Recommend me a dimarzio pickup for my VH strat

[paulscape]

Hi there, haven't posted in ages but hope you are all well and had a good xmas/new years! Now that the new VH album is about to be released Ive been doing up some of my old replica guitars and one needs a new pup. I have a friend that has a stack of new dimarzio pickups leftover from a music expo I can get cheap and they are all F-spaced. From reading the forums here a lot of people have been impressed by the dimarzio super distortion (like the ibanez super 70?) so Im leaning towards that but wanted to see if I should also be considering any of the other pickups? I have a SD '78 and custom custom in some other van halen guitars and they are really nice, more classic PAF sounding. The strat I need to put a new pickup in is a black and white VH1 frankie so something like the distortion with more sizzle could be good but I want it to be able to clean up reasonably well also on the volume knob.

This is what he has:
Super distortion (my preference at the moment)
Virtual Hot PAF (second preference)
Air Classic
Airzone
Breed
Joe
Fred
Steves special
Tone zone
Air Norton

Thanks very much for your help!

[MrBeasty]

I tried to like the Duncan '78 and could not. The CustomCustom was a huge dissapointment for me as well.

I like the Super Distortion a lot at the moment ... but the EVH Frankenstein is quite fun too (although not a Dimarzio).
I have a Dimarzio/EBMM EVH to try next week-end but if it sound like the EBMM-EVH, it will too bright and small sounding (IMHO).

A hot PAF may work as well ... I had good results with a Bareknuckle VH2 & Steve Stevens as well as a Duncan Pearly Gate. That said, the hotter the pick-up the less hard you have to work to get overdrive and Ed's tone is pretty hot ... Super Distortion hot!

[paulscape]

I tried to like the Duncan '78 and could not. The CustomCustom was a huge dissapointment for me as well.

I like the Super Distortion a lot at the moment ... but the EVH Frankenstein is quite fun too (although not a Dimarzio).
I have a Dimarzio EBMM to try next week-end nut if it sound like the EBMM it will too bright and small sounding (IMHO).

Would you say the EVH Frankie pup is hotter (VH1) or milder (VH2)? Those SD's are finicky pickups. I was initially dissapointed with the '78 too until I put it in another guitar and I love it now! I have a couple of SD distortions lying around but never quite gelled with them, they dont volume roll off so easy and Ive heard they are quite different to the dimarzio distortions despite both being ceramic - is this right?

Im also keen to hear thoughts on the virtual hot PAF?

[Santi]

Try the Di Marzio Norton. I personally believe it's the one that probably covers more in term of sound

[rgorke]

You may also want to try a Distortion 2 or II. Suppose to be more PAFy.

[fivecoyote]

Would you say the EVH Frankie pup is hotter (VH1) or milder (VH2)? Those SD's are finicky pickups. I was initially dissapointed with the '78 too until I put it in another guitar and I love it now! I have a couple of SD distortions lying around but never quite gelled with them, they dont volume roll off so easy and Ive heard they are quite different to the dimarzio distortions despite both being ceramic - is this right?

EVH is hotter than VH2, but a lot depends on your amp setup. Listen to Pete Thorn's lSL68 vid -- that amp makes the new Wolfies sound great.

If you are going for EVH tone w/ gear Ed actually used and don't want a Duncan, you're limited to the DSD unless you can get your hands on an EBMM pickup. Beasty's comments are right on.

[MrBeasty]

Would you say the EVH Frankie pup is hotter (VH1) or milder (VH2)? Those SD's are finicky pickups. I was initially dissapointed with the '78 too until I put it in another guitar and I love it now! I have a couple of SD distortions lying around but never quite gelled with them, they dont volume roll off so easy and Ive heard they are quite different to the dimarzio distortions despite both being ceramic - is this right?

EVH is hotter than VH2, but a lot depends on your amp setup. Listen to Pete Thorn's SL68 vid -- that amp makes the new Wolfies sound great.

If you are going for EVH tone w/ gear Ed actually used and don't want a Duncan, you're limited to the DSD unless you can get your hands on an EBMM pickup. Beasty's comments are right on.

Indeed, the VH2 is much milder (9K) than the Super Distortion (13K). That said, the Steve Stevens sounds identical to the VH2 but is about 13K. You can get the same sound out of both except you don't have to hit the strings super hard, etc ...

The VH2 is an awesome pick-up. It is my favorite PAF pick-up, puts almost every Duncan to shame, especially the '78 (IMHO).
Now I agree that the DSD doesn't clean-up very well, in a hot amp it can be a bit hard to deal with. The Frankenstein is sort of similar ... but not quite. It has a A2 magnet, it is not as extreme as the DSD and clean-up very well. I really like the Frankenstein, it is a good sounding, fun, alive pick-up that cleans-up well. I just wish it was a just a smidge more powerful.
The DSD has the opposite issue, it is a bit too hot.

I really want to try the new EVH Wolfgang pick-up to see if it is that happy medium I am looking for. I have this DiMarzio/EBMM pick-up that I will wire-up again but I never really liked the sound of the EBMM EVH guitar.

[Marshall SL12301]

It is a no brainer IF you are going after the VH1 tone. DSD all the way the VHPaf is a good pu too but better for the second record-diver down tones

[Marshall SL12301]

. I really like the Frankenstein, it is a good sounding, fun, alive pick-up that cleans-up well. I just wish it was a just a smidge more powerful.
I really want to try the new EVH Wolfgang pick-up to see if it is that happy medium I am looking for. I have this DiMarzio/EBMM pick-up that I will wire-up again but I never really liked the sound of the EBMM EVH guitar.

Easy fix on the EVH pup install a brand new A2 magnet to get more power(it has a weakened A2 stock)
and if you decide you dont want that ebmm dimarzio sell it to me and i am serious about this just send me a PM with your asking price

[MrBeasty]

... if you decide you dont want that ebmm dimarzio sell it to me and i am serious about this just send me a PM with your asking price

I collect these "EVH" pick-ups, I think I have almost all of them (except the Peavey Wolfgang and the EVH Wolfgang) ... so this one will just return on the shelf if I don't like it.

It is a bit silly but one day I'll put my kid through college by selling this pick-up, the Super70 and the MM1300!

[stef]

I want it to be able to clean up reasonably well also on the volume knob.

super distortion

[Marshall SL12301]

... if you decide you dont want that ebmm dimarzio sell it to me and i am serious about this just send me a PM with your asking price

I collect these "EVH" pick-ups, I think I have almost all of them (except the Peavey Wolfgang and the EVH Wolfgang) ... so this one will just return on the shelf if I don't like it.

It is a bit silly but one day I'll put my kid through college by selling this pick-up, the Super70 and the MM1300!

understandable

[MrBeasty]

Going back on topic:
I don't know if the DSD is truely "VH1" but it does get very close ... it just doesn't seem to clean-up enough?!
If what we hear on VH1 is the sound of ceramic magnets then I believe it would be from a Super70.
That said, it is perfect for W&CF all the way to Diver Down stuff.

As for the other Dimarzio pick-ups listed at the beginning of this thread, I have no experience with them ... that said, they could still work as long as they are fairly hot and aggressive mid-focus.
For example, I think I got great results with a Suhr Doug Aldrich or a Bareknuckle Steve Stevens. So, for a 100% EVH application get a DSD ... otherwise, the quest remains yours!
Maybe you should try that hot PAF and report to us?

[Chevelle]

The Frankenstein is sort of similar ... but not quite. It has a A2 magnet, it is not as extreme as the DSD and clean-up very well. I really like the Frankenstein, it is a good sounding, fun, alive pick-up that cleans-up well. I just wish it was a just a smidge more powerful.

I've got the EVH Frankenstein and couldn't agree more with your description of it. Just wish it had more sizzle so to speak. I am going to try the DSD after reading your comments. I always thought the DSD would not be any hotter sounding than the EVH for some reason, but now I am thinking it might be what I need to get that little bit more of gain.

[MrBeasty]

The Seymour Duncan SH-5 Custom(ceramic magnet)in my opinion is a great VH 1 sounding pickup.

Interesting. The SH-5 and SH-6 are actually pretty close to the Super Distortion too ... 14-16K, ceramic magnets, with the SH-5 being more scoops and a bit more bass ... we clearly are in the same neighborhood!