DiMarzio Evolution 2

Evo2 is a passive humbucking pickup.

I install this guitar in the bridge position of my yamaha guitar. Other pickup install is the evo neck. I don't know if mr vai is using this pickup but it certainly sound better than the original Evo.

The output is high but not too much, it's just suitable. I'm using a g9.2tt with it and this pickup rocks to hell. It's thick and juicy unlike it's brother which is thin. The tone is somewhat balance. I play progressive metal and this pickup just works fine. It's the ultimate bridge pickup. I like the harmonics that the evo2 produces. This pickup is what and evolution pickup should have sounded like.

Overall I'm satisfied with this pickup.

this is the evo 2 humbucker

I installed this pickup into a 96' fender strat + with the gold lace sensors.

It is in the Bridge position.

It is replacing the Gold fender lace sensor bridge

Dragonforce, steve vai
I wanted the thickness of a humbucker with the feel of a strat.

Switching between the bridge evo and the lace sensor neck is a giant difference in output lvl.

I'm using a 18 watt tube Dashit made by Revenge amps.

The tone is very evenly balanced even at high gain and the notes come in very clear and the sustain is very good.

I play a mixture from straight ahead swing to hard rock to modal jam type of stuff. For straight ahead jazz this is not the pick up but for any type of rock to metal I think this is an exceptional pickup.

I am really satisfied with my setup because I have always loved the sound of a fender neck single coil sound. But I have never been quite satisfied with the single coil bridge, it is a bit twangy. The evo gives me an awesome thick but bitey sound that I have always wanted with my strat. I'd recommend this pickup to anybody that wants a little more bang in there fender strat. So i basically turned my single coil fender strat to a fat strat. I wouldnt think this pickup would be very good in the neck position because of the already thick sound in the bridge but I could be wrong.

I would definately by this product again.

I have been playing for about 10 years. I went to school and got a degree in guitar. I own a 1972 guild x-500, a 76 les paul recording, and a 76 gibson hummingbird. I own a brute polytone and a 18 watt dashit.

I love this guitar especially now since I have a great rock sound but also by switching to the neck position I have that great hendrix/vaughn strat sound.

I hate that I waited this long to finally do this.

Being a fan of dragonforce and steve vai, I really didn't compare to any other pickup because if it's good enough for them it is definately good enough for me.

I am completely %100 satisfied with the sound, if you are into rock to metal this is your pickup and it cleans up nicely when you roll the volume back without losing much tone.

For those people who have strats but like hard rock, get this pickup in your bridge and swap out with that sissy single coil trust me you'll be glad!!

Passive Humbucker, output 370

Ibanez RG 550
Bridge
Evolution, HS1
Vai and probably everyone trynig to sound like him
Changes the Evolution cause it was to trebly and had too much string separation for playing distorted chords

The out put it Hot, nearly as hot as the Tone Zone. Noit as Hot as a Super Distortion
I played it trough a tonelab
The tone is trebly but without the ice pick sound of the Evolution, very tight and agressive woth lots of harmonics and overtones.
I play metal hard rock and more styles.
This is a good match for havy music but would also be a good match for any style -even country- except blues.

his is a bridge pickp. Too hot for a neck pickup but who knows...

I would buy it again. i0've been playing for 5 years and tried a lot of dimarzio's and emg's, this one is one of the best pickups i heard.
My guitar is a maple neck+ basswood 1990 Ibanez rg which means it's kind of trebly. If you've got a trebly guitar, you need a trebly pickup because if you have a pickup that has the opposite eq your guitar has, you're in th wrong place buy another guitar.
So i was trying to emphasize the natural sound of this instrument and by the way emulate Vai's sound. the Evolution 1 proves far too trebly, it was goo but too much strintg separation made it unsuited to play hgeavy music (heavy riffs). I called di marzio asking for something similar with morr bass like a tonezomne they told me to try this one. Well it's a bsolutely a perfect match for this guitar: it is trebly without being ear-piercing and adds more bass and massive sound for playin chords. Using the volume pot, you can get nearly any sound you want, i tried it trough the fender and vox models and it really did a great job: from the fender you can get good funky or country sounds, from the vox i got this "led zeppelin" sound i wass looking for when playing whole lotta love. This is not a havy metal only killer pickup, a versatile pickup that rolls of nicely when lowering the volume pot.
It got THAT sound, the guitar natural sound is glorified and this japanese RG sound better than my jem with evo 1. So i'll get another evo2 for the jem.
Becareful, this pickupo would probably sound bad with a mahogamy guitar, i tried the original evo on a LTD EX and it soudend dark and crap, this is a pickup suitable for balanced or trebly guitars, i'm talking about basswood or alder bodies and maple or ebony fretboards.
It suits both hi-gain and vintae amps.
Probably one of the 10 best pickup ever-made. If you're planning to get an Evolution or if you're dissatisfied with the original (jem 7w owners please read this......)get the EVO 2, it's exactly what the original should have sounded like.

What model guitar or bass did you install this in? An 89 Fender HM strat..

What position is it in? BRIDGE

What pickup are you replacing? I replacing a TONE ZONE, which is a great pick-up, I just wanted to try it out, out of curiousity.

Other pickups installed on the instrument? DImarzio Virtual Vintage BLues in the neck (single coil)

Reason for changing the pickup? I wanted to see if another pick-up can do basically waht the Tone zone does, but a hair cleaner..

What's the output level like? HIgh, but there is some headroom left, it doesnt overload the amp to hard.

What amps and effects are you using it with? Peavey 5150

Tone - Bassy, middy, muddy, trebly, balanced? The most balanced Dimarzio I have ever tried

What style of music do you play? Is this a good match? I play speed/death metal.. Check out our Myspace if you wish. (www.myspace.com/worldofshit1) AND yes it is a good match

Basically I love the sound of the Tone zone.. I think/thought? it was the best pick-up dimarzio made. I have used the Evolution, X2N, Super distortion, TOne zone, Fred, Blaze models and somehow Dimarzio really made a very balnced pick-up. I like Dimarzio's becasue they have a lot of character between the different models and the EVO 2 is certainly a step up from the original Evolution.. I actually liked the Evolution, but it had shrill highs and becasue of this it sounded thin to my ears, but it did scream!! It always left me wanting somehting else.. ANd the only reason I tried this pick-up in my Fender(replacing the Tone ZOne) was becasue the 89 Fender HM strat is a dark sounding guitar acoustically (i.e not plugged in) and the Tone Zone is a very warm pick-up,, I like some mud to my sound, but this guitar was so much darker than any other one I had that it came to the point I had to change amp settings between my different guitars and the Fender, Although I love how big and how chunky the Tone Zone is and I recently installed one in my 7-string and it kills the Blaze and Evolution 7 string models.. Anyway, what I noticed with this EVO 2 is it seems very neutral, strangely enough, it has beautifully articulate high end, without any sign of being thin and shrill,,and the mids just rule!! I love them mids.. And the bottom while not huge, definetly can be thick and clear., just a superbly balanced pick-up, I play at high gain but I also play very large open chords,, I like discordant sounds and when I play these chords with this pick-up every note has its own frequency, big and open.. What more could you ask for??

All one needs to know is the sound of there guitar acoustically, and one can choose the proper pick-up without too much trial and error,, and while I like the fact most pick-ups are made to add more of that or less of this,, but in my opinion,, if you like the tonality of your guitar not plugged in,, then you couldnt choose a more defined and accurate sound reproduction than this pick-up..

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Guitar
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Originaly the Bridge Dimarzio IBZ F2 then the neck Dimarzio IBZ F4
Other pickups on guitar: IBS F4, IBZ C2
Artists using this pickup: Stevie Vai I would think (no one else is using it in the neck position that I know of)
You musical style(s): Rock - all styles, funk, metal, country, you name it I'll play it!
Reason for pickup change: Basicly, to try it!

Perceived output level: High, but no too high - louder that a Paf Pro - as loud as a tone zone
Tone: Contoured Mid sound with a touch of bite
Sonic evaluation: I use an Ibanez RG770 that I love! ... :-)
Behringer XVamp TS9 and a Marshall JCM 800 50watt combo
I decided to try this pickup in the bridge position and I replaced my F2 pickup. I didn?t prefer it to the F2. Actually the F2 is a great pickup (get on if you can) so I decided to try it in the neck position (I replaced the Dimarzio F4 pickup)
I know that you aren?t supposed to put a bridge pickup in the neck position but to tell you the truth, I discovered the best neck tone that I have ever heard by doing it.
It is loud so you have to lower it down lower than the pickup ring but it sounds great. Try it!
The sound is warm with ?extra top end mid? and the great thing is how it changes when you pull back on the guitars volume. Then it sounds a little ?tubular? and really bluesy (with a basswood guitar) and it mixes (uniquely) with the middle C2 single coil pickup. It sounds quite interesting and stratish but with vitamins. I love it!
From Blues to Malmsteen it rocks!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pickup sounds so cool in this position that I think that I have become a real fan of it. I must say that it sounded great in the bridge position (that is what it was designed for) and you do get a good ?Vai? sound but I preferred my F2 for the fullness of the sound it gave. The F2 is a good sounding pickup!

Comments: I have been playing for 32 years and I do know what sounds good. I highly recommend this pickup in the neck position for a basswood guitar and for "something different"! It has a real nice flavour!

Pickup features: Humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: BC Rich ST3
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Many different models!
Other pickups on guitar: Cruiser (Neck) Fast Track 1 (Middle)
Artists using this pickup: Steve Vai, and me! :-D
You musical style(s): Rock, Metal, etc
Reason for pickup change: I loved the Evolution, but it's a little too hot for me. I heard about this one and HAD to try it.

Perceived output level: Medium Hot
Tone: Balanced and GORGEOUS...clean or dirty!
Sonic evaluation: I use a BC Rich ST3 thru a B-52 AT-100 tube amp...(which is outta this world, by the way!!!!) This pickup is what I've waited for my whole life. Played dirty, it growls, it spits, it screams with tons of gain, but you never lose the TONE, baby! Clean, it's just PERFECT. I've NEVER heard a better clean tone....it's just PERFECT. SO sweet I can't believe it! You can play "The Rain Song" and it just SHIMMERS! Then you launch into "Master of Puppets" or "Eruption", and well....forget it, it's all over! THIS IS THE PICKUP FROM HEAVEN.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Rock, metal, etc.

Comments: I'd rip anyone's lungs out if they stole it! LOL

Pickup features: humbucker ( passive)
Impedence or other specs: about 375 mv output, Highs -6, mids-7, bass-6

Model of guitar or bass: ibanez RG
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: none, custom guitar built from scratch.
Other pickups on guitar: dimarzio "FRED" in neck
Artists using this pickup: maybe Vai, but unconfirmed so far. NONE
You musical style(s): rock, progressive, shred.
Reason for pickup change: none.....i needed to put one in there!

Perceived output level: pretty hot, almost like the original Evo pickup. A hair less....but really noticable. Enough to wake up your amp and say " holy crap!".
Tone: somewaht midranged. NO MORE "ice pick" treble! Its what the original should have sounded like. The bass responce is great....very clear. The highs are there...but not over done and shrill. The mids....oh the mids........they are very vocal and nasaly. Like a wah pedal in the upper position. Makes my guitar say " yeayyyhhhh" and yooowwww" very eaisily. Its VERY balanced...but the mids are complex and upfront.
Sonic evaluation: im using it in a Carvin Legacy half stack. And it does the job well. In a ibanez RG ( basswoood body) and this amp, they complment each other very well. Its a very " cut through the mix" without the shrill treble sound.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Its definatly not suitable for a neck pickup! TOO hot! Its a great rock, metal, pickup.

Comments: Im going to buy more for my other guitars. This is great! Its really good for de-tuned dropped guitars. get one!

Pickup features: Humbucking
Impedence or other specs: Imp = ?; Output = 375mV; B=6.0, M=7.5, T=6.0

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez RG-470
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Ibanez INF2
Other pickups on guitar: Stock Ibanez RG (1997) pickups.
Artists using this pickup: Steve Vai (?)
You musical style(s): Metal; Rock
Reason for pickup change: The stock pickup was not bad, but it was not good either.

Perceived output level: Very high! Similar to SD's JB. Pickup is really far away from strings and it still peaks my preamp's input.
Tone: In the bridge position of a Floyd Rose (with Hipshot TremSetter), basswood body, alder neck and rosewood fingerboard guitar it sounds really balanced: I can get any tone I want from it.
Sonic evaluation: Guitar => Rocktron Chameleon OnLine => Rocktron Intellifex => Behringer Virtualizer PRO => Marshall V-8240
The Chameleon is a digital pre-amp: nowhere near crappy!!! (you may find my presets at www.rocktron.com)
The Intellifex and Virtualizer PRO are just effect processors.
The Marshall is a hybrid amp, with a Sovtek 12AX7 in the preamp circuits and a solid-state power stage. It is also equipped with 2x12" Celestion G12-T speakers.
I use the Marshall's effect loop return with the Chameleon most of the time. When I use the Marshall's preamp, the sound is still FANTASTIC.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: IMHO, this pickup is the ideal option for Rockers/Metalheads. It surpasses it's predecessor because it has a more balanced tonal range, best suited for a guitar such as mine.

Comments: Pity it doesn't say "DiMarzio" on top... :-P
Other than that, I'd recomend this pickup to everybody.
And YES... I have reached for THAT sound!!!