Which Dimarzio...?

[yngzaklynch]

I have a JP6 BFR with the the D Sonic and the neck pickup that used to come on these guitars. hich Dimarzio is this neck pickup most like? My guess is The Humbucker From Hell.

 

[petruccirocks02]

Its based on the Air Norton. Supposedly, its a modified version of that.

-Phil

 

[GoKart Mozart]

Wow...never realized that there were two MM signature guitars with neck pu's based off the Air Norton (the other being the EVH/Axis of course).

 

[Andrew Whitmore]

I have a JP6 BFR with the the D Sonic and the neck pickup that used to come on these guitars. hich Dimarzio is this neck pickup most like? My guess is The Humbucker From Hell.

On Images and Words, John Petrucci used a Tone Zone in the Bridge and a Humbucker From Hell in the Neck. The HFH, has a bubbly, clean distorted sound, that ensured that any fast runs and alternate picked passages. But when Petrucci started touring for Images and Words, supposedly, there was too many lower mids, and things started to mud out. This is probably true because if you listen to the Live In Tokyo DVD, his tone was very, very middy and had a lot of lower honk. Petrucci's next move would be to the SFP (Steve's Favourite Pickup) and the Norton Lite - AKA the Steve's Special and the Air Norton. My guess for the neck pickup change was that there wasn't enough punch behind the HFH and that the Air Norton had better harmonics. Also, having two brighter pickups ins't as versatile as one warm pickup and one bright one.

Its based on the Air Norton. Supposedly, its a modified version of that.

-Phil

It's a trite brighter and it is also louder.

Wow...never realized that there were two MM signature guitars with neck pu's based off the Air Norton (the other being the EVH/Axis of course).

People don't give enough credit to the Air Norton. Many people reckon it sounds flat and boring. I disagree totally. With many, many hours of little adjustments it can sound great. Flipping the pickup around, height adjustment, and polepiece adjustment are great ideas for this pickup in particular.

 

[Tung]

So, to continue, where do we stand as far as the Liquid Fire? I had the CL/LF installed recently, just loving the tone. It's the best Dimarzio set I've owned for over 20 years using Dimarzio pups.

 

[D.K.]

Whoa, Andrew, now I know who to ask about Dimarzio!

Could You share some insight (if You have any special knowledge on this) how the first EBMM JP Petrucci Pickups came about and what was the reason for the change to the D-Sonic? And now back again - tonewise - into the direction of the original PUs?

he reason asking is my DDII has the new set, which to my ears is a step back into the direction of the custom wound JP pickups to be found on the earlier pets - which I love. The othe pet I have has the D-Sonic and that PU-set sounds meaner, more aggressive and brighter, while the newer set is more "cultivated" again.

 

[Andrew Whitmore]

Whoa, Andrew, now I know who to ask about Dimarzio!

Could You share some insight (if You have any special knowledge on this) how the first EBMM JP Petrucci Pickups came about and what was the reason for the change to the D-Sonic? And now back again - tonewise - into the direction of the original PUs?

he reason asking is my DDII has the new set, which to my ears is a step back into the direction of the custom wound JP pickups to be found on the earlier pets - which I love. The othe pet I have has the D-Sonic and that PU-set sounds meaner, more aggressive and brighter, while the newer set is more "cultivated" again.

Quote from IHeartGuitar interview with John Petrucci.

"IHG: The decision to make [The CL and LF] available to everyone was pretty cool. People are always going to the Steve’s Special, which I believe are what the original pickups in the Music Man evolved from…

Petrucci: Yep, absolutely!

IHG: And now they can have the real thing [The CL and LF], which is cool!

Petrucci: That’s a good point, because when I started with Music Man we wanted to really make the pickups only for that guitar, so you couldn’t go out and get only the pickups."

I don't know for sure why JP went with the D Sonic. Although there are clues that I can speculate from.

1. After Train of Thought and Octavarium, JP started to tune down for a lot of the DT stuff. Naturally, JP was worried about his tone flabbing out. The D Sonic AKA the Drop Sonic, was a good answer, cos its a pickup that is great for tuning down and also has a great Concert Pitch tone.

2. The pickup sounds wildly different when you flip it around. Two tones in one pickup is versatile.

3. Around the time of JP starting to use it, he was using his RoadKing amps, which aren't as midrangey as his Mark series amps. As Petrucci says in that interview Steve Blucher knows the Boogies. No doubt that Steve mentioned that the D Sonic with its stronger midrange punch would sound great through the cleaner RoadKings.

4. With the solid metal bar, the D Sonic looks pure METAL!!! \m/

Link for interview: INTERVIEW: John Petrucci

 

[yngzaklynch]

So the Air Norton?

 

[Progdude]

I used to use an Air Norton in the neck of my Silo. It sounded great. But it was too "boomy" sounding whenever I would switch from my bridge pickup (a Dimarzio Andy Timmons humbucker). I up graded to the new Liquifire and its Much better sounding.