Dimarzio pickups / Tone Zone S (in my Duo Sonic)

[FuzzHugger]

I've looked at Dimarzio pickups a lot over the years, wondering about the weird names, weird looks, and interesting descriptions. Never tried one!
- I think it's cool that they were the first successful aftermarket pickup company.
- I think it's cool that they offer them in any zany color you want.
- I think it's cool/smart that they build them on PCB bases...and don't talk to me about fiber vs. plastic baseplate tone.

Their most-targeted customers, at least their high-profile endorsers, aren't my type. But I've always been intrigued, and wondered why they're the underdog to Seymour Duncan (and the reason I still think they are: marketing).



I got this Fender Duo Sonic Reissue (thanks, Skullservant!), and the short scale is fun. If you play a 25.5" scale guitar and then jump to this (22.7"), it's like wearing ankle-weights for 30 minutes and then taking them off. It feels like you can fly! But it's got a snap, this attack that easily outdoes a Telecaster! It has depth, sounds good with distortion, but the attack is like a metal whip.

For me, a bridge pickup is redundant here (the neck has plenty atttack!), so it's neck-only...I wanted something high gain, warm, broad/full, with de-emphasized trebles. I ended up on the Dimarzio site for the hundredth time in the past 12 years, and the Tone Zone description summed up what I was looking for. They don't really recommend it for neck unless you want WARM, so I thought it'd be perfect to tame the Duo-Sonic.

I wired it with a series/parallel switch. MAN! It did what I hoped! It's a meat explosion. Really high gain, but not harsh...not rude or trebly, but articulate and thickulate ...rolls off to some surprisingly nice clean tones. The Duo-Sonic still has a great pop and attack, but it's way tamed, and huge. The most pleasing and worthwhile pickup swap I've ever done.

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[skullservant]

Sweet! Looks awesome Tom. I love the history and transformation of this guitar

[kosta]

I always hate the look of those bladed jams, but you paint a really compelling picture there Tom. Feelin' that pink too!

[FuzzHugger]

Kosta--I didn't used to like the look of rails either...still don't in some applications (where you want extra class or a vintage look). But my tastes have changed, and I especially don't mind all black rails on any guitar. Plus, I loved the rail on the P-Rail and I like that there's no dropoff on bends.

But anyway, I definitely wasn't going for good looks with this guitar! Haha.

I kind of want to put a Tone Zone in all my guitars now.

[Chankgeez]

Feelin' that pink too!

It's a meat explosion.

Feelin' that pink too!

It's a meat explosion.

TWSS

[masked elwood]

i completely agree with everything you said about dimarzio.

[Hacken]

Try a SDS-1 if you want fat hot singel coil sound, i loved it in the neck on a strat! (so does Fast Eddie Clarke )

[FuzzHugger]

i completely agree with everything you said about dimarzio.

I try not to put too much faith in pickups...most times I've swapped pickups (like, humbucker-to-slightly-better humbucker), I've thought, that's it? But going from the Squier single coils it had to the Tone Zone is a big change. Plus, it reminded me how excellent high output pickups can sound. The Duo Sonic's whiplash attack is there (especially with cleans) but tamed. Definitely a transformative pickup swap! Just what the guitar needed. (Dimarzio gets extra points for the build quality, and the included wiring diagrams, which are the most comprehensive I've ever gotten with a pickup.)

Also, if you have a 4-conductor humbucker, you've gotta try a series/parallel switch (or an on-on-on for series/parallel/split). Parallel is especially great for a high gain neck pickup, as it drops the gain and ups the highs. Brings in a great character and attack under fuzz/distortion. It's a great way to get a more single-coil-like sound out of your humbucker.

[kbit]

Do you know if going from series to parallel cause a volume drop like going from series to split usually does?

[FuzzHugger]

Do you know if going from series to parallel cause a volume drop like going from series to split usually does?

There's a very slight perceived drop, as it's a drop in output, but not like the halving that splitting causes.

[kbit]

Want. I need to learn how to solder again so I can do this stuff myself.

[FuzzHugger]

Want. I need to learn how to solder again so I can do this stuff myself.

I'm surprised there aren't more people doing this on their humbucker guitars. A 2-way on-on DPDT will do standard series/parallel. A 3-way on-on-on DPDT, wired the same way, will do series/parallel/split. It's easy and only costs a $3-5.

[Mudfuzz]

Want. I need to learn how to solder again so I can do this stuff myself.

I'm surprised there aren't more people doing this on their humbucker guitars. A 2-way on-on DPDT will do standard series/parallel. A 3-way on-on-on DPDT, wired the same way, will do series/parallel/split. It's easy and only costs a $3-5.

I just wish rotaries didn't take so long to wire... god I hate wiring those things...

[kbit]

Want. I need to learn how to solder again so I can do this stuff myself.

I'm surprised there aren't more people doing this on their humbucker guitars. A 2-way on-on DPDT will do standard series/parallel. A 3-way on-on-on DPDT, wired the same way, will do series/parallel/split. It's easy and only costs a $3-5.

My guitar has push/pull pots for splitting already, so I could probably work off that.
Research, I must.

[FuzzHugger]

Want. I need to learn how to solder again so I can do this stuff myself.

I'm surprised there aren't more people doing this on their humbucker guitars. A 2-way on-on DPDT will do standard series/parallel. A 3-way on-on-on DPDT, wired the same way, will do series/parallel/split. It's easy and only costs a $3-5.

My guitar has push/pull pots for splitting already, so I could probably work off that.
Research, I must.

If it's a normal DPDT push-pull, you can.

Here's Dimarzio's diagram:

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