New pickup week Dimarzio Tone Zone... problems

[redrol]

So I got a Dimarzio Tone zone for my Jackson RR1 USA. First problem is I got a damn non-trem version and my RR1 has a Floyd. I went ahead and put it in though because I wanted to hear what it might sound like which is where I ran into the 2nd problem. Not too good sounding. It seems very very bassy but still has some high end. When I do palm mutes on lower notes they sort of poop out, almost like having an OD pedal with a dead battery... Now obviously having the wrong spaced pickup will affect high and low notes because those strings are not right over poles however the middle strings still have this rather bassy quality.

Its quite possible that the Tone Zone is the wrong kind of pickup for this guitar, but I wanted to get some opinions first.
Supposedly the RR1 has alder or basswood. Its a USA Pro model though.. not sure.
I did the wiring myself and at the moment have all the tone controls disconnected because it was recommended by their website. I also notice there are tons of ways to wire the pickup, right now its wired for normal humbucker mode, which is using both coils in series. Maybe this pickup wants to use parallel wiring or something?

 

[mrp5150]

Sounds about right to me. The Tone Zone is hands down the worst sounding pickup I've ever played.

 

[redrol]

Sounds about right to me. The Tone Zone is hands down the worst sounding pickup I've ever played.

Thats wild. The only thing I can come up with is this pup is designed to be for playing lead and nothing else because those tones are f'n awesome but everything else is muddy puke.

 

[mrp5150]

I didn't even think the lead tone was anything to write home about, but it was certainly better than the rhythm tones. I'd honestly rather use an Ibanez V8 than a Tone Zone.

 

[redrol]

I didn't even think the lead tone was anything to write home about, but it was certainly better than the rhythm tones. I'd honestly rather use an Ibanez V8 than a Tone Zone.

The wierd part of this is that I got the pickup because Dr Know from Bad Brains has used it for years and his tone is not at all bassy, its extremely thin actually. F'n wierd!

Of course it could be that he used it in the neck position and used a PAF Pro in the bridge. Or id could be because he always uses strats. Very hard to tell.

 

[guitarslinger]

Sounds about right to me. The Tone Zone is hands down the worst sounding pickup I've ever played.

I would agree, but then again, I've tried the Lynch Screamin' Demon.

Non-trem space pickups are perfectly fine for trems.

 

[redrol]

Non-trem space pickups are perfectly fine for trems.

Oh really? I mean the strings are not EXACTLY over the poles on the top and bottom strings. I would have figured this would make it sound like crap.

 

[Mudder]

The spacing shouldn't make too much difference.

Have you tried adjusting the height and see if you can get some clarity on the low end? Or maybe flipping the pickup the other direction?

 

[redrol]

The spacing shouldn't make too much difference.

Have you tried adjusting the height and see if you can get some clarity on the low end? Or maybe flipping the pickup the other direction?

Hmm, not really. I shall try both. Thanks for the idea

 

[Stratboy151]

i have a tone zone in an RG570 and i freakin love it, its very responsive and "gooey" sounding.

 

[guitarslinger]

the spacing doesn't matter.

I can't hear the difference on my edge trems, schaller trems, or ofr's.

 

[redrol]

the spacing doesn't matter.

I can't hear the difference on my edge trems, schaller trems, or ofr's.

Thats rather interesting. I guess I'll have to mess with it a bit.

 

[Robotechnology]

Here is the Tone Zone in a nutshell:

If you are primarily a lead player you will love it.

If you are primarily a heavy type of music rhythm player you will hate it UNLESS you adjust your amp settings to compensate for the boosted mids this pup puts out.

This is why you'll find such disparaging comments on the TZ. I love it. It RULES so much over the stock JB in my Jackson Soloist SL2H, it is not even funny.

 

[redrol]

Here is the Tone Zone in a nutshell:

If you are primarily a lead player you will love it.

If you are primarily a heavy type of music rhythm player you will hate it UNLESS you adjust your amp settings to compensate for the boosted mids this pup puts out.

This is why you'll find such disparaging comments on the TZ. I love it. It RULES so much over the stock JB in my Jackson Soloist SL2H, it is not even funny.

yeah and see my favorite pickup is the JB so this is just entirely new for me.. but I lowered the pup and actually it sounds a lot better.. odd!

 

[Mudder]

Well, odd might be a bit of a misnomer.

When any pickup is too close to the strings it can get thick and muddy. It doesn't surprise me that lowering it helped bring some clarity.

 

[redrol]

Well I rewired it in some crazy single coil mode and it sounds rightous. Normal humbucker mode isnt for me though. I really dig the single coil type sounds though, not too thin too.

 

[Phishphood]

That was quite the interesting solution, but if it works for you

I love the tone zone, mids ftw

 

[meanstreet]

I used to use a Tone Zone in one of my guitars and was never quite happy with the tone. I had pretty much the exact same guitar with a Tone Zone and one with a JB. During a show I was playing the Tone Zone equiped guitar and broke a string and switched to the JB equiped guitar. In listening back to a recording of the show, the guitar with the JB sounded SO much better. I immediately ditched the Tone Zone. I like a dark tone, but it was just too muddy and sounded kind of sterile to me. As far as the spacing, it doesn't really matter if the string isn't directly over the pole piece. I've had plenty of standard spaced pickups in Floyd equipped guitars and never noticed a difference in using a standard spaced or F spaced pickup. YMMV.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

So I got a Dimarzio Tone zone for my Jackson RR1 USA. First problem is I got a damn non-trem version and my RR1 has a Floyd. I went ahead and put it in though because I wanted to hear what it might sound like which is where I ran into the 2nd problem. Not too good sounding. It seems very very bassy but still has some high end. When I do palm mutes on lower notes they sort of poop out, almost like having an OD pedal with a dead battery... Now obviously having the wrong spaced pickup will affect high and low notes because those strings are not right over poles however the middle strings still have this rather bassy quality.

Its quite possible that the Tone Zone is the wrong kind of pickup for this guitar, but I wanted to get some opinions first.
Supposedly the RR1 has alder or basswood. Its a USA Pro model though.. not sure.
I did the wiring myself and at the moment have all the tone controls disconnected because it was recommended by their website. I also notice there are tons of ways to wire the pickup, right now its wired for normal humbucker mode, which is using both coils in series. Maybe this pickup wants to use parallel wiring or something?

I tried one in an ESP MII I used to have, and didn't jell with it at all. It was cold sounding, and sort of sounded like there was an overdrive pedal engaged but in a bad way.

It was the by far the worst pickup I ever personally tried, right next to the Screamin Demon

 

[meanstreet]

So I got a Dimarzio Tone zone for my Jackson RR1 USA. First problem is I got a damn non-trem version and my RR1 has a Floyd. I went ahead and put it in though because I wanted to hear what it might sound like which is where I ran into the 2nd problem. Not too good sounding. It seems very very bassy but still has some high end. When I do palm mutes on lower notes they sort of poop out, almost like having an OD pedal with a dead battery... Now obviously having the wrong spaced pickup will affect high and low notes because those strings are not right over poles however the middle strings still have this rather bassy quality.

Its quite possible that the Tone Zone is the wrong kind of pickup for this guitar, but I wanted to get some opinions first.
Supposedly the RR1 has alder or basswood. Its a USA Pro model though.. not sure.
I did the wiring myself and at the moment have all the tone controls disconnected because it was recommended by their website. I also notice there are tons of ways to wire the pickup, right now its wired for normal humbucker mode, which is using both coils in series. Maybe this pickup wants to use parallel wiring or something?

I tried one in an ESP MII I used to have, and didn't jell with it at all. It was cold sounding, and sort of sounded like there was an overdrive pedal engaged but in a bad way.

It was the by far the worst pickup I ever personally tried, right next to the Screamin Demon

I hated the Screamin Demon also!!!