Put the original pick up back in the silo

[ex3.8]

I tried a Tone Zone and did NOT like it!!!!
My rig is scarse of mids and the Zone just F..k it all up!!!
Anyway I am happy in a way because in 23 years this is the first stock pick up i like more than after market

P.S. About the trim pot.... It was adjusted perfectly for the guitar. It sort of works like a micro radio tuner.

 

[Jimi D]

Hey ex3.8 - what was it about the Tone Zone that messed up your rig? I would have thought that a solid output, mid-heavy pickup like a Tone Zone would be just what was needed in a rig that's "scarse of mids" I know that when I'm switching from my Silhouette with PAF Pros to one of my Axes, I really have to tweak the amp settings to adjust to the different pickups - generally I have to cut the mids quite a bit and tweak the treble and bass for the Axes. Maybe you should give the TZ a little more time - try out some new settings? I mean, it's such a pain in the butt swapping pups...

 

[ex3.8]

Well maybe i said it wrong! It sounded a bit ( I hate to use this term but) "muddy".
I was perfectly happy with the original pick up. I think i was so use to automatically swap pick ups when i get a guitar that i thought the grass was greener......
My other guitar has Bill Lawrence pick ups that seem to have a close frequency response and when i swithched from one to the other, i didn't like the diff.!!!!
I will try and return it and upgrade my tuner for the DT-10 lol!

 

[KungFu Grip]

I did the same thing with my Albert Lee. I wanted a bridge pickup with more bite, so I put in a Rio Grande Halfbreed. Two weeks later, I put the stock SD Alnico 2 back in and loved it.

 

[PurpleSport]

My basswood bodied Ibanez JEM originally had 2 PAF Pros, and I thought it was a little lacking as a lead pickup - sounds great in the neck, though - so I also did the ToneZone swap several years back.

I'm in agreement when it comes to not being into the TZ...I also found it too muddy/middy, or at least it was in my JEM.

In my experience, outside of the amp and pickups, the body wood and hardware are probably the biggest determining tone factors; my guess is all the mids in the basswood probably evened the Evo out for me, but mucked up the TZ. Methinks that's part of the reason why the Axis lead pickup sounds better is partially because those basswood bodies have a maple top, which adds some edgy high end into the equation that the similarly constructed JEM doesn't have.

Funnily, my brother put A TZ into his early 80s vintage Kramer superstrat (probably made of alder) and it sounded a heck of a lot better than mine did. Still there's something going on with the lower midrange and attenuated highs on that pickup that I'm just not fully into - could be a combination of hotness from the pickup wind combined with the TZ's alnico magnet, as I find I like the sound of the hotter ceramic magnet-ed Super Distortion much better. Hmmm...wonder if the magnet in the Axis is ceramic or alnico?

FYI: I did upgrade again to the Vai-approved Evolution for the JEM, and it was just what the doctor ordered. I hear some folks say that one's shrill, but it's not in mine...it's tight but balanced and the guitar is still pretty midrangy compared to the others in my collection. I'd recommend it next time you want to try another DiMarzio tone expedition; however, as I understand it, the other Vai pickup "The Breed" is actually fairly close to the specs of the ToneZone, so be wary.

 

[puppiesonacid]

i have an EVO in my ibanez artist and it is great. It really does cut through in live situations but sometimes can sound shrill. I actually prefer the NORTON in the bridge. To my ears the high prescence of the EVO just makes it too glassy sometimes. for all around great rhythm and lead tone the NORTON fairs better. It has more of the right stuff in it for lots of great distorted tones.


God bless,


Tony

 

[PurpleSport]

Puppies -

I've heard good things about the Norton too...gonna have to try one myself one day and see what the buzz is about.

Is yours the standard one, or the "Air Norton" version? Never tried anything that had their "Airbucker" series myself and wonder if the fuss is what it's made out to be...

 

[puppiesonacid]

yes mine is the STANDARD NORTON not the air norton. The standard, like i said before is great. I had in the bridge and it just absolutely rocked. I switched it out recently because the guitar it was in needed drastic repairs, so i am currently using it as a neck pick up in conjunction with the EVO in the bridge.

The sound is versitile at best. very good spilt combinations. Very stratty sounding even on my ibanez artist ( ala les paul style guitar) believe it or not hehe. it works well in both positions. The description about it being "nasty" in the bridge is a great way of putting it.

It has a Jerry Cantrell sorta grind (pun intended) to it. It can cover all style of rock/metal extremely well. Balanced, toneful and aggressive. I picked this pickup because of the description on Dimarzio's site( i use a 5150) and i wanted to get a pickup that people didnt seem to be going nuts about. I wound up getting my "secret" weapon, although not a secret anymore, and was very pleased.

Honestly i like it better than the EVO but i didnt want to just have the stock ibanez super 58 and a norton(outputs didnt match well) and i certainly wouldnt want to put the EVO bridge in the neck position ( although the experimenter in me really wanted to see what it would be like, even if it wound up being a failure) haha.

As for the air buckers, i have played an ibanez petrucci with the air norton in the neck and it was a good rounded neck pickup sound with good output. It too, like the standard Norton, can be used in the bridge but i haven't had money or the desire to really persue somthing like that merely on a whim.

When i emailed Dimarzio and told them i wanted pickups that would really be versitile and cover anything from Pantera, Dream Theater, Jazz, Fusion, King's X, Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, worship music, blues, Alice in Chains, U2, the police and whatever else im into... they told me the best combination would be the Air Zone and the Air Norton.

*** note*** i also was going to wire them the "petrucci" way, with the 4PDT, 3-position switch so that it would create a humbucking parallel single coil combination when in the center position.***


also... a friend of mine got a tone zone in the bridge after switching out an X2N. he didnt like it for a while but it grew on him. The thing with the standard Tone Zone is that it is bass and mid heavey with high output. It can sound muddy but after lots of tweaking it can grow on you and become an integral part of your sound. As for me, i really didnt care for it too much and was glad i bought the Norton over the Tone Zone.

Plus, in the description for the Norton it states that it is inbetween the Tone Zone and The Fred, which after reading the descriptions of each i felt that it was a superior pickup when compared to the Tone Zone and the Fred because it contained all of its strengths with no real quirky things about thier design/eq/output.

Its output is perfect for high gain rock/metal because it allows the distortion to breath just enough to really sing and be open. If there is nothing that i hate more is overly compressed distortion. if your a fan of the "brown sound" the Norton will help you to be well satisfied.
so i hope this helps you make a decsion.

man.... i should write for Guitar Player Magazine!!! hahahah



GOd bless,


Tony