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The Pickup Place / Re: Dimarzio IGNO review

« on: February 10, 2024, 04:35:57 AM »

Thanks for your review!
For me it's interesting, because I bought a Dimarzio Satchur8 that (maybe) is almost the same pickup
https://darthphineas.com/2020/06/dimarzio-igno/
(all the technical data are very very similar). I'm still building the guitar I will put it in, so it will take some time before I really test it. And I hope it has nice clarity and a good dynamic response.

The interesting fact is about this "compression" effect, that - as far as I know - does not happen in a passive pickup, but anyway it's often perceived in the sound.
There is this excellent post here:
https://www.tdpri.com/threads/pickup-compression.678985/
with thought-provoking information from a member who always gives very useful and good technical details.

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

« on: March 11, 2023, 07:36:50 PM »

Thanks a lot for your help and suggestions. Very very helpful!
By the way, I wrote to DiMarzio too, explaining the same details of my posts, and I got this reply and an unexpected suggestion:
"I think you should consider a more traditional pickup for the concept you have in mind. The Bluesbucker may not have the versatility to do what you have in mind. The Mo’ Joe should be better. You might also look at the Satchur8. It may have more output than you are looking for, but it has better dynamics than the output spec would indicate, and the split and parallel sounds are very good."

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

« on: March 09, 2023, 11:56:47 AM »

And looking at your list of pickups I see the "Mo' Joe" (and Fred too), so I wonder if maybe I should consider that model too for my project. 

Sure. Both would work depending on what you are planning to use as a neck pickup and as values for your volume control. I use the Fred in a HSS set up with a 250k volume pot which works really well there. With a 500k volume pot it might be too bright. Mo' Joe works well with a 500k volume pot - I have it as a bridge pickup in an HSH set up, incidentally with a Bluesbucker in the neck.

Cheers Stephan

Thanks! My target is to make a guitar with only the bridge pickup. In the end, in a band context I use it 90% of my time.
But at the same time I'd like to get "very different tones" from it, because: never say never.
And in case I will not be happy, I could anyway add a neck pickup later (like the Injector neck or maybe Cruiser bridge that I already used in the past in the neck in some guitars and I liked it).

So my idea is that I will buy the EP1111 (the "super" switch of Dimarzio) and I will wire it to get 3 sounds (from my bridge pu) like:
- standard bridge humbucker sound
- partial coil split with a capacitor (and in case a resistor too) to ground, so that I'd get a kind of notch filter to simulate a neck pickup and/or an inbetween strat sound
- addition of a cap (and in case a resistor too) in parallel with the pickup (or with the partial coil split) to get a lower resonance to simulate a neck or a different pickup
By the way, I'm interested only in passive circuits to get these different sounds; I could even consider an inductor but then the costs add up a lot.

My first idea is the Bluesbucker because I like its concept as far as I can read (slightly single coil-ish, great dynamic response) and I like a lot the sound I can hear in this excellent demo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIS52q18RKU
(well, to be honest it's the only good demo I found!)
On the other hand I don't know if its special construction (with that almost silent second coil) will not work properly or will not get the expected sound changes when I add the capacitor in parallel and when it is wired to make the partial split. And that's why I mentioned the Mo' Joe (or Fred) as worthy of choice because of their more traditional coil construction, even if I don't have any personal experience with them.

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

« on: March 03, 2023, 06:09:51 AM »

No experience with the Satch Track, only with the Bluesbucker, and only in the neck position so I am afraid I am not of much help here ... I used the Chopper and Chopper T in the bridge position with good results, and they sound good in parallel, too.

The Bluesbucker would have the advantage that the single coil tone is almost as loud as the humbucker tone.

Cheers Stephan

Thank you for your information anyway!
And looking at your list of pickups I see the "Mo' Joe" (and Fred too), so I wonder if maybe I should consider that model too for my project. 

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

« on: March 03, 2023, 02:09:27 AM »

I know they have a different size, but it's not a problem for my project.

For pop/rock/instrumental rock, I'm considering a single pickup guitar but with some options (with caps, resistors, partial split) to get some "variations" even with just a single bridge pickup.
From the descriptions and reviews I'm very interested in trying the Bluesbucker that could be what I'm really looking for (dynamic response, not too dark). But... I have a Satch Track that at the end I haven't used yet.
Do you think it's really very different from the Bluesbucker? Will it be too thin in the bridge position? Will it work properly using the two blade coils with caps/resistors to get different sounds?

I know you can say: test it! But my new build is far from being ready yet, and I'd like some expert opinons in the meanwhile.

By the way, since the neck will be 25", maybe I need more clarity and dynamic response for that reason too (losing a little transients/attack vs standard 25-1/2" necks). Apart from the Bluesbucker, I don't know if I should also consider the Air Classic Bridge, Fred, Paf Master Bridge...

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The Pickup Place / What happens if I put a cover on a blade pickup?

« on: March 12, 2019, 12:24:12 PM »

I'd like to know if you have any experience about covering a twin blade pickup (like the Chopper) with a plastic cover that is completely closed, I mean without the usual 2 cuttings of a standard pickup plastic cover with the two blades coming out.
I have a guitar with 2 nice pickup covers (similar to wood) and I'd like to keep them, putting a new pickup under them. I'd like to try the Satch Track in the bridge and the Fast Track 1 in the neck position.

Because of this closed covers, I guess that the pickup could be a little farer from the strings, even if I will remove its standard plastic cover (the one with Dimarzio logo on it), because with it, the pickup would be a little too large to fit into my "wood-colored" covers.

Do you know what impact I could have on the sound with a closed cover made of plastic?

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The Pickup Place / Re: D activator (neck) vs Illuminator/Liquifire (neck)

« on: March 09, 2019, 08:40:58 AM »

Hi i have an Ibanez sa2020fm (mahogany with maple top) and i want to get rid of the emg 81/85 that are currently on it. I am thinking of going d-activator for both bridge and neck but i am not so sure about the neck. I mostly play modern metal stuff but i enjoy playing classics like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dio etc. Any suggestions/tips would be really helpfull.

I'd like to point out that changing from active to passive pickup, it's likely you'll have to change also the pots and check if you need to add a ground wire from the guitar bridge to the pickups circuit.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Ibenez Artcore AS73 Humbuckers Upgrade Pickups

« on: March 09, 2019, 05:37:44 AM »

I liked the Air Classic in the neck position, but mainly in a split configuration or parallel wiring.
For me it was even too bassy in the standard series configuration, but I admit that for me 98% of neck pickups are too bassy! 
Anyway, splitting it (using just one single coil) it had a great tone in my guitar.

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The Pickup Place / Suggestion for bridge humbucker pickup

« on: March 09, 2019, 04:47:03 AM »

Hello
I got a Chinese copy of a Strandberg (but with solid body, instead of hollow body), and after that my guitar tech fixed and adjusted it properly, I have to say it is not bad at all.
But I don't like the pickups a lot; they are maybe a copy of passive EMG, I'm not sure.
They are a little muddy, and comparing the recorded tone with my favorite guitar, I see that I should cut a lot around 300 Hz to get a nice sound from the bridge pickup.

I'd love your suggestions for modern rock music, some flexibility and good clarity and definition (and no shrill highs at all).
I'm looking at Fred and Titan for the bridge position, but I don't know them even if the reviews and descriptions could be good for what I'm looking for. They are just an example, and I'm really open to your comments and suggestions.

Since the pickups are angled, I need a standard spaced pickup, so I can't consider the pickups that are available only in F-spaced size.
This is my new "toy":


Later I'll look at the neck pickup, too. And probably my favorite choice could be the Humbucker from Hell.
But before replacing the original pickup, I'll try to tweak it by adding a capacitor in series to cut some bass frequencies.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Transition Bridge not working for me. Seeking recommendations

« on: July 20, 2017, 12:04:01 PM »

What DiMarzio would give me better clarity and dynamics?

I'd really consider the Fred or the Air Classic Bridge, or (but I have no experience with the following) the new Paf 59 Bridge. If you like dynamics, these pickups that don't have high power output could give you a better results, and be a better match with the single coils. But don't this guitar have some active electronics, too?

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The Pickup Place / Re: Another pickup suggestion request

« on: July 20, 2017, 11:52:44 AM »

Imho the Chopper could give you more flexibility. And you could consider also a superswitch so that you could wire the Chopper in parallet and split (connecting only one blade) in position 2-4. Or even you could split both the neck and the bridge humbucker, too, when you select the position 2-4 of the switch. So that you'd get a kind of Strat sound in those position, without the need of further switches.
When you wire those split position, it can happen that you have to reverse the hot/ground wires of one pickups if they are out of phase.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Cruiser problem

« on: March 09, 2017, 12:19:38 PM »

I have the same pickup in the neck of my guitar (and I love it) but I wired it so that I have both the series and the parallel wiring. I did not try to split it; the Cruiser has a low output, so I'm afraid it really does not make sense to split it (on the contrary for example the BC-1 has a nice tone when it's split too!).
I don't know if there is some other mistake in your wiring, but anyway the result you got could be perfectly normal.
When I use the Cruiser in parallel wiring (I mean its two coils in parallel and not with other pickups) there is a little volume drop, and I use it when I want to clean a little more a crunch tone.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck Pickup for Modified Strat (HSS)

« on: March 09, 2017, 12:50:43 AM »

The Satch Track is anyway a typical humbucker. If you prefer a single-coil sound the Injector or Fast Track 1 are better choices.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Recommend me a single coil sized humbucker for my strat please?

« on: March 05, 2017, 06:58:41 AM »

In the bridge of my guitar I put a BC-1 after the suggestion from Dimarzio and I like it very much. It's rather warm, with a lot of harmonics and split very well.

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The Pickup Place / Re: DiMarzio (or other suggestion) for a Charvel Star mahogany body

« on: February 13, 2016, 01:30:23 AM »

Imho the best bridge pup for your woods and for classic hard rock is Fred.
There is a reason DMZ have been making this pup for many years. It's very good, has also a lot of dynamics, and it cuts well in any dense mix, in view also of the slightly dark tones of your guitar body/fretboard wood.