software

better than dimarzio,EMG, or others?
I think duncans have a very quot;naturalquot; tone wherein that the do not color the tone of the guitar as much
they are also very HIGH QUALITY made
maybe not so much as the older J series but are still top notch

I like Duncans because they have the warmth and vibe of old Gibson pafs and Fender single coils. They just sound quot;rightquot; to me. Even the hotter, more overwound Duncans are voiced the way I like to hear pickups voiced. Dimarzios have that New York nasal thing to them...like the way the folks in the Bronx or Brooklyn talk! Kinda nasal, aggressive and pushy. (That's a joke, BTW! ) Lew


Originally Posted by LewguitarI like Duncans because they have the warmth and vibe of old Gibson pafs and Fender single coils. They just sound quot;rightquot; to me. Even the hotter, more overwound Duncans are voiced the way I like to hear pickups voiced. Dimarzios have that New York nasal thing to them...like the way the folks in the Bronx or Brooklyn talk! Kinda nasal, aggressive and pushy. (That's a joke, BTW! ) Lew

LEW i agree!
thats what i hear in them they sound vintage even the hotter models have a quot;VINTAGEYquot; vibe
dimarzio is also great but are more progressive to me?
i dont know if it is the components they use?(bobbin material,brass baseplates,etc)

Pretty much with Lew.

I'm a transplant from the south, now about an hour outside of NYC, and I'd have to agree w/ his analogy. However, like the people in New England, they are charming in their own way and I've come to like that nasal tone that Yankeess...err...I mean...DiMarzio's have *on occasion*. Just like real life I can get past Fran Drescher's voice most of the time (pendin' on how short her skirt is ), but other times the voice is just too annoying

I don't think any company is quot;betterquot; than the other...just have different purposes. I think Duncan does a pretty good job of doing the classics. There's obviously a huge market for that and many guitarists are very much traditionalists anyway and don't like things to change a whole lot...just look at guitar shapes. Duncan provides this and that kind of voicing. If you like want to sound like many albums from the past I'd go Duncan mostly.

Dimarzio, on the other hand, has classic sounds but that's not really what they're known for or what they do best IMO. They really push the limits....always doing new stuff and when you get a pickup from them chances are you won't sound like something that's been done 1000 times before. They are pretty good innovators(dbl cream notwithstanding) IMO and really bring alot to the tone table for those wanting new sounds.

I hate to make generalizations usually but I find this to be true in a nutshell...when I want to sound like everyone else or tones of the past, I play the guitar with Duncans....when I want to sound like myself and am looking for original tones, I pick up the guitar with Dimarzios.

I like more Duncans than I do other pickups I've tried. But Duncans are just one flavor of pickup that I like.

Can I say that I dont like them as well as Dimarizo?

I think duncan has their rights, but it seems to me duncans aren't ment for the same usage as like an EMG or Dimarizo is.

But I will agree they are some of the highest quality pickups there are.

And its kind of the naturalness and colorless thing about duncans that I really dont like myself. I want a pickup to be very unique with a very distinct color to it.

I kinda have to go with Lew on this one. I like my pickups to be quot;openquot; and allow the guitar's natural characteristics to come through. I'm so used to them I don't know if I'd like anything else, other than Lindy Fralin's or Bill Lawrence's.

I judge pickups on a case by case basis. I am not tied to a particular brand...it just so happens that SD tends to cater well to my needs. Say no to the invader.

Maybe not better, they just work better for me .

Runnin any of my duncan-equipped guitars into my krank revolution gives me a tonal nirvana that I've never experienced with any other brand.

They just feel right.

There are quite a few good pickup makers out there and I'd never take anything away from their efforts. The reasons I spend my money with are pretty simple.

Excellent customer service.

Excellent business model and ethics.

Tone.

If I have a problem with a SD pickup it always gets addressed quickly and to my satisfaction. I have had quite a few SD pickups come through my door and the 2 times that there were problems the issue was corrected promptly and without any hassle. One time it was a Hot Live Wire for Strat that was out of phase (a problem with active pickups) and the other time it wasn't a big deal and I can't even remember the exact issue but it was corrected in under a week, shipping time included.

SD doesn't get into the whole quot;trademark thisquot; thing that has gone on in receint years and they never slam the competition. They sell pickups based on their own quality and tone and not with marketing mumbo jumbo.

I hear tone simularily to the way Seymour hears it. At least thats what I have to believe because I've played quite a few in the SD line and I have never found a pickup that I couldn't make work or that sounded quot;badquot;. Thats not to say that every SD pickup is right for every style or guitar but I can play enough styles of music and own enough guitars to know that it's all good once you get the combination right.

This isn't a sales pitch and SD doesn't need me to sell pickups. I had this opinion long before I got the fancy stars. If you like other makers pickups thats way cool. I got mine right here.

I'm with Lew and most of the other folks.....SD's sound like vintage pups. My favorite HB is a '59 and it sounds just like a PAF to me. The single coils I use (SSL-1, Twangbanger) are vintage tone to the bone.

duncans are absoloutly kick-ass! And I've never played EMG's and the only DiMarzio's I've played are the ones in the hi end Ibanez's, but I like those.

There's just some vibe to Duncan's that others pups don't have for me. It seems that whenever I put a duncan into a guitar it comes alive. Clearer, louder, more harmonics etc.

I don't necessarily think Duncans are the BEST, but they are by far my favorite. Each company does things differently and has different things to offer. I love the smoothness and voicing of Duncan pups.

Dimarzio has a more progressive thing going.

EMG is more of the high output metal, super quiet and super clean jazz tones, etc.

Rio Grande makes KILLER single coils and some real cool sounding buckers.

But I always come back to duncans.

Duncan's are an easially learned and intresting hobby. They are fairly simplistic in themselves, but facing the huge array of guitar, amp, and effect options users are faced with they provide an almost infinate array of colors and shapes.

To me, pickups excel in the vast information available about them. They offer a similar product at a price that blends nicely inbetween the highest and lowest priced pickups. In my opinion, a pickup is ment to provide a means to a demand for sonic brilliance. What they really constitute is a fun, intresting and highly addictive atmosphere for musicians and tinkers alike to share information and tips on acheiving the best tone(s) avaliable.


Duncans have a proffesional sound to me. Their hum cancelling is way better than Dimarzions so I guess this means they're made of higher quality materials. I've mostly used their modern sounding pickups and they are just as good, if not better than modern sounding Dimarzios.

I'm going to side with Lew.... in general they have more character and vintage authenticity than other pickups. EMG's are like a a glass of water, which I find very boring, colorless, and tasteless. No uniqueness. DiMarzio has some excellent pickups, but they're for metal. Breed, Evolution, Super Distortion, and Fast Track 2 are all awesome pickups, but Duncan is the most versitile company. They are the undisputed kings of low output pickups, be it strats or humbuckers. The Jazz/APH/'59/Seth/PG/Custom Custom/JB are unparalleled. You can't find anything like them really anywhere else.

What's best is what works for you and your situation. I've tried my share of Duncans and Dimarzio's until I found what works best for me from both. Tried the Little '59 and the Custom Custom in my Strat and did'nt care for them at all. Others love them but they just were'nt for me. Tried the Blues Saraceno and the Jazz neck model and that combination is NOT coming out of that guitar! Tried various Dimarzio's before I settled on the Virtual PAF set for my Les Paul and those pickups are staying in that guitar as well. Both Duncan and Dimarzio make outstanding products and again it just comes down to what works best for you.

Seems pretty right on as far a Duncans being more quot;vintageyquot;, so to speak.
As a fairly bare bones player (got rid of the stomp boxes and gadgets ages ago, got tired of the tap dancing I need all my effects sounds to come from the guitar, pickups, and whatever built in effects are on my amp (not crazy Line 6 types of effects mind you). I get that with the Dimarzios. However generally speaking from what I've used, Duncan bridge varieties as a whole probably clean up better for cleans. But I use my Gibsons with whatever their particular stock pickups are for any electric clean needs.EMG's are too out their for me. Too much like adding a transistor radio to your guitar (for me). But all are fine companies with great products and flavors for all of our guitar gutting needs !And this is this coolest website of any of them with a great board that none of them can touch.