software

The FRED. Three great pickups, though. Some impressions (I'll have clips of my dreadful playing up later this week, got a short biz trip starting Monday...)

Tested on a mahogany SG with an adjustable (for spacing) Schaller roller bridge..adjusted for each pickup.

FRED (9K) - most balanced of them all. It is basically a cleaned up '59 with a tighter low end, more focused mids, highs about the same...sometime the Fred sounds exactly like a '59, like when playing clean through a Fender. However, it *is* cleaner, arpeggios are less sweet but more clear. Not as fuzzy as the 59 under gain but with wicked harmonics. The low end is there and well balanced with the rest..that's why this one stays, it's the best balanced of the ones I tried. BTW I'm selling the regular-spaced FRED I have (need an F-spaced). See the trading post.BS PATB-3 (8.7K) Long name...this trembucker was interesting...it is PHENOMINAL clean - HUGE but tight low end - NO flubber here, clean highs, no icepick - not as crisp as some. Descending single note runs will make you FEEL (kinda like the neck PU on a Strat), believe me....chords are BIG, it is hard to believe this measured lt; 9K. Under overdrive amp; distortion the TB's scooped mids make themselves known. (with moderate overdrive I found it a bit buzzy, not sure why..with loads o' gain it screams nicely!) I did not like it as much as the FRED, despite what I think was better low end. I like the mids in the FRED, especially with overdrive or distortion. Someone looking for a big, clear, woody clean tone for a Fender amp will dig this. Anyway did not balance well with my neck PU (PAF Pro) - not enough girth in the mids.Dimarzio Breed (Neck) 9.9K. I REALLY wanted to like this..it had the excellent lows of the TB, but with some mids. Sounded good clean but did not grab me like the FRED does - not as sweet as the FRED. Under OD the solid lows amp; mids shine and under lots o' gain this thing screams. Huge low end, even in an amp like the High Octane which strips out some bass in the preamp. Mainly, this does not balance so well as a bridge PU - there is an edgy quality in the real high end, but not a lot of sweetness in the highs. *Extremely* sensitive to pole adjustment - this would be a tweakers delight. Oh well it was a good idea.

I'm glad you found something good enough to stay, at least until your next pickup test run. Big thumbs up for your extensive review. I'm looking for your clips too!

Very interesting experiment and testing! I would have written the Fred off as a Satch-Machine - meaning that it would just make you sound like Satch, no matter what. Shows what I know... Sounds like a cool pickup.

OK I have a few clips up - FRED amp; 59 so far. I'll get Breed amp; PATB ASAP.
guitars.hot-muffin.com - see link at the top of the page.

And, yes, I *know* I'm a better technician than a guitarist!

BTW, wildstar - yeah, the FRED doesn't make me sound at all like Satch...not that I could pull off his stunts - it is a great pickup, very versatile.

I've had a Fred in my Gibson SG's bridge spot for quite awhile now,but I've also been using this pickup since it came out in one of my strats...I Like it also and so far it's been the only Dimarzio I'd ever stay with.

Where are the clips?


Originally Posted by Jeff_HWhere are the clips?

guitars.hot-muffin.com - see link at the top of the page.

or

from : localhost/hot-muffin.com/guitars/pickups.html

Where is the Duncan Demon in this battle? I was gonna try a Breed in one of my SG's, but just haven't got around to it.


Originally Posted by DirtykingWhere is the Duncan Demon in this battle? I was gonna try a Breed in one of my SG's, but just haven't got around to it.

Hi King - I did not try the Demon...I have bought the demon twice, both in this same guitar (the test axe) but using different amps...never liked it. WANTED to like it. But the top end was too shrill for me, drove me nuts. Using enough treble rolloff to tame it killed it. So it's not in the running.

Anyway, I fear that in a brighter guitar (Mahogany strat is the current project, it has a trem amp; a pao ferro board so likely brighter than the Test Axe) a Demon would be a screeching demon.

I like the PAF Pro / Fred Combo. Dimarzio has a few models that have amazing articulation, single coil like brilliance with humbucker fatness. Fred is very expressive and really reacts to dynamics. I think Dimarzios are smoother and better this way - in terms of balance, smoothness - over SD.

That being said, it's a touch too pretty and too smooth. It lacks rudeness for good old rock n roll - AND that awwww vowel sound can get a bit irritating if you don't want that vocal wah wah feel. The vowel sound comes out anytime you spank the strings, such its harder to make it scream and growl, since it is more likely to give a slight wah wah feel.