duncan vs dimarzio; whats the deal?!

[Orpheo]

as long as I can remember, I've been using seymour duncan pickups, with occasional visits to other companies, such as wizard, bareknuckle, or 'jon moore pickups'. the only dimarzio I still have is the air norton in a les paul, as a set.

but why? whats 'wrong' with dimarzio that puts me so off?!  My association with SD is that their pickups sound clear, transparant, articulate, and dimarzio's are a bit warmer, fuzzier, less dynamic, less transparant and a bit 'cheap'.

thats the same notion I get from the users at the duncan forum, but why? what spawned this separation/thought?

the reason I ask is because I want to buy a dimarzio superdistortion and an x2n and give them the 'hybrid treatement'. (swap coils). but I'm afraid that dimarzio's sound is just plain, dull and boring

 

[Doughboy]

Based on s friend's recommendation, I put an Air Norton in my first Warmoth. Hated it. Never had a desire to test out any of their other pups after that.

Wahat did you hate about the Air Norton? I was about to get one for my basswood soloist in the bridge position.

 

[Doughboy]

Having had Duncans & Dimarzios ia ton of different guitars, I'm a Dimazrio fan all the way. I think they're the most forward thinking PU company out there & their PUs sound amazing & the price can't be beat. I just had it with Duncans. Too inconsistent. The worst customer service I have ever had to deal with & they sound too mushy for me.

But it's really down to taste. Duncan & Dimarzio sell so many different PUs that there is something that will suit your tastes somewhere in their collection. i just had it with Duncan & go with Dimarzios now with no regrets. I just got a set of Area Ts in my tete & they sound amazing, dead quiet & less than $70 a PU.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

I got pickups from both company's I love. I have also tried pickups I didn't like from the two. I can't say that one company makes better products than the other  :icon_scratch:

 

[Superlizard]

I've done plenty o' Duncan and one DiMarzio (HS-3)... both fared well.

But personally, I'd prefer to shuck my hard-earned clams towards a private winder who'll
let me "have it your way" with every little specification... at least for buckers and P90's.

Singles I stick with Callahams.

 

[NLD09]

I just liked Dimarzio's prices and website design better.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Both Dimarzio and Duncan make excellent pickups. I use both.  My Strat has two Dimarzio Area 67s, and a Duncan at the bridge.
My ESP M-II has a Duncan (Air Norton)  at the neck and a Duncan at the bridge.
My Ibanez has a Dimarzio Fast Track-1 at the neck, and a Duncan at the bridge.
My Warmoth Soloist has a Dimarzio Fast Track-1 at the neck, and a Duncan at the bridge.

The only exception is my LP, which has Duncans at both neck and bridge positions.

You just gotta select the model that works best for the particular guitar in question, and for the particular position.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Based on s friend's recommendation, I put an Air Norton in my first Warmoth. Hated it. Never had a desire to test out any of their other pups after that.

Wahat did you hate about the Air Norton? I was about to get one for my basswood soloist in the bridge position.

The Air Norton is awesome for the neck position. I have never tried it in the bridge position. 

 

[dmraco]

I have had both.  Been using DiMarzios more though.  the EVO is a great all around PU.

I too was lured by their web design.  The PU quality kept me coming back.

 

[Stew]

Dimarzio are too expensive for non-US types like myself ... by the time it goes through a third party here in Oz it's cheaper to buy something boutique  ccasion14:

Duncan aren't cheap either but at least you can still find 'em on eBay where the seller will ship internationally ... Dimarzio put a stop to that 

 

[Jeremiah]

My experience is that there are a lot of pickups made by a lot of companies, and it is often impossible to say whether one is strictly better or worse than another. However, some work better for some guitars, players or musical styles.

I've never actually used a DiMarzio, but I'm sure there would be some I would like and some I would not. Unfortunately I find it is impossible to tell what a pickup will sound like in my guitars from the descriptions on a website or the YouTube clips of someone else playing them, so it's always a bit hit-and-miss until I actually try them.

 

[Cagey]

My experience is that there are a lot of pickups made by a lot of companies, and it is often impossible to say whether one is strictly better or worse than another. However, some work better for some guitars, players or musical styles.

I've never actually used a DiMarzio, but I'm sure there would be some I would like and some I would not. Unfortunately I find it is impossible to tell what a pickup will sound like in my guitars from the descriptions on a website or the YouTube clips of someone else playing them, so it's always a bit hit-and-miss until I actually try them.

Couldn't have said it better, although I have probably used as many DiMarzios as Duncans. Used lotsa other stuff, too. Rarely does anything sound the way it's described. You never know until you install it what it's going to sound like.

 

[Strat Avenger]

It's really trial-&-error, and after 25 years of trial-&-error (lots of pickups), I pretty much know what I like.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I have had one set from both, and I didn't think much of them.  Truth be told, I was trying something out with the SD's and it didn't work.  The DiMarzio is a tele pick up and it squeals like a banshee.  So, with my guitar endeavors I decided to look for more boutique pickups.  I have a set of Bare Knuckles, and they are nice, but ouch, that price hurts.  I have a set of Bill Lawrence (The Guy) and those are really fun at a good price.  I also dig the fact I have a set built by a guy that seriously shaped electric guitar history.  That is something that I tend to go for as well.  I have a set of Callaham/Fralin's in my strat and those are very nice, but again, ouch the price.  Then I got a seven string and was unimpressed with the standard EMG's that came with it.  So I talked to Troubled Treble (Roadhouse Pickups if you haven't heard), and he built me some customs for my seven.  The sound of the bridge is like the Bare Knuckle Nail Bomb, but less fizz in the middle.  And the neck pick up was a revelation for me.  Finally something that didn't sound like it was being smothered by a pillow.  Lots of "Slank" tone on open notes and that solid creamy tone for lead parts halfway up the neck.  And the price is quite reasonable, no, extremely reasonable.  So for the moment, I am sticking with the Roadhouse pickups.  I believe that the quality is equivalent with the other boutique-y pickups, the cost is much better, and the service for having them wound to make the noises in my head is unbeatable.  That being said, perhaps TT's vision covers the ground I like to tread on.  You might like something completely different.  But, I'm pretty sure he could figure it out for you.  Very musical and dynamic pickups, which is something I was looking for.

But to answer your original question, I don't know why some brands rub you the wrong way.  I do know it happens.  I guess you just have to assess if you are making a decision based on your annoyance with the brand versus the sound of the pickup.  Good luck with figuring it out.
Patrick

 

[dNA]

I love DiMarzio as a company. I haven't dealt with Seymour Duncan at all, but I will say that DiMarzio's customer service is better than anything I've encountered with any company in any industry period. On multiple occasions I have e-mailed their tech department with a wiring question on a saturday night and have gotten my response on Sunday morning. They have never questioned me when I've sent in my pickups for their 30-day exchange policy (and i"ve done this probably 6 or 7 times over the years.) They seem to be really enthusiastic about getting it right. I think this comes from them being a smaller company than SD and simply having that small business kind of mentality and vibe.



also, for the Air Norton - i think that pickup is awesome and has a lot of character. It's not the most versatile pickup ever - i think it needs to be used in brighter guitar for the most part. In the bridge of a bright guitar, I think it sounds excellent. It's more commonly known as a neck pickup guitar, because its just got a sweet character that works well for cleans as well as really vocal sounding melodic playing with saturated distortion

 

[keeper006]

  the EVO is a great all around PU.

I have more SDs too, but I have one with the Evo bridge and Tone Zone in the neck and it's a monster. But it varies from axe to axe with tonewoods, etc. These sound great in my Warmoth all mahog LP, didn't sound as full in the VIP with a maple top.