Dimarzio? Flowers for me? Why, I do declare!

fdesalvo

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I never ever get excited about domestic pickups.  Well, never ever is an exaggeration, but it's been a solid 5 years of loyalty and patronage with Bare Knuckles.  I scoffed and mocked Dimarzio.  I chuckled at Duncan behind his back.  I farted in their general directions. 

But now - a gamble has payed off in dividends well beyond my expectations and hopes!  This is a revelation for me! 

BBQ Floyd has the following pickups installed and wired to a traditional 5-way strat configuration with an SPST switch added to ground a bridge coil:

Bridge: Breed
Middle: Area 67
Neck: Virtual Vintage 54 Pro

Note!  I planned on "getting by" with these and swapping in my BKs or Duncan Antiquity Texas Hots later down the line, but that will not be! 

These all play so well together and as individuals.  Completely noise-free and full of sparkle, grit, and tone!  All of my favorite Strat sounds are there - all the classics without hum. 

The Breed is really balanced in this guitar - it's fat and smooth with nice bite. No papery or honking mids.  Not a H.O. pickup by any stretch - just a nice overwound PAF that's just got a touch of compression and it splits beautifully into a jangly and dynamic single coil tone without losing volume. Doesn't sound like Vai. Excellent notch sounds in the #4 position with the Area 67. 

The Area 67 is known for producing bright and sparkling single coil tones - and it's lives up to its reputation.  It's pure hum-free "The Sky is Crying" tone.  Not too bright in my guitar - just the right amount of cut with no piercing tones.  Output really balances well with bridge for no perceived loss of volume.  Really plays well with the VV 54 Pro.

The Virtual Vintage line was succeeded by the Area products, but it's not for lack of tone.  The VV 54 Pro is often used in the bridge position, where a fatter, more rounded tone is needed.  I took a gamble using it in the neck slot after reading the remarks of a few pioneers who did just that with good results.  How's it sound in my guitar?

Amazing!  It's woody with a lovely sparkle to the edge - like a good single coil would have.  There's a chewy and smokey smear to the tone with a little drive that puts it right into the TX Blues camp, but it's no one trick pony.  It sounds great dead clean, too.

I'll post up some tones soon.  I can't believe I'm in love with stacked single coils.  To make a direct comparison with the Bare Knuckles and Duncan Antiquities in my other guitar(s), I'd say these are more powerful than the Duncans and they do a much better job of balancing with a humbucker.  The Duncans have a low-output sweetness that is unmatched by many, but there's nothing pulling me away from these Dimarzios in this application. 

The Dimarzios directly compare to a blend of BK Mother's Milk and 63 Veneer sets, being a bit closer to the latter from an apparent EQ perspective.  That said, I've never fallen in love with any BK middle pickup - it's always been about the neck.  I LOVE the Area 67 in the middle.  For the first time in all my years as a Strat guy, every position on the switch is utterly usable and toneful. 

I'm very excited about this guitar.  It's the total package in my mind: weight, balance, tone, feel, sustain, tuning stability, aesthetics, and playability live in the same instrument! 

As an aside, in another post I mentioned the lack of dynamics.  The issue ended up being a poor quality volume pot.  The volume taper is terrible, so it will be replaced at some point.  Shame on you, Bourns!

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I told ya!  :icon_thumright:


The Breed is my favorite DiMarzio pickup.
 
double A said:
I told ya!  :icon_thumright:


The Breed is my favorite DiMarzio pickup.

Consider thyself validated!  I should've given you credit, because your recommendation pushed me over the edge on it.

Man, it's crazy to be at the end of this project. It's the same soul-sucking vacuum that ensues at the end of the final episode on a Netflix binge.  Now I can finish my amp and possibley make a baby with my wife.
 
You know what man? I respect that SD took the scientific route when doing the A/B test, basically same guitar, same player, same amp, same settings, same lick etc

...but sometimes...

...sometimes man, IN ADDITION to the science of maintaining the control with all those sound clips, sometimes I just wish someone would fudging ROCK a pickup to the maximum of its capabilities, variables be dimmed, to show just what that pickup is capable of, in any aspect, either clean, grit, high gain etc.
 
The Breed is definitely a winner. Fender used a variation of them for a limited run of carved top, set neck, HH Telecasters and that version of them has now become something of a rare collector's item; the guitars may have been made in a standard Korean factory, but those pickups sure were something special.
The standard Breed itself seems to go with everything. The PAF Pro was supposed to be that jack-of-all pickups for DiMarzio, but it's always been a little too lead-focused. The Breed Neck fixed that, and the Breed Bridge is the finest example of a pickup being wound hotter/cooler to compensate for a change in position without changing the character of the pickup.

I'm not a big DiMarzio fan by any means, but the Breed is one they definitely got right and I'll gladly put in any guitar.
 
Dimarzio and Duncan may be the Wal-mart and Target of pickup manufacturers, but they do have a few gems. The aforementioned Breed is dank as balls, but go ahead and call me cray cray - I think the Invader from Dunky is fab, even for non-metal stuff. Just put it a little lower than you would normally. But I find most Duncans just too bright sounding. I was very surprised by the Blackouts, though - really well balanced.
 
I'm a big fan of the Dimarzio Area series, and Injector (neck) pickups.
It's funny how some people think of Dimarzio & Duncan as generic "Walmart" pickups. Wnen tthey started out on the '70s, they were boutique manufacturers, and the only places to get a non-generic guitar pickup. They still make some of the best pickups in the world, and that boutique snobery is ridiculous.
 
Street Avenger said:
I'm a big fan of the Dimarzio Area series, and Injector (neck) pickups.
It's funny how some people think of Dimarzio & Duncan as generic "Walmart" pickups. Wnen tthey started out on the '70s, they were boutique manufacturers, and the only places to get a non-generic guitar pickup. They still make some of the best pickups in the world, and that boutique snobery is ridiculous.


Agreed. SD and DiMarzio are my favorite pickup brands, and the pickups they build are as good as anything out there. But as they say: familiarity breeds contempt. They are easy to get, and affordable....so there must be something wrong with them....right?  :icon_scratch:
 
BroccoliRob said:
Dimarzio and Duncan may be the Wal-mart and Target of pickup manufacturers, but they do have a few gems. The aforementioned Breed is dank as balls, but go ahead and call me cray cray - I think the Invader from Dunky is fab, even for non-metal stuff. Just put it a little lower than you would normally. But I find most Duncans just too bright sounding. I was very surprised by the Blackouts, though - really well balanced.

I know this is old, but I'e just come across the replies - been a while, Gents.

BroccoliRob - Best username/avatar combo ever. 

I've moved on since the Breed and tried the Gravity Storm again - prob my favorite overall DiMarzio, but it sounded better in my S540LTD.  After this I installed the Satchur8.  Holy chewy goodness!  This is an excellent pickup in much the same vein as the two predecessors, but it's Alnico 8 mag gives it a very fat and organic tone while maintaining good compression.  Doesn't have that typical, "I'm a signature pickup" sound that hems you in to one style.  This guitar will stay as is.  I've got an RG that's going to get some BK Juggs for heavier project work (not Djent - yech). 
 
Update for me too: I've become a huge fan of the Suhr Aldrich pickup. Really, really like that pickup.
 
Duncan, Lace, Lawrence, and Fralin are the units I play and swear by (for the most part).
Used to be a big Larry D fan, but no more.
 
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