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does anybody here have one of these? ive been curious about trying a dimarzio just for variety's sake, as ive only had duncans as aftermarket pickups up to this point (and im very damn happy with em). the 2 ive thought about the most are the super distortion and the X2N. a lot of my favorite bands have used super distortions (maiden, priest, motorhead, KISS, etc.), but ive heard from some people it can get muddy. so that, plus hearing fast eddie clark (formerly of motorhead) use one on a dvd i recently got and it sounding badass, and that i recently heard that priest used X2N's on painkiller, kinda peaked my interest towards that pickup.

though i dont really know what id put it in, chances are itd be mahogany. those who have experience with it, what wood does it sound best in? any general descriptions of it would be good, especially comparisons to DD/JB/invader (the bridge duncans i have).

i USED ONE IN THE 80'S -- I SOLD IT TO Black Flag's guitarist it stayed in his clear Dan Armstong guitar throught the rest of they're career.

It has a unique sound all its own-- very powerful-- I cannot recall the timbres though-- it was 1981-- its been too long-

It's the hottest pickup I've ever tried....even hotter than an 81. It sounds very good though. It was clear and cut well but wasn't harsh like the JB and Distortion can be in some guitars. Don't expect cleans from this pickup either unless you split it...and make sure you have a relatively warm neck bucker to balance it out.Overall I thought it was an excellent pickup for metal...however it was just too hot for me.....the EMG 81 is about as hot as I like to go.

As ranalli said, it's got crazy output. I've never liked that style of pickup; just not my speed. Plus, I played it in a basswood guitar that I didn't like, either.

I would think that the Ivader or BK Warpig will give you MUCH better tone, tho.

I had one myself. Made my then plywood Jackson copy sound like a real Jackson. It's insanely hot. Too hot for my tastes now.

Chuck Schuldiner from Death used it a lot back in the days, and Michael Romeo from Symphony X has it in his favoured white Caparison as well. I saw Symphony X last Sept. and Michael Romeo had a pretty killer tone. the rhythm tone had a very woody, hollowy tone that packed a lot of punch, and the lead tone is quite bright especially at the higher frets, but not shrill. Although the X2N sounded very compressed, maybe its also because of his Line6 head.

well, thats my observation from where i was....

They're a fantastic p/up! One of the most interesting installations i ever did was on a strat with a single coil in the middle flanked by two of these in the neck and bridge position...


Originally Posted by DestructoneMichael Romeo from Symphony X has it in his favoured white Caparison as well. I saw Symphony X last Sept. and Michael Romeo had a pretty killer tone. the rhythm tone had a very woody, hollowy tone that packed a lot of punch, and the lead tone is quite bright especially at the higher frets, but not shrill. Although the X2N sounded very compressed, maybe its also because of his Line6 head.

well, thats my observation from where i was....

I saw them in August, and I'd say the same thing. I liked the sound of it.

Absolutely uncalled for in almost any situation. That said, it pimp-slaps my Fender Pro Jr. like you wouldn't believe. I like the tone overall. I have mibne wired for series/parellel/split. Parellel is actually a pretty cool (and not weak!) humbucker tone. And just single coil is pretty cool too. Obviously this thing is for tube amps, but I like it through solid state also. I definitely recommend single/parellel switching. It makes this pup way more useful!


Originally Posted by Rev Donzoi USED ONE IN THE 80'S -- I SOLD IT TO Black Flag's guitarist it stayed in his clear Dan Armstong guitar throught the rest of they're career.

It has a unique sound all its own-- very powerful-- I cannot recall the timbres though-- it was 1981-- its been too long-would anyone have a clip of the X2N? i was interested but Dimmarzio only has about 1/3 of their pickups with clips

A pair of X2N's sound very very good in a Les Paul.

I had one in my RG and liked it but they definately sound better in Mahagony and Alder guitars.

one of the top Thrash pickups IMO but you can do a lot more with it than that.