- Thread starter fatoni
- Start date
what's wrong with d-sonic? There was a post about this in past and the conclusion was to try set your rig before changing the pickups...I actually can't imagine better pickup for myself then D-Sonic in bridge position. But everything depends on your expectations
shredderbetter
Well-known member
I'm with ya' on the d -sonic not the worst pickup I heard but VERY plain soundining!I own quite a few pet's and will vouch the dimarzio tone zone is GREAT nice definition clear chords amazing single notes and tons of gain!~breeds and evo's are cool but I really like tone zones and fred's! both sound like I would want the van~vai~satch sound who could ask for more??PLUS dimarzio offers a rerurn policy to exchange pickups if you don't like the sound!I haven't sent one back yet!
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WAYYYYTOOOOOMANY guitars to list!
shredderbetter - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
WAYYYYTOOOOOMANY guitars to list!
OT - I've been using some Duncans and EMG's for a quite a long time. I thought they were great...yeah they were, but DiMarzio seems to be the best choice for me. I played on EVO's and they are ok, but not so stunning as D-S. Just in my opinion.
BUT I thought about what you said about that muffed sound. What cabinet do you have? As far as I remember mar IV is rather bright one, so it's weird to get that muff...I'm not an ace in amps without hearing them, but maybe it's time to check out your tubes? If you don't like your Mark IV I can trade with you wtih my ADA MP-1 and Mesa 2:90 (custom rebuild) Even if your Mark is broken (which I hope isn't)
BUT I thought about what you said about that muffed sound. What cabinet do you have? As far as I remember mar IV is rather bright one, so it's weird to get that muff...I'm not an ace in amps without hearing them, but maybe it's time to check out your tubes? If you don't like your Mark IV I can trade with you wtih my ADA MP-1 and Mesa 2:90 (custom rebuild)
Even if your Mark is broken (which I hope isn't) well i could use some new tubes but thats not the problem. i have a 93 ibanez s470 and it sounds great. my cab is the mesa 112 widebody. and i thought that petrucci changed to d-sonics when he switched from a mk iv to the road king for the thousandth time. so it seemed to me that they might not be the best match. which is a shame becaue the jp is the best guitar ive ever felt and the mkiv is the best amp ive ever heard (just not togeher). hopefully some new tubes will fix this but the pickup change would allow me to put a dsonic in my ibanez which is tuned to c standard now that i have the jp
[edit: oh, by the way: JP switched back to the mark iv for the recording of systematic chaos, fyi]
you cannot expect to plug entirely different guitars with different pickup configurations, etc... into a single amp and get the exact same sound with either guitar without making any changes to the settings on the amp...
like i/we said before, you should try dialing in some new tones on your mark iv with the new guitar before deciding to immediately rip the pickups out...
i don't have a JP6 so i can't speak about the d-sonic from personal experience, but based on JP's tone over the years i prefer his steve special tone over the d-sonic, personally IMHO, but his change in tone could probably have much more to do with the changes to his rigs, amps, and settings he's also made over time... not to mention his playing style has changed over the years too
if you have not even tried dialing in the tone you're looking for on your mark iv with the new guitar then you could just be wasting your own time and money by replacing the pickups
btw... mesa boogies can be tricky to dial in tone on... have you played with your mark iv much at all in general?
whenever people say they are unhappy with the sound of their gear... my first question is always and will always be:
what kind of sound are you looking for? (name a section from a song by a popular artist or something that we can listen to for reference to help guide you a little bit better rather than trying to guess at what you're trying to accomplish... help us help you)
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well ive had the mesa and the ebmm together for over a year. the ibanez is the new guy. i play with the mesa alot and it just seems that the way the mids are voiced when using the petrucci are kinda hazy. im just looking for more midrange punch and definition without it getting piercing. i cant really think of anyone i want to emulate with this guitar. i just dont want it to sound gritty but when i fix that it sounds lifeless.
roburado
Well-known member
I think it's almost pointless to discuss what one can do to change tone. Sure, guitars make a difference. Pickups can make a difference. Amps and amp settings can make a difference. Subjectivity comes into play as well. There are so many factors.
But, I kind of understand what you mean when you talk about the grittiness of the sound. I don't know about a Mark IV, but the Recto series has a lot of grittiness to their sound to my ears. I use the word "grainy" to describe it. It bugs the crap out of me.
Personally, I like the Egnater Mod 50 with just about any of its high-gain modules over the Recto series or just about any other Mesa I've tried. The gain is there. The punch is there. The definition is there. There's also a clarity that I think is lacking in most of the Mesas I've tried. There's a certain purity to the tone. I can't say enough good things about the Egnater Mod 50. I imagine the Mod 100 is the same. It's just 50 louder.
Back to the JP pickups. I think the D-Sonic sounds fantastic through the Mod 50.
But, I kind of understand what you mean when you talk about the grittiness of the sound. I don't know about a Mark IV, but the Recto series has a lot of grittiness to their sound to my ears. I use the word "grainy" to describe it. It bugs the crap out of me.
Personally, I like the Egnater Mod 50 with just about any of its high-gain modules over the Recto series or just about any other Mesa I've tried. The gain is there. The punch is there. The definition is there. There's also a clarity that I think is lacking in most of the Mesas I've tried. There's a certain purity to the tone. I can't say enough good things about the Egnater Mod 50. I imagine the Mod 100 is the same. It's just 50 louder.
Back to the JP pickups. I think the D-Sonic sounds fantastic through the Mod 50.
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didnt zappa call out van halen out on his tone until one day he played his rig and it sounded like zappa and not van halen? anyways, yeah i got that much figured out but its not all in the fingers or head or player or whatever. i just figured that chaning the pickups would be cheaper than changing my fingers. i like my tone when i play other guitars. the petrucci isnt bad but doesnt mean i cant try to make it better
awesome find, thanks!
lonewolf74
Well-known member
I have usually heard this story told with Ted Nugent's name in place of Frank Zappa's. But the point stands - a player's "voice" usually comes more from their hands and the vocabulary of scales / riffs / techniques they've developed.
