DiMarzio HS3

DiMarzio HS-3 pickup. They are passive humbuckers that fit in a single coil slot ["Stacked humbuckers"].

I put 2 HS-3s in my custom WD/Allparts Stratocaster in the bridge and neck positions along with a dummy coil in the middle. I scored the loaded pickguard on eBay for $80 and it had the 2 HS-3s in it. There were no pickups in this guitar prior to me installing them as I bought them first. Yngwie, Joe Stump and a host of other neoclassical shredders use the HS-3. I chose these because I am a big Yngwie fan and I wanted to cop his tone. I also wanted lower output pickups to contrast my Parker Fly Deluxe [which has tons of output].

As stated prior, very low output but you can drive them very hard with little noise. It is very hard to mask mistakes with these and I had to watch my picking hand, as it would sound sloppy if I wasn't careful. I currently have this pickup in the bridge and neck positions and I find it absolutely slays in the bridge position but its too bright in the neck and sweep picking doesn't come through well. I will be selling the HS-3 in the neck position to the other guitarist in my band and replacing it with a YJM because that pickup seems to suit the neck position better.

I am 13 years old and have been playing for almost 11 years. My main rig consists of a Parker Fly Deluxe or my Stratocaster into a Zakk Wylde wah, a modified BOSS SD-1, a Sabine Stereo Chorus and a Yamaha Noise Reducer going into a Peavey ValveKing 1x12 50 watt tube combo. I think this is a great pickup [at least in the bridge position anyway] for neoclassical shred and heavy metal in general. If lost or stolen, I would get another HS-3 for the bridge but I would grab a YJM for the neck.

single coil, humbucking

I installed this in the bridge of an american stratocaster

Ok, Ive been playing guitar for over 15 years, and Im in a classic heavy metal band called warryor! I really wanted to like this pickup. Ive always been a strat guy. Classic humbuckers have always sounded to fuzzy/muddy for me, so when I read that this pickup retains clarity even under hi gain. I was excited to try it out! My style is classic metal, so I wanted a nice chunky sound, that doesnt flab out. Plus, I also wanted to maintain the 3 single coil look. Well, I tried it out, and was pretty dissapointed. I use an overdrive in front of a marshall tube head. The sound is great. However with this pick up, It was really muddy. And just like the dude below said. It really did sound like pancake batter, and mash potatoes. It was also way to trebley, especially with the maple neck, I had to turn the treble all the way down on my amp. I dont like that, cuase I like to have headroom on my equalizing. Furthermore, It was just to quacky and vintage sounding. I dont know, but this pickup is really hypocritical to me,,, its supposed to have clarity under even the highest gain, but it doesnt. Its just to mushy! The only positive thing is that its dead quiet. I'll stick to jb jr in the bridge. Its an excellent pickup for strats. Heavy, and not muddy! If you want to check out my sound go to www.myspace.com/officialwarryorsite

dissapointed

Stacked humbucker. Passive.

Pickup was put in my Malmsteen Signature Strat. Bridge position. Replacing the Area 61 pickups. I also put two YJM pickups in the neck and middle position. Malmsteen himself uses this exact same configuration, except he does not use the middle pickup cuz he dislikes its sound. The reason I wanted to try this is I was into one of my experimental moods, and to see if I could find something even better than the Area 61. Boy, was I wrong.

Output level is about the same as my Area 61, although technically the millivolt rating is lower. I'm using it with my POD X3, which smokes. This is simply a horrible sounding pickup. If you can imagine what pancake batter or mashed potatoes would sound like through an amp, then that's what this pickup sounds like. It's too bassy, and it simply can't handle distortion very well at all. It just turns to mush. And you can't do sweep picking very well either with this pickup, since the articulation simply is not there. This pickup really sucks in my opinion. If you want to buy a excellent replacement pickup for a Strat, invest in the Area 61. Those are fantastic sounding, and I'm putting those right back in.

If these pickups were stolen, I'd be quite happy indeed. I got no use for them. There are much better pickup choices out there.

Stacked humbucker, looks exactly like a stock Fender single coil but with none of the usual hum that you get at higher volumes and levels of gain. Not sure of all the technical specs.

I bought a 1973 hardtail (no whammy) Strat back when I was 16 years old (30 years ago). Still my main axe. The only mods are a 5-way switch and DM HS-3's in all three positions. My playing has always been on the highly saturated, overdriven and much too loud sound along the lines of Robin Trower, Hendrix, Blackmore. The stock pickups were very noisy, lots of hum and microphonic feedback that I just couldn't tolerate. Heard about these HS-3's after reading an interview with Yngwie back in the day. Whatever one thinks of him as a player, I thought the idea was brilliant, and his tone was actually pretty damn great.

I agree with the other reviews... not an exact old-school strat sound for sure. I little light on the airy, sparkling highs that come with a stock vintage instrument. My success with these babies comes from using a quality tube amp (I've had Marshall's, Orange, VHT, Sovtek, Reverend) and some kind of kicker between the guitar and amp; I've use a graphic EQ, MXR Distortion +, Expandora, Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde, Fulltone OCD, among others. Sprinkle in a good wah pedal and maybe some flange or univibe effect and I'm off in my own little world. I've had many of the so-called top guitar players in my town absolutely drooling over my tone at live shows, and they always are looking at my rig to see what I'm doing. Almost nobody asks if I've replaced the pickups, but they are a crucial piece of the chain.

Another thing you can do with these pickups... the ability to control feedback and "paint" with it is absolutely unequaled. I get a lot of comments about that as well, and I just smile and think of what a great little guitar I have... and the pickups have made all the difference.

Would I buy them again? YES. If anything ever happened to my guitar, I'd try to find another old strat and throw in some HS-3's. No question.

Been playing 30+ years now. The 73 Strat has always been my baby; have received MANY offers to sell her, but no way. I also play a 1995 Gibson SG standard... totally different instrument but I have been playing it a lot actually. Completely stock, doesn't need a thing. My effects these days are all Fulltone: OCD, mini-vibe, and the Clyde wah pedal. Holy sh-- that stuff is scary. Best sounding effects I've ever played through... I'm almost not even worthy. And depending on the night I'll either play through my little Reverend Hellhound 1x12 combo or my Orange Rockerverb 50 2x12 combo. Both amps are beyond amazing... the Orange has more gain and headroom than I could ever fully use.

I didn't really compare it to anything else...for one thing, I don't particularly like the hassle of pulling my guitar apart and soldering in new pickups just to try them out. Also, at the time I bought these, there wasn't much else on the market to compare them to. I wanted a stock appearance, with humbucking capabilities, and as close to a stock sound as possible. The HS-3 was the only contender at the time and I've been very happy ever since.

I apologize for this long review but I want to try to set the record straight on these very misunderstood pick ups, and to avenge the 15 years worth of smug condemnations I have endured from snobby guitar techs, SRV wannabes, etc for using them! Dimarzio seems to be the company everyone loves to hate. Features and specs: Single coil and passive but humbucking via "dummy" coil underneath. DC resistance is not always directly proportional to output as these very unusual pick-ups prove; a whopping 23k, yet a mere 93 mV output, lower than the most vintage of vintage single coils. This is the key to why these pick ups sound so clear and articulate in high gain situations. BTW, DON???T FORGET YOU MUST USE A 500K VOLUME POT WITH THESE PICK UPS!

I forgot to meansure inductance last time I had them out. I don???t understand why so many manufacturers only print DCR and leave you to try to guess what inductance or output might be. There are other factors but the enormous inductance of a pickup is by far the biggest factor in the sound of a pickup and the most reliable predictor of the tone you will get. Maybe that???s why so few publish this spec???it would be too easy to predict what they???ll sound like before you buy them! With traditional single coils once you get past 3 henries or so you are headed into over-wound territory if a vintage single coil is your bench mark. Increasing inductance rolls off more and more high end and heads deeper towards the lower registers which gives the illusion to the ear of more and more midrange and bass. This effect is further exaggerated by the increased output that normally results from over winding (notice I say normally) both of which together sound worse and worse into heavy distortion. By the time you hit 5 Henries or so you???ve got a dull, bloated mess unless you only play into a clean amp. The HS-3???s manage to completely avoid this syndrome and that is why I love them. They gently tone down only the notorious ???ice pick??? region in the extreme high end, the scourge of the strat-marshall fanatic. Unlike a ???normal??? pick up wound to attenuate some highs, the lower registers of the HS-3???s remain clear as a bell which is greeted with open arms by a high gain input.

My rig: Fender Custom Shop Pro stratocaster and various frankenstrats. Marshall 1987x stock gain but modded with PPI master volume, and totally rebuilt with handwired ptp board, 10H choke, replaced ss effects loop with tube buffered one and run an eventide H-3000D/SX in the loop. This rig must be heard to be believed and sounds just like the best recordings of the ultimate old school marshall sound you ever heard and at any volume. I drive the front end with a heavily modded DOD 308 and get roaring sustain and without loosing that stratocaster bell tone and with these pick ups you hear every subtle chirp and cluck on every note on the neck, it???s just incredible.

HS-3???s are very finicky and designed for the world???s most temperamental guitar, the Stratocaster. It???s not surprising there is such a range of opinions on them. They are outstanding for one thing only, which is preserving the clear bell tone of a stratocaster into high gain pedals and amps. Due to their very low output they are heavily dependant on the sensitivity of a distorted gain stage to work their magic. Unfortunately this also means they generally sound pretty flat and cold into a totally clean amp, though with just the slightest bit of gain I think they still sound good and could definitely do country, or at least modern progressive country. HS-3???s will not give you much of the ???fat strat??? tone either. Don???t take their ???slightly warmer than normal??? description too literally. They still leave you with more than enough high end presence to show up a bad set up or crappy hunk of wood and sound brittle and obnoxious. Their presence peak seems to be lower and wider than with a typical vintage sc, but it still lies solidly in the ???twang??? region.

I have used HS-3???s with many different Stratocasters and amps over the years and got everything from godly to god-awful tones with the SAME PICKUPS. They are no better than the guitar you use them in and absolutely not one that might be able to bend a bad
sounding guitar into a good sounding one. The natural acoustic tone of your guitar really has to carry the ball to produce good tone with these pick ups. But when the planets align, you get the meanest most authoritative stratocaster tone! I once put them in
cheap Japanese strat with a poplar body and got the most heinous brittle-bright tone I???ve ever heard in my life. Conversely, I recently dropped them into the finest strat I have yet played,a new Fender Custom Shop Closet Classic Pro and I am getting the most
divine strat-marshall tone I have had yet. I give them a 10 because they do what they are designed to do and no other noiseless single coil type pick up comes close, though I haven't played with the new area 58 62 yet.

If you are a strat freak like me, you are going to have to learn how to set up and intonate your own guitars. The glorious strat tone you seek comes from a critical and very personal balance between string and trem spring tension and how that gets driven into the body and neck of the guitar. Just a quarter turn of a screw can make or break this balance. If you are not getting the sound you think you should be getting with these pickups, do yourself a big favor and exhaust all the variables in set up before you give up. Your variables include: pick up height, string gauge, string brand, saddle height, claw tension, tremolo floating and how much, or flat on the body. Remember you will wack out the intonation messing with any of the above so be able to re-intonate your guitar!

A few final points: There is something about these pick ups that can hyper-magnify string rattle and in a really bad way so you need a clean playing neck. I also personally think rosewood necks usually sound horrible for strats outside of blues rock with very over-warm pickups. The sight of that rich beautiful wood rarely agrees with what my ears perceive: raspy, trashy high end and very hollow, empty midrange, though really nice bass. HS-3???s do not take kindly to such a guitar tone. Soon I hope to start recording sound clips and videos. If you e-mail I might be able to send some. Until then, if you are up to the challenge of making these work and you seek that classic ???clanking iron bar??? Stratocaster-Marshall type tone without major hum and noise, HS-3???s will be your best friend. They have been around for at least 20 years now and deserve one-of-a-kind classic status for what they do right. Play loud!

Humbucking in single coil size. 27K if I am not mistaken

I pulled out my Kramer's stock pickups (1 Quadrail x 2 Dualrails) and dropped in a Dimarzio distortion in the bridge and Hs-3's in the middle and the neck.

I don;t have problem with the DM distortion pickup but the HS-3s are not my cup of tea. The output is too weak for me (I wish DM made them louder) so I decided to let them go and dropped in their places another pickup brand. I play mostly rock (sat/vai).

Would not buy them anymore. I love the sound of the pickups (Lace Senso Blue and Red) I bought in their instead. If you're planning to buy HS-3s but you were looking forward to louder output, think again.

Passive humbucking single coil uhhhhhhh

Fender American Standard Strat
Bridge
Stock single coil
Stock singles
Swedey Shredderboy
Noise noise noise

Output is about the same as the stock single coils....maybe a tiny bit less...but I can probably adjust the pickup closer to the strings..but..you know..not a noticeable difference. Using it with a Digitech GSP2101 or a Boss GT8..with a Carvin T100 tube poweramp into 2 12" closed back Vintage 30 cabs. The tone really surprised me....this pickup is like a blank canvas..it is totally neutral...but in a good way..It is kinda weird actually...you can throw buttloads of gain at it...it does not get muddy...you can sharpen it up with trebles...and it does not get screechy (to a point) and the more gain you throw at it..with delay and maybe some chorus..it BURNS...but in a very balanced way.
My main problem with the digitech has always been that for leadwork, it is can be stiff and too sharp...too digital...I have never been able to dial out the trebles without making it too dark..or muddy, etc. This pickup has been great with this unit....getting it into some really high quality high gain tones..flutey,searing.. liquid...but clear and noiseless.Retains detail when LOADED with gain and effects. I had always been able to get good classic rock, psychedelic, blues and jazzy tones out of the unit...as well as good grinding metal rhythm tones...but was never satisfied with the lead sounds...I am pretty impressed...the down side to the pickup...which has been a general complaint on this forum are the cleans...they are not bad, per se...just very sterile.No pop or quack. Does not play well with my middle pickup...and creates hum when used with it. So...there is certainly a cost to the high gain bliss....Is it worth it? To me...yes..other guys...maybe not...but I have a strat with 2 other pickups that sound great clean..so....do the math.
I would not use this pickup in any other position except the neck...only *IF* I wanted to really nail a Malmsteen sound...which I have no interest in...because I have a feeling it would not be a great clean tone in the neck pos. Probably good in the neck with lots of gain if you are looking for that Yngwie tone that does not get muddy..even with the bass/neck pickup.
I play hard rock,jazz,metal,shred,blues...whatever...this pickup is best suited to fusion...shred...I mean..there is a real reason Yngwie uses this pickup. BUT if you are not nuts about his particular tone...it is the clarity that works well with a style of music that favors a barrage of notes..that easily gets mushy at fast speeds....if you need clarity and a pickup that is easy to mold your tone with....Um...I think this might be it.

I would buy this pickup again...it is different from most of the pickups out there...I mean..I have not used a lot of the Rio Grande stuff or Kinmans, etc...but I have used my share of aftermarket and revered manufacturers (PRS.Gibson,Duncan,Carvin,Dimarzio,Fender,EMG,etc) This has had a bit of an abstract approach....using a low output to play high gain stuff...seems nutty...but...it holds detail better than ANY of the other pickups I have used.
Have owned VHT,Yamaha,Carvin,Gibson,Fender, a buncha other krapola..lol. Been playing over 20 years...eek.
I love the balance of this pickup...I love that fact that it is not screechy, but clear...a lot of people think that a Duncan JB pickup is balanced...I find this to be more balanced than that...clear..but without the ice picky-ness....I hate the fact that it does not sound like a strat clean...but...you know...I kinda knew that going into it...NOT what I bought it for...
I love the sound of the pickup. Can't wait to try it on a Splawn,Bogner,VHT...Voodoo amp..etc. If it sounds good with the current incarnation of my rig...I think it should sound unreal with one of those...we'll see.

humbucking single coil
dont know the specs

I have these installed in all 30 of my vintage fender stratocasters.
i use them in all positions. I took all of the original pickups in these lovely guitars and chucked them in favor of these.
I use them. Thats is all that matters. Im the vest in the vorlrd and I veet everybody.

These pickups sound great in my vintage fenders. I take about 15-20 to each gig and use a different guitar on each song. with these pickups, I can use different guitars into my marshalls with my DOD overdrive and get the same incredible sound on every song.

I love my strats and now I have my own model pickup so i'll probably be chucking all these pickups away soon. As i said, I veat everyone and so does these pickups except my new prototype that beets these because my new pickups are treated with my sweat and basted in the marinades from my new book " bring on the burgers".I am totally satisified with my playing and my sound so I will never change pickups or anything.I wont practice anymore because im the vest in the vorld. How can I grow as a musician when Im the vest. Little boy. The tone I get with these and my scalloped fretboard is amazing.

Pickup features: Stacked single-coil passive.
Impedence or other specs: 93mV output

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Stratocaster (Warmoth) w/ Callaham vintage bridge, scalloped neck
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: N/A
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio HS-3
Artists using this pickup: Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Stump, James Byrd
You musical style(s): Rock, progressive rock, blues, jazz, metal
Reason for pickup change: Always wanted to try these out based on my appreciation for Yngwie's tone. My other Strat has humbuckers.

Perceived output level: Lower output than stock Strat single-coils.
Tone: Clear, well-balanced, bright without being tinny.
Sonic evaluation: First off...my guitar: Warmoth rosewood/maple neck, 21 frets, 6100 fretwire, scalloped. Bone nut, vintage Kluson tuners, alder body with flame maple top. Callaham vintage 6-screw Strat bridge.
My signal chain:
Guitar-Boss CS-3 Compressor/Sustainer-Crybaby Wah-Tech21 Sansamp GT2...this goes to either a Behringer V-amp2 (if I'm playing through my PC), a Line 6 Spider II amp (if practicing at home), a PA system or a Roland JC-120 if I'm out at a gig.
In my opinion, these pickups are excellent in all positions for overdriven and high-gain tones, as well as shimmering clean tones. They are not as bright as stock Strat pickups, and the "in-between" positions don't have the same degree of "quack". This doesn't mean they sound bad...in fact, I can get some AMAZING blues tones out of this guitar when I'm not ripping it up.
These pickups do not hide your playing...if you like the idea of a pickup that articulates the nuances of your picking style, with a smooth, balanced response and clean output...these are the pickups for you. Excellent for fast lead runs.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play a mix of everything from 70s classic rock, 80's metal, neoclassical shred, blues and jazz. These pickups are great for all of them - even super-high gain chunk (just use a compressor or booster prior to your amp). I suspect these pickups wouldn't be great for country picking, but I wouldn't know, since I don't play country.

Comments: If these were destroyed or stolen, I'd buy them again in a second. I've played through tons of guitars and pickups over the years...I love these! I will NEVER go back to full-size humbuckers again. I've been playing 16 years. I have another Strat, loaded with DiMarzios - PAF Pro/Virtual Vintage/Super Distortion. Those pickups are going "bye-bye" and will soon be replaced by another set of HS-3s. If you are serious about sounding your best, and you like every note you play to be clearly presented, you will love these pickups.

Pickup features: Stack
Impedence or other specs: -

Model of guitar or bass: YJM Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Fender
Other pickups on guitar: YJM (neck) Stock Fender (middle)
Artists using this pickup: Yngwie, Joe Stump, etc
You musical style(s): Metal, Hard, Neoclassical and fusion
Reason for pickup change: Single coil's "Hum from hell" and searching for a "warmer" sound.

Perceived output level: Output level is low. Definally. Less or equal than a Fender single...
Tone: Not so bassy, more treble.
Sonic evaluation: Using a YJM strat in a VS-100 combo. Sounds a little poor, it can't "make a party" alone, but using a cs-3 boss compressor this pickup make hot and freak sounds! And better: NO HUM AT ALL! Clean sound is not great, but not bad, just simple.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Indicated for fret burners. Use it on the neck or (most typical) in bridge

Comments: My safisfaction about this pickup was in the first place the ausence of hum (with a YJM hs-4 in neck position). You can't tell if your guitar volume is "open" or not, NO MORE NOISE. I was expecting a hotter sound, with more power of output, but it's a good pickup anyway.