DiMarzio Super Distortion

Pickup features: Humbucker, passive, double cream coils, allen wrench adjustments
Impedence or other specs: Dunno, don't much care

Model of guitar or bass: Kramer Focus and my Erlewine Automatic
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock weak crap
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Al Dimeola, notably,.......and every other 80's rock God
You musical style(s): Metal, Blues, and whatever
Reason for pickup change: Der, to get better tone and sounds. The Kramer had some wimpy, weird stock pickup and the Erlewine import had some cheapo pickups in there that needed replacing.

Perceived output level: Very loud output...I mean like WAY loud.....almost TOO loud.
Tone: Great balance but never a trace of mud if set up correctly...see next section
Sonic evaluation: I'm plugging into a 1976 Marshall JMP 50 watt head, 6550's and 4 input, no cheesy master volume...just CRANK it, dude! Also into a 1970's Super reverb and a 1960's Deluxe Reverb occassionally. *Here's the THING about this pickup...listen up...Ya GOTTA set them low in the pocket....DON'T adjust them to be close to the strings...you just muddy up the sound and screw everything up. Set LOW, these pickups SHINE and sound magnificent ! Awesome tone with the perfect balance of highs, mids and lows, combined with a LOUD output signal that kicks yer amp in the ass and makes it come to life. I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH PEOPLE...SET THEM LOW IN THE POCKET...YOU WILL NOT LOSE TONE..YOU ONLY MAKE EM SOUND BETTER IN EVERY WAY. THESE PICKUPS ARE SO LOUD THAT THEY NEED TO BE SET LOW OR THEY OVERWHELM EVERYTHING. TRY IT, YOU'LL SEE.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I love 70's ,80's metal and blues, back when guitar gods roamed the earth.

Comments: I've used Dimarzios since the early 80's....They started it all didn't they? I mean the replacement pickup market...Dimarzio and Seymour broke the ground for everyone else. Thanks Larry and Seymour....for the improved sounds. You guys made a LOT of second rate guitars sound good and good guitars sound awesome. I just slapped a zebra Super Distortion into a Kramer Focus...made it sound 10 times better. I also like the clean tone of this pickup into a nice clean Fender amp...it works nicely there too...not too bright like other buckers....not too dark either. I think the Super Distortion is the ROCK foundation pickup that spawned all others. It is the mother of all pickups....if you don't like the sound of it, you are deaf, or using it wrong, or have a crappy amp. And my opinion is better than yers, so THERE.

Pickup features: passive ceramic magnet humbucker with four conductors
Impedence or other specs: 425mv output, 13.68k DC resistance,

Model of guitar or bass: 1997 Fender Big Apple Stratocaster
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour Duncan '59
Artists using this pickup: No one has ever used this pickup before.
You musical style(s): "alternative" music, indie rock, post rock anti-folk, hardcore
Reason for pickup change: although the Pearly Gates offers an interesting upper midrange and treble voice, it is more suited for soloing and applications that do not require a lot of gain. I needed a burst of output capable of allowing my amplifiers the headroom they need for optimum overdrive levels.

Perceived output level: At least twice as much as the Pearly Gates or other normal output pickups
Tone: This pickup was designed to be more bass oriented with a kick in the midrange. It does this quite well, but I was suprised that the tone did not lend itself to muddiness or a lack of clarity.
Sonic evaluation: The guitar it is in, as stated above, is a dual humbucker model Stratocaster. This is run into either a Marshall JCM 900 head or a Mesa Nomad 100w combo. I find the output to a perfect amount; it lets me keep the gain a little above half way on my amps. Before I had this pickup installed, I was pushing the overdrive to 10 on both amps and not getting the results I want. The gain amount I'm looking for is perhaps Tool or Weezer oriented, as a reference. There is a suspicious amount of clarity in this pickup. As this is my first high output pickup and my first Dimarzio, I was ensure as to what I should expect. However I was greatly satisfied. The mids are smooth and grinding. It goes RAAAAAA just the way I want it to. The treble is biting, with an edge. Some players prefer a smooth, almost liquid distortion on their high notes, but I don't care for it. The clean sounds are not as disgusting as everyone seems to believe. However, if you have an amp that doesn't provide a gain control for its clean channel you may have trouble with unwanted distortion/clipping. When the coils are split it essentially offers the same sound, except slinkier and with a single-coil like character. Splitting also cuts the gain what seems like in half.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Basically this pickup is suitable for rock and roll in all its elusive forms. I have heard of people using it in the neck position, but I have no experience or desire for that. Styles of music that necesitate strictly low gain sounds would probably suffer at the hands of a Super Distortion.

Comments: If it were stolen or destroyed, I would probably get a Seymour Duncan Custom. The only thing that prevented me from getting one of those in the first place is that I wasn't sure if it had the kind of output I wanted. Too late did I find out that it did. However, I am not dissapointed with my current selection; I would only change it if it was necessary, and only to try something different for fun. I've been playing for 5 years. I love the output and tonal characteristics of this pickup. I don't particularly hate anything about it. Sometimes a person will be at work, or in their car, and a small part of their brain will start clicking like an old semi-functional grandfather clock. Sometimes street lamps will flicker in a certain way, or a bowling alley will echo with the thunder of a dozen games of 10 pins. Sometimes the exhaust from the back of a car will sputter its perspiration into a january sky, and a person will think to himself "There must be more rock." That is when you should get the Super Distortion

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: n/a

Model of guitar or bass: 1995 Gibson Les Paul Special
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Gibson P-100
Other pickups on guitar: Gibson P-100 (neck)
Artists using this pickup: Ace Frehley, Paul Gilbert, Dave Murry, Adrian Smith, everybody
You musical style(s): Progressive Metal, 90's Hard Rock, Classic Rock, 80's Metal, New Metal
Reason for pickup change: The stock P-100 was wonderful for the neck, but was weak, shrill, and too rough for my liking. It also lost any "pep" that it had when i first got it.

Perceived output level: Much hotter than Gibson's Iommi Sig. Hum; one of the hottest on the market.
Tone: Very balanced, musical sound. The treble is tasteful, the mids are somewhat boosted, the bass is full but not farty or boomy.
Sonic evaluation: I am currently using a Laney 50 watt AOR Pro Tube head with a Peavey 2X15 bass cab (yes, that's right) with the following fx: an old Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive, a Boss DS-1 Distortion, and a Crybaby. The crunch that this pickup puts out is amazing. It pushes the amp on a clean setting nicely, while it maintains its balanced sound when I'm in "Zakk Wylde" mode (amp cranked to heavy overdrive, and the SD-1 warming up and boosting the already insane amount of gain). It lets every string ring through at the same level. But the real kicker is using the pickup CLEAN. Through the low output of my amp, the pickup gives a very dark, piano-like tibre with a round but potent articulation. I will be using a friends Mesa/Boogie Dual Recto stack this week and I'm sure the sound will be just as sick.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I would recommend this pickup for just about any style, from Slipknot to Kiss, from Queensryche to matchbox 20.

Comments: I've been playing for 8 years. I usually play in 1-off performances and casual bands. I really can't describe my style or my sound. I am mostly influenced by Zakk Wylde (Ozzy), Randy Rhodes (Ozzy), Chris DeGarmo (Queensryche), and Jon Shaffer (Iced Earth). I mostly sing in these bands, but now that I am finally satisfied with my gear, I think I'll start playing much more. If it were stolen or destroyed, I would buy about 40 spares. I will probably never play another pickup except for Dimarzio products. I would like to try the Tone Zone, XN2 and Steve's Special sometime.

Pickup features: Late 70's high output passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Westbury Deluxe (somewhat like a double cutaway Les Paul)
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: na
Other pickups on guitar: Dual Sound SDHB at the bridge
Artists using this pickup: Kiss. My guitar teacher really rates the SDHB too -- and he knows his onions
You musical style(s): Blues, blues-rock, classic rock, Thin Lizzy, Led Zeppelin, Clapton blues, Freddie King
Reason for pickup change: na

Perceived output level: High. warm and powerful
Tone: Balanced. Control the power via volume .
Sonic evaluation: Very versatile (just use the volume to control output level) - you could play anything from Jazz to thrash metal with this pick-up and it would sound great. It does a very nice subtle Peter Green Albatross sound for example, and hard classic rock comes easily --- but I use it mainly for blues ... sounds lovely and warm. Marshall G15RCD practice amp. Trace Elliot Velocette 20W tube amp. This pick-up is warm like a Les Paul Standard but noticebly more powerful -- I would say it is probably less sophisticated sounding than a Les Paul pick-up ... but that is very subjective, control settings on the guitar and amp make such a difference I have never A-B the two.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Blues. Blues rock. Classic rock. You could play anything from Jazz to thrash metal on these babies.

Comments: Yes I would buy this again. They are quite affordable -- especially when on sale or second hand. They suit the guitar very well. I would like to try Lindy Fralin humbuckers -- but probably not in this guitar (probably a Les Paul).

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: Who cares?

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson SG
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: 498T
Other pickups on guitar: 490R neck
Artists using this pickup: Lots, namely Ace
You musical style(s): Hard Rock, Old School Metal
Reason for pickup change: The 498T was too bright and lacked definition in the lower strings.

Perceived output level: Output seems normal, maybe a little more than the 498T
Tone: Lotsa mids, not too trebly. Good low end chug.
Sonic evaluation: I play a 2000 Gibson SG Special through an ART DST 80/80. I wanted more growl and low end and this pick up gives it to me. It's a lot more mid rangey than I expected it to be -- I've had to turn down the midrange settings on my amp quite a bit from their usual level, but I've managed to re-tweak the amp so it sounds really good. I've had this pickup in for about a month and I've gigged with it. I often go into the crowd with a wireless, and I was happy with the improvement in sound I noticed from the crowd perspective as well as my sound from the stage.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Asked and answered.

Comments: I would recommend this pickup. I think it's a great improvement over the 498T, which was too trebly and not as well defined in the low end. This is a good sounding pickup. If lost, I would probably replace it, although I'd also be curious to try a Duncan Distortion or an EMG 81. The Super Distortion is right up there as a very well made, good sounding pickup.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: Fuck would I know?

Model of guitar or bass: ESP LTD MH-300
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: EMG-HZ
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio X2N
Artists using this pickup: Way too many...
You musical style(s): Thrash/Death/Black metal
Reason for pickup change: Sonic experimentation

Perceived output level: Very hot, more than the EMG-HZ
Tone: Godd bass, bit less mids, bit less treble, beefier than the EMG-HZ
Sonic evaluation: ESP LTD MH-300 -> Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber + head -> Marshall 1960A cabinet

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Good for metal

Comments: This is my lead and clean pickup, does a good job. TO ME, there is a negligable tonal difference between hot ceramic pickups. That's just me though.

Pickup features: High output passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: RG 120
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Ibanez Powersound(bridge)
Other pickups on guitar: Powersound(neck)
Artists using this pickup: Kiss(Ace Frehly),I believe Iron Maiden uses them on thier super strats
You musical style(s): Punk,Metal
Reason for pickup change: Powersounds were muddy and wanted something with more output but good bass,I had a diffivult time getting a good tone from the Powersound

Perceived output level: At first,slightly better,but later,HOT,HOT,HOT!Illl explain later
Tone: well balanced
Sonic evaluation: I use the Ibanez RG 120 through a Dunlop Crybaby,IbanezSm7 smash box,Danelectro flanger,Ibanez DE7 into a Crate GFx 120.
When I first got it installed by Sam Ah,I noticed they had replaced the old strings with extra light ones(the originals were light),I thought "no biggie" and tried the pick up at their store on a Ibanez amp,this think did a good job of making that amps bad distortion bearable,so I took it home.When I tried it out,I noticed it had more treble than the powersounds since I could now finger tap easily(before I needed the wah as a treble boost)it also had more bass,giving it a punchy tone.I was,However,disappointed in the riff ablilities,it sounded only slightly better than the powersound....until I changed the string gauge back to light.First thing I play when I put on the new strings was the intro chords to "master of puppest"and this thing blew me away!It had perfect distortion for me!There wasnt obscene and muddy gain,there was a ferocious,musical,and well balanced distortion to it.After changing the string gauge the level of it being better than the old pup wentt from 3 to 10!I played,and played,and played!"Rise above" by Balckflag sounded like it was bieng played by Metallica when I played it!Great,great pup.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great match for hardrock,cant really see it bieng used for clean or on the neck though.

Comments: If it were stolen I would do the world a favor and castrate the guy who took it so he could no longer pollute the world with his offspring.If I didnt find the SOB,id buy another one,but probably try out a X2N or a Invader first,I wish it had a tad more gain,but I can fix that with my dist pedal eq,I would rather have crips,clear monstrous dist than the muddy overbearing sound(people have told me) of the invader.Im pretty much done searching,but I might look into Seymour Duncans in the future,great pup none the less.

Pickup features: humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: used on an old Ibanez EX360
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar: stock
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): rock
Reason for pickup change: sound improvement

Perceived output level: High output with awesome sustain. Not too, too hot though. Just right. Very balanced sound.
Tone: very well rounded. punch when playing clean
Sonic evaluation: I used this back in the day (late 80's/earl 90's) with an Ibanez when they were "THE" guitar to play. It gave an otherwise plain guitar character. Screams!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play hard rock and metal (at the time). I don't like full on humbuckers in the neck, however.

Comments: I no longer havr this guitar or the pickup. If I were to need to replace a humbucker, this would be the choice.

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul Studio
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Gibson '57 reissues
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio Super Distortion
Artists using this pickup: Ace Frehley The GUITAR GOD!!!
You musical style(s): Heavy Metal, Classic Rock
Reason for pickup change: The 57's were weak and not cutting it

Perceived output level: awesome bridge is searingly hot and neck is muddy perfect for power chords
Tone: balanced
Sonic evaluation: Marshall MG30RCD, Peavy combo, and a Laney AOR 100

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: soft rock is unsuitable but if this is what you want what are you doing playing BULLSHIT!!!

Comments: If these pickups were stolen iwould replace them in a heartbeat with the exact same thing

Pickup features: Humbuckers
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Custom made
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Many
You musical style(s): Rock
Reason for pickup change: No Reason

Perceived output level:
Tone: Great tone but not the best for (Rock) to give you an idea how these pick up works check out my website @ www.mp3.com/CASPERSALCEDO
Sonic evaluation: marshall head

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Good for rock and Jazz

Comments: I used these pick ups for many years but it's not the best sound for rock. If you're planning to buy one you might wanna try duncun59 or
pearly gates by duncan one thing this pick up is good for is direct recording Good Luck for you're tone search ..............