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The Pickup Place / Re: Another topic on dimarzio custom wound evh axis b1 and n1 pickups ...

« on: January 27, 2014, 08:26:47 PM »

Wow. I'm gonna resurrect this thread. I really apologize for missing this thread. A lot has happened in the last couple years since the thread I started. A series of unfortunate events caused me to sell my Axis. So I can't get anymore readings off of it.

When I took apart the Axis bridge pickup, it was not aired and it did not have virtual vintage slugs in it. It has a metal spacer bar along the screw poles with an Alnico 5 magnet butted up against the slug poles.

Just this past weekend, I modified my AT1 pickup. I basically took out the guts in my PAF pro and swapped them with the AT1. Now my paf pro is fully aired with virtual vintage. The AT1 is now completely un-aired with the virtual vintage slugs removed. I'm completely overhauling this guitar, so I have not had a chance to see how it sounds yet.

Removing the virtual vintage slugs was easy. I used a 1/16" bit and drilled a small hole in the middle of each slug and was able to pull them out. I'll try to get some pictures this week of what I did.

So rumor on the street is that an unaired AT-1 with virtual vintage removed is the closest you'll get to an Axis bridge pickup. That's what I have and I can't wait to test it out.

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The Pickup Place / Re: De-airing Dimarzio pups??? at-1 vs. axis bridge w/pics and ohm readings

« on: March 12, 2012, 04:25:21 PM »

Hey Ed, thanks for chiming in on my thread. I've read some of your posts in some other threads, and you seem pretty knowledgeable on this subject. I have no reason to doubt what you said about the tone zone and the air norton. It seems to be the consensus that the axis bridge is 2 screw coils on the tone zone.

I find the readings you got on your at-1 and axis bridge interesting. It seems the resistance readings aren't really consistent. I am using an f-spaced at-1 for this project. This pickup will be going in the bridge of one of my project guitars.

I still don't think I want to give up on removing the VV slugs, even though it seems like it's gonna be a pain in the ass. I'm the kinda person who just likes taking things apart and seeing how they work.

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The Pickup Place / Re: De-airing Dimarzio pups??? at-1 vs. axis bridge w/pics and ohm readings

« on: March 12, 2012, 12:19:39 AM »

Well....rumors are just that....rumors. Dimarzio has the at-1 listed as the closest commercially available replacement to the axis pickup. 10% is quite a difference, I'm not sure what tolerances dimarzio is working with in production, but I'm willing to bet it's well within 10%. If anybody out there can provide some resistance readings on their pickups, it would be much appreciated. Just wish I had a way to get inductance and capacitance readings on the coils. Wish I could get some consistent millivolt readings too.

I'm still thinking about going ahead with the mods and comparing the 2 pickups, just waiting for funds to get a tone zone to swap parts with. Even though they aren't the same pickups, after modding the at-1 I'm sure it will sound great and very reminiscent of the axis bridge pickup.

I'm also still trying figure out the best approach for removing the VV poles. Any ideas?

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The Pickup Place / Re: De-airing Dimarzio pups???

« on: March 09, 2012, 04:06:13 PM »

Alright....I went ahead and got some resistance readings on the pickups. The at-1 has fewer windings than the axis bridge. Close, but not the same. I got readings from start to finish on each coil and then got a reading of total resistance of the pickups. And just for the hell of it, I got readings off of the axis neck pickup too.

at-1
red to black 8.12 k
white to green 8.11 k
red to green  16.21 k

axis bridge
red to black 8.85 k
white to green 8.91 k
red to green 17.77 k

axis neck
red to black 7.31 k
white to green 7.45 k
red to green 14.56 k

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The Pickup Place / Re: De-airing Dimarzio pups???

« on: March 09, 2012, 03:37:22 PM »

I haven't really started any operation yet. Just simply took it apart to see exactly what I'm up against. I will provide resistance readings of everything when I start getting into it.

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The Pickup Place / Re: De-airing Dimarzio pups???

« on: March 09, 2012, 03:00:50 PM »

Here is what I've got so far. This first pic is the at-1 disassembled. It has the rubber o-rings for the air technology. The slugs seem like it would be pretty easy to tap out. And you can clearly see the 6 metal VV screws. According to the Dimarzio FAQ, they are headless screws. I'm not sure which approach I want to take, but I'm thinking drilling them and using some easy outs would be the best method. Unless anybody else has a different approach?



This next one is the gut shot of my Axis bridge pickup. I didn't disassemble the pickups any further than what you see here.



This is all I have for now. I'm still waiting to get a tone zone before I go any further.

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The Pickup Place / Re: De-airing Dimarzio pups???

« on: March 08, 2012, 06:26:58 PM »

I am well aware of the difference between air and VV. And I'll definitely get some pics!

By the time I'm done, theoretically I'll end up with an axis bridge and an air zone.

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The Pickup Place / De-airing Dimarzio pups??? at-1 vs. axis bridge w/pics and ohm readings

« on: March 08, 2012, 06:15:51 PM »

Within the next few weeks I'm gonna be dissecting and modifying the at-1 and tone zone.

The rumor is that the at-1 is the same as the axis bridge with air technology and virtual vintage. So I'm gonna do a little experimenting and try it out on my axis. I'll provide pics and sound clips with my findings.

Before I start pulling pickups apart, how easy is it to remove the slug poles? Is it just as easy as using a punch and driving them out? I've been doing a lot of reading and I can't really find a clear cut answer. A lot of people claiming that they've done it, but no pictures or descriptions of their methods.