[Rabelais]

Tomorrow I will pickup my guitar with a SD/PAF Pro combination and I’ll let you know. It’s a bolt on guitar (not a set neck), but it may be the way to go for a trebly guitar like the Flying V.

[gtrjunior]

From what I understand the PAF Pro isn’t quite as bassy as the 36th Anny. I’m curious to hear your thought on it @Rabelais

[123RnR]

Got the guitar back from the tech!



Just turning on the Blackstar HT-40 (with the settings I had). HOLY MOLY! The Super Distortion gave me the real KISS tone, very powerful and cool indeed! Boston, Def Leppard rhythm tone, Judas Priest, etc. I could even nail early EVH tones! The Transition, well.... it was dark, very EMG like, lacked spark, sterile sounding, very bassy, dry... It ain't the best neck pickup I have ever played... A day later (today) I gave it tries thru my Marshall MG15CD and the Blackstar HT-40.  The Transition has an amazing singing tone. Sounds more Slash than Slash with just the right push so the creamy sounds get out with punch not stuck. The Transition necks acts like a bridge pickup. It ain't a traditional sounding neck pickup, the leads are better than the ones in the Super D, it cleans up pretty well with the volume knob too, very good tracking too.

I believe this is a quite ''unbalanced'' combination. The Super D sounds amazing, but needs a more vintage pickup in the neck position. The Transition, well... maybe get paired with the Transition bridge?   I know the Transition will part from this guitar one day into another, but I will not sell it. It definitely offers something.  I'm actually thinking of using Super D for rhythm and riffs, Transition for solos and cleans; but both clean up pretty well.

The Duncan Custom SH-5 is definitely still one of my favorite pickups and the one I believe is closest to the Dimarzio Super Distortion. The SH-5 is darker with more thump in the bass, slightly less mids. The SD offers better cleans, but the SH-5 has better OD leads. Very interesting. 

 I believe the case at least on this guitar will continue...
The Transition would go to another guitar in the future. Just need something that's really a neck pickup, not a neck pickup pretending to be a bridge pickup.

[marytakesadrag]

Wow beautiful axe!  I like the Zebra/nickel combo too. 

I just wanted to echo the previous suggestions of the Super 2 or PAF Pro. 

But honestly my most fave "bright" neck pickup (from Dimarzio at least) that I've tried is the EJ Custom w/ polished A5 magnet (ceramic had too much bass and highs)... unfortunately, it would be too quiet for the SD.  But just an FYI if you ever wanted to try on a diff guitar, preferably Alder (which I tried with).

[123RnR]

Wow beautiful axe!  I like the Zebra/nickel combo too. 

I just wanted to echo the previous suggestions of the Super 2 or PAF Pro. 

But honestly my most fave "bright" neck pickup (from Dimarzio at least) that I've tried is the EJ Custom w/ polished A5 magnet (ceramic had too much bass and highs)... unfortunately, it would be too quiet for the SD.  But just an FYI if you ever wanted to try on a diff guitar, preferably Alder (which I tried with).

Thanks for your reply! I do believe the right pickup for this guitar would be the PAF Pro. The Super 2 sounds tempting, but I still haven't had any luck getting the right ''lead'' sounds out of this Super Distortion. It's the rhythm and riff king, but not so lucky on lead guitar (unless I want to rock out ''Detroit Rock City'').  The Transition neck can really deliver on those Slash type of tones with the right push. Sounds like a very compressed/dark/powerful neck humbucker, but very dry sounding. It's killer for fast stuff, but it acts more like a bridge pickup than a neck one. I really like something good for cleans and leads, that feels more ''alive'' than this. 

I do believe the Transition would be suitable in another guitar, possibly a long scale one, but the bass can be too much and it's ''dark'' in here. Very modern sounding too. It sounds like 70's, 80's with the Super Distortion and then suddenly  the EMG sound of Metallica!  WHAT!?