Best DiMarzio option for a Fluence Guy

[James W Thomas]

Sorry, let me reiterate. My buddy has a Strandberg 6 with Fluences and loves them. He just got a Strandberg 7 with Strandberg branded passives, and they don’t sound great. I played it this last weekend and agree. He is looking for passive replacements in the 7 that would be similar to what he loves about the Fluences in his 6.

I'd second that the Strandberg OEM pickups are surprisingly - uninspiring? Disappointing! - for a guitar that's otherwise built from fairly high end components. I actually decided to get the standard 6 to save a few bucks with the plan to swap pickups immediately. I'm glad I went that way.

 

[James W Thomas]

Contact banjomikez on eBay or order directly from Dimarzio. It's an option on the Dimarzio site so I don't see why you couldn't get it.

Good to know about banjomikez; I'd seen his listings.

 

[jaxadam]

I'd second that the Strandberg OEM pickups are surprisingly - uninspiring? Disappointing! - for a guitar that's otherwise built from fairly high end components. I actually decided to get the standard 6 to save a few bucks with the plan to swap pickups immediately. I'm glad I went that way.

He’s considering sending it back and getting the higher end model with the Fluences.

 

[SubsonicDoom99]

For DiMarzio options, I definitely agree with Crungy's suggestion of the Blaze. To my ears it has that clarity and openness that I associate in ways with the performance of the Moderns.
For other potential options I do think it's worth checking out the SD Black Winter or Nazgul. Very modern and articulate for passive pickups, and as mentioned SD's policy with exchanges and stuff is really helpful.
Another set I've been really happy with lately for modern tones is the Alpha/Omega, not as aggressive as the aforementioned pu's but very clear and articulate and open feeling to me.

 

[bostjan]

Meh, just bite the bullet and get your guitar routed by a pro. You found pickups you really love.

 

[gclef]

I've found the D-Activator to be a little bland and sterile - which to be fair is the biggest criticism I see of active pickups anyway, so they must be doing something right. Honestly I probably would have pulled the trigger on one by now if I'd run into one in white with black pole pieces. The extra step of ordering from DiMarzio and waiting is just enough to make me want to check out other options before I do.

You can order direct from dimarzio in just about any color combo and polepiece color.

I ordered a set of breed in red/cream with chrome poles direct from them last November.
I emailed and called on a Monday. Payed Tuesday after I got confirmation, and had them the following Monday.

No shipping, no tax to Florida. Same price as banjomikez too.

Ordering thru banjomikez takes longer if he doesn't have what you want in stock. He has to get them, then ship them to you. It'll take a few days longer.

Dimarzio is great to deal with too.

I also read the title and thought dactivators.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Meh, just bite the bullet and get your guitar routed by a pro. You found pickups you really love.

This is pretty much *the* option BTW. You'll never get that active tone out of a passive. If we're talking about the Fluence Moderns, the Duncan Distortion set may get cose to voice 2, but nothing will compare to voice 1, due to the nature of active pickups.

 

[James W Thomas]

For what it's worth, I decided to go with a D-Activator from banjomikez. Thanks to everyone for helping me think this through to what I really needed to decide, which was flat-ish EQ vs scooped, etc.

 

[James W Thomas]

He’s considering sending it back and getting the higher end model with the Fluences.

Depending on which models we're talking about, would there be any $$$ advantage to just getting the OEM pickups replaced with the Fluences? For me, getting the Standard 6 and planning a pickup swap got me exactly the guitar I wanted with a few extra bucks in my pocket.