DiMarzio & Tonerider

Zulublues

Hi All

I have a LP copy that has a DiMarzio DP 151 in the neck and a Super Distortion in the bridge. Well, on Saturday
the SD went south permanently ! I am getting a reading of 6.2KOhm. I think that one coil is open. Anway, I have
heard such good things about the Toneriders on this forum, that I thought that they might have a good replacement.

The only question is which one? The Alnico IV sounds like the tone I need, but will it balance well with the DP 151, or
would the Rocksong AlII be more appropriate? Or, should I go for broke and replace the pair? Then I can put the DP 151
in the bridge position of my SX Tele. ( Mmmm now there's a thought.)

I am in Durban so cannot audition these pickups. I was hoping that someone would have been down this road
before and can give me some "sound" advice. (pun intended!)

Thanks All

ryanguit

yep one of your coils is shorted but the whole coil? maybe the black and white wires are just touching a ground/hot somewhere inside? have you cut the wire off and restipped some wire to check its not broken? dimarzio uses terrible 4 conductor cable and sometimes it just wears through so it shorts at the end you're soldering. please check before you go down the "replacement" route. i replaced my dualsound for a seymourduncan duncan distortion or something like that and it was quite close but i eventually found that my dimarzio Dualsound (super distortion) was never broken just the wire was... damn. so its back in another guit now.

MikeM

Did you measure it while it was still soldered onto the pot?

AlanRatcliffe

The PAF Pro is quite powerful as a neck pickup, and the SD is a real high output monster. So if you want to get back to a similar thing you'd be best suited by a Generator at the bridge.

If you want to take it down a couple of notches, the Alnico IV is probably your best bet. Still a rock-oriented pickup, but not as balls-to-the-wall as the SD.

Zulublues

Hi Guys

Thanks for the feedback.

@Ryan:-
I havn't stripped the pup that far yet. I'll have a go on the weekend.

@MikeM:-
The resistance was measured after de soldering the pup.

@ Alan:-
Will the Alnico IV balance with the DP 151 or will there be a great difference in output? I don't really want the SD tone but rather a classic Peter Green / Clapton type bluesy tone. This is why I was considering changing to a matched set. I did rather fancy only shelling out for one pup if possible.

Many thanks guys

tonerider

Zulublues wrote Will the Alnico IV balance with the DP 151 or will there be a great difference in output? I don't really want the SD tone but rather a classic Peter Green / Clapton type bluesy tone. This is why I was considering changing to a matched set. I did rather fancy only shelling out for one pup if possible.

Alnico IV's, like the name, feature the Alnico 4 magnets and the Rocksong's have the Alnico 2 magnets. As we know from the classic guitarists above, they mostly used vintage Gibsons during the 60's, and these mostly featured PAF pickups with Alnico 2 magnets.

The Alnico 4's will clear the sound up a lot, but for the warmth of classic PAF's the Rocksongs will do it too, and give you a bit more output at the bridge. Just something to consider. Both will work fine for replication classic tone.

Zulublues

Thanks everybody

I think that I have decided on a set of Rocksongs. I'll give some feedback once they arrive and have been fitted.

Cheers

ryanguit

so will you sell the "broken" pickup for cheap? 8)

Zulublues

Hey Ryan

If I can't fix it, you can have it !!!

ryanguit

I have 2 of them already. but if i get it fixed, ill send it back. haha

BluJu

ryanguit (Ryan Lucas) wrote I have 2 of them already. but if i get it fixed, ill send it back. haha

I also have a bust SD. Wanna try your hand? If you fix it you can have it for cheap or send it back for a small fee? 8)

MikeM

Brendon, I MIGHT be able to help

ryanguit

MikeM is a better bet, especially since he's offering.

BluJu

MikeM wrote Brendon, I MIGHT be able to help

Awesome! PM'ed... ?

ET-Phone-Home

Hey ZuluBlues, did you ever install those Rocksongs? Thinking of replacing the bridge pickup of my Ibanez Roadstar with either the IV or the Rocksongs.
Would be interesting to hear what your views are regarding the Rocksongs if you had them installed already.

Zulublues

Hi ET
I've gotta be the world's worst procrastinator!! I have since heard the sound clips on the Tonerider home site aned change dmy mind to the AlNiCo IV pups. But, of course, I want them with the nickel covers which are currently out of stock. Either I wait for new stock to come in or I may go for the Zebras.

As soon as I have fitted them I'll be back with a review.

Ciao

Mark

ET-Phone-Home

Hey Mark ? Thanks for the reply. I've also been on their website and am leaning towards the IV ? Anyhoo good luck, hope it comes right. ? Etienne

Zulublues

Well, the Toneriders arrived today and will go in this weekend. I'll let you all know what I think of the tone ASAP. ( Did I just Type "you all" ?? )

ET-Phone-Home

And? How is the Tonerider? ?

Zulublues

Hi All, sorry it has taken so long, but I have finally wired in the AlNiCo 4 Toneriders. I got the Zebras by the way. I am a little dissapointed in the tonal range. For once I find the range too great. What I mean is the bass is too bassy and the treble too high. There seems to be a huge variation across the strings, no matter what tone setting or pickup I select.

Has anyone else had this experience? I am hoping that a cap change will fix this, but to the best of my knowledge (limited!), a cap change will be a linear change across the frequency range. Now, how do I lighten the bass and deepen the treble????

The output seems to be quite a bit higher than the DiMarzios that came out of the guitar, now if I can just bring the tone back to a more balanced sound I'll be a happy chappy. HELP!!

Thanks All