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The Pickup Place / Re: Reply Help me choose next pickup HSH set.

« Last post by nienturi on March 26, 2025, 09:52:53 AM »

My standard HSH superstrat with versatility formula is as follows: Neck: A clear PAF with A2 or A4 magnets.  Middle: A 6.5K A5 single-coil. Bridge: A hot PAF-style pickup

If choosing from DiMarzio: Neck: PAF Pro, Middle: True Velvet,  Bridge: Would consider Fortitude, Norton, Super Distortion, Air Zone or Tone Zone

That said, the guitar's own tone plays a major role in my choices. If it's too warm or overly bright, I'd adjust my selections to compensate for the tone.

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The Pickup Place / Reply Help me choose next pickup HSH set.

« Last post by greekdude on March 26, 2025, 07:40:33 AM »

Dear friends,
I got this new strat (partscaster), asian mahogany body, all maple scalloped neck, floyd rose trem (schaller).  At first this will be equipped by an old pair of ancient Seymour Duncan Livewires , the normal on the neck, the metal on the bridge, those are the ones with the 100k pots. So, I am looking for a nice HSH set that will replace the livewires, which are temporary. I already got :
1) A kramer 210, with original Seymour Duncan livewires (the regular ones, non-metal) , again with 100k pots
2) Ibanez ARZ800 with EMG81/60
3) Ibanez UV70p with Dimarzio Blazes
4) Aria Strat with Dimarzio Fast Track 2, Fast Track 1, The chopper, I have series/parallel push pull on both neck / bridge, + an "add bridge" switch which can produce a nice Telecaster tone (bridge + neck), especially on parallel mode.
5) Carvin DC135 with Dimarzio Super Distortion, original middle, Air Norton S , again neck and bridge have series/parallel push/pull
6) a partscaster with EMG 85/S/81 (85 in the bridge)

So this new one 7) will also be a partscaster , all maple scalloped neck, double locking, with some other goodies, such as nice heel access.

I would like to have standard strat tones + plus all the classic shred. I am not sure what to put in there. I don't want active again, not practical with a standard strat. What would you guys recommend ? any brand ? Just a nice balanced yet powerful HSH set.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Dimarzio Transition Bridge Review

« Last post by darkbluemurder on March 20, 2025, 04:21:52 AM »

My understanding of "dynamic" matches yours

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The Pickup Place / Re: Dimarzio Transition Bridge Review

« Last post by nienturi on March 19, 2025, 05:24:34 AM »

Hi. This is my review on Transition Bridge that covers tonal specs, comparisons with Al DiMeola Bridge& Norton, and why they deserve more credit. Hope you like it;

https://www.tonejourney.com/post/dimarzio-transition-dp255-review

Thanks for sharing your in-depth impressions with us. I've been considering trying out a Transition set since their original release; and your review reassured me of what I've long suspected, given the specs (it doubly helps that the ADM/202 happens to be my main preference to compare it to).

Thank you so very much for your kind words.

Very nice review, thanks for sharing. I can only comment on the bridge pickup, and I agree to the "balanced" verdict. As regards "dynamic" - my impression is that many people seem to confuse "dynamic" with "punchy". I would rather describe the bridge pickup as punchy.
Cheers Stephan

Thanks, my friend. It's hard not to agree with your observation about the confusion between "dynamic" and "punchy." I’ve been reading some very interesting comments lately, and just as you pointed out, certain terms often get mixed up.

When I talk about "dynamic," I approach it from the perspective of phrasing, meaning touch sensitivity and response to the volume pot.

To sum it up with two extreme examples: the Seymour Duncan Livewire might have been the most unresponsive pickup I've ever played. In fact, that's exactly why I don’t like active pickups — strong pick attack, light picking, or thumb technique — it makes no difference; the sound coming from the amp is always the same. Flat... And from my point of view, the volume pot is pretty much useless with such pickups. Especially under high-gain, it’s more like an on/off switch.

But for example, the Norton, which I recently reviewed, is a relatively dynamic pickup, even though it’s not underwound or low powered like Air Classic.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Dimarzio Transition Bridge Review

« Last post by darkbluemurder on March 19, 2025, 05:11:37 AM »

Very nice review, thanks for sharing. I can only comment on the bridge pickup, and I agree to the "balanced" verdict. As regards "dynamic" - my impression is that many people seem to confuse "dynamic" with "punchy". I would rather describe the bridge pickup as punchy.

Cheers Stephan

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The Pickup Place / Re: Dimarzio Transition Bridge Review

« Last post by mmmguitar on March 19, 2025, 02:59:02 AM »

Hi. This is my review on Transition Bridge that covers tonal specs, comparisons with Al DiMeola Bridge& Norton, and why they deserve more credit. Hope you like it;

https://www.tonejourney.com/post/dimarzio-transition-dp255-review

Thanks for sharing your in-depth impressions with us. I've been considering trying out a Transition set since their original release; and your review reassured me of what I've long suspected, given the specs (it doubly helps that the ADM/202 happens to be my main preference to compare it to).

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The Pickup Place / Re: Which Pickup Features Which Technique

« Last post by darkbluemurder on March 17, 2025, 05:45:42 AM »

Transition bridge - Dual Resonance
Transition neck - Dual Resonance

For completeness sake, here are the patent numbers:

Dual Resonance: 4,501,185
-Airbucker: 5,399,802
-Virtual Vintage: 5,908,998

I think there is a slight incorrect info here. Transition set has Virtual Vintage patent, not dual resonance

;From old website;

Wiring: 4 Conductor
Magnet: Ceramic
Output mV: 390
DC Resistance: 11.05 Kohm
Year of Introduction: 2012
Patent: 5908998
Pickup Dimensions

Many thanks, I updated the first post.
Cheers Stephan

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The Pickup Place / Dimarzio Transition Bridge Review

« Last post by nienturi on March 14, 2025, 06:10:10 AM »

Hi. This is my review on Transition Bridge that covers tonal specs, comparisons with Al DiMeola Bridge& Norton, and why they deserve more credit. Hope you like it;

https://www.tonejourney.com/post/dimarzio-transition-dp255-review

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The Pickup Place / Re: SSS Strat Pickup Combinations

« Last post by gregr on March 13, 2025, 01:52:19 AM »

This is just a brief update on the Fast Track 1 in the neck position.

While the pickup produces a good amount of treble it is devoid of chime regardless of which pot values you choose. I had hoped that I could partially split the pickup and combine it with an Area 58 in the middle for position 4 quack. Unfortunately it does not have enough top end to keep from sounding muffled. Favoring the red/black/north coil provides a slightly brighter tone over the white/green/south coil but it was still inadequate. So in place of neck + middle, I am combining the Fast Track 1 with the full humbucker in the bridge, which I find more useable.

I imagine position 4 would sound better using the full pickup with another Fast Track 1 in the middle, though I can’t imagine it will sound as good as a pair of Cruisers which already isn’t my cup of tea. I like the tone of the bridge Cruiser in the neck position by itself, but I don’t care for the diffuse sound that results when you combine it with another pickup. So in keeping with the context of this topic about SSS combinations, I would really only recommend the Fast Track 1 for the bridge position unless you’re willing to forego traditional Strat sounds. I still think it is a good choice if you want single coil-esque sounds that can keep up with a humbucker in an HSS or HSH configuration.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Which Pickup Features Which Technique

« Last post by nienturi on March 12, 2025, 06:56:16 AM »

Updated Transition bridge - I bought one new and it had all three patents on the label. However, I did not take it apart to verify airbucker and virtual vintage.

EDIT: edited the update again as the label reads: "This pickup features one or more of the following patents ...". That means that the label in itself does not tell which patents are used.

Cheers Stephan

I havent seen that post. So double post. Anyway, For old pickups, it better use wayback machine since old website reveals the patent(s) that was used for them. And i measured the pickup and Transition does not have dual resonance or airbucker