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The Pickup Place / Re: Dimarzio Virtual Hot PAF (DP214) Review
« on: October 09, 2025, 05:01:28 AM »
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The Pickup Place / Re: Dimarzio Virtual Hot PAF (DP214) Review
« on: October 09, 2025, 04:51:16 AM »
To me it looks like LAG doesn’t build electrical guitars anymore and Musicgooddeal bought off some of their stock of DiMarzio Pickups.
It seems, they still have some DP 214‘s in stock: go to their website and type dp214 in the search - et voila. But I have no idea if they ship to overseas…
I have a DP 214 F-Spaced, with brass baseplate, black coating, and it came with a chrome cover, which I removed, because I don’t like covers.
I think it also came „stock“ with no threads in its lugs. It’s cable is equipped with a white heat shrink marked with „B“, similar to the custom pickups in EBMM EvH and Axis guitars.
I don’t use it, these days I’m more into higher output pickups (again), but I am reluctant to sell it, because it’s so damn good, and I’m afraid I’d regret it
It seems, they still have some DP 214‘s in stock: go to their website and type dp214 in the search - et voila. But I have no idea if they ship to overseas…
I have a DP 214 F-Spaced, with brass baseplate, black coating, and it came with a chrome cover, which I removed, because I don’t like covers.
I think it also came „stock“ with no threads in its lugs. It’s cable is equipped with a white heat shrink marked with „B“, similar to the custom pickups in EBMM EvH and Axis guitars.
I don’t use it, these days I’m more into higher output pickups (again), but I am reluctant to sell it, because it’s so damn good, and I’m afraid I’d regret it
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The Pickup Place / Re: NGD - Ibanez JS1000
« on: October 07, 2025, 09:47:19 AM »
Hey Zoo Keeper,
The difference in position of the bridge pickup, resp. in the JS being closer to the bridge, will result in a thinner or at least less bassier sound - at least in my experience (assuming you set the pickups to the same distance to strings, using the same string gauge, overall as similar conditions as possible).
I think nowadays we all know that tonewood does not, or better: CAN not make a perceivable difference in sound on a purely electric guitar, and since both of your guitars have at least a very similar vibrato, we can rule that out too. 22 frets vs 24 frets also doesn’t make a difference, since both guitars have the same scale length.
We all know that neck pickups in general sound much fuller and bassier than bridge pickups: because of the position in relation to the bridge.
I have a guitar I absolutely love, and its bridge is around 5-8mm closer (depending on which saddle I measure) to the bridge pickup compared to my EBMM Axis (Super) Sports. The Axis Sports still sound quite a bite fuller and bassier using the same bridge pickup and adjusting everything as close to each other as possible on both guitars.
I ended up using a Tone Zone in that other guitar and I absolutely love it, and it also balances really well to a low output PAF-ish neck pickup there.
So I‘d recommend a Tone Zone or Air Zone. Also a AT-1 might work well there, but I remember it being a little soft in its attack, almost being a bit spongy (had it in my Axis Sports as well).
Keep in mind, that TZ or AZ won’t sound too dark or dull compared to many other guitars, because a position closer to the bridge balances things out quite well. At least, that’s what I experienced.
TBH, I didn’t expect the 5..6..7..8 mm to make such a difference, but well, it did.
I think that most folks don’t take this into account (I didn’t either!), when evaluating the sound of pickups.
The difference in position of the bridge pickup, resp. in the JS being closer to the bridge, will result in a thinner or at least less bassier sound - at least in my experience (assuming you set the pickups to the same distance to strings, using the same string gauge, overall as similar conditions as possible).
I think nowadays we all know that tonewood does not, or better: CAN not make a perceivable difference in sound on a purely electric guitar, and since both of your guitars have at least a very similar vibrato, we can rule that out too. 22 frets vs 24 frets also doesn’t make a difference, since both guitars have the same scale length.
We all know that neck pickups in general sound much fuller and bassier than bridge pickups: because of the position in relation to the bridge.
I have a guitar I absolutely love, and its bridge is around 5-8mm closer (depending on which saddle I measure) to the bridge pickup compared to my EBMM Axis (Super) Sports. The Axis Sports still sound quite a bite fuller and bassier using the same bridge pickup and adjusting everything as close to each other as possible on both guitars.
I ended up using a Tone Zone in that other guitar and I absolutely love it, and it also balances really well to a low output PAF-ish neck pickup there.
So I‘d recommend a Tone Zone or Air Zone. Also a AT-1 might work well there, but I remember it being a little soft in its attack, almost being a bit spongy (had it in my Axis Sports as well).
Keep in mind, that TZ or AZ won’t sound too dark or dull compared to many other guitars, because a position closer to the bridge balances things out quite well. At least, that’s what I experienced.
TBH, I didn’t expect the 5..6..7..8 mm to make such a difference, but well, it did.
I think that most folks don’t take this into account (I didn’t either!), when evaluating the sound of pickups.
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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Pasul
« on: August 20, 2025, 05:41:44 AM »
Guys, keep in mind, that a few 10s of Millivolts won't make a perceivable difference in output.
The PAF 36th neck isn't really quieter than the Air Norton, the latter only has a higher inductance, thus its resonant peak shifts a few hundred Hz more towards the lower frequencies. This evens things out a little regarding their positions in the guitar, but obviously not enough.
It's merely a matter of playing with pickup height, and maybe not being afraid to go for a high output bridge humbucker to balance out with a neck humbucker. You could always bring the bridge humbucker farther away from the strings.
The PAF 36th neck isn't really quieter than the Air Norton, the latter only has a higher inductance, thus its resonant peak shifts a few hundred Hz more towards the lower frequencies. This evens things out a little regarding their positions in the guitar, but obviously not enough.
It's merely a matter of playing with pickup height, and maybe not being afraid to go for a high output bridge humbucker to balance out with a neck humbucker. You could always bring the bridge humbucker farther away from the strings.
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The Pickup Place / Re: 1990s B5 bridge humbucker
« on: August 20, 2025, 05:28:26 AM »
That B5 pickup is long sold, so I don't have pics any more.
On a side note: I spent the last two weeks reading on the guitarnutz2 forum and learned A LOT about pickups. Actually it was the first time in my life (after playing electric guitars for maybe 35 years, AND being an electrical engineer), I dove relly deep into what is technically important and really makes the sound of a pickup.
I mean, I've had the books by Manfred Zollner for like 10 years now, but tbh, Zollner gets VERY theoretical, and that guitarnutz2 forum mostly doesn't.
What I wanted to say: I wrote here in this thread, I don't like the Tonezone. Well, with with what I learned from guitarnutz2 AND reminding myself and you of this thread https://www.dimarzioforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=16029.0 , with the large DCR tolerances, the snake oil DiMarzio EBMM EvH could very well sound like a Tonezone or vice versa.
So my main guitar at the moment, where the bridge pickup sits 5 ..7mm nearer to the bridge as in my EBMM Axis's, had a 12k A5 pickup, which I needed to bring very near to the bass strings, to have a balanced sound (and still does not come close to the Axis's). So I put one of my Dimarzio EvH pickups in there, just for the sake of testing, and - well it was really much better.
Now, knowing, that a Tonezone will sound VERY close, I found a cheap one, and put it in there - and turns out, I so much like it!!!
It sounds really, really good in that guitar. I have to admit, I don't like it in the guitar of my band buddy, an old EBMM SUB (chost-saving US-made variant of a Silhouette), where the bridge pickup is even a few millimeters further away from the bridge towards neck, so the TZ sounds quite muddy in there.
Long story short: I can say now: the Tonezone sounds GREAT!
On a side note: I spent the last two weeks reading on the guitarnutz2 forum and learned A LOT about pickups. Actually it was the first time in my life (after playing electric guitars for maybe 35 years, AND being an electrical engineer), I dove relly deep into what is technically important and really makes the sound of a pickup.
I mean, I've had the books by Manfred Zollner for like 10 years now, but tbh, Zollner gets VERY theoretical, and that guitarnutz2 forum mostly doesn't.
What I wanted to say: I wrote here in this thread, I don't like the Tonezone. Well, with with what I learned from guitarnutz2 AND reminding myself and you of this thread https://www.dimarzioforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=16029.0 , with the large DCR tolerances, the snake oil DiMarzio EBMM EvH could very well sound like a Tonezone or vice versa.
So my main guitar at the moment, where the bridge pickup sits 5 ..7mm nearer to the bridge as in my EBMM Axis's, had a 12k A5 pickup, which I needed to bring very near to the bass strings, to have a balanced sound (and still does not come close to the Axis's). So I put one of my Dimarzio EvH pickups in there, just for the sake of testing, and - well it was really much better.
Now, knowing, that a Tonezone will sound VERY close, I found a cheap one, and put it in there - and turns out, I so much like it!!!
It sounds really, really good in that guitar. I have to admit, I don't like it in the guitar of my band buddy, an old EBMM SUB (chost-saving US-made variant of a Silhouette), where the bridge pickup is even a few millimeters further away from the bridge towards neck, so the TZ sounds quite muddy in there.
Long story short: I can say now: the Tonezone sounds GREAT!
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The Pickup Place / Re: HSS with Dimarzio Bridge HB
« on: August 20, 2025, 05:09:14 AM »
Thanks guys for all the hints and stuff. I ended up ordering a cheap Fleor single coil for neck position on Aliexpress (yeah...I know...) and put it in the middle position. Since switch position 4 is the only one to bring the middle pickup into play, and I rarely use it anyway, I decided to do so.
I ended up using the bridge side coil of the humbucker, expecting to cancel hum with the neck single coil, but it doesn't. I can live with that since - well I don't use it that often, and not with higian, I even don't use that guitar much any more.
Pos. 4 sound quite ok, maybe a bit thin, so maybe I'll change the wiring to using the neck side coil of the humbucker some time.
I ended up using the bridge side coil of the humbucker, expecting to cancel hum with the neck single coil, but it doesn't. I can live with that since - well I don't use it that often, and not with higian, I even don't use that guitar much any more.
Pos. 4 sound quite ok, maybe a bit thin, so maybe I'll change the wiring to using the neck side coil of the humbucker some time.
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The Pickup Place / Re: HSS with Dimarzio Bridge HB
« on: July 28, 2025, 01:45:24 AM »
Thanks gregr, been looking at that one as well.
Would this combination be the most or more authentic quack position, or the one using the bridge side coil of the humbucker?
Would this combination be the most or more authentic quack position, or the one using the bridge side coil of the humbucker?
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The Pickup Place / Re: 1990s B5 bridge humbucker
« on: July 27, 2025, 06:25:32 AM »I was thinking Neck/Bridge but Front/Back could also be used to specify the location of each pickup.
Good point
While I have never heard of these terms being used by Dimarzio, I also don't consider myself an expert here I was thinking to just buy the thing, because it’s cheap, but neither do I like the Tonezone, nor do I need one.
I was hoping for some OEM PU made for Music Man, since the lugs don’t have a thread, and some EBMM models like the AXIS series would need it like that…
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The Pickup Place / Re: HSS with Dimarzio Bridge HB
« on: July 27, 2025, 06:12:10 AM »Wind direction can and will vary depending on who made the pickup and when it was made.
Depending on the situation you can reverse the wires or reverse the magnetic polarity in order to get the desired result.
Yes of course, but changing magnetic direction in a standard single coil will not be possible with most.
But my basic assumption should be that be correct, shouldn‘t it?
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The Pickup Place / HSS with Dimarzio Bridge HB
« on: July 26, 2025, 04:32:20 PM »
Hey there, just a quick question (although I think I know the answer):
For position 4 in a HSS configuration I’d like to use the bridge (or screw) coil of the humbucker. This coil should be south. So the middle SC should be north and normal wound. Is this correct?
For position 4 in a HSS configuration I’d like to use the bridge (or screw) coil of the humbucker. This coil should be south. So the middle SC should be north and normal wound. Is this correct?
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The Pickup Place / Re: 1990s B5 bridge humbucker
« on: July 26, 2025, 02:02:15 PM »Does the neck pickup have an N on the back?
Nopes. It has an „F“ there, so it most likely is a bridge humbucker.
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The Pickup Place / Re: 1990s B5 bridge humbucker
« on: July 23, 2025, 03:33:51 AM »Does anyone have any infos? It basically looks like a black EVH custom with black back, and "B 5" stamped on it. It measures 17,2k and is F-spaced.
May it be "Breed"?
Well the one I'm talking about has a classic pole pieces configurations, no double row allen key type ones.
It could be a Tonezone, from visuals and the DC resistance, but with black baseplate an B 5 stamped in ... ?
Other than that I am out of ideas :-)
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The Pickup Place / 1990s B5 bridge humbucker
« on: July 22, 2025, 05:18:55 AM »
Does anyone have any infos? It basically looks like a black EVH custom with black back, and "B 5" stamped on it. It measures 17,2k and is F-spaced.
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The Pickup Place / Accuracy of DCR values
« on: February 20, 2025, 03:34:22 PM »
Does anyone have a feeling of how accurate large scale (and supposedly highly automated) pickup makers can wind their pickups to a certain spec or advertised value?
I have some examples:
I have two EvH Custom bridge pickups, one measures 16.74k, the other one 17.46k. A third one I had that I sold was more like 18k IIRC. In the "Remembering EvH" story it is "advertised" as 17k.
Then I have an f-spaced VHPAF measuring 9.90k, while Tonejourney's f-spaced specimen measures 9.59k, and it was advertised as 9.13k (dunno if as f-spaced).
Finally I have a 36th PAF neck that measures 7.67k, advertised as 7.31k.
I consider this to be quite a large range of values.
I'm just curious, there is nothing wrong with the pickups I own(ed).
But considering the hype around the gazillion PAF type pickups ...
(I mean, ok, there's probably still capacitance and inductance values that result from wire pull strength, or various layering techniques and whatnot. But does this translate into audible differences?)
Curious what's your point of view on that
I have some examples:
I have two EvH Custom bridge pickups, one measures 16.74k, the other one 17.46k. A third one I had that I sold was more like 18k IIRC. In the "Remembering EvH" story it is "advertised" as 17k.
Then I have an f-spaced VHPAF measuring 9.90k, while Tonejourney's f-spaced specimen measures 9.59k, and it was advertised as 9.13k (dunno if as f-spaced).
Finally I have a 36th PAF neck that measures 7.67k, advertised as 7.31k.
I consider this to be quite a large range of values.
I'm just curious, there is nothing wrong with the pickups I own(ed).
But considering the hype around the gazillion PAF type pickups ...
(I mean, ok, there's probably still capacitance and inductance values that result from wire pull strength, or various layering techniques and whatnot. But does this translate into audible differences?)
Curious what's your point of view on that
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The Pickup Place / Re: neck humbucker (or BB) to complement PAF type bridge HB
« on: November 22, 2023, 06:19:41 AM »The classifieds on this Forum are very quiet so I would not place a bet on anything coming up there soon.
In the most popular German classifieds portal, Air Nortons come up consistently (regular and F-spaced, mostly black but sometimes zebra or double cream) but Nortons have become scarce for no obvious reasons.
With "here" I meant German "Kleinanzeigen" formerly run by ebay.
At the moment there are a few, but I really like the look of that double cream neck humbucker on that specific guitar, so I hope for a double cream Air Norton F-spaced to come up.
I think I could more easily make a Norton out of an Air Norton, if I needed to, than the other way round.