DiMarzio Steve's Special

Pickup features: humbucker
Impedence or other specs: passive humbucker. fairly hot.

Model of guitar or bass: ibanez rgt42
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock inf1 and inf2
Other pickups on guitar: paf joe
Artists using this pickup: petrucci
You musical style(s): progressive metal
Reason for pickup change: stock pickups are sterile.

Perceived output level: hot. but in highs and lows mostly.
Tone: very clear. smiley eq'd. totally different animal.
Sonic evaluation: using this pickup on an ibanez rgt42 (mahogany neck-thru) along with a paf joe. playing thru a pod xt live. this pickup sounds alot like the olp mm1 (evh) pickup. i tried both and i think i actually prefer the olp pickup. the olp has more balls (and quack when coil tapped.) i also own the ibanez universe 7 string with the same steve's special type pickups (blaze). the clarity is definately there. not for the sloppy player. if you shred, you owe it to yourself to use a pickup that shows off all that practice time you put in.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: i've used the pickup for a variety of styles, but it suits progressive metal the best.

Comments: if the pickup was lost or stolen, i'd first look on ebay for a set of olp mm1 pickups or maybe a set of carvin pickups. if not, buy the dimarzio's again.

Pickup features: humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Hamer Standard USA
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: EMG 81
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: John Petrucci, Steve Via
You musical style(s): Rock/Metal
Reason for pickup change: EMG's were too sterile for my changing tone prefference. My set neck mahogany Hamer sounded EXACTLY like my poplar bolt on Jackson Kelly

Perceived output level: Hot; scooped mids and open at the same time
Tone: Hard to describe.....Scooped mids, but sounded full, fat, open and clear all at the same time
Sonic evaluation: Hamer USA Standard explorer through a Peavey 5151 II modded to take EL34 groove tubed power tubes and switched to groove tubes ECC83 preamp tubes. No FX other than some use of a Behringer Ultra Q Pro Parametric EQ.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Classic rock, 80's metal, heavy metal and some of the new swedish metal bands.

Comments: I have went through several pick-up changes in guitars since i started playing in 1991 at age 11. I was a DIE HARD EMG user for years. As i started to get away from strictly palmuted downpicking power chords and riffs i noticed that my sound was very limited. Changes made at the guitar made little difference. The EMG's don't respond to changes in pick attack very well at all. They also rob the natural wood tones away from the guitar they are in. I knew the kind of sound I was looking for so a good buddy of mine walked me through his stash of Dimarzios. Once we narrowed it down to a tone i was looking for he recomended the Steve's Special. Once I installed it I was blown away. I had no idea my guitar sounded that good. It made a great guitar even greater. I like the sound so good that I am affraid to try another pick-up in it.

Pickup features: Humbucking Passive
Impedence or other specs: 17.89K 390mv ceramic magnet

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez RG1570
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock IBZ V8
Other pickups on guitar: Humbucker From Hell
Artists using this pickup: Don't know of any that endorse it anymore
You musical style(s): Metal (neoclassical), Rock
Reason for pickup change: V8 wasn't bad, just not what I wanted. Plus I have an aversion to stock pickups.

Perceived output level: output is high, feels like it is hitting your amps front end pretty hard
Tone: it has a pretty broad EQ, with less emphasis on the mid range. very clear.
Sonic evaluation: As I said I use it in an Ibanez RG1570, and into several different amps, but mainly into a Laney GH100L feeding a Legacy 4X12 with celestion vintage 30's. I only have a boss delay in the loop as far as processing is concerned. This pickup has a very interesting tone to it, unlike anything I have heard before. Even Dimarzio states that it has very unorthadox sonic characteristics for a pickup in its type and class. It has boosted treble and Bass freq. while having a subdued midrange. Although the mids are cut, it has this very strong aww-like vocal quality to it. It also has a lot of clarity , but is very smooth at the same time. I find it useful because I play through a mid-heavy amp, and dial in alot of mids on my amps e.q. This pick-up lets me dial in alot of tone, without turning to mud. Apparently I was told Steve Blucher, the designer, being a legato player himself, designed it for that purpose. It works very well for Legato and picking equally. overall an excellent Pickup.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I mostly do the shred thing, although I do dabble in various different styles. I think If you are a good player, and you use the right e.q. this pick would be able to handle anything. I probably would not recommend this pickup for the neck position though, It may be too hot to balance well with any other .

Comments: If it were stolen I would buy it again, this is actually my second time owning this pickup. I'm very satisfied with it but I kind of like a varity of sounds available to me, much similar to how I like my women, so I probably wont put it in more than one guitar at a time.

Pickup features: Humbucking Passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez SA 120 BK
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: AH4 (Stock PU)
Other pickups on guitar: AS2 medium and bridge
Artists using this pickup: John Petrucci!!!!
You musical style(s): Since Jimmy Page to Dimebag Darrel
Reason for pickup change: Really need more clearly sound, more punch and dynamics than stock pickup can offer me. Looking for much more harmonics and trying to get clearly sound even using brutal distortion.

Perceived output level: I think output level is high enough, but on my guitar is well-balanced with bridge pickup
Tone: Great Basses!!!! enough trebble and scooped mediums, but don't worry you can get back all of your mids with your amp!!!!!
Sonic evaluation: I'm using a 60 wats AXL, poor poor amp, but trust me, change your pickup to this one and you'll get a sound completely different for the one you're used to. This pickup really suits the sound i was looking for. If you play with lots of distortion this pickup will show you how your guitar really sounds. If you play without distortion you'll find an indescriptible clearly sound, really matches the open strings arpeggios ala Petrucci and Steve Morse. The most impressive thing about this pickup is that you ALWAYS listen what you're playing, no matters how much distortion or effects you're using. If your guitar is made by mahogany don't think it twice BUY THIS PICKUP, it's really amazing how thos wood makes scream this pickup and, in the other hand, keep the sound woody, hot, and really full of harmonics. One more thing, try to play a tapping piece (such as Van Halen's Eruption) and you will see how much punch and sound definition this pickup can give you, AMAZING PICKUP.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play primary metal music (Petrucci fan) but you can get Hammet's sound, or Vai's bridge sound (with a little spent of time in searching the correct EQ), even Page's sounds and jazzy's sounds if you want to

Comments: I'm completely satisfied with this pickup. I've never thought a pickup can really change my sound like this one has did it. But one thing, this is a pickup (I think) for lead guitar, if you are a rithm guitarist, you may choose a Tone Zone or something like that. SS really works when you plays solos or open chords, if you're lookinfg for a pickup to play only power chords this one will not match you, or maybe it will give you to another universe in guitar playing :)

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 390mv

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez RG 2550EX
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Dimarzio/Ibz Stock
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio/Ibz neck, middle
Artists using this pickup: None that I know of
You musical style(s): Metal, Rock, Progressive
Reason for pickup change: The Stock Dimarzio/Ibz sounded descent but a little weak for my taste.

Perceived output level: Hot, But not overly hot, Has a balanced feel, enough output that if you need it, it's there
Tone: A little Bassy but not at all muddy, Mids are slightly cut to give it an edge, Treble is balanced
Sonic evaluation: I am using an Ibanez RG2550EX through a Peavey XXL212 Combo with a Korg AX1500 Effects processer. This Pickup is very Balanced. It has a very clean sound meaning that all notes in a chord can be heard and this pick up keeps the distortion from getting muddy. For soloing, it creates good sustain, and best of all the arppegiated notes don't seem to run together as much as with other pickups. The result is a heavy but very smooth distortion which was exactly what I was after. The clean tone is actually pretty good too. It's punchy and full sounding.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play alot of different styles, from metal to classical and I think this pick is versatile enough to really handle anything

Comments: I'm a little new to Dimarzio pickups because I've used alot of Seymour Duncans in the past. Dimarzio is good for those who want a more cleaned up tone and actually want to have what they are playing come through instead of being lost in the mud of an say an invader that some power chord playing, Tom Delonge wannabe would use. I am satisfied with this pickup because it has a edge and at the same time you can solo on it and you can hear every note you are playing. Great pickup.

Pickup features: Humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez RG1570
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock V8
Other pickups on guitar: Breed in the neck position / stock single coil in middle
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Heavy stuff
Reason for pickup change: Needed to drop the stock pickups

Perceived output level: Hot enough without overpowering
Tone: Bright and punchy without all the noise
Sonic evaluation: I ran this pickup through my friends rig, as well as mine. I eventually just plugged it into my V-Amp2. It sounded awesome. Compared to my friends Evolutions, it was a little less bright and more hard hitting for rhythm. The Evolution seemed more Vai'ish and this was more in the middle of the road. You can here all the notes on a very distorted amp. If you are looking to play a little of everything(Vai to regular Rock), this pickup is for you.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I like stuff from Vai to Sevendust. It is a good match for me since I like a lot of different styles.

Comments: I would buy it again. At this point, I don't need anything else in a pickup. My search is over.
Again, if you want a high output pickup that can sound similar to a lot of different players; buy one of these. Hey, Dimarzio will exchange it anyway if you are unsatisfied.

Pickup features: Humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez RG 1570L
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Ibanez V8
Other pickups on guitar: Di Marzio Evolution (neck)
Artists using this pickup: Me and John Petrucci
You musical style(s): Everything I like!
Reason for pickup change: I wasn't really disappointed with the old one but I knew it wasn't the best choice for my guitar

Perceived output level: It's not hot, it's cold, but in a very good way, maybe because of the (missing) mediums. Just after having installed the pick ups I think you won't notice any real difference from the old one, but I'm sure after having played for 5 minutes you won't change it anymore!
Tone: Not so much mediums, great basses and not so much highs
Sonic evaluation: I use this Ibanez on different amps, both tubes and transistor and everytime, most of the times driving them with a HUGE pedal, the good old DS-1!On tube amplifiers this pick up makes the difference.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I like this pick up because enables me to play so much different things, from heavy metal to regular rock music.

Comments: I don't know if I would buy it again, but I think it's a good pick up if you like to play with your hands and don't count on other toys to create your sound.

Pickup features: passive humbucker, nothing "special" for the looks
Impedence or other specs: output something like 390 mV, pretty high output

Model of guitar or bass: have it in 2 guitars: a Ibanez JPM100P4 and a Charvel Model 6 (japanese made SL1)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: in the Ibanez it came stock. The Charvel had some crappy Jackson PU's (J-50BC in the bridge) with a midbooster
Other pickups on guitar: on the JPM the standard DiMarzio Air Norton (great PU as wel) and on the Charvel there is a SD lil 59 in the middle pos and a lil screamin' demon in the neck
Artists using this pickup: John Petrucci (duh)
You musical style(s): lots of styles, virutally everything except RnB. most of the stuff I do is somewhere in between rock and prog metal
Reason for pickup change: well, I only did that in the charvel (replace the PU). The first guitar I had with a dimarzio PU was the JPM and I had to get used to the very distinctive sound of the special. I mean, an PU with a scooped mid is unusual since a lot of amps have their emphasis on the mid frequenties and that are the frequencies a guitar has to do its job in a band. Actually I was thinking of replacing it, until I discovered how to tune my amp correctly for the PU and it started to live beyond imagination. So after a while I bought that Charvel and since the PU's on that particular guitar sucked donkey balls I changed the bridgePU to what had become my fav bridge pu: the steve's special. Hell, this is a lot of bullcrap to say the PU on the charvel were bad =D.

Perceived output level: the output is high, but since it is spread over a lot of frequencies that are not the main guitar freqs it is not that loud. still way louder than for example PAF's, but it is not as extreme as the output may suggest.
Tone: as said before: boosted bas and treble, mid is scooped
Sonic evaluation: guitar -> Mesa/Boogie Quad pre and fifty/fifty poweramp -> cab. no effects to suck tone; you get the purest tone this way and that is a good thing when having some nice guitars.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: this thing covers up a lot of styles: from poprock to metal it does it all. for the more poppy sounds it is to harsh, to agressive or whatever you want to call it.

Comments: The first thing I want to say, is that I was surprised about how different this PU is responding to different guitars. I was always told that the sound of the guitar was made for 80% by the pu and 20% was the construction, the kind of tone wood, the type of bridge etc. Well, I can certainly underline a pu is very important, but the 80/20 thing is not correct. I was really surprised by the difference between the 2 guitars. The Ibanez is made of basswood (pretty even balanced tonewood, neutral is even a better discription) and has a bolt on maple neck. The charvel is made of poplar, which is similar to alder (warm? not really as far as I know) and has a maple neck through construction. so, a lot of maple (=higher frequencies response) for the charvel and I was really uncertain wheter it would sound shrill or trebly, because in the Ibanez it is not really bassy. well, you can imagine my surprise when I found out that it sounded really warm and full in the charvel, and the only thing that kept me from thinking it was a different PU was the agressiveness of the attack. That brings me to one of the really good things about the Steve's Special: the attack. Since I play mostly rock and metal, some punch is required and that is something this thingy provides.
the second thing is the destinctive tone. A humbucker (or a PU) with a midscoop is rare, lots of PU's concentrate on the mid/higher mid frequencies, and that is something this one does NOT do. result: an original tone, that sets you apart from other guitarists. Everyone is looking for his own tone, and I found my one to be in the SS and it is a good thing it is an original PU. so no complaints at all.
for the replacement I was having a tough choice between a Tone Zone and a SS (and as you can read from my description, the SS is really different from the middy tonezone). The reason for the SS was initially that I wanted 2 guitars with a similar bridge PU (because I was in living in the assumption of the 80/20 mistake). Well, that one was wrong, but it turned out to be the "best mistake" I could possibly make!
so everyone: ir you like to try something different from the bunch: this one is it!

Pickup features: Humbucking, Passive
Impedence or other specs: 17.89K , Output = 390mV

Model of guitar or bass: Godin LGT
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Lace D-150
Other pickups on guitar: DiMarzio Air Norton
Artists using this pickup: John Petrucci during the mid-90's
You musical style(s): Rock
Reason for pickup change: Changed the neck pickup from a single coil to humbucker
(Lace Blue Sensor to DiMarzio Air Norton). Bought the Steve's
Special to match. Also wanted a pickup that retained its
clarity when distorted.

Perceived output level: Definitely hotter than the Lace D-150, but probably on par with most humbuckers.
Tone: Increased bass and treble with scooped mids. Crystal clear. Super clarity regardless of gain level.
Sonic evaluation: I have a Line 6 Spider 2X10, and love having the variety of tones. To
give me even more choices, I have my guitar wired with a double-pole
5-way switch and two push/pull pots. This gives me a total of 10 pickup combinations. Much to my surprise and delight, every combination is amazing - not a weak one in the bunch (including the Air Norton in the neck).
The Steve's Special is designed to remain it's clarity, even with the greatest of distortion. At this, the pickup really excels. I've heard other Line 6 Spider owners say that one of the amps presets, named "Insane", is so distorted that it's unusable. Well, I can tell you I can play seventh chords in the Insane mode and can easily distinguish every note in a chord.
In split mode, I hardly notice any drop in volume and the tone is very sweet on the clean channel with added chorus.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Well, I know John Petrucci made these pickups famous, but I have to honestly say that I have never heard a single note of his playing. I guess it's suitable for prog-rock, but I play classic rock, Pearl Jam type stuff and I love this pickup for what I do.

Comments: This is the third pickup I've had in my guitar, and I am finally able to say the search is over. I can get a hot tone, play jazzy type chords and hear every note.
It also sounds great clean, sounds great when split, and sounds great in combination with the Air Norton (full coils, split inside coils, and split outside coils).
Just beware if you're interested in the 5-way switch, two pull pot set-up. The wiring diagram is not on DiMarzio's site, but they will send it to you upon request. Unfortunately, there was an error in the diagram that resulted in a short in the 2 & 4 positions. It was only on my third trip to the guitar shop that the technician noticed the error, and called DiMarzio. I now have the proper diagram. (Should also point out that despite the error in the diagram, I have found DiMarzio to be very responsive and give them a 10 in terms of overall service).
Would buy again in an instant.

Pickup features: Humbucker, passive, CERAMIC bar.
Impedence or other specs: www.dimarzio.com

Model of guitar or bass: RG3120, mahogany body and maple top
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Tone Zone
Other pickups on guitar: Air Norton
Artists using this pickup: Petrucci and Rob Balducci
You musical style(s): Vai, Petrucci, Balducci, Satriani, the likes!
Reason for pickup change: Just decided to try. I was teased by Rob Balducci after he responded to my email saying that this pickup sounded great. He sounds great and he used tone zone like me for years so I said, lets just try a bit.

Perceived output level: tricky tricky. Say the output is supposed to be slightly more than a tone zone but sounds just like it. The scooped mids help it stay clean and don't break up as much.
Tone: Bassy and trebly. Very balanced on my guitar due to the wood.
Sonic evaluation: Ibanez RG3120--> Rocktron Preamp, voodu valve---> MesaBoogie50/50----> 4X12 Legacy cab (vintage 30's) wired in Stereo.
Steve's Special's history, blaze and 7th string guitars.
I believe this pick up can trace its background to the Blaze used on the 7-string Ibanez. That pickup came up after researching a method to obtain a broad range of frequencies to accomodate for the 7-string. That is to keep it not turning into mud. This was obtained by having two coils tuned to different frequencies. The blaze is still a very good sounding pickup up to today standards. Though lending a bit to "older" sounding than new modern tone. To get a picture listen to Petrucci's records from 7-string and entire Steve vai album Passion and Walfare.
The present,
Though I hold no evidence of this I can imagine that players after using their 7-string and liking the sound of that guitar started to ask dear Steve Blucher to make something along those lines. Hence Steve's Special was born. Equaly the same the Special has two coils that have substantially different sound together producing a wide spread of frequencies and again creating a boosted bass and mids. Yet it feels to me that the special sounds slightly more modern and better when clean.
The future,
As of today, year 2003 dimarzio has announced yet another pickup with again coils tuned to different frequencies. It is the DropSonic? and looks promising.
My story
I used tone zone for more than 7 years paired up with the air norton. I was a happy man with tone zone and by looking back I can't really say I had a good reason to change other that I wanted to try something new. I grew up listening to Passion and Walfare and wanted to sound like it all my life and when I heard petrucci I got really interested in trying this pickup.
So here we go, sonic evaluation:
Steve's Special produces a sound that is open. This is it keeps your attack clean. Yeah remember how you could easily make your tone zone (or paf pro or fred) break up, well not here. The Special stays clean and breaks up very differently. When it breaks up it does it trebbly sweet, on the other hand tone zone does it middy nasal.
With this pickup it really feels like my guitar sound is comming through. The chords are so balanced... you get that dimarzio trademark treble and is quite pleasent. Sometimes when using the tone zone I felt like I had to change the sound to play riffs and then again to play solos. On this pickup all the frequencies are there. When playing higher frets you hear the treble come through, excellent for solos and just the righ amount. When playing riffs you hear the bass, excellent for riffs a la vai, satriani, and of course petrucci. The harmonics jump out and sound like the most beatiful thing, very much like Passion and Walfare once again. Dive bomb and you will heard a great sounding well balance pick up that sounds simply amazing.
My guitar is a mahogany body with maple top. This wood combination matches the pickup simply perfectly. The sound is really sweet, powerful, hot and open like dimarzio says.
When I first installed the pickup I didn't like the sound. It is its nature so different from the common use of one frequency boost such as the one in the tone zone, paf pro and freds, that I just couldn't get used to it. But and this is a big but, you should give it some time because the sound definitly grows on you. After the second day I just loved it. I played to much for 3 days straight that my left arm hurt and I could't lift heavy objects. Moments like this make me rethink if I really want to be in Medical School.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Like I said, I play mostly Vai and Satriani.... It is

Comments: For now I can't think of anything else that would make me happier. I have been playing for 10 years now and I also own a Les Paul, all mahogany. That one has air norton(neck) and paf pro(bridge). I wasn't looking for A sound. I was honestly a bit concern that I would miss the mids but no way. The way this pick up works you can add it on your peamp and get the best of all worlds. To email me erase the NOSPAM part of my email. I am selling a tone zone if anyone is interested email me. Be happy, smart and enjoy life!