Best dimarzio neck pickup?

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jerm

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Love my Liquifire 7 but would love to try the Illuminator and Blaze
 

russmuller

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I love the Air Norton 7 and the Ionizer (a little more attitude and harmonics than the AN7).
 

russmuller

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I've always wanted to try the LiquiFire, but I've never gotten my hands on it so I can't comment. It's popular enough that hopefully someone else can chime in.
 

cardinal

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Hmm, I've tried the PAF7, AN7, Blaze 7, and Illuminator Neck 7. PAF7 is my fav because of its chime. The AN7 is nice too and very fluid, but seems dull in comparison. The Blaze seemed generic and blah IMHO, though it seems to come to live with a Marshall amp. The Illuminator neck seems like an even darker and mushier AN7.
 

cwhitey2

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I like my Air Norton, can't compare it to the LiquiFire though
 

jerm

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The AN is generally considered a good lead pickup, with amazing cleans. Whereas the Liquifire is a amazing lead pickups, with good cleans.

Generally if you want more cleans go with the AN, if you want leads, go with the Liquifire.

This is just a generalization of course. The Illuminators are said to be very good also.
 

Konfyouzd

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My favorites are the Air Norton and Blaze Neck. I didn't much care for the Liquifire, honestly. I felt it was less defined than the Air Norton when I started playing faster stuff. It may have just been the guitar I had it in. Also, I really like the DiMarzio Evo in the bridge. To my ears the AN balances better with the Evo than the LF.
 

Drew

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Six string? PAF Pro. One of my favorite neck pickups from anyone.

Seven, I'm still searching, TBH. I've got an AN7/TZ7 set in my Suhr Modern (swamp ash, flamed maple top) that I'm *pretty* happy with, but the PAF Pro has an awesome combination of middy roundness and clear attack that I absolutely love and the Air Norton doesn't quite get there. And the PAF7 doesn't sound all that much like a PAF Pro.
 

Konfyouzd

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Six string? PAF Pro. One of my favorite neck pickups from anyone.

Seven, I'm still searching, TBH. I've got an AN7/TZ7 set in my Suhr Modern (swamp ash, flamed maple top) that I'm *pretty* happy with, but the PAF Pro has an awesome combination of middy roundness and clear attack that I absolutely love and the Air Norton doesn't quite get there. And the PAF7 doesn't sound all that much like a PAF Pro.

Yea the Air Norton is a little colder than the PAF Pro. I didn't even think about this one. It's an EXCELLENT neck or bridge pickup really. Also, I'd swap that TZ7 out for an Evo7 and see if you like the way the guitar sounds a bit more. I found that when I had an Evo7/Liquifire7 I really didn't like the sound of the guitar. After swapping out the neck pup I realized that what I actually didn't like was the way the pickups balanced and I was EQing things in a way that annoyed my ear in an attempt to get them to place nice with one another.
 

Lorcan Ward

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Blaze Custom? What did you pair that with in the bridge?

Another blaze custom, they were in the guitar when I bought it. They worked really well together, the custom in the neck was very fluid and clear. Most dimarzios work in either position.
 

TheWarAgainstTime

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My favorite Dimarzio 6 string neck pickup right now is the PAF Pro. Bright without being harsh, responds really well to dynamic changes, and always cuts through without any honky or annoying frequencies. I have one paired with a D-Activator bridge and it's made that guitar one of my most versatile. I also really like the Gravity Storm neck (paired with a Dominion bridge) since it's so juicy and fat, but still articulate. However, I feel like it's best in brighter guitars because of its thick, middy nature.

For 7 strings, I'm really digging the Ionizer. It's also a bright pickup overall and very articulate, but translates well for cleans and soloing alike. The Air Norton is a close second for me for similar reasons, but with a more vintage flavor overall.

I used to be all about the Liquifire (6 and 7 string versions) but have gravitated away from it because it excells at shredding, but sacrifices cleans and high end/chord clarity to do so. It's a very modern pickup with a lot of mids and a sweet high end, which is cool, but not what I go for anymore. Still my first choice for straight up shredding, though.

EDIT: I actually recently picked up another PAF Pro to experiment with using either two together in a guitar or with the second in the bridge of another guitar paired with a single coil/P90 or super vintage neck pickup for a "rock/ambient playing" guitar someday.
 

Konfyouzd

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Another blaze custom, they were in the guitar when I bought it. They worked really well together, the custom in the neck was very fluid and clear. Most dimarzios work in either position.

Yea I've heard that most of them work well in both positions but have always been skeptical. However, Blaze Custom in the neck is something I've heard from a few folks but I was always curious about what they use in the bridge.

I have used the Blaze Bridge in the neck before as well with some really good results. In fact, I think I actually like that one in the neck more than I like using it as a bridge pickup.

I've even heard of some folks using the Evo7 in the neck which sounded like madness to me, but maybe not.
 

wakjob

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EVO. Wire it parallel and it becomes more like a thick single coil.
Clear without the Charlie Brown teacher syndrome.

That said, some of the best neck pu's are bridge models.
 

katsumura78

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Titan is cool (lots of articulation), Illuminator has a good tone with top end sizzle, and the Liquifire is very smooth/singing. Wish I had single coil routes because the cruise is a great neck pickup.
 

cardinal

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A dimario rep told me that the Ionizer Neck is their closest spec to a PAF Pro 7.
 
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