Seymour Duncan Vrs. DiMarzio

[Ted]

Chocolate vs Vanilla

 

[GoDrex]

Speaking of the "Brown sound" let's talk a little more about that I heard something about how he took a bridge pickup from and old 335 then he took some surf board wax heated it up in a coffee can, dunked the pickup in it, let it cool and then he put it in one of his frankinstrats.

There's nothing mysrterious about this - it's called wax potting and it's done to most pickups to prevent microphonic squealing. EVH also claimed that he rewound his pickups by hand.

Back when VH was starting out they also lied about his age, making him younger than he really was.

 

[ironiguana]

SD and Dimarzio both make great pickups. I had a hard time deciding also so I just got more guitars to try them in   For support outside of just pickups (wiring, customizing, etc), SD is my preferred choice.

 

[HMstratocaster]

I'm familiar with potting though I don't think I would ever do that Eddie has made millions of ridiculous claims I just want to decide between DiMarzio's and Duncans now.

 

[DocNrock]

I'm familiar with potting though I don't think I would ever do that Eddie has made millions of ridiculous claims I just want to decide between DiMarzio's and Duncans now.

The vast majority of pups are potted these days.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I've had quite a few Dimarzio's over the years, including, Megadrive, Double Whammy, Super Distortion, Tone Zone, Fred, PAF Pro, Humbucker From Hell, Evolution, Evolution 7, Air Norton "S", D-Activator Neck 7, HS2, HS3, & Fast Track 1.

I'm diggin both Evo's, Air Norton "S", Fred, Fast Track 1,& the Humbucker From Hell the most. I liked the Megadrive, but it's been nearly 18 years since I've had one & don't quite remember what was great about it.  The Double Whammy had some serious punch, but a tad more emphasis in the treble that I desired.

The Tone Zone was a bit underwhelming.
I'm still trying to make up my mind about the D-Activator 7, I like the output, but am considering the Air Norton 7 for some of the single coil "quack" that it has, so both my main axes have the same pickup config.

 

[DocNrock]

I liked the Megadrive, but it's been nearly 18 years since I've had one & don't quite remember what was great about it. 

Ditto.  I have one in my "pickup graveyard."  I plan to do a VIP sometime down the road, and the Megadrive I have is slated for the bridge slot.  The Sustainiac I have will go in the neck.

Also, +1000 on the Humbucker from Hell.

 

[JWR]

Having gone through most of the Seymour Duncan line an several of the Dimarzio, I would say that I prefer Duncans in general from a tone perspective.  I am rather fond of the EVO though.

 

[Sixbender]

I've been playing pro electric for over 20 years, and I just don't get the whole pickup hype thing...maybe someone can educate me.

I've always thought that a pickup was simply a bobbin, a coil of a wire, and a magnet. Period. Sure, some can wind a certain way or another, but a scope on the bench can't tell the difference.

So, for a given magnet type, a given number of turns of a given size and type of wire...what difference does it make who put their name on it?
Within the given variables, they are all the same. If it's an alnico V with a resistance of  X, then I doubt 99 out of 100 people can hear the difference between brand names.

So it makes more sense to me to compare the specification / construction that to compare the name on the box.

I'd then buy the pickup from the person or company that I liked best. For what I know so far, I like the way Seymour approaches the biz, so I'll go with SD.

 

[tfarny]

I kind of half agree with you, but it still doesn't do away with branding even if you're 100% right - there are going to be differences in construction and materials between a duncan and a dimarzio PAF-style pickup, so discussing which brand is better is very legitimate because the companies are not making identical products. Maybe one company tends to make them the way that you like them to sound?
Check out this pickup comparison (you need good headphones to do this properly): http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/Strat_Pickup_Sound_Clips_W1.cfm

 

[GoDrex]

if the various flavors of pickups within one company sound different (JB sounds different from a '59 sounds different from an Invader) then why shouldn't pickups sound different from different manufacturers?

 

[Sixbender]

Sure, they can sound different between different manufacturers...but not primarily because they have a differnent name on them.

My point was that if a pickup has x number of turns of x size wire on a standard size bobbin, and uses a given type of magnet, there will be almost no difference in tone no matter whose name is on it. So, by knowing the specification, the brand name is a moot point.
It could be Di Marzio, Duncan, no name...it would be the same pickup as far as my ears (or most humans) can tell.

magnet type + dc resistance = a given tone, plus or minus some virtually insignificant percentage.

That doesn't mean that Dimarzio might use some combination of the variables that SD didn't try...but one of the other 100's of pup builders probably did. There are too few variables involved in passive pickup design to give favor to a particular manufacturer, based on that alone.

So, I'm still, so far, convinced that if I want the sound of a humbucker with alnico V and 14k ohms resistance, it really doesn't matter much who built it...at least when considering the mass-produced types.

 

[HMstratocaster]

Ya know I've been considering Making my own pickups...I know VERY BOLD and risky but check this out I found a place where I can buy stuff to make them cheap! 

The pickup comes with an Alcino V!
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Pickups:_Kits/1/Humbucker_Kit/Pictures.html#details
Coil wire:
http://www.stewmac.com/shopby/product/1462
Pickup Tape:
http://www.stewmac.com/shopby/product/5951
AND OMG I WISH I HAD ONE OF THESE!!!!
http://www.stewmac.com/shopby/product/1465

 

[guitlouie]

Time to talk to Troubled Treble!

 

[JWR]

Stew Mac is a resource for lot's of parts and tools as well as some competing products with Warmoth.  I do like some of their components.  I like their cheap generic 500k pots better than anything out there for some reason.  I have also envisioned having a winding machine and making pickups, then I thought about how finicky my customers would be.  I bought a custom wind from a guy that has been making a name for himself winding them.  I must have send 10 emails and then waited 12 weeks and the item cost like $55.  You really have to know what you want and what each component does to the sound to even think of a custom wind.  I got it and it wasn;t for me. 

 

[Vol. Knob]

Truthfullly it is not fair that I should vote on this.  I've never had a Dimarzio pickup in a guitar.  I've used Seymour Duncans many times (Jeff Beck, Custom, Hot Rails, Lil 59 and my favorite, Antiquity II for Telecaster Bridge), Rio Grandes once and Fender Vintage Noiseless once.  I recently traded my way into an '83 Squier Strat with a set of GFS, and this guitar has instantly become my primary ax.  And, of course, I've had plenty of guitars who's pickups remained stock.

That said, I'm a fan of many players, Metal and Other styles, who use and/or endorse Dimarzio.  I just started using Seymour's mostly as a result of having read interviews with him early on and got a good impression of his personality as well as the quality of his product.  Dimarzios are just as good, I'm sure, I've just not gotten around to sampling them.

 

[Sinner]

I've always gone for DiMarzio by default. I think it's maybe early programming. When I started playing in the late 70's DiMarzio was a brand of pickup even my drummer knew of. I've tried some Duncans, even have the Distortion in a couple of guitars but I have more DiMarzios and will always choose a DiMarzio first. There are no other Duncan's I'd want to try. It might be the way they market themselves too. Duncan seems a bit more on the vintage side where DiMarzio seems more modern or metal/rock and I'm more towards the metal/rock end.

 

[heavybluesy]

and the meeek shall inheeerit the earth.....BA DAAA BABA DAAA BA BU DAAA BA BU DA DAAAA.....

CLASSIC!