Product: DiMarzio Area 61
Price Paid: USD 60
Submitted
06/01/2007
at
10:51pm
by
JLum
Features
:
Single coil noiseless,passive.
Instrument
:
This went on a Michael Tuttle strat in the neck pos.I'm replacing a VV 2.2.The 2.2 just did'nt have that extra mojo that makes you go ahh!The 61 does.
Sound
:
10
The 61 has that cool woody strat tone I remember when I was a kid.Nice low end and not too shrill high end.Very dynamic and responsive to my touch.Well balanced with the 2.1 in the middle and Seth Lover in the rear.I work as a studio musician so the pu has to cover a lot of bases.
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing for 43 years.I would buy another if it were stolen.DiMarzio really nailed it with the 61.
Product: DiMarzio Area 61
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted
03/21/2007
at
04:27pm
by
scrip
Features
:
Noise-cancelling pickup (essentially a humbucker) in a Strat pup housing.Designed to emulate classic single-coil tone. Slightly "taller" than a standard Strat pickup, but fits through the pickguard perfectly.
I marvelled at the sheer number of pickup manufacturers in the H-C Reviews. And almost everybody loves what they're reviewing. I guess this review is headed the same way, but let me say that I've been playing for 40 years and have heard $50 Strats and $50,000 Strats. So that's my point of reference.
Instrument
:
I have two Area 61 pickups--middle and neck--installed in my Fat Strat to replace the stock Fender pickups. The bridge pickup is a Duncan Pearly Gates that was standard equipment with the Fat Strat when this guitar was built.(I think they changed over to a Fender-made humbucker subsequently).
Sound
:
10
I am using the Fat Strat with a Fender Cyber Deluxe. I've developed some very tubey-sounding Fender-style patches that really show off the tone of a "single coil" guitar.
The Area 61s do a good job of working with the Pearly Gates. The bridge/middle tone is a good approximation of a standard Strat with a single coil on the bridge. The Area 61s are clear and intelligible, with plenty of volume.
Overall Rating
:
10
When I installed the Area 61s, my Fat Strat promptly became one of my best-sounding guitars (among Les Pauls, Teles, PRS, and others). I can't wait to install a set of DiMarzios in my standard Strat.
I think DiMarzio has really discovered the secret recipe here. Unmistakable Strat tone, minus the hum. Note also, the DiMarzio technical staff was very helpful with my wiring issues (Pearly Gates was reverse-phased compared to A61) and also helped me get some white housings to replace the cream housings that I had.
Lastly, DiMarzio has avoided the temptation to charge a premium for these pickups. Their price was competitive with all the others I've evaluated. You don't pay more, you just get more.
