed (less openness than the Air Classic). I'm currently playing classic rock in my current band and recording progressive rock at home and various jams. It just didn't have the openness that the Air Classic has, and for me, it was an exchange for another (a PAF 7 for the neck of my 7-string Delos with an Air Norton 7 in the bridge). It was just too much squeeze for me, as I find myself going to more vintage pickups these days. Some will like it, but for me it wasn't to be.
Yours in
Walt
If i were you i would pick something more "real" PAF oriented like Virtual Hot PAF, Fortitude, PAF 36th bridge 