Petrucci's Pickup Preference

[visualrocker69]

Hi... I was just wondering, what was the reasoning behind Petrucci's transition from using a modified Steve's Special in the bridge position to his current D-sonic?

To me it seems strange... The D-sonic would have indeed worked well with the sound he was going for in Train of Thought... (so he was three years late)
... but now that he's finished dabbling with the Road King rig and is back to his trusty Mark IIC+ and Mark IV (supplemented with Lone Star for cleans) wouldn't it make sense for him to revert back to his old pickup?

From what I've heard, the Steve's Special is much... smoother. And several people who have grown to love its sound on the old JP models find the newer D-sonic to be too harsh and aggressive sounding... Is there any truth to this?

Also, on a side note... just what IS the modification he had done to the Steve's Special and Air Norton pickups? They're custom wound, right? To what effect?

Thanks!

 

[MN246]

I'm not sure why he changed or for that matter what was changed, but to my ears, the D-sonic has more balls. More bottom end and better harmonics.

 

[IVsakeN]

I actually did the same thing. I swapped out the SS for a Dsonic when I get my DUal Rec. Now I have a Triaxis set up and have yet to go back to the SS to try it out again.

 

[dannymusic]

I prefer the d sonic to the point of not wanting the prior models without it...

 

[MusicManJP6]

I would say the Steve Special being described as 'smooth' and the d sonic being described as 'aggressive' would be accurate. I don't think the d sonic is 'too harsh' by any means though. It is definitely a brighter sound, but more mids than highs compared to the SS... I like them both, but may prefer the smoother SS if forced to pick. I noticed on my Mark IV that the D-Sonic requires a slight EQ tweak to retain the tone heard when using the SS... (sorry if too confusing!)