Question GFS P'ups. Yay or Nay?

[metal_terrorist]

I already started this fire on The Gear Page. Just wanted to opinions of the discerning crowd here on EBMM.

I have DiMarzios and I dig them but I wanted to try some new sounds. I have no idea if I want the PAF sound or Vintage or what. I have no idea. Only thing I don't like about my current set of DiMarzios is that with the ToneZone coil-tapped is real quiet.

 

[TNT]

Hey Metal,

What MM guitar do you have?
What, "generally speaking", cover music style do you want to emulate?

I like DiMarzio pickups, they are EXCELLENT with Ernie Ball Strings and MM guitars. I like to periodically change out pickups in my guitars. Let me know.

 

[metal_terrorist]

Currently I'm in 2 bands. One is musically along the lines of Opeth.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UpH3qhP_UE]YouTube - Opeth - Bleak (Roundhouse Tapes)[/ame]
Check the first 30 seconds and around 4:30 on. That kind of light/heavy range.


The other is along the lines of Russian Circles.
Here's a clip of a jam session we did. It's really ghetto and totally improv'd. That's a 10mb+ mp3 so it might take a while to start.
http://www.metallyguitarded.com/mp3/iby/N8Mix-giants_of_eden.mp3


Right now I have a Silo w/Floyd with a DiMarzio Evo in the bridge and a Tone Zone in the neck both wired to a 5-way blade with coil taps at pos 2 & 4. Pos 3 is off as I have no middle pickup and I can't think of a way to wire another combo of the 2 HB's with the stock 5-way.

I'd like to add a middle single coil and change the ToneZone. I like the ToneZone as a humbucker but when I split it the single is a LOT quieter than the Evo when it's split. The Evo and the ToneZone both is HB mode are very even.

My main issue is that I don't know what single-coil to get. I've read website after website and it's all run together to the point where all I see is vintage noiseless single coil or vintage single coil. I was looking at the DiMarzio Area 58/61/67 family but again, I don't know what I want entirely so I'm tempted to just get a GFS and just see what's what.

Then I got to thinking that these would look awesome in my guitar...
Mean 90- True Alnico P90 Pickup in Humbucker Case, Our FATTEST

I guess the thing I'm worried about is that the ToneZone and Evo are so articulate and harmonic and I'd hate to lose that. However my 'hi-fi' tendencies are at odds with the 'tried and true vintage' classic designs.

Seems that most of the DiMarzios available with Chrome covers are all much lower output.

I have a PittBull 45 that gets a good amount of gain but as it is, to get where I want it for the heavier stuff, I gotta use a boost/OD. I'm worried that stepping down the power via the GFS Mean 90s or low/med power DiMarzios might be detrimental.

On the other hand, the guys in Opeth use stock PRS's so....

 

[TNT]

Yeah, I have a Pittbull CL/100 head with the 4X12 Fatbottom cab. I'm going to experiment around with a "Zone" in the neck position, like you mentioned. I think that may give me a certain sound I've be after for some time.

 

[metal_terrorist]

Yeah, I have a Pittbull CL/100 head with the 4X12 Fatbottom cab. I'm going to experiment around with a "Zone" in the neck position, like you mentioned. I think that may give me a certain sound I've be after for some time.

I was told by quite a few people that the ToneZone had way too much bass even in the bridge and that it would be ridiculous in the neck. Mine is an older one for sure and it's a little bassy but I just lowered it a tad and it's great! Most people that hear that think I love bass or something is horribly wrong cause they say it has too much bass in the bridge position. I put it in the bridge first because that's where DiMarzio and all the reviews I read said it had to go because of the bass but it had very little bass in the bridge spot of my silo. On the other hand, the Evo bridge pickup was bass overload x 100 in the neck position. Despite it going against convention it works very well for me other than the volume difference on the coil taps. I may end up getting GFS pickups ( 1 HB and a SC ) just to see how they compare. For the money, I can't really see a reason not to.

 

[TNT]

Thanks for the info on the EVO in the neck position. I'm going to experiment around here a little more here with some bridge pickups in the neck position and see what I come up with.

The sound that I'm after is (generally speaking), my bridge pickup with the voulme knob on 10 & tone knob on 7 1/2.

Today I changed our my bridge pickup on my Axis and put in an EVH Wolfgang bridge pickup. DESTROYS - literally!!!! It's sic!!!!

That's the one thing that's unbeatable about the Axis, it goes "great" with any pickup, and seems to just bring out the very best in the Dimarzio's. I'll be giggin' with this guitar for awhile.