MusicManJP6
Well-known member
A friend and I installed a Crunch Lab and Liquifire in my standard JP6 this past weekend. I went from the original older pickups (pre-DSonic) to these new pickups. After seeing DT live last week (the same day the pickups arrived) I had a really good feeling about these new pickups. My only concern was the basswood body. After hearing these pickups I have no more concerns about that. 
FYI - I tried a D-Sonic once before (about a year ago) and did not like it. It was too over the top and did not balance well with the stock neck pickup. I could never EQ my amp to even out the two pups - it was always too dark on the neck or too bright on the bridge. And, it made the split middle position sound harsh...
I've not really had a ton of time to play with these pickups yet, but here's my first impressions. The first little session I had with them was right after the install and we had two JPs with original pickups around for comparison.
Crunch Lab: First off, this pickup is brighter (and hotter) than the original pickup (no real surprise here). But, it retains the tightness and focus while adding mids and treble. It feels more articulate and has more bite and seems to have a sharper attack that feels more 'urgent'. It is not harsh and the bass response is great and the tone is very balanced. I am finally able to turn the treble and presence down on my DC-3! I used to have to crank it with the other pickups. I think the added output and mids/treble response allows the amp to sound more natural and increases clarity. With the tone rolled back it smooths out more and blends nicely if needed. The tone pot is more musical with these pickups which was one of my complaints about the stock bridge pup compared to my PRS. The PRS still has a more usable tone pot, but these pickups helped this guitar's tone pot's usefulness for sure. With the volume rolled back it cleans up nicely for a hot pickup and is very musical throughout the range of the knob. Leads seem to pop off the fretboard while rhythms are tight and coherent.
Liquifire: Wow. This pickup smokes the stock neck pickup - hands down! It is hotter, but it also sounds brighter due to it's increased mids. I've actually never heard a neck pickup sound this good! It's brighter than most neck pickups, but it is still warm. It has a nice sparkle on the top end and is not too bassy. There is NO mud whatsoever. It is a very clear and still balanced sounding pickup. I would have no trouble using it for rhythms (and of course liquid leads). Notes seem to be drenched in overtones and harmonics. With the tone rolled back to half it takes on a very cool vocal quality. When the volume is rolled back to about 6 or 7 the dynamics are insane!
Overall: I really love how these pickups interact. They both sound equally awesome for leads AND rhythms (that's a first). You can start in the neck position and then hit the bridge and it just screams while continuing where the neck pickup left off. I have a push/pull pot installed on my JP and the split coil tones sound better than ever with these pickups! I think JP and DiMarzio did a great job with these pickups. Even if JP did not put his stamp of approval on these I would still think they sound better than any pickups I've heard in a long time. I'm back in love with my JP!
I'm working on creating some clips to compare the old pups to the new pups...
FYI - I tried a D-Sonic once before (about a year ago) and did not like it. It was too over the top and did not balance well with the stock neck pickup. I could never EQ my amp to even out the two pups - it was always too dark on the neck or too bright on the bridge. And, it made the split middle position sound harsh...
I've not really had a ton of time to play with these pickups yet, but here's my first impressions. The first little session I had with them was right after the install and we had two JPs with original pickups around for comparison.
Crunch Lab: First off, this pickup is brighter (and hotter) than the original pickup (no real surprise here). But, it retains the tightness and focus while adding mids and treble. It feels more articulate and has more bite and seems to have a sharper attack that feels more 'urgent'. It is not harsh and the bass response is great and the tone is very balanced. I am finally able to turn the treble and presence down on my DC-3! I used to have to crank it with the other pickups. I think the added output and mids/treble response allows the amp to sound more natural and increases clarity. With the tone rolled back it smooths out more and blends nicely if needed. The tone pot is more musical with these pickups which was one of my complaints about the stock bridge pup compared to my PRS. The PRS still has a more usable tone pot, but these pickups helped this guitar's tone pot's usefulness for sure. With the volume rolled back it cleans up nicely for a hot pickup and is very musical throughout the range of the knob. Leads seem to pop off the fretboard while rhythms are tight and coherent.
Liquifire: Wow. This pickup smokes the stock neck pickup - hands down! It is hotter, but it also sounds brighter due to it's increased mids. I've actually never heard a neck pickup sound this good! It's brighter than most neck pickups, but it is still warm. It has a nice sparkle on the top end and is not too bassy. There is NO mud whatsoever. It is a very clear and still balanced sounding pickup. I would have no trouble using it for rhythms (and of course liquid leads). Notes seem to be drenched in overtones and harmonics. With the tone rolled back to half it takes on a very cool vocal quality. When the volume is rolled back to about 6 or 7 the dynamics are insane!
Overall: I really love how these pickups interact. They both sound equally awesome for leads AND rhythms (that's a first). You can start in the neck position and then hit the bridge and it just screams while continuing where the neck pickup left off. I have a push/pull pot installed on my JP and the split coil tones sound better than ever with these pickups! I think JP and DiMarzio did a great job with these pickups. Even if JP did not put his stamp of approval on these I would still think they sound better than any pickups I've heard in a long time. I'm back in love with my JP!
I'm working on creating some clips to compare the old pups to the new pups...
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