[fint]

Hi all!

I've been playing guitar for a couple years now (pretty new to it).  I made the mistake of messing around with guitars at the local Sam Ash and fell in love with feel of the sterling by musicman albert lee HH model (the $400 one, not the big boy one).

The only thing I didn't love about it was largely the sound in the bridge.  Neck was OK, but the bridge was really anemic.  Too thin.

So, I did some research and since the music I like to play is middle of the road for tone (buckethead, van halen, offspring, any 80's lol).  It sounds like an Air Norton bridge and Tone Zone bridge might be a good combo.

I've been reading how people love/hate the tone zone, but would be interested in those of you that have some experience with this stuff to sound off on the sound of a tone zone in a 22 fret, mahogony bodied guitar with a trem.

Also opinions of the air norton would be welcome.

Is this thing going to be a nightmare?  Thanks in advance!

[DarthPhineas]

the Albert Lee HH model is known to have the same set as the EBMM Axis/EVH, which are not available as a direct sale.  I don't know if that applies to the $400 one you played.  DiMarzio suggests the closest thing to the Axis/EVH set is the Tone Zone and Air Norton.  some agree, some not so much.

the Tone Zone could be a cure for a thin sounding bridge pup.  I've tried the Tone Zone S in a mahogany guitar and thought it was just fine. 

you could also consider the Super D as an option.


neck position options always seem to open up a can of worms.  I'm mostly an 80s type dude and I like the Dominion neck and the Bluesbucker in the neck

[fint]

Thanks for your input, yeah I'm also a child of the 80's and love that sound.  The $400 one has some custom pickups made by Sterling.  They aren't terrible, but they also aren't great.  I feel better knowing that you liked Tone Zone in a mahogany body. 

It just seems like the complaints against mahogany and that pickup have been too much bass or it's too muddy. 

[DarthPhineas]

Thanks for your input, yeah I'm also a child of the 80's and love that sound.  The $400 one has some custom pickups made by Sterling.  They aren't terrible, but they also aren't great.  I feel better knowing that you liked Tone Zone in a mahogany body. 

It just seems like the complaints against mahogany and that pickup have been too much bass or it's too muddy.

So many factors that it’s hard to tell. What amp, cab, speakers, effects, string gauge, tuning, style of music, playing style, etc. all come in to play.

I try to avoid a lot of demo videos, but if you can find one comparing the TZ to another pickup that you already know, that might help.

[greenlion]

I like the Tone Zone and the Air Zone, but I have always thought the Air Norton was a mud bomb. I like the Paf Pro and Paf Joe better.

[fint]

Yikes, I figured the air norton wouldn't be the issue lol.

I know all of this is personal taste.  If the Norton turns out to be too muddy, I'll take a peek at the air zone.  Thanks for the advice.

[darkbluemurder]

Tone Zone has a lot of output and a certain kind of sizzle on top. I had mine in two different guitars, hated it in one (a Les Paul) and found it OK in the other (a bolt-on neck). I preferred the Breed bridge - similar midrange color but less of that sizzle. My favorite bridge pickup from DiMarzio so far is the AT-1 but through my rig I have heard it only in one guitar but it is not coming out of that one.

The Air Norton is a good match in the neck output wise but it is a rather dark pickup. I preferred the Breed neck over it as it is more articulate to my ears. That is a hot neck pickup as well. Usually I go lower output for the neck pickups (my favorite DiMarzio full size humbucker being the Bluesbucker so far) but that is personal preference. If you buy new get yourself informed about the exchange policies available to you in case you are not happy with your first choice.

Cheers Stephan

[buddroyce]

The Tone Zone and Air Norton combo is a tried and true set. Overall the combo is fairly dark. It's great if you have a brighter sounding amp though. For what you're doing you might be better off with a Norton or AT-1 in the bridge.

Come to think of it the Transition set would also work pretty well for you.

[Strobe]

I've got the AN / TZ set (true velvet single in HSH configuration) in an Ibanez RG655. For those not aware, it's a basswood bodied RG (the pointy horned super strat shape), maple super wizard bolt on neck, rosewood board, with an edge tremolo. This is the only guitar I have a lot of experience with them in, so I cannot really comment about how it would be in mahogany. First off, what folks say about them being dark is at least true of the tone zone. It's dark - that said, I have found that with most amps you can just adjust the EQ to get it less dark to great effect, and the overall darkness does have the benefit of leads sounding good on this pickup all the way up the neck. If you really gravitate towards very bright pickups, this probably is not the best choice for you, but if you ever find your bright pickups to sound kind of harsh, then this will likely fix it. Regarding the Air Norton, it's not that dark to my ears. A Gibson 490R - that's dark. The Air Norton seems to have a fair amount more high end compared to that. It is not nearly as bright compared to a Jazz, but it has a lot more body to it, and seems to sustain better. A Seymour Duncan Jazz has the edge clean and is super clear, it just can sound plinky sometimes. The Air Norton can get a lot more fluid. I would say it's bright enough, especially with some gain where I feel it outperforms the Jazz.

Back to the tone zone, I did a little comparison yesterday. I ran both the Tone Zone in my RG655 and the SD Custom 5 in my ESP Horizon 3 (maple neck through, alder wings, carved maple top, ebony board). The custom 5 is a very tight pickup. It's a bit scooped with a PAF-ish kind of EQ profile. It has a lot of highs, and a lot of attack. For a medium to high output pickup, it's very clear. I chose these two to A/B because they are both Alnico 5 medium-high output pickups, but with a *very* different EQ profile. The Tone Zone is described as having a 8.5 bass / 8.5 mids / 5 treble EQ curve, whereas the Custom 5 is more like a 6 bass / 3 mids / 8 treble pickup. Back to back, the Custom 5 is definitely clearer on chugging rhythms. The Tone Zone definitely sounds huge in comparison. The chugs are less defined, but they have more of a gut punch than the scalpel of the custom 5. When it comes to lead work, they both sound great to my ears, albeit very different - the tone zone being thick with an "awww" sound to it, and the custom 5 being more focused with a nice singing quality. What really surprised me, and part of the reason I am writing this is when it came to more complex chords. The custom 5 has a clearer attack, but the Tone Zone actually has way more note separation than the custom 5 when playing beyond two note power chords. This is why I disagree with some assessments of the Tone Zone as being muddy. It's actually the opposite when set up at the right height. The custom 5 is a very clear pickup (for a passive). The tone zone is clearer than that under high gain (I was using a 5153 on blue channel). I heard all the notes on the tone zone whereas it actually started to get a little bit muddy on the custom 5 (gain was pretty saturated). Props to Dimarzio for designing a passive pickup that can do this.

AN / TZ set is definitely not for everyone, and it's a little annoying how nearly every high end Ibanez has this set and only this set as an option, but if you don't mind some EQ changes on your amp, and don't gravitate towards the brightest of the bright tones, it can be a very nice set.

[fint]

Thanks again for all the great feedback guys.

So finally everything came in and I can say that this pickup combo on the SBMM Albert Lee sounds great!  I initially was worried about it sounding like a mud bomb, but it doesn't.

Great low end and each note is articulated quite well.  Thanks again for everyone that chimed in!