DiMarzio Super Distortion

My SD is a black F-spaced for a strat (f=fender) type guitar. It is a A high-output bridge pickup.

The guitar i put this pickup into is a behringer strat copy. It sounded ok for a beginners guitar and I was used to playing it that I had to get a new pickup to make it sound good. It is in the bridge position and is currenty the onl pickup in that guitar. Amp is a custom made 60 watt Soundmaster (what it says on the head) and has quite a nice tone. Think it's solid state.

I am EXTREMELY satisfied with the sound it produces. It has a very high and good output and handles distortion like a dream. The tones are very balanced which is good. If your using dist and play a chord with all the strings, you can hear every voicing of the chord. It is good with any type of rock-related music, I myself play alternative, hard rock and punk rock. The clean is ok, but i don't mind a bit of grit to my clean tones anyway.

NOTE: when i first installed the pickup, my strat copy had 250k pots. The sound was better, but still a bit weak. I installed a 500k pot a week later and thats when this pickup showed its full potential. Just remember, 500k is the way to go with this.

It was either this or a duncan jb, and i have no regret buying it. I would buy another one anyday. It is an awesome pickup and now the only thing I play is on this guitar. Just remember, 500k pots.

I play a 2004 50th anniversary fender american strat. i have all three super 2's (black) with a blend switch. playing thru a 96 twin reverb. these puppies get some raunchey sounds love them to death.Also am running a gk3 synth with it. Immulating Jerry Garcia's of the grateful dead. I recomend these to any jerry lover out there its as close as ur guna get to his sound. and when its topped off with brass hardware the sound is somethin u dont wana turn down or off. mike jones East Ash Street Band Columbia Mo

my super distortion pickup is just a standard sd and black, not zebra.

I own a 2003 Gibson SG. i play it through a peavey valveking100 with 4 tubes. the head is ran through a marshall 1060 412 cab. when the stock pickup in my SG started to die from so much use i was in desperate need of a pickup. i heard some good things about it so i went ahead and put it as my bridge pickup. My guitar is solid black with a black pickgaurd.

the output level is frekin wild!!! (in a good way)
as far as amps go i would totally recomend something with tubes. with tubes you can really bring out the pickup and the guitar's full potential. the super distortion is a passive pickup(unlike the actives such as some emg's. i personally like the dimarzio super distortion because it is passive wich really lets the wood of the guitar give it your signiture sound. even if u put an emg active pickup in a baseball bat you would still get the same sound. i like a really unique sound.

TONE- The tone is great!!! before i got the dimarzio sd i was using my dying gibson stock humbucker and it sounded really really muddy and crappy. i thought it was my amp at first and i was super pissed but as soon as i popped that new sd in there it was a total difference.
in my band (www.myspace.com/aynsleyrock)i play lead guitar. its kind of a senses fail/armor for sleep sound with more intense solos and thats why i needed the sd. the best postition i would reccomend for the sd is the bridge. this thing has alot of tone so make sure your trebble isnt up mad high

if something happens to it like getting destroyed or stolen just get another one..its worth it
ive been playing for about 9 years. and out of all the stuff ive seen this is byfar the best. overall i am very satisfied

Double cream humbucking, ~14K, ceramic magnet

Installed in an '06 Gibson 1960 Historic (R0) in the bridge. Replaced several bridge PU's. I have an1958 for PAF sounds, so I use this guitar as my "hot" guitar. The stock PU was a Burstbucker 2. Of course, tons of people use or used this pickup: Miaden, Ace, Al Dimeola, Paul Gilbert.....

I have used the SD for years in various guitars. When all else fails and you want a great hot pickup, this is it. The sound is fat with pleanty of low end and sizzle. Harmonics are great as well. The mids are not scooped, but rather pushed, so all you nu metal lovers run now. LOL, it will actually do fine for any type hard rock or metal but isn't the best PU for cleans, but fairs well with volume roll off. This pickup is made for a hot, but musical tone, not some lame percusive drop-B BS. The sustain is unreal in a good intrument. I would advise running good 500K pots and decent caps to get the most out of these. I would not recommend a SD in the neck as it will be too muddy. Try a more PAF-type A2 magnet pickup, such as a Burstbucker, Antiquity, Seth Lover, etc. The middle position sound will be unreal.

All of you trying the newest Dimarzio, Duncan, this is THE pickup that seems to get overlooked for some reason. Buy one and throw out your EMG's and start hearing your guitar and not what a preamp. Batteries are for toys. This is the original pickup all hot pickups are spawned from.

Ibanez Jem 77FP bridge position
Replacing a Steve's Special (not a fan of the scooped mid's)
I have a Pro Track in the middle and an Air Norton in the neck

I wish I had made this decision a long time ago. This pickup is just what the doctor ordered. This pickup is very hot and can just scream. First thing I did when I played on it was throw out some Vai. Great tone out of this pickup.

I would definitely get it again. I feel that this pickup is the perfect match for my Jem. It is a huge improvement over the Steve's Special it replaced.

DP100 Dimarzio Super Distortion Humbucker
Zebra painted coils ,high output humbucker

Installed on a 83'Burny Les Paul STD, bridge position, replacing stock pickup, which is good but lack of punch to my taste.
I was just about to change pedals and other gear, to find my sound,
don't need it anymore.
There are many rock guitarists using this pick up, mostly any good rock guitar player from 70's and 80's replaced stock pickups in their Les Pauls to SD's for "that" legendary Hard Rock tone

The output is super hot, you have to dial your volume to play with the signal, is practically the double(or more!)of a traditional PAF pickup
the tone is great and balanced (at least for me) it has the right amount of bass, without being boomy, the highs are not piercing and the mids are great with presence. I have a Matchless Clubman 35, it sounded like a cranked Vox AC-30 with the stock pickup in the Les Paul, after the change my amp sounds more like a 50w Marshall 1987 head!
I mostly play classic rock, so it suits my needs very well, I don't see any other application for this pick up, other than blues and/or hard rock...so it would be a matter of taste for you and your style.
A good match for this pick up (if you play Les Paul or other guitar with H+H configuration) will the Dimarzio's: Steve Morse DP205/ Breed DP165 awesome neck pickups and the next upgrade for my Les Paul

I LOVE THIS PICKUP AND I'M ABOUT RIGHT TO SAY THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING PICKUP IN THE HISTORY OF ROCK, TOTALLY UNDER RATED...
IT DESRVES A PLACE IN HISTORY LIKE LES PAULS AND MARSHALLS,

I will load my other Les Pauls with this pick up again and again...
I have been playing over 25 years and sold and trade too much gear and crap...looking for good sound.
Many people don'realize this"HOW MUCH A GOOD PICKUP WILL DO FOR THE TONE" and starts selling amps, pedals or guitars, frustrated in the search of good tone....switch to decent pickups and you'll see too much difference!
I have load a Les Paul Custom once with a Duncan GL Screaming Demon
the SD totally kills it....and it also cost much less
BUY IT!!

Oh No O Man Holy I found the Sound in my Head!!! I Bought a Super Distortion for my les paul...This is my holy grail humbucker..The sustain and harmonics are CRAZY>>>>>>> Ive been playing with paf humbuckers so long i had no idea what i was Missing..I LOVE DIMARZIO SUPER DISTORTION!!

installed in a les paul bridge postion ..Most all Great classic rock guitar players from the 1970s great time in music...Kurt cobain... sonic youth i could start a list but i wont ,This pickUp is GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

High output Beautiful harmincics CRUNCH SUSTAIN Come on im in love with a pickup...Good old rock ala grunge garge punk perfect for sonic love to the open air

Im Gonna rock the casBah and buy 500 les pauls 600 strats 900 teles and load them with Dimarzio Super Distortion pickups set the 1000 marshall amps to 11 and Set the world Free riding on a blazing light
of temporal lobe anThems..JUst like Jimi did at woodstock only longer and louder............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Ill never go back to 8ohms pafs again i have been reborn oh yea!

Passive humbucker. Impedance... whatever a passive pickup is supposed to be... It'll feed a guitar amp with a high input impedance, it won't feed a stereo for example with a low input impedance. It won't drive headphones. But it works with guitar amps and that's all that matters.

BC Rich NJ series Mockingbird (2000, I believe), bridge position.
It came with the guitar so I can't compare it to the pickup the guitar originally had, though I can compare it to the neck pickup.

It's great for distortion. It's called the "super distortion", what did you expect? The distortion is smooth, with high output and a fairly balanced sound-- plenty of low end through midrange power, but still with enough high end to make those harmonics cut through. It can make great chunky or "crunchy" distortion without making your amp sound like fuzz-- it can overdrive the piss out of anything but doesn't lose smoothness, in other words. Unlike other pickups I've played, though this could just as easily be the guitar this one happens to be installed in, low notes don't drown out high notes. A power chord is a chord, not the bottom string only. Notes played over a string ringing out can actually be heard.

The less said about the clean sound the better. It sounds weak and distorted, with a slightly lacking midrange and more definition than clean pickups should have-- it's harsh, not accurate sounding. I switch the neck pickup, a stock BC Rich pickup in this case, for clean sounds.

Having not heard the Duncan Invader or any of the EMG active pickups, I don't know whether they'd be the best choice or if I'd get another one of these if I needed a new pickup. It sounds great for heavy metal power chords (like the intro to Master's Apprentices by Opeth) and for solos, it's got an awesome lead tone.
As for the value-- the guitar I got this is was priced as if I was getting a free guitar thrown in with a pickup, not the other way around. The whole package was so ridiculously cheap that I can't really complain about the value of any of the parts. If I were to buy this for the $70 it sells for though, I'm not sure it'd be worth it. The BC Rich neck pickup does it's job (clean sounds) really really well. If the BC Rich bridge pickup the guitar originally came with did its job (distortion) as well as that, then I wouldn't need this Super Distortion. On a guitar that doesn't come with good pickups in the first place, though, it would absolutely be worth the price paid-- which happens to be on the low end in terms of upgrade humbuckers, many are over $100, well past that if they're actives.

- High Output dual coil passive Hambucker
- Mine is "creme" color
(high out impedance, because high level)
- Adjustable individual pole piece with an Allen Key.

- I have a 1975'US Fender Strat, and i put it instead the bridge single coil PU (a fiend help me to make the bigger "hole" in the Strat body !)
- As this Strat had only a 3Ways selector (PUs choice= 1,2,3), I put 2xSwitches in addition, to have the following possibilities (SD= Super Distorsion, SW= Switch)
** Actual Fender SW= 1,2,SD
** With the Add of a new1 SW, in combination= 1+SD, 2+SD, SD
** With the Add of a new2 SW= 1-SD,2-SD, SD

NOTE: to have a good overall balance between the 2 types of PU,I had to increase the distance between the strings & the SD, in order of "lowering" the SD level output: so, it match with the Strat single coil (The SD Hum noise will be a little higher, but it remains very low)

- SD alone= Super Hot !! (great for "high-medium sounded" solo like Santana), lot of "fat" sustain, noise is low: not as clear as a 57', but exactly what i needed.
- SD+ SingleCoil= big sound, well balanced, with harmonics (ideal for melody, fingerPicking)
- SD- SingleCoil= special ! lot of trebble, ideal for Old'Disco Riff (Shaft !)
- Single Coil= classic Strat: Sharp bass, Clear & brillant !

- If it was destroyed, i would buy it the same !
- No problem, I put it for approx 20 years on my 1975'Strat; I play ballad & 1970's Rock, on a MesaBoogie MarkIV & Marshall JCM900 (w/5881). I own also a PatMetheny PM120 Archtop Ibanez & acoustic Yamaha LL16, plus some late 1970's vintage MXR, Electro-Harmonics and other effects.

Humbucker,passive.

Dean Dime O Flame.Neck position.Replacing Dean humbucker.Dimarzio Super 3 bridge.Artists,Vivian Cambell,Dave Looney.Wanted a HOT neck pickup.

!!!Very HOT!!!I use a Crate BV120HR Red Voodoo head loaded with a quad of E34Ls and ECC83 preamp tubes,5150 slant cab,power brake and a GT-6.Tone is very balanced with the Super 3 in the bridge.Great in the neck,not muddy at all.I play all styles of Metal.No cover tunes.This is a great pickup combo.I have never used it in the bridge.It is a GREAT neck pickup.

I would buy another.I have been playing 26 years.If you are into Heavy Metal you need to try this in the neck.Just make sure your bridge pickup is louder the the Super Distortion.

humbucking pickup see other review or their site for details.

Im using an Ibanez S620EXQM. Slim neck and slim mahogany body with floyd rose style bridge. The stock pickups were "designed by EMG" made for ibanez pups. They were really THAT bad but after buying the guitar and playing other EMGs on different guitars I realized I hate the EMG sound, so I decided to replace them.

The output on this guy is pretty hot and powerful. Right now Im using it through a VOX valvetronix. The VOX in itself is already a pretty warm amp but it seems to compliment the super distortion pretty well. I use the VOX in the "UK Modern" setting which I think is just a modern marshall amp sound. The distortion has really great power with this pickup. If Im not using my VOX Im recording through my PODxt using the Soldano model. Ive never heard my PODxt sound so awesome. Sounds really full, powerful and professional.

I mostly play old school neoclassical type shred and this is definitely the pickup to pull that off.

The overall tone of this pup I have to say is balanced. Its just really hot and distorts extremely well. But I dont really notice any overall bass or treble of mids killing anything. Its warmer than my old EMG style ones but I was expecting that.

Great sound IMO.

If it were stolen I would buy another one. There are other pickups Im interested in hearing but this pickup rocks pretty hard. Much better than the Ibanez stock EMG things.

Ive been playing guitar for about 15 years now. I was playing bass for about 4 years until I saw G3 and then I switched back to guitar :P

Ive gotten more seriously into metal leads and shredding for about the past 6 months now.

Ive read in some places that this pickup is "outdated" and thats kinda one of the reasons I bought it. I knew it would get that classic shred tone and yup, I was right. Although Im sure it has many modern applications. Its really great for anything heavy I would think. It is a shred master though for those looking for that tone. If you want power in your distorted leads this is a great choice.

Passive humbucker.

Gibson Les Paul Classic. This bad boy replaced the EMG 81 that I was oh-so-in love with. Paired (perfectly) with a DiMarzio P.A.F. I just got tired of the active pickups and I wanted something a bit hotter than the P.A.F. in the bridge postion of my Music Man so I experimented on the Paul.

HOT HOT HOT!!!! I play through a Boogie Mark IV and this thing screams. Its surprisingly quiet for such a hot pickup though. If I need a little more sustain all I have to do is turn towards the amp a bit and there it is. The tone seems to be a little heavy on the lows but I'm going to have to attribute that to my Les Paul. I play drop tuned rock and sometimes metal and this thing is great. Even the cleans are better than I thought they'd be. I wouldn't put it in the neck position though.

For my Les Paul, I think its a great breath of fresh air. I'd definitely get a new one if it came down to it. I've been playing for almost 10 years now. I am TIRED of active pickups. I wanted something that looks classic and can sound either vintage or a bit more modern and I got both with the Super Distortion. I thought about Duncans again but I really wanted to try something new. I wasn't dissapointed!

Passive

Gibson Les Paul Studio. neck. replacing stock gibson humbucker.
got it cause frehley used it.

HOTT. sweet highs gret mids killer lows. sick for riffing.

never gonna use another type of replacement pick up again. best you can get.

It's a high-output active humbucker.
Exact specs can be found a http://www.dimarzio.com

I installed it in the bridge position of my 1969 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe (it was routed out for full-sized humbuckers by its previous owner).
I'm replacing the DiMarzio Virtual PAF (Bridge) humbucker.
My neck pickup is a DiMarzio PAF (standard).
I'm not really sure who's playing on it, but there's a list on DiMarzio's website.
I'm changing because the Virtual PAF (Bridge) sounded too much like a single coil and didn't have high enough output.

It's designed by DiMarzio to be a high-output pickup (and it is).
I'm playing through a Marshall JCM2000 TSL 60 (it honestly sounds better than the 100w version, better bass response and it's not so brittle) using no effects except the occasional Crybaby Wah (an original).
It's got great mid-range crunch with heavy bass and almost not enough treble. The only thing I don't particularly care for (this is why I gave it a 9) is the ceramic magnet. The alnico magnets sound better.
I play mostly classic rock, everything from Zeppelin to Halen and it's perfect. At low gain I get a great crunchy sound and at high gain I get an awesome Avenged Sevenfold-ish sound.
I've never put it in the neck position, but it's supposed to sound alright.

If it was destroyed or stolen I would definately buy another one, 'cause it's the best sounding pickup I've ever played. I've played DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan, Gibson, Fender, and many others (they all sound good depending on what you want, but I seem to always prefer the DiMarzios) but none come close.
I've been playing for about 6 years and I've played many guitars, however I've never played anything that sounds or plays as good as a Gibson Les Paul.
I'm very satisfied with this pickup and don't know if I'll ever find "that sound", but this is pretty damn close.

humbucking passive with allen screws.

its the bridge picup on my quest atak 1 i dont know if its stock as the guitar is used i use basically the kurt cobain rig and i have his sound and playing syle.

really hot plenty of harmonices very trebly and plenty loaud

no comment

I bought a Creme colored humbucking passive pick-up.

I installed it in my 2004 Gibson Standard Premium Plus guitar. I installed it in the bridge position. I replaced my original Burstbucker Pro pick-up. I kept the original neck pick-up in it. As far as other musicians using this pick-up, Ace Frehley was the reason why I picked this pick-up. The reason was I wanted the same sound as Ace...

This is a very high output pick-up. The harmonics that it can create is awesome. I have two effects loops that run into my amp. Both loops start with my Ibanez Weeping Demon pedal into my Fender tuner, then to my Boss A-B switch. Loop A then goes into mt Boss Noise Suppressor, then to my Marshall EVH Compressor, and then into my Boss Overdrive 3 pedal. Loop B goes into my Boss Amp Modeler. Then they end up going into my Peavey Valve King 212 Combo Amp and then into my Marshall AVT. 412 cab. The sound that it creates is awesome. This pick-up is bright and it growls even at low volumes. I play mostly older Hard Rock and Blues and it really sounds good. My next guitar is an Epiphone Ace Frehley Les Paul and it has 2 Super Distortion pick-up and 1 Deuo Sound pick-up. That's how much I like this pick-up.

I have been playing for over 20 yrs. and I should have bought this pick-up yrs. ago cause I wouldn't have invested so much effort into trying to copy this sound. It even sounds good on my clean channel. Ace Frehley had it right with putting this pick-up into his guitars cause nothing else comes close to the sound that this pick-up puts out.

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: American Fender Stratocaster hh
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Fender Black Cobra (Stock)
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio PAF Pro
Artists using this pickup: Kurt Cobain
You musical style(s): Rock
Reason for pickup change: I was so dissapointed with the stock pickups. So I went online the very same day I recieved my guitar and ordered a Dimarzio Super Distortion and PAF Pro.

Perceived output level: I believe you could say it was "hot"
Tone: Middy? trebly? Who knows, all I know is this thing has got style. You can just tell its a higher class of pickup than the stock ones
Sonic evaluation: A few weeks ago I was playing a ?140 Jag copy with a Marshall AVT50 and for the price it sounded great. I then bought my American Double Fat Strat and the difference through the amp wasnt noticable. So i then got this beast fitted and i can feel my dream rig come together. I cant wait to hear this thing through a valve amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play rock and thats what this thing was made for. I haven't got much experience but as far as im concerned its the greatest pickup for heavy rock ever invented. Unsuitable for neck position i hear, the Dimarzio PAF Pro is its perfect partner for it.

Comments: The best piece of musical equipment I've ever bought. There is nothing to hate about this thing. It will blow away your stock pickups no matter what your playing. Playing heavy rock and still searching for that elusive perfect tone? I think you'll find it in one of these.

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Custom Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Duncan '59
Other pickups on guitar: Single Coil
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock & Roll
Reason for pickup change: Lack of tone

Perceived output level: Hot - Med/High Output
Tone: Chunk-Chunk-Chunk w/transparent tone (Chunk is Good)
Sonic evaluation: Marshall Bluesbreaker with a YJM308 DOD pedal in front of the Amp. Killer Rock tone - Deep Purple - AC/DC. Makes my Strat sound like a Les Paul or SG without losing it's Strat qualities.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play Rock/Punk Rock - A GREAT PICKUP!

Comments: I would replace it in a second. I've been playing 27 years. I also have a 72 Tele Deluxe. I have never had a Pickup with high output sound so transparent & clear, yet still give you sustain & bottom that you don't get from a PAF or Single Coil in a Strat. If you like the Rock & Roll Music & need some more balls from your Strat, Buy this Pickup.

Pickup features: passive humbucking
Impedence or other specs: www.dimarzio.com

Model of guitar or bass: Fender American Floyd Rose Stratocaster, Alder Body, Maple Fretboard
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Fender DH-1
Other pickups on guitar: 2 x Fender American Single Coils
Artists using this pickup: ... a lot
You musical style(s): 80's Metal and Hardrock
Reason for pickup change: Fender DH-1 wasn't hot enough for my style of music.

Perceived output level: definetly Hot, a lot hotter than the DH-1
Tone: I think that this pickup is very balanced in this guitar. But look at the tonechart on www.dimarzio.com. It think in a guitar like the Gibson Les Paus it's to bassy, but in this strat with a maple fret board it's perfect !
Sonic evaluation: I play my guitar direclty trough a Marshall Valvestate 100 Watt guitarcombo without any effect and it's sounds great to my ears. I played trough an ENGL Richie Blackmore Top with a 4x12 cab and my eggs start shaking !!!! It sounded killer !!!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I mostly play Metal and Hardrock like Savatage, Metallica, Europe and little bit of AC/DC ... I think this pickup perfect for everything of that styles of music. It is definetly a bridge pickup. I would never put it in the neck position.

Comments: If it were destroyed or stolen i would buy the same pickup again. To my ears it sounds really killer ! It's good for every style of music !

Pickup features: Humbucker, Passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Epi LP
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Original Epiphine Crap
Other pickups on guitar: Both Super Distortion (Bridge is F-Spaced)
Artists using this pickup: Me.... and some other guys
You musical style(s): Metal
Reason for pickup change: Original Pickups did nothing but feedback at a hi Gained Amp

Perceived output level: Hot (for passive)
Tone: well balanced w/ great midHole
Sonic evaluation: I?m playing Marshall JCM800 model MA2210 with some extra gain Mod. The Pickup does perfect work with that amp. In Humbucker Mode you can get screamy distortion with good harmonics. Also very clear for distorted rythm guitar.
You can switch it to single coil mode for clean sounds (in humbucking mode it has to much output).
I use the bridge for distorted only. The other pickup in single coil mode only for clean sounds.
Thru my practise amp (ENGL E101) it doesn?t seem to have enough output. so you need a Hi-Gain Amp!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Metal yea its a match.... for moderate price. if you have more money.... go ACTIVE!

Comments: hmmm ..okay

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: hot ceramic

Model of guitar or bass: Guild S300-D
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: this guitar w/ Dimarzios replaced an Ibanez w/ EMG 81/85 set
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio PAF
Artists using this pickup: Paul Gilbert/Racer X among many; i don't care, but thought it funny that he uses them in neck position also
You musical style(s): rock, from 50s to modern indie; picking up jazz; quiet solo stuff to extreme metal/hardcore w/ bands
Reason for pickup change: mainly came as a guitar change, but aside from build quality, the EMGs sounded too artificial for me; good sustain and harmonics, but pickup dressed up the guitar too much; notes sounded like they were wearing a sweater all the time.

Perceived output level: hotter than average, seemed about equal to EMG bridge; similar to a Gibson 500T, to my ears
Tone: bright, biting, good bit of sizzle and harmonics; very tight on muted picking, fast response. poor cleans, too harsh without tons of depth.
Sonic evaluation: The Dimarzios came as an upgrade on several late-70's Guilds, including my S300. The guitar is odd, part strat, part paul, part SG, just the right balance and meat. I'm playing through a Mesa MkIV and a Rivera M60, which makes me sound like a boutique tweaker, but i found both for less than $600, so the price and tone were a great deal.
I've had the guitar for about a year and a half. In that time i've had mixed feelings about this pickup-- As my interests have shifted away from metal and heavy blues, i've liked it less, but when I want those sounds it's been ready. At first I thought I noticed a slight decrease in harmonics from the EMGs, but I feel like the harmonic range is actually broader. The EMGs seemed to synthetically amplify harmonics, this pickup sounds more natural. At times it's sounded flat, a little thin on the low end, harsh on the top. It doesn't seem suited to the Rivera, which has a bright/harsh plexi-voiced lead channel without much girth, so the SD exacerbated that sound. I've been thinking about shaking up my gear lately, and reevaluating sounds. I did a lot of tweaking with the Mesa, which has a kind of lifeless crunch channel, but after a lot of time I ended up with a nice, balanced, raw kind of edge of breakup sound-- like a bassman with a treble booster on it. This pickup started to really come through once I found a voicing on the amp that I really liked. It's pretty touch sensitive, cleans up enough for kind of Hendrix-y Marshall clean chording, spank when picked harder. I found a sound I really like as a bluesy clean tone by dialing back the volume on this pickup to about half, using both humbuckers on the guitar, with the neck volume about at 8, and the tone on the SD down just a hair. Great fringe of clean sound for fingerpicked classic rock sounds. Unless I'm just fucking around and shredding, I always find myself backing off the treble a smidge; it tends to be piercing.
I have been considering replacing these pickups, and in the process of researching others, I realized I'd never tried adjusting the pole pieces on the SD, and they were set flat when I got it. Both coils have poles that adjust with a hex key. I left the bottom coil flush with the cover, and staggered the poles by ear on the coil closer to the neck-- trying to emphasize just slightly more bass and decrease the harshness. I'm pleased to say that there was enough of an improvement in tone that I'm not in such a rush to get rid of this anymore. Was able to get a slightly thicker bass side, and de-emphasize the harsh highs for a bit more balance. The adjustable poles are a great feature that I hadn't thought would make a difference, but it seems like you could do quite a bit of tuning between the two coils to get a better sound. The pickup seems like it's not going to make a bad amp sound better, but responds well to a good amp. Very well suited to classic rock leads and classic metal rhythm, from Ozzy to Maiden to early Megadeth and Metallica. Because the PAF is pretty dark sounding, it's a good way to blend some top end into a clean tone using both pups, though I wouldn't use it for clean alone. Pretty crisp with a good push to it, but not overwhelmingly harsh and shrill like other modern distortion pickups. Hot but with a hint of 70s warmth.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I would never put this in the neck position, but others have done it and liked it, so who knows. Maybe I'll try it, since I usually feel that the neck pickup is too murky. I'd never use this by itself for clean rhythms, but for leads and metal I can't imagine anyone needing much more output. Not the heaviest sound, but enough to drive the

Comments: I am happy with this as a stock pickup; it's definitely *the* sound of late 70s heavy rock and early 80s metal. If I spilled acid on it and it stopped working, I'd explore some other options. It's better than a lot of things, but harsher than Duncans. As adjusted now I like it equally as well as the Gibson 500T, or the Dirty Fingers. My tele copy has Fralins in it, my first set of hand-wound pickups, and I find myself playing the tele all the time because of the harmonic depth of those single coils. I'm probably going to get a set of Fralin humbuckers (haven't decided on the combo) but I'll keep these, and likely put them in a 1980 Ibanez Artist I have coming, depending on the sound of the Ibanez electronics. They're definitely better than many other options out there, and have their own characteristic sound, but they're not deep enough for me, not what I hear as I'm falling asleep at night. If I could afford to keep a guitar set up just for this tone I'd want it at times; The difference to me is that they sound just good. The Fralins make me play longer and more creatively because they have so much nuance, and that's what seems to separate a great pickup from a very decent one.

Pickup features: Passive ceramic magnet humbucker
Impedence or other specs: The only "specs" you need: It sounds KILLER!

Model of guitar or bass: 1973 Gibson SG
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock 70's Gibson Bridge Pickup
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Most noted: Tom Scholz of Boston, that numb-nut from KISS, you know...the less faggy of the two KISS guitarist who named himself after a comet, and whats-his-name with the hair from Iron Maiden
You musical style(s): From classic rock to punk to rockabilly
Reason for pickup change: Stock 70's Gibson just didn't have enough "Umpf" to it...very lackluster and unbalanced sound...high notes lacked solid tone, got tinny while low notes were too flubby and not defined. So if you played a full chord you got mud at the start and too much treble at the end.

Perceived output level: Like a very hot PAF without being overbearing. Enough push to make a good amp break up on the cleaner settings.
Tone: Thick yet articulate...seems very balanced to my ears eventhough its rated as having boosted mids and bass.
Sonic evaluation: I'm using a 73 Gibson SG with a Tech 21 Trademark 120 (an amp that is unforgiving to crappy pickups, one reason for the switch) Beautiful solid tone, hands down. I love it. Classic hot, thick, singing humbucker tone that pushes an amp just the right amount without overpowering. Fat yet tight and articulate...I can play a full bar chord with full on distortion and hear every note and nuance. If you are looking for a classic solid rock tone this is what you need. Sounds great with any level of overdrive and/or distortion...edgy, tight, articulate, and thick, yet never muddy or over powering. Doesn't do clean on its own very well...in fact I can't get a completely clean tone out of my amp with it. However if I use it conjunction with my neck pickup on the SG it yields a very nice warm fat clean tone just on the edge of breakup.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play eclectic rock ranging from classic blusey rock to old school punk to weirdo effecty Cure-like stuff. Probably wouldn't be a good neck pickup if you wanted to play clean at the neck., otherwise you'll probably get a very fat singing distorted neck tone

Comments: This is THE humbucker by which ALL hotter 'buckers should be judged by. Dimarzio brought these out in 1976 and they're a classic, an overlooked classic at that, more people should check the Super Distortion out when looking to put more power in their sound and quit messing around with actives and all these other zillions of overpowering muddy or screechy pickups. I tried a Tone Zone first...TOO bassy and middy, just ridiculous actually. Completely overpowers your tone. Dimarzio recommended I try a Fred and swapped me for one...the Fred sounded like a beefed up single coil and was very fizzy sounding when overdriven, so I went for the classic Super Distortion and realized that's what I should've gotten in the first place! Kicking myself for not giving it a go a long time ago!

Pickup features: Humbucking passive pickup
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: epiphone les paul standard
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: some other dmarzio i'm not sure
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): blues rock and a little bit of everything else
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: trebly and has good distortion but sometinmes it is a little to trebly so i put the switch in the middle position to even it out.
Tone: trebly and good with distortion for screamin' solos
Sonic evaluation: epiphone les paul with a mesa boogie amp. sounds great.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: bluesm,rock and some other stuff it is a great screamin rock solo pickup

Comments: good but sometimes the treble can get annoying. I like it reccomend for rock lead guitarists.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 425 mV output, around 13.5K Impendance

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez RG570
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: DiMarzio PAF Pro
Other pickups on guitar: the PAF Pro was moved from bridge to neck + crap ibanez single (about to be replaced)
Artists using this pickup: Paul Gilbert, Iron Maiden, Al DiMeola......
You musical style(s): Thrash Metal / Progressive Metal / Instrumental (neo-classical)
Reason for pickup change: the PAF Pro is a lovely pick-up in the bridge position, sweet harmonics and great clarity... but lacked any sort of bass end and wasn't high output enough for my liking. consequently i moved it to neck position (where its awesome) and purchased a Super Distortion to go in the bridge position.

Perceived output level: Much hotter than the PAF Pro. with mids scooped and lots of gain, this gives EMGs a run for their money
Tone: Lots of bass end, at the same time great PAF-Pro like clarity on high notes. think of it as a PAF Pro with more bass and higher output.
Sonic evaluation: I use it in my '91 Ibanez RG570, through a modded Crybaby, Boss DD-2 and running into a MetalHead Electronics boutique rack pre-amp (with a mesa 20/20 power amp coming soon!).

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: High output enough for all types of metal and hard rock, enough clarity for shred.

Comments: awesome tone. responds to amp EQ change extremely well, with mids scooped this is a thrash monster; with mids full-on, its a great classic maiden (sabbath / maiden) and shred pick-up.
i certainly love the bass end it puts back into my tone (just as DiMarzio say, 'it puts back the low end that a tremolo equipped guitar can bleed off'.
its a great pick-up, definetely has a unique tone.
not my favourite however (Evolution's hold THAT position in my aural heart), but definetely very usable, with great tones.
i'm the sort of guy that will not buy the same pick-up twice, because i want to have a wide range of tones available to me - so even though its not my 'perfect' pick-up, i do use it, and plan to use quite a lot in my solo / recording work.
its versatility will make the RG my main live guitar as well.
also, DiMarzio customer support is worthy of being mentioned. very quick response, very helpful - a great addition to an already great product line!

Pickup features: Passive Humbucking
Impedence or other specs: 425mv

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul Standard AAA Flame
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock 498T
Other pickups on guitar: PAF Pro
Artists using this pickup: ME
You musical style(s): EVERYTHING Rock/Metal/Blues/Country
Reason for pickup change: 498t was a wimp. The 490R was overpowering it easily.

Perceived output level: This is much hotter than the stock pickup and right on par with the Neck PAF Pro.
Tone: CRISP Great distortion and good pick harmonics. Not screechy or 80's sounding as I have read.
Sonic evaluation: I play my Les Paul through a Genz Benz El Diablo 100 and Gflex 4x12. This pikup cuts through very well on this amp. It pushes the clean into bluesy breakup at full gain. I could barely get that with the stock pickup.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play Metal and Hard rock mostly but love to jam on the blues and some DMB.

Comments: I would buy this again. It is just righ for my needs. I can get as heavy as I want and still have the abuility to play other styles as well.

Pickup features: humbucking-passive
Impedence or other specs: check out dimarzio.com

Model of guitar or bass: IBANEZ PS10 II LTD ICEMAN
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: STOCK V 8 V7 WHICHEVER
Other pickups on guitar: BRIDGE V8 V7 NOT SURE WHICH
Artists using this pickup: SHORTER ANSWER WOULD BE WHO HASNT
You musical style(s): IMAGINE KISS MEETS VAN MEETS MEGADETH MEETS NIN
Reason for pickup change: The stock bridge one had great rythym sound but leads were a tad thin.

Perceived output level: perfectly crazy
Tone: thick and defined
Sonic evaluation: I play my Iceman through a JCMDSL 50. The only effect I use right now is an Electric Mistress. I used only DiMarzios sd100"s in the late 70's and early 80's then I had kids and such. In the meantime I used the EMG Zakk Wylde setup (before anyone knew who he was) and tried the JB. The EMG's are worth consideration the JB is not... I feel that the Superdistortion offers the best of both worlds; i.e. great tone and drive from hell. It's good to be home in other words.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: ac dc KISS megadeth NIN Manson OZZY and so on...

Comments: Stolen??!! they would die. Hell yes I buy it again. Been playing since 1976 u do the math. Marshall half stack, ICEMAN, Electric Mistress cords and picks.

Pickup features:
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Stratocaster
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan Hotrails
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio Air Zones on the neck
Artists using this pickup: Iron Maiden and Thrice are using Super Distortions ...
You musical style(s): punk, metal, hardcore
Reason for pickup change: hotrails were too whiney

Perceived output level: i know that the "greats" from the past has used super distortions, but i honestly don't really like it. it has good qualities like the higher notes sound very warm and smooth, but the palm mutes and lows are too muddy -- can get any clean palm mutes out of super distortions.
Tone: muddy
Sonic evaluation: i have a fender stratocaster, boss ns2, boss chromatic tuner, and boss metal zone going to a marshall mg50dfx. =(, yeah, i know, i need a REAL amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: not for metal, hardcore, punk, anything with crunchy palm mutes basically. it's good for blues and oldschool rock probably.

Comments: if it got destroyed, and then stepped on -- i wouldn't buy it again. i also have a gibson sg '61 reissue with gibson 500t on the bridge. THAT, my friend, is crazy. also, handsdown i'd go with hotrails again, too.

Pickup features: passive humbucking
Impedence or other specs: dont know

Model of guitar or bass: gibson sg with no tone pots
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: another super distortion
Other pickups on guitar: air norton
Artists using this pickup: everyone
You musical style(s): prog metal
Reason for pickup change: my other super distortion was getting old, i neaded a new one, the magnet was getting weak.

Perceived output level: hot, a tad bit hotter than the evolution. enough to give you a great sounding distortion and also a good trebly clean sound
Tone: lost of treble and midds, this is partialy due to the fact that i dont use tone pots and that adds treble and presence, it has a hard edged trble and i think the no tone pot might take away bass but i dont know. it sounds good on clean with but its nothing to die for. its mainly disigned for good hard on distortion.
Sonic evaluation: im running my sg strait into a tech 21 sansamp classic and then into the board for recording but for live stuff i run it into a crybaby and then into a jmc2000 tsl and i sometimes use a rocktron intellliflex online and a sonic maximizer. i run the gain at full and i turn the bass to half and i usualy have the mids somewere between full and half and i have the treble at ten and for some solos i turn the presence all the way down.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: like i said i play progressive rock\metal. my main influences are steve morse, tony spada and paul gilbert. this pickup is very goood for this style of playing with its full body of mids and a good presence and a great all around sound

Comments: if it were stollen i would buy another one and i am thinking of one for then neck also. i have ben playing for 20 years and i have never had a pickup stolen.(how could you anyways)i have tried a hell of alot of pickups and i think this is the best one ive tryed so fare , or at leats its the one i prefer.

Pickup features: passive humbucking
Impedence or other specs: no clue. i did have a clue once but not any more

Model of guitar or bass: gibson sg special
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: seymour duncan invader
Other pickups on guitar: invader (bridge model)
Artists using this pickup: like everyone
You musical style(s): prog metal
Reason for pickup change: ivaders are horrible

Perceived output level: definatly hot not as much as the x2n but more than a jb
Tone: trebly and middy not so much bassy but i dont eq my amps with alot of bass so.
Sonic evaluation: im running my sg into dunlop crybaby and then into a marshel jmc 2000 tsl 602. And in the effects loop i have a rocktron intelliflex online and for recording i use a tech 21 sansamp cuz they kick ass.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: as i said i play progressive rock. my main influences are steve vai, tony spada, michael angelo, steve morse kind of stuff and this pickup matches perfect for ths style of playing. it is good in the bridge position but i dont know about the neck. i would assume it would be god cuz it has alot of presence and never gets muddy

Comments:

Pickup features: P-90 sized humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 93 Les Paul Special
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock P-100 stacked humbucker "p-90 single coil style"
Other pickups on guitar: stock p-100 in neck
Artists using this pickup: unknown
You musical style(s): rock, pop, blues, country, folk, whatever
Reason for pickup change: The lead p-100 seemed weak, even with the lead jacked up and the neck dropped down. I had searched a long time for an affordable les paul and found this beautiful Special. The neck p-100 sounds great, but the idealized Les Paul sound I had in my head was of the LP Standard/Custom Humbucker variety.

Perceived output level: more focused and dense than a paf style humbucker, but not quite as large sounding as a full sized distortion humbucker, such as a standard dimarzio super distortion
Tone: seems to have a "bump" in the lower midrage, and a little attenuation of the high treble compared to a paf style humbuker or duncan jeff beck humbucker, which I have in other guitars
Sonic evaluation: This pickup gave me the punch I was looking for in the lead position -Chords are thick and focused when maxed, and it cleans up nice without getting muddy with the guitar volume on 2 or 3. Lead sounds have excellent sustain, pinch harmonics jump out on all strings. There are also many cool variations in sound with the two pickups combined. Gibson has made many variations of LP Specials over the years, this 93 is very nice, all mahogany and heavy, pearl logo and dots, bound neck, grover tuners stock, nickel hardware. I have played mostly strats for the last 25+ years, so this LP is really something different! It doesn't have the sparkle and chime of a strat, so I guess this is due to the construction and materials in the Les Paul, not because of the pickup. It might be interesting to rig up this pickup in the bridge of a strat. Info from dimarzio suggests that this pickup also fits a LP deluxe with mini-humbuckers, I've played one several times, but I am unsure if the pickup would go in a ring or drop directly in the body on that model. One installation quirk with the Special involved the mounting screws. A standard P-90/100 has mounting screws in the middle of pickup, between the a-d and b-g strings. The Dimarzio has mounting screws at the outside edges, similar to a standard humbucker. You will be making new holes in the body, but it is underneath the pickup and will not show. For this guitar, I had to fabricate a 1/4 inch wood plate to fit in the bottom of the pickup cavity, as there was a route for wiring under the treble side of the pickup - there was nowhere for the new mounting screw to go. This was fairly easy though, even for me! d8} Right now, my main amp is a vox ad120, it is easily the best amp purchase I have ever made! Purists might say that all tube is superior, and for auditioning sounds on their own, I think they are right - BUT - The vox gets 95% of the tone of various vox, fender, marshall, soldano, dumble, and mesaboogie amps without the hassle and expense of replacing power amp tubes - none of these amps can cop the other one's sounds, so this amp has been ideal to evaluate this pickup. I could go on forever about this amp, but I will post that review under vox...

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pickup would be excellent for any style of music where you would use a humbucking les paul, so I guess that would only exclude folk and clasical

Comments: If I had to replace this pickup, I would probably get the same, as it works great, and there aren't many options for this application - I did research some "botique" pickups before going with the dimarzio, but they ran in the $100 range. The pickup has 4 conductor wiring, so several setups were possible - series parallel,etc. If Dimarzio supplied a push/pull pot with the pickup, I would have gladly paid a few extra dollars for that option - guess I'm too lazy to hunt down the appropriate pot on my own! Despite the mounting screw mods, the installation was smooth, so I have no complaints. This was my first mod on a gibson style guitar - Leo Fender did have one thing right - mods on strats are easier - like model T's of the guitar world! Drop me a line if you have any suggestions or questions.. Joe

Pickup features: humbucking passive
Impedence or other specs: creme colored bobbins

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Les Paul Standard Flametop
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan '59
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour Duncan '59 neck
Artists using this pickup: Ace Frehley, and probably that dude who plays guitar for Boston.
You musical style(s): Rock, Blues, metal.
Reason for pickup change: '59 had nice tone but lacked power.

Perceived output level: A lot hotter than my '59
Tone: bassy, and at times, annoyingly middy.
Sonic evaluation: Epiphone Les Paul Standard through a Line 6 Spider 210, which is an overrated amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: For metal, I suppose this pickup would sound great through a Marshall jcm800. Actually, having seen Kiss in concert 3 time with Ace Frehley on lead guitar(the 3 best shows I've ever seen, period) I can safely say this pickup sounds incredible through A marshall 100 watt tube stack. Unfortunately my amp sucks. I never tried playing this thing through another amp. If I had I probably would not have replaced it with the Duncan JB I eventually chose. But listen to any Kiss or Boston album from the 70's and come to your own conclusion.

Comments: I cant see a theif carrying around a soldering kit, so unless they stole my guitar(in which case I'd track 'em down and beat em senseless) they wouldn't get the pickup. As I stated previously I had this replaced with a JB. That's in another reveiw. I've been playing for almost 11 years and have owned several peices of gear(Line 6 POD 2.0, Marshall vs15, Fender Princeton 65-a great amp-kicking myself for selling it, several fender, epiphome and peavey axes)and this to my ears was a disappointment. I was going for a more organic sound and didn't want a ceramic pickup. I could be wrong but I don't think the JB'S are ceramic. I wished the SD had the polepeices that are adjustable using a phillip head screwdriver. It just looks cooler.

Pickup features: Passive
Impedence or other specs: Check the web site

Model of guitar or bass: Jackson SL-2
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Tone Zone
Other pickups on guitar: Air Norton
Artists using this pickup: Me, Don't care who else.
You musical style(s): 80's and new Rock
Reason for pickup change: Tone zone was way too midrangy and muffled in a live band situation.

Perceived output level: Hot, Just right
Tone: Very balanced and Crunchy
Sonic evaluation: I use a Jackson Soloist through a Marshall DSL 50.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: 80's type rock and some new stuff like Fuel and Disturbed. This pickup covers just about everything short of death metal.

Comments:
This pickup sounds amazing through my rig! It is very crisp and crunchy sounding with just the right amount of highs. The tonezone sounded really good as long as I was in my bedroom at lower levels, but the minute I started playing with a band it was muddy as can be and when I used Drop D tunning that was a real mess.
The only thing I don't like is that is does not sound good when playing clean. In my opinion, it doesn't clean up well with the volume turned down either.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 13.8k

Model of guitar or bass: 1995 Am. Std. Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: JB Jr.
Other pickups on guitar: PAF Pro
Artists using this pickup: No one should
You musical style(s): heavy
Reason for pickup change: wanted to try something different

Perceived output level: this thing is a high output pickup for sure
Tone: badly emphasized mids and very muddy lowend
Sonic evaluation: I run a HH Strat, SSS Strat, Tele, and an Ibanez RG into a 1976 Marshall JMP 2204. This thing sucks, not worth buying at all. I took the JB Jr. that it replaced, jimmyed it into the tele and bought a full sized JB. The SD is currently sitting on the floor in my jam room. I got kicked around a shit load.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play heavier music in a band situation and mostly blues on my own

Comments: don't buy this pickup, I can't emphasize this enough. If you don't think a medium output humbucker has enough gain, you're not digging into the strings enough

Pickup features: Humbucking
Impedence or other specs: According to Dimarzio's SIte the following: Wiring Standard four conductor

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez PGM 30
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Ibanez .. Can't remember the model, but at Ibanez's site..
Other pickups on guitar: Another Humbucker in the neck and a single coil in the mid, but I un hooked them..
Artists using this pickup: Hell I dont' know.. Loads of the 70's guys..
You musical style(s): Rock, Blues and Metal
Reason for pickup change: The stock Ibanez pickup was way too middy

Perceived output level: Pretty hot.. Too me tis Hotter than a medium output, but not ultra hot like the Duncan Distortion or the EMG
Tone: With my current setup I think it's bassy..
Sonic evaluation: I stuck this pickup in after about a week with my stock Ibanez pickup which had the right amount of output, and is a pretty decent pickup really, but way too middy and a little brittle sounding.. Then AFTER I stuck the Dimarzio Distortion in, I blocked the trem totally with wood on both sides of the trem block and did a good setup.. Now the guitar just sings, but it's too bassy now! Of course, I think Basswood and RG type Ibanez guitars are bassy but with the trems it bleeds the bass away, so it makes sense to have a pickup like the Tone Zone (Another really good pickup which I had in an RG 470 and I liked it even better) or the Super Distortion.. That said, I want a pickup that can clean up better since this guitar ONLY has a volume knob which I prefer.. Now I also had to lower the pickup about a 1/4" away from the strings.. This helped a lot and I'm close to the sound I want, but it's a still a tad hot as far as pickups go, but of course I thought I'd need this originally.. I play thru either a Tech 21 Tri Ac (Great device) or thru a VAMP Behringer (Great digital device for recording and thru the PA) directly to the computer or to a PA.. They both work great.. The Tri Ac being an all Anolog device without the hassle of tubes.. and the Behringer being all digital, cheaper than a POD and sounds much better too me..and is great for recording when you might need delay, or reverb, effects, etc..

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play mostly bluesy hard rock such as Thin LIzzy, Ted Nugent, Lynard Skynard, Motly Crue, Poisen, etc..etc.. 80's stuff.. The 80's rocked... We played our instruments..

Comments: I'd give this pickup an 8 out of a 10 .. I think it would be too bassy in an LP Type guitar, or short scalled all mahogany type guitar.. too..

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: it's black

Model of guitar or bass: g+l legacy
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: duncan jb - emg -81 -duncan single coil
Other pickups on guitar: two empty holes leading to the belly of the beast
Artists using this pickup: rayz hell
You musical style(s): hard rock - melodic metal
Reason for pickup change: This guitar is a one of a kind so of course I had to mess with it. I am not a collector-I am a low cash rocker- so I "F" with what I have- out of boredom - much like the amazon grey parrot - he pulls his red tail feathers out because he is bored - left dreary and grey,he has no choice but to learn curse words, and mimic the sound of a garbage truck.

Perceived output level: If you are tired of the," pick-up scene", and just want the real deal - put this thing in your guitar and kill.
Tone: some people call it muddy -I think it blends the notes together warm and sweet
Sonic evaluation: I have used x2n, emg-81,paf,duncan jb, hot rails, 59 jr.The super distortion rules rock for me. It has everything -cool bass unique mids, and not too bright highs.
This is the second legacy that I have installed this pick-up in - I can't believe I waited so long to try the originol metal pick-up. I am retarded.
I play straight into a 1997 dual recto into a recto 2-12. "vintage to modern", diode ps mode- No effects. people are stunned- always by my sound - I switched from a 4-12 because of transportation but now dig the visciousness of the recto 2-12 - it will kill you!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: metal-hard rock -female vocal -no not jewel -janis - this pick is classic metal - no good for country or jazz but I would use it anyway because, well I don't play country or jazz well use it for any style

Comments: I will never bother with hyped up crap anymore,
I love - really love my sound - might get a plexi reissue for the coolness of it all- did you guys and chicks see the "how the west was won"- zep dvd -holy shi..............! It is unreal dudes - a must -disc 2
later ray h. of RAYZ HELL -NYC

Pickup features: humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: /
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: /
Other pickups on guitar: /
Artists using this pickup: /
You musical style(s): /
Reason for pickup change: /

Perceived output level: the most balanced pickup i have ever played - amazing sound
Tone: bassy yet balanced
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: perfect for anything rock, from ballads to death metal.

Comments: i would buy two of them if it were stolen.
i play thru an ADA MP-1, and this pickup has a really growly yet balanced tone, thick basses, and a bit less mids and trebles. great open sound with long sustain, huge 'chugga-chugga' ballsy tone with easy harmonics.
not very clean (that's why DiMarzio made the Dual Sound, that is a splitable Super Distortion), but absolutely great for anything else.
that's my fave at all, more than the PAF Pro and the Tone Zone.

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

Model of guitar or bass: Charvel Model 2
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock J90B I think. It is a covered passive pickup.
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: I know of Phil Collen back in the Pyromania days, Ace Frehly, I heard Curt Cobain, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith ( Iron Maiden ) and alot of other metal guitarists of the 80's.
You musical style(s): 80's metal, 70's rock, Death, Thrash, Speed Metal, Nu-Metal, Punk and anything else able to be played with high levels of distortion.
Reason for pickup change: Stock pickup was a little watered down and becoming microphonic. I took the cover off of it and it made a little differnce, but not enough. I have seen alot of used Charvel Model 2's with a DiMarzio Super Distortion in them and thought that it must be the way to go. I have a Seymour Duncan Distortion in another guitar and figured I would try something different....................

Perceived output level: Good enough, but not as high output as a Seymour Duncan Distortion........read on.
Tone: Alot of mids, good EQ between the highs and lows. Pretty balanced. Great sustain.
Sonic evaluation: I in no way bought this pickup to emulate a big stars sound. I like to try new gear and I am kinda new to upgrading pickups. Like I said above, I dropped this pickup in a vintage Charvel Model 2 ( around 1987 to 1989 ). I am playing through a Morely Wah, BOSS Distortion, DOD EQ and DOD Delay into a CRATE GX212. My rig is a pretty good for evaluating pickups. It lets the pickup tell you whats up. It is taking a little getting used to. In my opinion the DiMarzio pickups have a compressed sound to them as compared to the raw grinding wild tone of the Seymour Duncans. It gives a great tight rhythem sound and a clean, uncluttered lead sound. I'm liking it more and more. It seems to be fitting in with my other stuff. It has it's place as far as sound. My other guitars are equipped with Seymour Duncans, one Invader and one Distortion and they both have a distinct sound. This one gives me the 80's tone and shreds nice.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: So far it's good for the bridge. I don't know where else it would sound good. It does the 80's sound well and that is primarilly what I play.

Comments: I like the sound of the Duncan model a little better, but this DiMarzio seems to compress the sound alot better. My conclusion is that this pickup is a little better at covering all the bases that the Duncan can't. It's a good pickup to have in the arsenal. I would recomend it to the guy who wants to wake up a good guitar equipped with bad pickups or whatever. If your a KISS fan then this is the pickup for you. It would probably shine through better going through a tube amp, but then again thats what it was designed for. It's a good pickup all around.

Pickup features: passive 4 conductor humbucker
Impedence or other specs: donno

Model of guitar or bass: Squier Strat HSH
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Gibson 500T
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio Tone zone, stock single
Artists using this pickup: don care
You musical style(s): Heavy metal, hard rock
Reason for pickup change: Enjoy discover new tones

Perceived output level: standard high output.
Tone: tight low, crunchy mid, sweet high......screams!!!!!
Sonic evaluation: Squier Strat into Korg Ax100G into Boss EQ into Peavey 65 combo

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: this baby suits Classic heavy metal, hard rock, but not for some hardcore

Comments: stolen? nonsense. I've been tried a few EMG 81,S,SV and gibson 496R, 500t and fender strat. all are great for certain purpose, EMG sounds sterile,it has mad power like nuts but i'm looking for the "tone", Gibsons sounds really sweet and powerful,might be my ultimate choice, whereas dimarzio is good for hot solo classic tone, the SD is powerful but not stupidly powered, its like classic tone with modern power. but the humcancelling is not that satisfying, this can be solve by using some noise reduction stuff. If u like some classic rock or metal tone this is a great option, for hi power roaring, EMG is good, for soulful Gibson edge tone...long live Gibson.

Pickup features: Hot mega output Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: dunno

Model of guitar or bass: ESP (whatever model I dunno got it used from a bud)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: wimpy, crap stock shit
Other pickups on guitar: somethin' in the neck I never use
Artists using this pickup: all the godsssss
You musical style(s): Thrash metal, Speed-metal, Black Metal, Death-Metal, anything that fuckin' rips
Reason for pickup change: The fuckin'weak-ass crap stock shit pickup didn't do it for me

Perceived output level: Fuckin' hot as hell!
Tone: fuckin' whump yo' ass midrange
Sonic evaluation: Runnin' this shit into a Dimebag Randall Warhead with just a fuckin' wah and boost pedal to make the leads just fuckin' wail

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I fuckin' slam it onstage and I need a hot as hell pickup to give my amp a kick in the ass

Comments: Tunrs your guitar into a fuckin' monster. Forget the active EMG crap, put this fucker in and crank it! Kicks your amp's ass into the thrash zone. Molten metal. Keep slammin' it bros..

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 13 ohms

Model of guitar or bass: strat copy
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock washburn
Other pickups on guitar: 2 carvin h60's. Stacked humbuckers
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock and Blues
Reason for pickup change: wimpy stock pickup

Perceived output level: high output. more than the paf pro.
Tone: mid peak, good bass and less highs
Sonic evaluation: washburn strat copy and pv rage 158 combo

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: rock/metal -good match . blues-alittle to much but ok. good for bridge only

Comments: If stolen I would replace. I've been playing for 7 years. I also own a zoom 505, a Q tube combo amp, a dano dist pedal, a Schecter
T-1 and a Pv t-60.

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 ..............

Pickup features: Humbucking (passive)
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Custom Guitar
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Pick-up
Other pickups on guitar: Stock Single Coil
Artists using this pickup: Paul Gilbert, Me!
You musical style(s): Pop, RnB
Reason for pickup change: I needed some boost and tone specially when it comes to soloing

Perceived output level: Very High Output!
Tone: Good bass thou it has harsh tone
Sonic evaluation: Anything goes!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play......?......i dunno maybe just wut im interested to play

Comments: i've bin using the super distortion for about a year or so,and id say it sure gaved some soul to my solos.although it stil doesn't compare with the JB humbuckers i was using before. but to be fair the super distortion gives a more punchier distorted tone.

Pickup features: Passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: well... er... yes, I guess so ;-)

Model of guitar or bass: Jackson Japan JSX-94 Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Bridge
Other pickups on guitar: stock pick ups in neck and middle position
Artists using this pickup: Paul Gilbert, Richie Kotzen (I think)
You musical style(s): 80's-pop-metal-perm-rock, blues.
Reason for pickup change: The stock pickup was just lame if not used in combination with super-hi-gain.

Perceived output level: well, screwed deep down it was as loud as my stock pickup 1mm below the strings.
Tone: I think it's a bit bassier than my stock pick-up, a tiny bit more mids but you don't lose any highs.
Sonic evaluation: As I said; that Jackson strat into a Peavey Transfex Pro 212s.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: as I said above. I think this pickup is great for any music you often need that bridge-pu-sound. To me it seems perfect so far.

Comments: I'd probably buy it again and I'd recommend it to anyone wanting a kick-ass-hard-rock-sound without having to crank up that pre-gain.
I've been playing for a bit more than seven years now and this jackson strat is my "working horse". compared to my epiphone les paul studio and even to my non-fender (but great) tele the jackson sounded quite weak. but now I know I can keep this guitar because I got quite close to the sound I wanted - although it was more fate than intention. I first wanted a Seymour Duncan Jeff Beck model cause some guitarshop dude told me this would suit my taste. he wanted about 250 swiss franks (about 160 USD) and that was the reason I forgot about it. finally I found that german internet-site where I could have ordered it for about half the money the dude in the shop wanted. the dimarzios were quite a lot more expensive than the sd's, so I didn't consider to buy one. but then I found out that the guy in the local hifi-shop could order dimarzios at a price I guess you won't find again in switzerland. that's when I read thru this review and listened to some samples on www.dimarzio.com.
when I finally read that richie kotzen uses dimarzio pickups too I knew that it couldn't be that wrong since his sound on poison's "native tongue" is just what I'm aiming for (now I have to try to get those chops too, hehehe).
so what do I want to say? for me it's perfect! I love those tight palm mutes even at lower gain levels.

Pickup features: Humbucking Passive
Impedence or other specs: Somewhere around 14k

Model of guitar or bass: Actually I have 1 in two different guitars. Bothe are custom guitars. 1 is an all maple strat with 3 humbuckers and a bigsby ( SD is in the bridge ) the other is in an Maple tele and the SD is in the neck
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: None custom built
Other pickups on guitar: Gutiar 1 ( Pearly Gates in neck, Kramer in middle ) Guitar 2 Hot rails in bridge
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Blues rock
Reason for pickup change: Custom job liked the sound

Perceived output level: This pickup is loud much louder than most stock humbuckers you will find
Tone: In the bridge its kind of trebly almost to much so but I mostly play with the neck pickup and set my amp up for it to sound good. In the neck it sounds great nice and bassy with a great midrange and scorching treble
Sonic evaluation: Already told you about the guitars. I mostly use Fender bassmans and a Dual Showman. In the bridge this pick up is avrage at best. Kind of tinny and not as much body as you would expect almost thin. But compaired to lets say a strat bridge PU it has much more balls and tone. It is recomended that it should be put in the bridge position but the neck position is where it is kickin. In the neck this PU is great. Tons of balls and tone just unbleaveable. You can really rip it up with this PU in the neck

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Blues/Rock. Can be used in all positions but I recomend the Neck Position. No matter what anyone tells you try it in the neck and you'll never take it out!

Comments: I would buy this pickup again. I have been playing for about 16 years. I own and owned so much gear I am not even going to go into it but half of it is/was great the other half was crap. I like the tone ( neck position ) of this pick up it really have good volume and a great sound. I dont like ( really personal ) the allen screws as poles. I did compare it to many pickups but have it in a guitar with a Pearly Gates and another with a hot rails. The PU's sound is kind of between those two. Not as distortiuon frendly as the hot rails but more guts than the pearly. It really does sound good for rock and heavy blues. I wish it had regualar flat head type screw poles and not allen style, they look like crap. Also when I bought bothe of them they come with PU height adjustment screws but no springs. Whats up with that?? I am satisfied with this PU. I am picky and I change my tastes a lot one day I need to hear single coil strat stuff and the next cranked up humbuckers. But when I am in the mood for that humbucker sound I grab these two guitars. This PU is a humbucker on steriods. If you are looking for that pretty bluesy tone go with the single coils but you can bluse it up with this PU and also get that crunch form you amp and stopm boxes that you just can't get with every PU.

Pickup features: Hum.
Impedence or other specs: This is an IMPORTANT update of my previous submission!!

Model of guitar or bass: ESP M-II
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Tone-Zone
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio Air Norton
Artists using this pickup: PAUL GILBERT THE FUCKIN' BEST!!!
You musical style(s): Shred, metal and everything that IS good guitar playing like the 80's....
Reason for pickup change: Tone-Zone sounded too bland in that guitar after a while. The TZ is my favourite pickup, but I wanted something different after buying my Ibanez PGM equipped with a TZ....

Perceived output level: It IS in fact hotter than the TZ, but the TZ sounds punchier and a little louder too, even though it isn't.
Tone: Great bass! Some WOOF in that bass!! That's fuckin' great man! Little mids, but they cut. Highs are superb! Pristine and clear!! Much cleaner highs than the Tone-Zone!
Sonic evaluation: I use the M-II with a variety of amps and some rackmounted stuff such as an ADA MP-1 and Peavey solid-state combos (for that extra tightness). Let me tell you that the super distortion KILLS the Tone-Zone when I play with the little peavey, but the TZ FRIES the Super when it comes to playing in the ADA.....go figure!! The definition on the lower strings of the Super is, however, much better than the definition of the TZ with has a bad tendency to get muddy sometimes!! A guy told that the audience loved this pickup and I have to concur with that!! It's so WARM while cutting so much that it has everything it needs!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I'd say that's a pretty good pickup that cleans up VERY well and that is very warm and defined! I suggest to use this pickup for Rock, Metal and Shred!

Comments: I finally rate this pickup an 8!! My first review was very very biased by the fact that the neck pickup was a Dimarzio Super 2 which was overpowering the Super Distortion.....it led to the conclusion that the Super was lifeless and such....but in fact, when you match it with a great neck pickup (like the Air Norton, the best of all neck pickups!!) the Super screams and sounds Godly!

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez GAX-70 (artist style body - 2 humbucker SG-clone)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Weak Ibanez powersound in BRIDGE
Other pickups on guitar: Other weak Ibanez powersound in NECK
Artists using this pickup: The Super Distortion? Heck... EVERYONE!!
You musical style(s): Everything (rock, hard rock, blues, country-rock, oldies, bee-bop swing, you name it)
Reason for pickup change: I need a little more punch from the GAX-70. Now, it is a real nice guitar for the money! Don't knock it until you've played it!
But, like everyone says, the Ibanez Powersound pickups are not that great. I mean, they have no life to them. They are dull. You have to crank the overdrive/gain and doodle with a graphic EQ pedal to get a serious Gibson SG style tone.

Perceived output level: Very HOT! It's not blistering hot where it would peel paint off the wall, but it is a very nice HOT pickup. Gives your guitar a serious kick in the ass. It's the perfect 70's 80's rock tone. Think "BOSTON" with Tom Sholtz. (More Than a Feeling, Smokin', Feelin' Satisfied, Cool The Engines, etc...)
Tone: Balanced and well defined.
Sonic evaluation: I modified my '99 Ibanez GAX-70 and use a mid 80's Fender Super 60 1x12 solid tube amp.
Like I said earlier, I had to play with my graphic EQ pedal to get the right tone and put the gain knob on "7" on my Fender amp to get the drive that I needed.
The new Dimarzio Super Distortion almost blew me across the room when I plugged in (I forgot to reset the volume/gain on my amp!)

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This is a wicked Bridge pickup suitable for Rock, hard rock, blues. It is the quintessential ROCK guitar pickup. 'Nuff said.

Comments: I plan of getting a Dimarzio PAF Pro to the put in the neck of the Ibanez GAX-70, so the pickups will be balanced better. I would buy Dimarzio pickups again. They are really great sounding and not harsh or brittle.
Plus the 4 conductor wiring makes it really neat (in case I want to install a coil splitter).
Bottom line: This is a hell of a pickup for only $59.00!!!

Pickup features: Passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: umm, i think it's 475mw or somethin along those lines

Model of guitar or bass: Jackson D-10
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: shitty stock pickup
Other pickups on guitar: DiMarzio PAF Pro
Artists using this pickup: umm, i know Max Cavalera from sepultura uses one.. i dont know if he does anymore, he uses an ESP viper custom with an EMG in it now
You musical style(s): METAL (pantera, machine head, sepultura, soulfly, metallica)
Reason for pickup change: the jackson stock pickups although duncan designed sucked.. a lot as a matter of fact. >:| but this helped

Perceived output level: it's a pretty hot pickup, umm well, it's hot enough to do almost anything with..
Tone: with my setup, it works rather well with a LOT of bass, i'd say almost too much bass, i have to roll the tone control on my guitar back to get a less-trebly/middy sound...
Sonic evaluation: I'm using a 1999 Jackson D-10 Guitar, alder body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, 24 frets, digitech Rp-3 digital EFX processor, BOSS Heavy Metal (HM-2) pedal, Dunlop crybaby through a Crate GFX-212 amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play all the aforementioned bands' music, and it suits them all, i gotta try playing somewhere besides indoors, cuz when i palm mute, with my setup, it thumps hard enough to throw pictures off walls and stuff, and that pisses everyone off... so i gotta find a better practice location.. haha

Comments: Wow, yeah, this is random, Yeah, if it were STOLEN, i'd buy another one.. typically if one were to steal a guitar component, WHY in the HELL would they JUST steal the pickup? wouldn't it be easier to steal the entire guitar? Hello? haha.. well, IF just the pickup were stolen, i'd prolly go for an X2N cuz i like the gain better, but this is still a good pickup.. so if an X2N weren't readily available, i'd get another one

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: best with 500k volume pot

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Flying V 84
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock Gibson490
Other pickups on guitar: Gibson 490
Artists using this pickup: Rob Lindbeck
You musical style(s): Metal,classical
Reason for pickup change: Gibson pu sounded like shit,quite simple!

Perceived output level: Output is just right,nothin soft,nothin harsh.
Tone: Great crisp midrange.
Sonic evaluation: Im running my Gibson V straight into a Crate GX130 C,no effects other than reverb and chorus(you get to abusing effects after a while)

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This is the BEST metal pickup out there.Probably would sound wird in neck position......

Comments: The main thing i love about this pickup is that you can plug into a real dull sounding,mud EQd amplifier and all of a sudden it sounds like an active EQ was thrown between you and the amp,this f*cker CUTS!

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 1978 Gibson SG, 1989 Fender American Stratocaster, 1985 Kramer Condor
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: The Gibson had stock in neck position, and the Strat had 2 stock single coils in the middle and neck.
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): classic rock, heavy metal, 1960's through the '90's
Reason for pickup change: When I bought my 1978 Gibson SG it had one of these in the bridge. When I bought my 1989 Strat, it was in the bridge (stock?). I put a Fender Gold Lace Sensor humbucker in that and put the Dimarzio in my 1985 Kramer Condor.

Perceived output level: This is a high output, designed for.... SUPER DISTORTION
Tone: I think this is a little on the treble side, but that's kind of what it is advertised as. It is not a PAF type.
Sonic evaluation: I was very happy with the one that was in my Gibson. I had it for about 16 years, and it started to fade. I no longer own that guitar, but the person I sold it to planned to put a Gibson pick up back in. I thought it sounded very thin and treble-heavy in the Fender. I don't like Fender guitars because of the huge plastic pick guards. I replaced it with the previously mentioned FLS. Still no good, but better. I sold the guitar. The lack of wood in the Fender body did make a difference because... I put the Dimarzio in my 1985 Kramer Condor. What a difference a real guitar makes. The Dimarzio now sounds like my Gibson did about 10 years ago. Very nice. I play a lot of harmonics and squeals, and the Dimarzio makes them easy.
I play through a Fender amp (their amps are great, I just don't like their guitars), a Boss HM2, a Boss flanger, a DOD Tuna, and a Dunlop Crybaby.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I don't think this pick up would be a good fit for the neck position. It's too hot for that and would sound muddy.

Comments: I have been playing guitar for 15 years. I play all styles of music, but lean towards heavy metal and 70's classic rock. This pick up suits those styles very well. I don't think this is the pick up for playing jazz, country, or orchestra oriented music. If this p.u. died I might try a Seymour Duncan just to try something new for me. I would also be happy to put in another stock Schaller.

Pickup features: Humbucker,Passive
Impedence or other specs: Don't remember

Model of guitar or bass: Home-made FlyingV............body is made of Walnut
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: None
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: Alot, but the only one I can think of off hand is Jim Martin from FNM.
You musical style(s): Mostly metal......some clean and classic rock sounds
Reason for pickup change: Never had a pickup in it.

Perceived output level: Its a nasty little pickup with plenty of output for most Metal etc.etc.
Tone: It is mostly suited for metal with alot of gain. Example,Obituary...Pantera...etc.
Sonic evaluation: Like I said the guitar is a homemade Flying-V with a Walnut body and Carvin neck. I play it through a Crate GX 30-M Combo amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Metal mostly.Suitable for all positions but recommended for the Bridge Pos.

Comments: I would definitly buy this pickup again if it were killed. I've been playing for about 10 years or so. The best part of the pickup is the gain it produces for that ultra nasty type distortion. I sometimes wish it had a little more bottom end but if your Pedal or amp has a Low eq. then it should be no problem. The only other pickup I have yet to buy is a DiMarzio X2N. Which is supposedly the hottest pickup out there.

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone G400 (SG)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio PAF
Artists using this pickup: Ace Frehley, Paul Gilbert
You musical style(s): Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Metal
Reason for pickup change: Stock hever had enough bite...

Perceived output level: About the same level as the stock pickup...
Tone: Great sound, distorted and with bite, but doesn't have that sharp edge that newly design pickups have. Great dark sound when you roll back the tone...
Sonic evaluation: I'm using the pickup in the bridge position of an Epiphone G400 SG (with a big ass bigsby style vibrotone) with a Fender Princton 112 Plus, and a DOD classic tube distortion. The thng sounds great, perfect for classic rock, it isn't muddy and has that vintage tone that kills.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great for all types of rock, an even metal.....great pickup.

Comments: I'd replace in a second....

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: I don't need to know that!

Model of guitar or bass: ESP M-II, BcRich Warlock bolt-on
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Duncan JB
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio Super 2
Artists using this pickup: Paul Gilbert (my idol), Vinnie Moore, Ace Frehley
You musical style(s): SHRED METAL!!!!!!! UP YOUR ARSE!!
Reason for pickup change: The JB was a muddy piece of shit....it had not power and didn't cut!!

Perceived output level: A little hotter than the JB
Tone: Very bassy and muddy.....poor.....sounds like shit.......no definition.....no power...sounds like a JB, with more kick (but not enough dammit!)....
Sonic evaluation: It was so poor in my ESP (it's a real ESP, not an LTD!!) that I decided to try it in my Bcrich....it sounds really muddy!! Way too bassy to get a good and not messy distortion lead tone.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I admit that it's the best pickup for distorted muddy power chords

Comments: Poor pickup. It sucks. No power and too bassy to cut!
The best bridge pickup I've tried is a Dimarzio X2N, followed by an EMG-81. These pickups CUT and they're not too bassy, so you can turn up the bass and be TIGHT DAMMIT! The super distortion sucks at this.........don't try to pull a sweep picking lick out of it!
It has been replaced with an X2N....sounds like I want it!

Pickup features: humbucking, passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez 320 DX
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar: stock (not for long though)
Artists using this pickup: does that matter to you?
You musical style(s): fast
Reason for pickup change: Ibanez makes very playable necks with low quality inlays... and terrible electronics. So I gutted the instrument.

Perceived output level: Far, far louder than stock. Newer pickups are a lot hotter than this, such as the Super 3 and the X2N.
Tone: A very balanced, classic tone, far clearer than the stock pickup. It makes for a great distortion, about as thick and crazy as you can get before losing musicality. A very, very usable distortion sound. Don't get it for a clean sound, but with special electronics it gets interesting. See below...
Sonic evaluation: I'm using a modified Ibanez right into a Crate Blue Voodoo with a noise gate. The guitar has been modified in the following manner: the volume pot has been replaced with a 2 meg model. (the old one was a 500k pot.) This adds more presence to the guitar. Also, the treble pot, which no one uses anyway and should have been removed from the guitar decades ago, is now a midrange pot. The midrange pot acts as a gain control. This allows you to roll back the amount of gain coming from the super distortion for a far better clean sound. With full gain and volume, the clean sound is unusable. Then again, you really wouldn't want this for a clean sound anyway, but it's nice to now that it can do it if you make the changes necessary. They're pretty easy, if I can do it. Anyway, on to the high-gain sound. It is very classic and usable, but I wouldn't try it unless I had a tube amp. Solid-state amps will sound too thin with this. This is really a great pickup, which allows you to have a musical distortion which does not get boring after the initial effect of having a fire-breathing guitar wears off. People enjoy hearing this pickup. Other, higher-output pickups can have a detrimental effect on your audience.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I just play the guitar. Forget style, it doesn't really mean anything.

Comments: This pickup is great. I used to want the ultra-high gain sound, but I got tired of it. (I was using a imported Rhoads with an X2N.) This pickup can give you a better sound than that, one that doesn't become painful or boring. It is a heavy, rock pickup, with a classic sound that will probably never sound tired or dated. Great, great buy.

Pickup features: Passive humbucker - www.dimarzio.com
Impedence or other specs: www.dimarzio.com

Model of guitar or bass: Jackson D10
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Some stock thing. "Kent Armstrong" PU I think..
Other pickups on guitar: Whatever stock PU is in the neck position
Artists using this pickup: Kiss... I'm sure there are a bunch more..
You musical style(s): Rock, metal...
Reason for pickup change: I wanted something that can give a crispier and juicer
distortion. Something with a tight bottom end and sizzling
high end without sounding flat and flabby.

Perceived output level: A little less output than the stock pickup...
Tone: Very balanced, very tight, very defined...
Sonic evaluation: I'm plugging into a Peavey 5150 head and that's driving a Peavey 412MS cabinet. Every strummed chord and every picked note has definition to it. It sounds really sweet when played clean. Almost Strat like. But dirty.. oh boy.. stand back.. sounds like KISS on drugs....

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Heavy metal, strong rock.... sweet clean reverby rhythms..

Comments: I would definatly include this PU into my dream custom guitar. The sound is incredible. I haven't tried it as a tapped single coil and I don't think I will. It sounds awesome when used a humbucker. I wonder what 3 of these would sound like... whoa!

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: www.dimarzio.com

Model of guitar or bass: Hamer Sunburst Arch Top
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan Invader
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour Duncan JB in neck
Artists using this pickup: Don't know
You musical style(s): Heavy Metal, Grunge
Reason for pickup change: Invader was awesome, however, it looked horrible in my guitar. I wanted something with similar sound and a normal look.

Perceived output level: Very Hot
Tone: Balanced and TIGHT!
Sonic evaluation: I'm using a Hamer guitar with a mahogany body and maple top with a Crate amp and Celestion speakers. This guitar pickup is AWESOME. It is absolutely everything I could ask for, thick, heavy percussive attack for rhythm and a tone that is absolutely to die for when doing leads. I shall never shop for another pickup again.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pickup is perfect for everything I play hard. Anything to do with clean sounds is played through my JB pickup in the neck.

Comments: This is the only pickup I will ever use in a mahogony/maple top guitar. Absolutely wonderful.

Pickup features: humbucker, passive
Impedence or other specs: I guess its around 12- 13 K ohms, 4 conductor

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez RG 550
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: a broken Super Distortion pickup
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio Evolution-bridge, Ibanez S1- middle
Artists using this pickup: probably too many to list, Ace Freley and Kurt Cobain come to mind
You musical style(s): hard rock, instrumental rock, some metal, jazz, blues, classic rock
Reason for pickup change: Had a super distortion but it just broke down on me, so I got the exact same pickup to replace it.

Perceived output level: Pretty hot, more than your stock humbucker
Tone: Well keep in mind I use it in the neck position which is kinda weird. So obviously its pretty bassy there, not muddy though, good mid and high end.
Sonic evaluation: Marshall 6100 and Kittyhawk Quattro tube preamp, marshall 2x12 cab- Ibanez guitar- good sound though its not really meant as a neck pickup. Nice clean sound with distortion, good for fast runs and arpeggios, it maintains clarity.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Good for heavy rock, not the best clean pickup, kinda dark for clean playing in the neck position.

Comments: I'd get it again, hey I already did once, so I must have liked it. There probably are better neck pickups out there I just haven't just looked for them so no big deal. Its good for what it is.

Pickup features: Passive hambucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Washburn BT2
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock pickup
Other pickups on guitar: Di Marzio Paf Pro
Artists using this pickup: Frank Gambale
You musical style(s): Heavy Metal
Reason for pickup change: I wanted more gain. The stock pickup was very weak with distortion, and I wanted to have a great distorted sound.

Perceived output level: high output with great distortion (whatever distortion that you use) but i didn't like its clean tone.
Tone: Middy with such a high hi that it gets annoying with clean tones.
Sonic evaluation: At home I play in a Washburn BT-2 plugged in a peavey RAGE 158 (15W) and a ZOOM. While I'm playing without distortion I only use my Paf, but with effects and/or distortion I preffer to use the Super Distortion.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play more Heavy Metal than other things. I recomend you to play it in the bridge because we use more the clean tone in the neck than in the bridge.

Comments: I'm sure it was the thing I was looking for. I wanted more gain and I got it, but the clean tone disappointed me. I recommend it for the people who have a good clean tone pickup or people who will always use distortion.

Pickup features: Humbucking pickup
Impedence or other specs: not sure

Model of guitar or bass: 85 Gibson Les Paul Standard, 84 mexican strat, used Peavey Vandenberg
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Les Paul humbucker, Stock strat single coil, Stock peavey humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Stock neck les paul, stock strat neck, Vandenberg= neck hs2
Artists using this pickup: Frank Gambale, Rhandy Rhoads, Ace,
You musical style(s): aggressive, flighty, in your face and soaring at the same time
Reason for pickup change: Distortion, period.

Perceived output level: high output, capable of overdriving every clean channel I have played thru, distortion channels are with this pickup finds its home
Tone: I find it very balanced and solid, because it has such high output, all the frequencies are represented. It provides so much output that you can really shape the sound with your amp.
Sonic evaluation: Current Rig- Rat R2du into a Mesa Studio Preamp into a Marshall 9000 series 50watt per channel stereo power amp. A digitech dsp128 sits in the effects loop. Cabinet is Marshall 1922 stereo 2x12 w/Celestion 75's in it. Thats it.
The super distortion allows all my guitars to come to life while still maintaining their own sonic integrity. The output of this pickup is very strong to the point where you may need to back off the gain on you amps. What I like about this pickup is I can run preamp gain at 2 or 3 and still have amazing crunch with detail in the notes. For leads, this pickup works well with low or high preamp settings. Harmonics jump out, squeels come right out without sounding compressed ala Zak Wild(he rules though). What I dont like is limited. The pickup does not work that well for clean sounds, it can do it , but its tone doesnt live there. Definately have a lower output pickup in the neck or middle of your guitar if you need tasty cleans.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play progressive rock and metal. I have only used this p/up in the bridge and have never been let down with the sonic possibilities

Comments: If destroyed or stolen I would replace them all!I have played for 13 years with these pickups in my guitars for the last 8-10 years. I have not even considered changing the pickups because they deliver. My rig relies on the tonal shaping of a Mesa preamp. The Super D simply delivers the most guitar signal to the rig. Most of my tone shaping comes from the amp rig itself. this pickup allows me to plug in anywhere, any rig, any room, and know my guitar is going to sing with sustain and harmonics. However, i will rate it an 8, the highest rating in my book because I have yet to find a pickup that sounds good in every application. FOr rock, metal, and any distorted sound, this pickup makes your sound come to life.

Pickup features: single coil, high output, adjustable pole pieces
Impedence or other specs: 8.68K impedance, 200mV output, ceramic magnet

Model of guitar or bass: Hagstrom i (Kent)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: original equipment
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): all sorts of rock, occasional country, jazz, praise/worship
Reason for pickup change: wimpy OEM pickups

Perceived output level: extremely hot in 1977, still very hot by today's standards
Tone: a bit muddy at the neck (not DiMarzio recommended), otherwise well balanced
Sonic evaluation: I use the SDS-1 at both neck and bridge positions on my Hagstrom 1 (a two pickup, Strat-like 60s guitar). I've used this with a homemade amp, a Kalamazoo Model One practice amp, a Stage 25 practice amp, a Univox 100 watt lead amp, a Lab L5, a Peavey Heritage VTX, and a couple of other things I forget now. The pickups do a good job on almost any amp. The exception was the Stage, but I'm convinced that was the amp's fault.
It doesn't have quite as much low end as I'd like, and the highs could be a bit better, but overall, I'm really happy. And it will overdrive any amp on the planet that still functions. It doesn't *quite* sound like a Start, and it doesn't quite sound like a Gibsom humbucker, but it does a darned good job of being close to either one, as well as all sorts of other things.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: As a bridge pickup by itself, it's a bit muddy. Otherwise, I love it for everything.

Comments: If I had the money, I'd experiment (Carvins and Lace Sensors look interesting). But if it were just a matter of needing to get pickups quickly that I know would work, I'd go for these in a heartbeat. I picked the SDS-1 because it was the hottest thing around, and I heard a couple of guitars that had these, and they sounded great. I don't recall what else was around, but nothing else sounded this good and this hot.
With the adjsutable pole pieces, the strings balance beautifully. Despite how hot these pickups are, there's no noticeable loss of sustain due to the magnets.
They did pick up a bit of noise (esp. 60 Hz hum) at first, but I did a thorough shielding job on my guitar, and have had *no* problems since, despite spending several years in radio frequency hell in Atlanta in a building that regularly destroyed sound board inputs from all the stray EMI. My guitar is extremely quiet, except for the noise I want it to make!
I bought these right after they came out, in '77 or '78.

Pickup features: humbucking
Impedence or other specs: phase switching

Model of guitar or bass: fender mustang
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: fender single coil sock pickup
Other pickups on guitar: single coil stock fender pickup
Artists using this pickup: there are to many
You musical style(s): everything that can be played
Reason for pickup change: Mustang had no balls it was way to twangy for me
and had a really bad sound that couldnt keep up with everyones elses
guitar i.e. I could not hear myself.
I changed that real quick :]

Perceived output level: Loud can deaf if you have an amp up to loud
Tone: trebly and bassy
Sonic evaluation: I am using a Fender R.A.D amp about 75 watts with a peavy distortion pedal for the moment ...

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Yes this is a good match because of the phase switching

Comments: I would recommend trying diffrent guitars to put this in because they can be tweaked with and can make you stand out or be quite when need be really well balanced pickup.

Pickup features: passive 4 contuctor humbucker.
Impedence or other specs: i dont know it just kicks all ass....

Model of guitar or bass: 63 jazzmaster, 65 mustang, 64 jaguar, 73 tele, and every other guitar i own..
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock...
Other pickups on guitar: fender texas specials, and old jizzmaster pickups...
Artists using this pickup: i dont know.
You musical style(s): gothic industrial grunge punk blues....
Reason for pickup change: stock pickups suck dick...

Perceived output level: the hottest fucking think ive ever used....
Tone: kinda muddy, very middy, and VERY powerful...
Sonic evaluation: i use mainly old fenders... through a fuzz face, big muff, fulltone clyde wah, turbo tube screamer, ibanez tube king, rat r2du, korg dig tuner, 2 small stone phasors, mxr flanger, boss super phasor, home made funtion generator, boss dig delay pitch shifter, echo plex, and too many other pedals to list... into a fender tone master amp....

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: pickup is best in bridge position...

Comments: i would and have bought this pickup a million times over....

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: no idea

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson SG
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Gibson HB-L
Other pickups on guitar: Gibson HB-R
Artists using this pickup: Who cares?
You musical style(s): Hardcore, blues, rock, ect.
Reason for pickup change: The HB-L broke down on me, and I wanted to try something different.

Perceived output level: Not as loud as I hoped for, but it's okay.
Tone: middy and trebly, not a lot of bass. But the sound is quite crispy (perhaps you could pour some milk on it and eat it for breakfast)
Sonic evaluation: I play an old SG through a BOSS DS-1, Dunlob Crybaby and BOSS ME-8 into a Marshall VS-30R (cheap amp, but nice sound). The sound is great for plain rock. You can not get a muddy sound out of this thing, which not always is a good thing, because I like to go muddy once in a while. But then I use my trusty HB-R.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great for rock, but it lacks bass to go real hardcore. I think it would be great in the neck position, but I havn't tried it yet.

Comments: Yes, I would probably buy it again. Because eventhough it lacks the muddyness and bass, it's nice to have a clear-sounding pickup when you have the lovely & muddy HB-R in the neckposition.

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: I dunno

Model of guitar or bass: Squier Fat Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar: HS-3
Artists using this pickup: Ace Frehley
You musical style(s): Rock, Southern Rock, Metal
Reason for pickup change: Strat's suck bigtime and I hate squiers.

Perceived output level: High output level
Tone: This pickup is great for rhythm (in parallel) and screams in leads (series)
Sonic evaluation: Running through a Roc-Pro 1000 and Marshall Half Stack and a Zoom 505.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pickup is great for almost anything

Comments: I would replace this pickup if it were stolen... I'm also considering getting one for another guitar.

Pickup features: humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Hamer Slammer (custom)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Hamer Stock
Other pickups on guitar: Seymore Duncan 59
Artists using this pickup: Randy Rhodes (Ozzy Osbourne guitarist dead)
You musical style(s): Blues to Metal
Reason for pickup change: Didnt like the sound. Wasnt enough output from the stocks and just couldnt take the bad sound and tane anymore

Perceived output level: Incredibly high output. Its less then the Seymore Duncan Invader or the EMG 81 but oh well its still extremely loud and obnoxious and plays well for any type of music.
Tone: its balanced for a distorted pickup. its got a good treble tone but still has a good bass and it can go muddy if you want
Sonic evaluation: I am running my Hamer through a GFX 1200 head (crate) and 2 Crate 4x12 cabs.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play all types of music and its great for them all. Blues, rock, metal, softer rock it can be used for them all. I dont know about the neck position but on the bridge its great.

Comments: Yes I would buy it again. I have been playing for 6 years and I really like this pickup. I love the volume, attitude, and sound ranges of this pickup I just wish it could play a good rhythm.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Custom made EVH Frakenstein (red, white, and black)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: cheap stock single-coil
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder
Artists using this pickup: Ace Frehley
You musical style(s): Hardrock, Metal, Blues, Classic rock, Pop jazz, funk
Reason for pickup change: needed a humbucker to replace cheap and crappy sounding single-coil pickups

Perceived output level: Extremely high output. More midrange and treble than bass.
Tone: Middy and Trebly. Less Bass
Sonic evaluation: I use this pickup on the bridge pickup slot of my custom made EVH striped Frakenstein guitar through my Mesa/Boogie Studio Calibre. The pick up sounds more fit for the lead channel of my boogie. Clean sounds awful. Pickups increased output and midrange gives high notes butt. SOunds are great for doing very powerful sounding solos.
Low notes tend to sound muddy.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: The pickup doesn't suit all the styles I play but it does match my styles of Hard rock, classic rock and metal.

Comments: I wouldn't buy another one cause it's not that versatile. It does well with a lot of overdrive or distortion but there's not much clean in there.
I like using the guitar with this pick up when I do solos because the lead sound sound so huge. But once you go lower down the neck sound becomes muddy. I really prefer a pickup with more bass, a balanced mid and a crisp top. I think thats how the Di Marzio Tone Zone pickups sound.

Pickup features: Humbucker (passive)
Impedence or other specs: ???

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Strat Standard ( Mexican made )
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock (?)
Other pickups on guitar: stock(?)
Artists using this pickup: Ace Frehley, tons of others
You musical style(s): hard rock, metal, classic rock ( Pink Floyd...)
Reason for pickup change: Didn't like the stock single coil pickup. It was thin sounding and noisy.

Perceived output level: Pretty high output, but not as loud as EMGs. Sounds great!!! It is the perfect pickup for classic rock. It sounds great for Boston and Kiss, of course. A decent pickup for metal, but the EMG 81s would probably be a little better for that. Makes artificial harmonics scream!
Tone: To my playing, it is pretty well balanced. I like it a lot!
Sonic evaluation: I use the Mexican strat standard, through a MXR Distortion +, Vox reissue wah, and a Marshall Lead 12 amp. It sounds great. I really like the sound. BIG difference from the puny little single coil pickup I had in there,

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This pickup is PERFECT for 70's rock. It's pretty good for metal, too. I wouldn't use it in the neck position, however. I might put a Seymour Duncan '59 or Jazz humbucker in there for a good clean sound.

Comments: I would buy it again and again and again... GREAT deal for 54 bucks!
I am satisfied with it, and would reccomend it to anyone.

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul Custom
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Gibson
Other pickups on guitar: DiMarzio Dual Sound
Artists using this pickup: Tom Scholz
You musical style(s): Hard Rock ; Heavy Metal and Classic 70's Metal
Reason for pickup change: Experimentation at first, but let me tell you that this is the best pickup ever made for commanding authority and driving an amplifer into screaming submission at the mercy the players hands!!!

Perceived output level: Higher output than a stock pickup but yet sensitive enough to respond to pick attack very well.
Tone: The tone just high enough to cut through and scream, but also very tight sounding.
Sonic evaluation: This is my favorite pickup of all-time for Gibson style guitars; if you use it in an axe with a mahagony body you can not go wrong! Try it in a Flying V and rip!!!...(just ask Bob F.) In the bridge position of a strat it is too high ended; would not recomend it for Fender guitars.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Not suitable for Fenders; bolt-on necks; ect. .... need a tight sounding guitar to match the tight, bright sound of this pickup.

Comments: Will be buying a creme colored one next month and will always have one by my side at all times!! The Les Paul through a Marshall amp with the Super Distortion is a tone that you just can't go wrong with.

Pickup features: Passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs: About 14 KOhms. Switchable to singlecoil.

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Fuckin? Stock
Other pickups on guitar: Fuckin Stock at the Bridge-Want to change soon
Artists using this pickup: Dunno
You musical style(s): Metal,Grunge,sometiomes Jazz
Reason for pickup change: That fuckin stock started to Beep around at a level of 2
at my Marshall Jcm 800 that I bought one month ago. It?s
not real higain,but it?s enough.

Perceived output level: Little Hot
Tone: Md-Treb
Sonic evaluation: JCM 800 (Ma2210(

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

Comments: Would buy it again as it gets a clean sound from my
JCM 800 clean channel. Other pickups make it to crunchy.
That because of the low Bass from the super distortion.
But in drive channel it gets hot and it doesn?t cause
magnetic feedback as my old one did.
Try it !! Buy it!! it makes a cheap guitar be as hot as
from hell.

Pickup features: Humbucker, passive
Impedence or other specs: dunno exact specs, but a very HOT pu.

Model of guitar or bass: Late 70's Washburn neck-through B series guitar
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock stuff...
Other pickups on guitar: put the SD in both neck and bridge position...
Artists using this pickup: dunno -- go to DiMarzio's website and look...
You musical style(s): Rock, blues, a little shred
Reason for pickup change: Voices in my head told me to do it ;-)

Perceived output level: Really high gain pickup... harmonics are almost too easy with this thing. Volume knob on the guitar can cut down on the damage factor tho.
Tone: Other than loud you mean? A little trebly in the bridge, very balanced sounding in the neck... tho many may argue with me here.
Sonic evaluation: Keep in mind I put these in a neck-through guitar, which has lots of tone and sustain in of itself. The guitar also has a mahogany body, which is a pretty raw sounding wood in my opinion. It fits really well with my Bedrock tube amp and Ibanez TubeScreamer setup. Great for that ZZ Top, Satriani kinda vibe, but the volume on the guitar has to be turned down to get rid of the edge for more bluesy stuff like SRV.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: In the neck it can be tamed into doing clean stuff, jazz and maybe even country (better have a good tone knob on your axe). Bridge position is like riding a bronco.

Comments: I do have a spare lying around just in case one craps out on me. For this guitar I like the sound, but I would be hesitant to put it in my Les Paul or Ibanez Satriani model... maybe something like a Pearly Gates or Invader would be more suitable for those guitars.

Pickup features: passive humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: generic fake les paul
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: moldy old stock
Other pickups on guitar: paf plus
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): metal-emo-core
Reason for pickup change: i needed more bite and crunch

Perceived output level: a bit hotter than a paf pickup
Tone: lots of mids, more trebs than low-end. not much bass at all.
Sonic evaluation: running this thru a jcm900, it's still not as crunchy as i'd like it...
the distortion gets really smooth, if that's what ya like. you get lots
of harmonics, though.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: don't put this at the neck.

Comments: it was a pretty good deal.
of course, when i bought it, i loved it cuz it suited my music at the
time (soCal punk), but now i need more crunch/metall.

Pickup features: humbucker, passive
Impedence or other specs: don't know

Model of guitar or bass: kramer, Condor
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: bridge and neck. carvin and something else
Other pickups on guitar: don't know
Artists using this pickup: don.t know
You musical style(s): jazz, rock, r&b, metal, funk
Reason for pickup change: wanted better sound and more versitility

Perceived output level: hot, but it depends on the ear
Tone: smooth high and lows great mids especially when driven
Sonic evaluation: creat GT200 mosfet/tube 4 12s celestion speakers bottom

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: rock jazz, in the nek position good clean sound and neck good for leads

Comments: yes I would buy it again
24 years harmony strat great guitar 3 seymour duncan quater pounders
crestline 335 copy ibanez iceman with 3 PJ marx pickups
I choose it because of it's sound and versitily
I'm very satisfied with what I have for now

Pickup features: passive humbucking
Impedence or other specs: whatever

Model of guitar or bass: ghetto homemade
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: generic stock bullshit
Other pickups on guitar: charvel stock
Artists using this pickup: dunno
You musical style(s): punk, ska, hardcore, grind
Reason for pickup change: wanted a sharper, more aggressive sound

Perceived output level: lots more than other passives, not as loud as emg's
Tone: lotsa upper-mid and treble, good upper-bass. very crunchy
Sonic evaluation: fucks shit up. real quiet and responsive.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: don't put it at the bridge. this was ment to get higher-end signals.

Comments: buy again. real good. probably as much output as i can get without going active.
it doesn't fuck around. raise it as close to the strings as you can. i didn't have
to cough up mad funds, either. great deal.

Pickup features: Passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Memphis Les Paul copy
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock pickup
Other pickups on guitar: Carvin Super D
Artists using this pickup: Frankie Gambale, Tom Scholz
You musical style(s): Rock, Funk, Jazz, Blues
Reason for pickup change: The Memphis Les Paul copy was the first electric guitar I ever bought. I was fiftenn and I knew SQUAT about pickups. I thought the sound was far too tame, so on the advice of a friend, I bought A Super Distortion. As it turns out, the stock pickup was actually a single coil pickup in PAF case! What a rip-off!

Perceived output level: about as hot as I'd like.
Tone: Focus on the bass and high-end
Sonic evaluation: This is perhaps the most usable pickup I've ever had. It's got enough grunt to scream, while cleaning up nicely at lower volumes.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I wouldn't put this in the neck position, but everywhere else is fine.

Comments: I have no regrets about buying this pickup. It's one of the most musical pickups I own.

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender JagStang
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Scrappy, clicky, low output piece of junk stock humbucker worth $5
Other pickups on guitar: Vintage strat
Artists using this pickup: Kurt Cobain (Desceased)
You musical style(s): Moderate Rock
Reason for pickup change: Old' Stock pickup sucked really hard, it had too much click
was muffled, low output... poor distortion...

Perceived output level: Far Superior to normal stock pickups, very good RAAA and little >squeek<
Tone: Well gee its got 1 part woofer 1 part tweeter wiring WTF am I supposto put?
Sonic evaluation: Sonic evaluation? whatever this is a rad pickup. If your considering
replacing your pickup, get it. If your not considering it, do it
anyway.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Its unsuitable for neck pos.

Comments: I'd buy 100 of em if i could.
Only thing I hate are the way you gotta evelvate the pole pieces..
with a hexhead (included) other thing i hate... DIDNT INCLUDE SPRINGS.
I have found a perfect sound.

Pickup features:
Impedance or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Squire Strat (Korean)
Position: Bridge (mounted at the strat angle)
Pickup being replaced: Stock Squire single coil
Other pickups on guitar: Lawrence L-250 in neck,
Duncan vintage staggered Strat in middle.
Artists using this pickup:
Your musical style(s): SRV, Jeff Healey roadhouse rock,
(and everything else generally)
Reason for pickup change: (see my Lawrence L-250 review)
I use the Dan Armstrong 3 switch pickup select scheme (providing *all*
combinations of series and parallel connections for all 3 pickups). I
have phase switches on each pickup.

Perceived output level: Pretty loud. Louder, I think, that the PAFs on my
Gibson SG. Definitely causes an extra bit of crunch in the amp.
Tone: Not as bassy/boomy
as the PAFs, lots of trebly overtones through fuzz and when played
loudly.
Sonic evaluation:
My goal (if you can't tell from my switching scheme and pickup
selection) is to have the largest practical sonic variety of switch
combinations and pickups. E.g., I would be unhappy with 3 identical
heavy metal pickups. So, then, the Bill Lawrence neck adds a
clear and full-bodied round humbucker sound to the vintage strat in
the middle, and the crunchy nasty DiMarzio distortion pickup in the
bridge. I really like the variety of sounds, and the flexibility.
Oh, it pretty quiet - not as stone-quiet as the PAFs but still quiet.
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:
To me, this is a bridge pickup only. It is a bit rough around the edges.

Comments:
Gonna keep it.