[thunderguy]

Hi there guys! I am thinking in getting a ESP LTD EC-1000 deluxe and change the pickups to DiMarzio but I don't really know what to choose since i don't really have much experience with pickups...
For the neck i want something warm/fat but that still handles a good amount of gain for solos without getting too muddy. For the bridge something that allows note clarity for high gain metal/hard rock stuff, pinch harmonics, etc. (maybe something like the iluminator/Titan but I'm not sure since i never played them).

I have looked at some and at the moment I am more inclined to this ones (feel free to add other pickups if you think they are better):
Neck:
-Evolution;
-Paf pro;
-Paf master;
-Liquifire;
-Air Norton;
-The Breed.

Bridge:
-Iluminator;
-Titan;
-Evolution;
-Crunch lab

What do you guys think? Btw keep in mind that i don't live in the US so it isn't that easy for me to just go to a store and try pickups.

[jazzfromhell]

If you want to go for metal tones and not much else then the Illuminators, Crunch Lab and Liquifire could all work. Titan I havent played so I cant comment on that. For full-on metal Id also look into the D-Activators set; awesome for metal and surprisingly versatile and dynamic.

Evolution Bridge I'd stay away from. Lets just say it's an aquired taste, its got a very piercing upper mid peak.

If you wanna be able to do rock/hard rock as well as metal then the Breeds are pretty cool. Maybe an Evo 2/Evolution neck combo?

Air Norton is a very warm, round neck pickup. It goes great together with a Tone Zone in the bridge.

Also the Transition set if you're on the more rock/hard rock side of things rather than 'metal'. Extremely versatile pickups, I love em.

Unfortunately its impossible to know whats gonna work for you. Its always easier when you already have a pair of Dimarzios to recommend other Dimarzios Go with your gut instinct and get the pair you think will work best but don't expect to get it exactly right the first time, but at least then you have something to compare with. Good luck!

[thunderguy]

Thanks for the reply! I still want some sort of versatility in the pickups (to play cleans and some tasty blues), so that probably leaves the ones you mentioned out of the list, so basically something like this:
-evo2(bridge)/evolution (neck);
-tone Zone/air norton;
-The Breed/The Breed.

What do you think of the paf master (vintage output) and paf pro (medium power) for the neck? they cant take high gain for solos?

[jazzfromhell]

The three pairs you´ve listed can be described (very simplified) as:

- evo2/evo: The most aggressive of the bunch
- TZ/AN: The fattest and warmest
- Breed: Somewhere in between

Of course you can play aggressive music on the TZ/AN (in fact, the TZ is my favorite Dimarzio bridge humbucker and I do a lot of metal), and the Evos can do softer tones as well.

The PAF Pro is one of my all time favorites in the neck position. It can take all the gain you throw at it and then some; its clear and articulate. Used by many 80's guitar heroes like Vai, Gilbert, Satriani etc. In fact the Evo neck is sometimes described as a slightly more modern-sounding PAF Pro.

PAF Master I havent tried but it has a lot lower output compared to the Pro. Me personally I wouldnt go that low (vintage output) for hard rock/metal tones but YMMV.

Also don´t miss the sub-forum Everything you wanted to know about.... which has detailed discussions on most of the DMZ pickups.

[thunderguy]

Ok so for now I will probably buy the evo2/evo combination. thanks alot for the help!