Dimarzio super distortion for les paul

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motorboy1

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Haven’t had one of these since the 80s 😮
and currently not a fan of SDuncans I have tried. JB w a5 and a2. Custom custom, Custom 5, I think Im wanting to try something in the 13 to 14k range. Anybody use the Dimarzio SD in a paul and like it? Any winders make something along those specs, I would rather support individuals.

Sounds great in this video…

 
I just put an SD into a superstrat and love it. Lots of great players have recorded with SDs in LPs, they sound great.

Dimarzio isn’t some enormocorp—they are a longstanding small business on Staten Island. They make great pickups for short money. They deserve your support.

I also just put a Norton in the bridge of a Jazzmaster partscaster and it sounds killer. I’d bet that would work well in a LP too
 
tallcoolone said:
I just put an SD into a superstrat and love it. Lots of great players have recorded with SDs in LPs, they sound great.

Dimarzio isn’t some enormocorp—they are a longstanding small business on Staten Island. They make great pickups for short money. They deserve your support.

I also just put a Norton in the bridge of a Jazzmaster partscaster and it sounds killer. I’d bet that would work well in a LP too
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THIS!

@tallcoolone hit the nail on the head.

DiMarzio is a fantastic family owned company that makes outstanding pickups, cables, etc. I swear by their products, not at them.

Their customer service is outstanding. Same with their tech support.

Best Super Distortion I ever played was an old one from the 70's in a '59 Les Paul Custom with a Stars Guitars brass bridge. Freakin' amazing.

Hopefully this thread won't morph into another bitchfest about DiMarzio's double creme trademark. LOL

"Enormocorp". That's brilliant, man. LMAO

PS: The Norton RULES.
 
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Is DiMarzio a smaller company than Seymour Duncan?

I tend to like DiMarzio neck pickups and Duncan bridge pickups.

I think the Super Distortion is an iconic pickup worth giving a try. It was the first aftermarket pickup I ever tried. I remember liking it, but that must have been like 20 years ago. I wouldn't mind giving one a try again.
 
Sounds good sir! I've had some Dmarzs over the years..SD/Tone Zone/Fast Tracks/Air Norton...all great pickups.
 
JohnnyGtar said:
PS: The Norton RULES.
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Tell me more. Neck or bridge? Is it blues-able with a Twin you think? I was thinking about a different neck pickup for my LP copy. All I have in there is a Seth bridge right now since that's how my swaps wound up working out, long story. It sounds pretty good actually but I was thinking about a super distortion just to try something different since I have a lollar db neck in the bridge and it smokes. So what't the Norton like?
 
VonBonfire said:
Tell me more. Neck or bridge? Is it blues-able with a Twin you think? I was thinking about a different neck pickup for my LP copy. All I have in there is a Seth bridge right now since that's how my swaps wound up working out, long story. It sounds pretty good actually but I was thinking about a super distortion just to try something different since I have a lollar db neck in the bridge and it smokes. So what't the Norton like?
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Personally, I wouldn't use a Norton in the neck.

Air Norton (DP193) is a much better choice IMO. I had one in the neck position in my Peavey Wolfgang and bro, it is sweet.

https://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/vintage-paf-output/air-norton

DiMarzio's description (which I agree with:)The Air Norton™ started out simply to be the Airbucker™ version of the Norton®. We thought it would make a distinctive-sounding bridge pickup with high-gain amps, but we soon discovered that it’s a radically neat neck pickup, too. The tone is deep and warm, but not muddy. It’s hot, but not distorted. It’s even got cool harmonics, which are really unusual for a neck humbucker. The patented Air Norton™ magnetic structure reduces string-pull, so sustain is improved; and pick attack and dynamics are tremendously controllable and expressive. Combine the Air Norton™ with an Air Zone™, The Tone Zone® or Steve’s Special™ in the bridge position for a perfect blend of power and tone, or use an Air Norton™ in the bridge position with an Air Classic™ Bridge model in the neck position for a distinctive medium-output blues-rock sound.

Regarding the Norton (DP160): I had one in the bridge slot of an 80's Kramer. In my experience, it's got punchy, musical mids. No farting in the low end. Top end is there, but never shrill. Fantastic for nailing 80's tones a la Van Halen and 80's shred stuff. @tallcoolone might use it in a different application.

https://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/medium-power/norton

DiMarzio's description (which I agree with:)The sound of a Norton® is right between FRED® and The Tone Zone®. It’s got some FRED®-like harmonic overtones that can only be described as nasty, with more of the power and mid-range of the heavyweight Tone Zone®. The same patented dual-resonance design used in FRED® and The Tone Zone® delivers a sound that’s hotter and “bigger” than any vintage model, but not as loud as a distortion-class humbucker. Norton® might be our most versatile bridge pickup. Combine it with a wide choice of neck pickups like the Air Classic™, PAF® 36th Anniversary, PAF Pro®, and Air Norton™.
 
VonBonfire said:
Tell me more. Neck or bridge? Is it blues-able with a Twin you think? I was thinking about a different neck pickup for my LP copy. All I have in there is a Seth bridge right now since that's how my swaps wound up working out, long story. It sounds pretty good actually but I was thinking about a super distortion just to try something different since I have a lollar db neck in the bridge and it smokes. So what't the Norton like?
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@VonBonfire - I ran the Air Norton (neck) Air Zone (bridge) in my Peavey Wolfgang, and those pickups were great for anything I wanted to play. A good friend of mine is a blues player and he bought those pickups for his main guitar, a Les Paul, after playing my Wolfgang and he loved the sounds he could get.

https://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/medium-power/air-zone

The best way to describe the Air Zone™ is to say it’s a vintage version of The Tone Zone®. It’s got the same low string-pull as our other Airbuckers™ for singing sustain, plus it has the big bass response and cool harmonics of The Tone Zone®, with extra sensitivity and control. It’s a great match for very hot amps, allowing the player to take full advantage of massive preamp gain without turning the sound to mud or fuzzy noise. It’s also a great neck pickup for jazz players who need to get the hollow-body arch top sound from a solid body, and it offers exceptionally good split and series-parallel capability.
 
The vintage Might Mite 1400's are to me like a much better version of the Super Distortion's (probably why they also go for more money than them). It was meant to be a copy and came out way better. I've tried them in some Les Paul style guitars I've had. They work great in anything IME. I heard the recent made versions are good too if you prefer to support a current company, but haven't tried them myself. I actually didn't think the '70's Super Distortion I had was that good and I love many vintage pickups. I don't like Dimarzio's in general, but old Mighty Mites are killer
 
Another +1 on the Norton and Air Norton and on what @JohnnyGtar and @tallcoolone have said.

I've used the Norton in a Les Paul with great results. I swapped it out with an AT-1, to add a pinch of extra beefiness.
Both split really well, unlike the Super Distortion, which has a very thin and low output split tone.
Norton had great mid harmonics and a tight low end, not thin.
 
The DiMarzio Super Distortion is a classic pickup. Sounds great in a Les Paul. Ther have been countless players who have recorded iconic tones with one. In general, I prefer Duncans, but I have no issues with the Super D.


 
braintheory said:
The vintage Might Mite 1400's are to me like a much better version of the Super Distortion's (probably why they also go for more money than them). It was meant to be a copy and came out way better. I've tried them in some Les Paul style guitars I've had. They work great in anything IME. I heard the recent made versions are good too if you prefer to support a current company, but haven't tried them myself. I actually didn't think the '70's Super Distortion I had was that good and I love many vintage pickups. I don't like Dimarzio's in general, but old Mighty Mites are killer
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Hopefully you try new Mighty Mites and let us know what do you think about them
 
I have always been more of a Seymour Duncan fan but have a Super Distortion in my Gibson "The Paul". They are great pickups but something in the mids I like better with SD pickups. With that said, I have a limited history with Dimarzios.
 
They can have a peakyness to the mids I don’t care for but I don’t get it from older Super Distortions from the late 70’s and 80’s. I certainly liked their 36th Anni’s. There’s a few of their pickups I’d like to try but just don’t have a guitar that I would change right now. Damn! I need another guitar so I can buy pickups.
 
skoora said:
They can have a peakyness to the mids I don’t care for but I don’t get it from older Super Distortions from the late 70’s and 80’s. I certainly liked their 36th Anni’s. There’s a few of their pickups I’d like to try but just don’t have a guitar that I would change right now. Damn! I need another guitar so I can buy pickups.
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I like the Pariah Destruction Seventies -- designed and sounds like an older SD. The new ones don't sound right to me
 
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