DiMarzio Air Norton

passive
humbucker
270mv output

washburn X50proQ
bridge position
replacing a Duncan Custom Custom
There is is Dimarzio PAF JOE in the Neck Position
I'm sure there are
Curiosity

Mid-level output
using with a Fender Vibroverb, Princeton Reverb, or Bogner Shiva for gigs, or simply a 25w Ibanez solid state practice amp at home.
It is very even and balanced with smooth highs yet articulate lows.
I am a profesional player who plays many styles but tend to have a tone that is somewhere between Robben Ford and Brett Garsed while Pat Metheny is my hereo. The Pickup is amazing at everything in the bridge position but personally I think it would be rather dark as the neck pickup that it is advertised as.

I love this pickup. It is very dynamic and is beautiful clean, or dirty and mixes very well with the PAFJOE in the neck. It gets harmonics like a Duncan JB but is as controllable as a 59'. It is one of the only pickups that you can really use to play both jazz and country and rock from the bridge position a guitar without touching any thing other than the volume control on your axe. By the way the sustain it adds to any guitar is even and amazing. I have put this pickup in the bridge of my heritage Prospect Semi-hollowbody, and Heritage Golden Eagle Archtop and have had equally good results.

A lot of info in previous reviews - no need to repeat all that...

I put this one in the OLP petrucci signature.Neck position (replaced the stock ones).In the bridge there is a Steve's special (which works great with air norton).
Reason for changing? Well...we all look for THAT particular sound we want right?Well I've tryed a lot of pickups and this one suits me best (for what I need).Live and recording...

It's a pure 10 ONLY because it suits MY vision of what I would like my guitar to sound through the gear I use. Like so - everyone should listen and judge the pickup (and everything else), by what they hear and want they want to sound like.So why did I write this review? I just want to encourage everyone to try - not just this one but every pickup they cen get there hands on! It's hard work but it's the only way.So when I say the Air Norton is the best pickup for my needs, I say this after trying a lot of pickups (and recording stuff with it, than comparing the sound etc.)...so - yes maybe there is a better one out there...but I guess after all this searching so far - I got what I needed.And as long as it inspires my, I won't be searching for another one!!!
Thanks Dimarzio for putting me out of my misery :))

10 for me, like I said (because of the reasons stated).
I also wrote a review for OLP John Petrucci signature guitar, so if you want more details - look for it.

I want to say that harmony central has been my point of reference for a LOT of things concerning gear that I use, so thanks to the guys who build it and everyone who gave there opinion on enything here!!!
Cheers :))

Passive humbucker, around 270 mV I think.

This pickup went in a Carvin DC127M (hardtail) mahog neck through mahog body with maple cap. It's in the neck, replacing the Carvin pickups which lack overtones when playing dirty.

I know Petrucci uses this pickup, and I'm sure tons of others do too, but I'm not aware of who else.

Output level isn't too hot. Matches my D-Sonic great. It gives that JP neck tone straight-up. The cool thing is, it gets that tone without compressing your sound and killing the dynamics of your playing. Awesome for neck solos with distortion.

Clean the pickup is fairly dull sounding. However, tapping the coil sounds incredible! It brightens it up and brings these glassy highs out, and sounds killer.

This pickup is great for all styles of rock, I would say. I dig it a lot.

My only complaint is that the cleans in bucker mode sound dull, but since it sounds so good tapped, it is barely a complaint. I've been playing 6 years, and love it. It sounds way betterr than the Duncan Jazz I put in my LP.

The DiMarzio Air Norton is a passive 4-conductor "medium" output humbucker. It puts out about 270 Millivolts (Strat-style single coils can go as low as 90, "High" output Humbuckers are over 300 and can exceed 400-can't get much more "medium" output than this for a humbucker."Vintage" humbuckers tend to have values hovering close to the 200 MV mark))It uses an ALNICO V magnet that includes an "air" space to lower the output and retain overtones (schweet!) DC resistance is about 12.65 K-ohms. It uses 6 individually-adjustable pole peices and fits standard humbucker routs. DiMarzio recommends Neck position but some people like it better in the bridge.

I bought an Ibanez AX-30 for casual jamming and liked it enough to try out the combination of a DiMarzio Norton in the neck with a ToneZone in the bridge and can't be more pleased. The AX-30 is similar in shape to a Gibson SG but with a rounder bottom and different "horn" shape. Unlike the Mahogony Gibbies, the 'Banez AX is made of Basswood and has a surprisingly open sound unplgged. The Norton in the neck provides a rich, deep and articulate tone that can cop fair fake accoustic tones with the volume backed off and just a slight pull back on the tone. When wiring the p/u I added a .001 microfarad capacitor to the volume pot to retain more highs when the volume is down. The Bridge p/u is a DiMarzio ToneZone and the two blend together very well (at least for me) when combined-the main body of the Norton is present with a brightening, slightly fizzy edge from the ToneZone. The two have sufficiently different characters to produce a rather versatile instument with just vol/tone and a 3-way--then I replaced the pots with push/pulls to coil tap and phase-switching. WOW! chimey-lower-output rythmn tones, hollow trebly phased sounds-a surprising tone carnival for about $275 ($150 for the AX-30, $120 in pickups, $14 for the push/pull pots)the coil-tapped output is clear, trebly and lower-works well for shifting from leads/powerchords to jangly full-voiced "cowboy chords" without fumbling for the right spot...I am Now considering drilling a hole to add a blend control between the pickups but may never get around to it-tweaking pickup height I have found a highly functional sweet spot. The stock pickup is an Ibanez HB 1 and for an entry-level guitar isn't that bad-I just took a shine to this guitar and felt with aftermarket P/Us it would find new strength. The AirNorton/ToneZone combo really delivers and if you have a light-bodied twin-humbucker guitar you might find bliss in this combo, too.

The Air Norton is my favorite neck pickup-it has a wonderful balance of mellow lows and mids but keeps enough high end for articulate notes and stunning harmonics. I have pretty much moved away from tubes (living in an apartment) and have been playing mainly through Digitech pedals into the mixer for recording and using either ROLAND microcube or VOX DA-5 for casual playing. The Air Norton through the "Blackface" model on the Microcube is wonderfully nuanced and very responsive to volume-knob tweaks. Tone snobs scoff at the mere suggestion that capable tones can emerge from such a modest rig but I've made believers of a few by simply putting the AX in their hands, plugging in the Microcube and walking away for a few minutes...no it's never going to be a Bradshaw-switched multi-amp setup but since I don't need to fill an arena I am happy with my setup. I should add that I haven't found a rig it sounds bad with-my favorite is simply that, a personal favorite. Smooth distortions in the higher-gain models are also well-voiced, but the Norton is more at home with clean headroom to express itself--rythmn sounds, slightly fuzzy blues suit it better than grinding shred tones-but the articulate solid voice of the norton helps stabilize serious distortion sounds--like it's getting blurred on just the ToneZone, adding the AirNorton helps produce more note body and less buzz

If someone stole this guitar I would try to duplicate it. Not all AX-30s are as lovely to play as mine, but I think I could find one close to it and with DiMArzios I should be able to come pretty close to my current rig. I have been playing about 20 years. I own about 22 guitars and this is my favorite right now. I think this has a sound that comes close to classic sounds when desired but also has it's own identity--until other people start popping ANorton/T-Zone combos into their AX-30s. With coils tapped it's kinda Tele-ish, with 'buckers out of phase it's kinda bridge/middle strat-ish, with the AirNorton by itself at moderate to high volume (in humbucker mode) it is woody, almost semi-hollowbody kind of sound, mixed with the Bridge-position Tone-Zone it's much like an SG-with more meat (great AC/DC rythmn tone through a MArshall or Marshall-type distorion model)I love this pickup. I love that it can be wiried for sefveral different sounds and I love that it comes in choice of colors (The Ibanez is a blue-violet called "Jewel Blue" that contrasts nicely with Purple pickups) and I love that for $60 plus shipping I have solid reliable tone that stacks up to that of guitars costing far more $$$. I do wish DiMarzio offered it in a strat-sized housing so I could install it in some of my other axes but, for me, for now at least, it seems I have found the perfect neck P/u

Passive humbucker, 4-wire connection, normal spaces, zebra

Burny Super Grade Les Paul Standard.
I use the Air Norton in bridge position.
It replaces the original Burny VH-1 (with chrome hood).
Oter PUs: Rockinger PAF ETC in neck position.
Reason for change: I wanted more mids, more output and a fatter tone.
Artists: don't care.

Output: a little hotter than a PAF, but not really hot.
No distortion pickup, the Air Norton.
I use an Engl Straight (full tube) and a Hughes & Kettner Metal Master.
Sometimes a Digitech Bad Monkey or Marshal Gov'nor I overdrive pedal. I Use no other effects, ony the reverb of he Engl from time to time.

Tone: balanced. Nice warm mids, not too little bass, nice trebles (but never too much). All in all a great tone, suits very well to my Burny and what i wanted.
I play blues, bluesrock, rock, punk and sometimes hardrock/metal.
For me the Air Nortons uits fine for the bridge position. Clean it sounds good. Not too thin, not too trebbly. Warm, but very articulated. The way you pick is heard very good.
Overdriven it sounds great too! Nice harmonics, good sustain, just the right amount of mids and bass for a good overdrive/distortion sound!

In my opinion the Air Norton is a really good bridge pick up for Les Pauls. Great tone, balanced (but not character-less), warm, fat enough, screaming, and clear as well. It doesn't mush down the kick and the way you hit or pull the stings.
If it was stolen i'd buy it again, definitely!
I love the rare combination of enough power, warmth and clearity.
There is nothing i miss. On my Burny Super Grade, i have now the bridge sound i want, no further looking for other PUs.
Give it a try. One doesn't need very expensive boutique PUs to get very good sound!

Passive humbucker, neck position. No idea what the specs are. It's medium to high output though.

I have it in a guitar I made with a mohagany body, zebra wood top, maple neck. I play it through a Peavey Classic 100 with a Traynor 410 cab and a Peavey Bandit practice amp.

This is a very good pickup. It has the warm full characteristics that make neck pickups cool. But it isn't muddy. It's very open sounding and has enough high end to make it interesting. Over all it's very nice. I prefer the neck pickup on my EBMM EVH more because the EVH pickup is slightly more expressive and bell like. But the Norton gives it a run for it's money and is quite good.

It's open tone is somewhat like the tone Slash gets on the opening riff of Sweet Child O Mine. Not exactly but in the same category of tone. Cutting but warm and openm almost leaning toard a single coil chimeyness but still holding onto a basic humbucker tone.

I'm very positive about his pickup and would recommend it to anyone lookng for a fairly expressive neck pickup worthy of soloing with.

Pickup features: Passive humbucker with 4-conductor cable
Impedence or other specs: DC Resistance: 12.58

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez RG320FM
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Ibanez powersound neck
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio Tone Zone
Artists using this pickup: John Petrucci used these on his Ibanez JPM's
You musical style(s): Blues, rock, progressive
Reason for pickup change: The original pickup sounded plastic and unnatural. It had bad mid's and harmonics.

Perceived output level: This pickup has enough gain to use together with very hi-output bridge PuP's (such as the Tone Zone)
Tone: The sound is smooth, but not muddy. It's got plenty of nice mids that give a great tone.
Sonic evaluation: I'm using this Ibanez guitar with a Peavey classic 30 combo that drives a Marshall 1960AV cab.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I think this is the ultimate shredding pickup for neckposition, because there is still clarity in what you play even if it's speed licks and fast passages. That is what i like to do with this pickup.

Comments: Oh yeah! This PuP rocks! I will use it in the neck of any humbuckerguitar I will buy in the future. I also use it splitted, which sounds great, not as trebly as a stratocaster vintage SC but that suits my style great. I also use a Les Paul with Gibson PuP's and those are also great but these are better for speed playing, because it remains clear about what you're playing.

Pickup features: Humbucking passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez RG470
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Original Stock Ibanez PU (V7)
Other pickups on guitar: DiMarzio Tone Zone
Artists using this pickup: John Petrucci? They said so...
You musical style(s): Heavy Metal, Blues based rock, etc.
Reason for pickup change: V7 sounds so muddy.

Perceived output level: The output is not too hot but i kind of like it
Tone: Not muddy for sure!!! Cool mid!! Very good combination with Tone Zone!!! This is the tone I wanted
Sonic evaluation: RG470->AX1500G (cabinet off)->Peavey Blue Voodo (just for the test)
Great sounding...

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I played heavy metal a lot. This pickups suit for playing fast lick solo. It sound good for little blues too.

Comments: This is cool pickup. I love it. I'm very satisfied.... If it stolen then I'll buy it again right away.

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 12,58 K, 270 mv, alnico 5 magnets, this one has a gold cover

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion (semi-hollow)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock Gibson 490T
Other pickups on guitar: Gibson stock pickup in neck: 490R
Artists using this pickup: I?ve heard John Petrucci in Dream Theater use it as a neck pickup.
You musical style(s): jazz-fusion, jazz
Reason for pickup change: The bridge pickup in this jazz-fusion guitar was somewhat lower in output compared to the neck pickup. It was also weak and far to trebly. The stock bridge pickup was fun to use for ugly distorted chords for retro-pop, but it culdn?t be used a lead pickup, and absolutely not for jazz-fusion lead.

Perceived output level: It?s louder than the stock bridge it replaced, and slightly louder than the stock neck pickup. Nice balance output-wize now between the two pickups.
Tone: It is very balanced: has a smooth bass thump, nice mids and soft highs.
Sonic evaluation: I use it with a Fender Blues Deville, a Boss Chorus, a Boss Digital Delay, mostly with a Boss Overdrive for jazz-fusion style, and sometimes with a Proco RAT for rock lead. The sound is much better now compared with the stock Gibson 490T. The Air Norton has a nice balance; in the bridge it?s still a quite trebly sound, but semi-hollows use to be bright. There are some nice harmonic overtones, but there are still fat lows and full-bodied mids, it?s a fuller tone, which speaks with confidence. With a RAT-pedal it really shines for rock?n roll; lots of whistling overtones when digging in hard, and it also growls like a Les Paul in a Marshall. Guess it?s more difficult to find pickups for a semi-hollow guitar. The natural sound of the guitar is not be destroyed, and the new pickup must blend well with the other pickup; the "soul" of the instrument must still be there. I wanted a Satriani-sound for the bridge pickup in this semi-hollow guitar, so my first idea was to install a Dimarzio Fred in the bridge. However, when I thought about it, the Fred pickup would probably be too loud and harsh in this specific semi-hollow. When comparing the specs for different pickup brands, I use mainly Dimarzios, Duncans and Laces, I finally decided to go for the somewhat less loud and more balanced Air Norton. And I guess that was wize: this guitar now does not sound "extra-ordinary", "fantastic" or something. I have just improved the sound of the bridge pickup, so it can be used for lead, and it also blend better with the neck pickup. Actually I guess the sound in this guitar now is like it should have been from the factory. Can?t understand why Gibson puts such a weak and trebly pickup in this otherwize really nice guitar. Guess they have agreements with the aftermarket pickup firms :). And the Air Norton can be found with a gold cover too, that was important for this guitar, which has all gold hardware.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: jazz, jazz-fusion, rock, blues sometimes

Comments: I have been playing for more than 40 years. Have some other Gibsons and Fenders. I like the more balanced tone of this pickup, and that it suits the semi-hollow guitar so well. As said: it?s not overly fantastic, etc, it?s just the bridge pickup that suits this guitar. No more, no less. Guess that?s what is "fantastic value"? It could have been sligthly louder, or more or perhaps less of anything or something, but it?s just about perfect here. I don?t plan to do anything with this guitar except playing it. If the pickup was stolen, perhaps I should test another one: a Dimarzio Fred, or a Duncan JB or a Screamin Demon etc. But that would be for the pure fun of it.

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Squire S-73 (continuation of DeArmond model)
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: stock Duncan Designed
Other pickups on guitar: DiMarzio Fred/bridge
Artists using this pickup: don't really care
You musical style(s): various, progressive
Reason for pickup change: stock pickups were ok, just a bit cardboard-ish

Perceived output level: average for a modern pickup
Tone: a little bassy, very clear and precise, great open top end
Sonic evaluation: use a Classic 30 running through an internal Blue Tick Hound and an external 3/4-closed cab with a Cannabis Rex hempcone speaker, both Eminences. the pickup has a nice, clear sound that is modern, as opposed to a sweeter vintage sound, and very 3-dimensional, especially compared to the stock pickups. the low end is definitely on the heavy side, but it is not muddy at all. very responsive and versatile in the neck position.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: this is a good pickup for any modern style of music i can thing of, from jazz to metal - it wouldn't be my first choice for classic rock and vintage, but it's perfect for me.

Comments: really happy with this piece of gear.. well done!