How Larry DiMarzio’s pickup revolution defined the sound of 1970s guitar rock

  • Thread starter Thread starter JohnnyGtar
  • Start date Start date
shar-vell Dan said:
It really did.
Click to expand...

Totally. I was a teenager in the mid 70's and everyone and their kid brother was putting DiMarzios in their guitars. EVH dealt DiMarzio a terrible and undeserved blow in that first cover story in Guitar Player magazine in 1980. Suddenly, DiMarzios weren't "cool", because EVH said he didn't like them. Plus what is recorded in that interview and how Jas Obrecht "translated" what Ed said are a bit different. To this day I don't know why Obrecht did that...he's a great writer, but wth, dude?

There are a lot of great pickups out there but at the end of the day if I have to choose one brand, it's DiMarzio.
 
JohnnyGtar said:
Totally. I was a teenager in the mid 70's and everyone and their kid brother was putting DiMarzios in their guitars. EVH dealt DiMarzio a terrible and undeserved blow in that first cover story in Guitar Player magazine in 1980. Suddenly, DiMarzios weren't "cool", because EVH said he didn't like them. Plus what is recorded in that interview and how Jas Obrecht "translated" what Ed said are a bit different. To this day I don't know why Obrecht did that...he's a great writer, but wth, dude?

There are a lot of great pickups out there but at the end of the day if I have to choose one brand, it's DiMarzio.
Click to expand...
Like most things Ed. He was very ambiguous about the truth especially the early day.
When Charvel made him the Bumble Bee guitar they made extras at which Ed saw a GP on the strip playing one.
He threatened Grover & Wayne with holy hell lawsuits which they backed off and Ed changed the color scheme.
WTF was the point of all that ? Ed was big on tall tales and short on truth. His alcoholism played a part.

11742adc15501cbacd885697a4abf758_662x1024.jpg


LOOKS LIKE A GOD DAMN SUPER DISTORTION TO ME ----
 
shar-vell Dan said:
Like most things Ed. He was very ambiguous about the truth especially the early day.
When Charvel made him the Bumble Bee guitar they made extras at which Ed saw a GP on the strip playing one.
He threatened Grover & Wayne with holy hell lawsuits which they backed off and Ed changed the color scheme.
WTF was the point of all that ? Ed was big on tall tales and short on truth. His alcoholism played a part.

11742adc15501cbacd885697a4abf758_662x1024.jpg


LOOKS LIKE A GOD DAMN SUPER DISTORTION TO ME ----
Click to expand...

Could be a Mighty Mite?
 
I have two sets of schb’s hand made by the man himself… and they sound good too…. They are wasted on a hack like me….lol
 
japetus said:
I know a gentleman that loves Dimarzio, he owns an old guitar shop in STL. "Best thing that ever happened, guys coming in and wanting the Dimarzios, I had drawers full of PAF's!"
Click to expand...

Ain't it the truth!
 
A Floyd equipped superstrat with a single/single/humbucker layout with HS-2's in the neck and middle and a FRED in the bridge and I'm set for life.
 
Evidently Ed didn’t like the stock Super Distortion as he swapped the stock ceramic magnet for an A2 from a real PAF. Makes sense for the more open, bright and articulate tone he got. I think that’s where Sean at Pariah pickups got the idea for his Pasadena Black pickup he offers. Around 14K with an A2 magnet.
 
shar-vell Dan said:
Like most things Ed. He was very ambiguous about the truth especially the early day.
When Charvel made him the Bumble Bee guitar they made extras at which Ed saw a GP on the strip playing one.
He threatened Grover & Wayne with holy hell lawsuits which they backed off and Ed changed the color scheme.
WTF was the point of all that ? Ed was big on tall tales and short on truth. His alcoholism played a part.

11742adc15501cbacd885697a4abf758_662x1024.jpg


LOOKS LIKE A GOD DAMN SUPER DISTORTION TO ME ----
Click to expand...
Ed’s definitely been a dick at times. But I’d be pissed if my very unique stripes ended up on some other players guitar, because the guys I got to custom make me one made more and sold them.
 
I find the Super Distortion a bit boomy and mushy. I wonder if swapping the brass baseplate with a nickel one would make it a bit tighter and brighter, and conserve the raw and agressive tone.
 
I've been pretty disappointed with Dimarzio's offerings lately. I went through an adventure trying their new(er) pickups; Dreamcatcher, Illuminator, Mirage, Titan, Mirage, Fast Track 2, and a few more. I hated them all. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I just couldn't get the exact tone I was looking for. I've got a spreadsheet of 20+ of their pickups I tried out. Only 4 made it through for me. The best sounding guitar I had was an ESP Paige Hamilton with Air Zone (N) and Fast Track 1 (N). My go to Tele pickups are the Chopper T and Area T.
 
MGL AmpWorks said:
Evidently Ed didn’t like the stock Super Distortion as he swapped the stock ceramic magnet for an A2 from a real PAF. Makes sense for the more open, bright and articulate tone he got. I think that’s where Sean at Pariah pickups got the idea for his Pasadena Black pickup he offers. Around 14K with an A2 magnet.
Click to expand...
I like the SD Custom Custom in my LP Goldtop.
 
Always liked DiMarzio's. Went through an EMG phase back in the late '80s / early '90s.

I have a guitar with a X2N; I updated a guitar this year with a set of DiMarzio D Activator-X.

I have a few Jackson Rhoads with Duncan Blackouts which I like too; these are stock pickups in the guitar.

I may update a Jackson Warrior with a set of D Activator-X. Also thought about a current Petrucci set (Rainmaker & Dreamcatcher) for something different. Haven't decided yet.

I heard Gene Simmons knew Larry DiMarzio before they were famous, introduced Paul to Larry, and Paul and Ace used DiMarzio's in the '70s maybe longer...surprised to see the current PS-10 and PS-120 with Duncan's...though I like these too. IIRC, Ace used Super Distortion and PAF in the '70s...I may do a set of these too, but need the right guitar for them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top