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Dimarzio Tone Zone
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The vowel-like open wah-wah feel of the PAF Pro and FRED is combined with tremendous midrange and bass for a sound that really kicks hard. Because the lows, mids, and highs are all boosted, using a Tone Zone feels like cranking up an extra set of tone controls. It adds further dimension to the sound of your amp - that elusive edge that can make a good-sounding rig...
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Searched Dimarzio Tone Zone in Reviews
Don't be afraid, it isnt muddy! 
| Comments |
I bought my Tone Zone only because one popped up on ebay for about 30 dollars, I figured I would try it out, it I didn't like it I could move it for more than I paid for it. Well when it came I wired it into my Strat, I was a bit worried, because literally the only thing I had ever heard about this pickup was how much sludge/mud/thumpin' bass it had. However I set my fears aside and wired it up...I was pleasantly surprised.
Now I don't know why everyone gets so hung up on the low end of this pickup, yes, there is a LOT of it, and yes it sounds huge and fat. But it also has a very pronounced, sweet sounding top end response to it, and a very vocal midrange. In fact, the very first thing I played when I got the TZ wired up was an A minor 7th chord, just to see how muddy it would be, well it wasn't! You could really hear every note, the low notes sounded thunderous and thick, but the high notes had a very pleasant brightness to them.
Leads are where this pickup really shines, every note sounds full and powerful all the way up to the last fret, when played with high gain, sustained notes bloom into a beautiful harmonic feedback. Fast licks stay clear and articulate, but sustained "rock star" bends sound thick and aggressive. I wouldn't call this pickup "smooth" like I would the Breed Bridge or the Norton, it's quite aggressive and has a lot of low end crunch, but this doesn't detract from the lead tone, with a little bit of EQing you can get a nice tight, midrangey, smooth lead sound ala Vai/Satch/Timmons (espescially Timmons)
The harmonics this pickup has are actually quite good, nothing like a Fred or an Evo 2, but they're there, and if you have a decent picking hand, you'll be squealing all day.
Clean I really have nothing nice to say about this pickup, it sounds very nice coil split, but full, cleans sound fat and honkey, and given the output of the TZ, it drives the clean channel of my Mesa Lonestar very quickly. But that isn't the worst thing, nobody uses a full bridge humbucker for clean tones anyway.
The only other thing I have against this pickup is the dynamics, there are basically none to speak of, if you turn down your guitars volume and pick lighter, the sound DOES become muddy, and the top end starts to sound like nails on a chalkbaord. This is a problem I have had with several Dimarzios, I think it's more the company than the pickup.
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| Liked about it |
Big, agressive, thick sound
Not as muddy as everyone on the internet say it is
Handles lead and rhythm equally well
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| Didn't like |
Bad clean sound
Top end can be kind of fizzy with lots of gain
Lacks dynamics, especsially when playing chords.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.5 |
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A monster pickup that takes some taming
| Comments |
The DiMarzio Tone Zone is a fairly polarizing pickup amongst guitar players. It is a pickup that people either love or hate, and this love/hate relationship probably stems from its tonal properties.
With an Alnico magnet, a bass and middle rating of 8.5, and treble of 5 on the DiMarzio scale, the stats give you an immediate impression of massive low end grunt. To some this is massive fat high gain heaven, to others its high gain mud.
I was installing the Tone Zone in my Ibanez RG550. This guitar has a basswood body, and maple neck/fretboard. Acoustically my guitar has quite a thick low-end, and this tonal property did worry me a bit since the Tone Zone has such a massive amount of low-end.
On the initial installation of the Tone Zone I was hit by a massive wall of low end tones from my guitar, and very little high end to help it cut through. It did concern me a bit as it was far too muddy for notes on the low E string. I wasn't about to give up on it just yet though, and was fully prepared to tweak things.
I had previously performed magnet swaps on a couple of pickups, and tried out the "half-air" mod that a lot of people perform on Tone Zones, and was prepared to open up the pickup if needed. I wanted to try and increase the high end and drop the low end a bit without the need for pickup surgery though.
After doing to research and asking some questions on forums I decided to try lowering the pickup a fair amount, and raising the 3 bass side screw pole pieces. I ended up with the pickup on the bass side of the guitar about 3mm above the pick-guard, and the treble side a little higher. I screwed the 3 bass side pole pieces out so that the screw heads were pretty much sticking out the the guitar , and kept the treble side ones flush with the pickup bobbin.
I found that the sound was far more pleasing after these tweaks. The low-end was still very big, but not in a bad way. Keeping the pickup fairly low from the strings tamed the low-end, and raising the pole-pieces added enough high end to give the pickup clarity to go with its massive punch.
The pickup works fantastically for big heavy rock, punk and metal styles as it provides a great amount of chunk and grind. It also responds very nicely to your pick attack, which gives you far more flexibility than most high output pickups. Rhythm parts sound absolutely massive, and lead parts higher up the fretboard retain a fatter sound than what you would get from most bridge pickups.
One thing that needs to be remembered when talking about the Tone Zone is that in standard series humbucker mode it is not a very good pickup for clean tones. This pickup is designed to rock through the dirty channel of your amp. Through the clean channel it will sound big and nasty, with a slight overdrive that is pretty unpleasant. However split it and combine a middle single coil pickup and you will find some pretty cool Strat-like tones that work nicely both clean and overdriven.
The DiMarzio Tone Zone is a fantastic pickup for a huge rock sound. With a little bit of tweaking of the pole-pieces and the pickup itself you will find that you can have a massive low-end wall of sound, and still retain enough clarity to sound nice and articulate. If you haven't tried the Tone Zone go and try it out, and if you have and found it too muddy maybe give it another go. Play with the pole-pieces and lower the pickup a bit, and you might find that you can tame the beast a little, and make it work to your liking.
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| Liked about it |
Massive huge tone.
* Can be very articulate and sensitive to picking.
* Nice split single coil tones.
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| Didn't like |
Takes a bit of playing around with to get a great sound.
* Not very nice clean on full series humbucker mode.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.5 |
By LonePhantom Jul 27, 2010
Last updated: July 27, 2010
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The cure for a flat guitar tone
| Comments |
There a tons of pickup choices out there, and it can be a daunting task deciding which pickup is right for you. So, it is good to go with some benchmarks out there. Well, the Tone Zone by Dimarzio is one of those benchmarks. It has been used by Paul Gilbert, plus many other high profile players, and it is a standard bridge pickup (paired with an Air Norton) in some high end Ibanez guitars. Now, I find Ibanez guitars with floating trems to be rather dull and not particularly resonant. It isn't a problem with the guitars, but just a fact of life when dealing with a floating tremolo. There just isn't as much energy being transfered from the strings to the body like in fixed bridge guitars. The solution for that is in the pickups. The Tone Zone is probably one of the better pickups if you want to turn your floating trem guitar into a fire breathing riff monster. The TZ is a high output pickup that has a naturally hugh bottom end. The mids are also hyped so that there isn't too much mud. It has a nice bit of clarity too, but this pickup is made for a big bottom end. This is really noticible when playing with some overdrive or full on distortion. In fact, that is pretty much what I would recommend this pickup for. I haven't tried it in the neck, but for the bridge position it sounds huge. If you are not into playing with a fair amount of distortion, this might not be the best choice for you. It does clean up nicely with turning back the volume knob, but it is going to push your amp a little because of its output. If you already have an amp with a lot of bottom end, you may end up reducing the bass on the amp, since this pickup has a lot of it. Overall, I highly recommend this pickup for hard rock and metal styles.
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| Liked about it |
1. Huge bottom end!
2. Nice meaty tone
3. Variety of colors available
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| Didn't like |
1. Bottom end may be too big for some
2. Expensive
3. Included instructions aren't for the 'layman'
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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A very specific pickup for a very specific sound.
| Comments |
My first encounter with the Tone Zone was in the bridge position of a Fender Fat Strat. Horrible doesn't even begin to cover how it sounded. It was quickly replaced with a PAF PRO and I was put off the Tone Zone for a long time. Fast-forward to a project I was doing on an Epiphone Les Paul. I wanted a nice, high-output pickup in the bridge position, but I wanted to keep the look with the nickel-plated pickup cover. As it turns out, the Tone Zone is DiMarzio's highest-output pickup you can get with a factory-installed nickel cover (375 mV -- Norton is slightly behind it at 352 mV). DC resistance is 17.31K and EQ is Bass=8.5, Middle=8.5, Treble=5. I was expecting nothing but mud from the pickup and remembered my experiences in the strat, but the pickup came alive in the bridge position of the Epi LP. It thumps and pounds nicely without becoming muddy, which you wouldn't expect given the EQ curve. Also, higher up the neck, you get what resembles a "neck-pickup" tone on single notes, again most likely attributable to the strong bass/mid presence. Just like the DiMarzio site claims, you can hear the difference when you dig in and when you back off. Also, coil-splitting this pickup in the bridge position produced some of the best coil-splitting results I've ever achieved. Split, the Tone Zone sounds more like a really great single-coil than most other pickups I've tried coil-splitting. I couldn't see putting it in the neck position as I think it would become too bassy at that point.
I would recommend this pickup to anyone who needs more bass in the bridge position, or who is looking for versatility of tone via coil-splitting. Take a listen and decide for yourself. These sound clips were created with the Tone Zone in the bridge position of an Epiphone Les Paul Standard with the factory-installed nickel cover into my standard POD Farm patches. Recordings were made (still) with Audacity as I (still) haven't got my main DAW and workspace put back together yet.
Tone_Zone_Clean_Bridge.mp3 Tone_Zone_Clean_Bridge_Split_Coil.mp3 Tone_Zone_Bridge_Dirty.mp3 Tone_Zone_Bridge_Dirty_Split_Coil.mp3
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| Liked about it |
High-output pickup available with factory-installed nickel cover.
Works extremely well in coil-splitting modes.
Neck pickup tones soloing high up the neck.
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| Didn't like |
In the wrong guitar, this pickup can REALLY give you the wrong vibe.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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3.0 |
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A great, unique sounding pickup.
| Comments |
I've installed Tone Zone pickups in a lot of guitars and have always been able to get a great rock sound from them. Alder, mahogany, basswood, it can work in any situation, but it does require some adjustment and tweaking in my experience.
First of all, this is a straight up, high output, rock oriented pickup. It isn't going to sound great clean, and would be terrible in that kind of a situation. If you like your distortion, and want a kick in ass pickup with a load of low end and low-midrange, this is a great choice.
Like a lot of Dimarzio's it has "aw" vowel midrange bump, and sounds really vocal when playing lead. Rhythm, chording and the like, sound thick and large, almost dripping with overtones and has a nice mid range.
The Tone Zone can sound muddy to some people, and can, in fact, be muddy sounding. I've found though that with some adjustments it is always tweakable. You have to approach this one with your ears. Lots of us have "our settings" that we like on our amp and don't like to mess with them, but if you use your ears instead of your eyes you can usually dial in any sound you like.
The first mistake a lot of people make with the Tone Zone is having too much gain and bass in their amp eq settings. This pickup highlights the low end and is high outupt, so lowering both a bit is usually a good idea unless it's already as low as you want it.
Another tweak that has solved "mud" problems is to lower the pickup and raise pole pieces. The way I'm adjusting them now is to lower the bass end and raise the three pole pieces until I'm happy with the sound. This reduces the flubby low end sounds and adds a little extra bite to the low end. Then I raise the high end side of the pickup and lower the pole pieces. To my ears this increases the clarity of the high end, and cuts down any shrill sounding highs.
From my experiences with the Tone Zone it's a tweaker for sure. You probably will have to adjust some sounds you've gotten used to, and possibly experiment with the adjustments until it's just right. When you do though, it's great.
Having said all that I don't think it's the pickup for me. I'm always on the fence with the Tone Zone, I like it some days, then I don't on others. It's a good one to keep in the aresenal, but I just can't seem to ever love what it does for me.
The Tone Zone is a very distinct sounding pickup with a lot of output. It tends to dominate your sound and seems to want to be dialed in a certain way in all the gear I tried it with (reduce gain, cut bass, up mids, high in the middle generally). I generally prefer a pickup that isn't quite a dominating sound wise. It is a really nice pickup nonetheless.
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| Liked about it |
Really cool tone, love the thick low, low-mid sounds for rhythm. It's great a taming any fizziness to your sound once you get it adjusted right. The pickup has loads of output, and really has balls, it can make a mediocre guitar sound like a thunder storm in hell.
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| Didn't like |
As I've mentioned, I really had to experiment with sounds, eq, and adjustments to the pickup to get it sounding great to me. I think this could be off putting for some, and probably where a lot of the comments about it sounding muddy come from. It's not really an install and go pickup for a lot of people. I love to mess with guitars and sounds so I didn't mind it much though.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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3.0 |
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Amazing
| Comments |
I had my only Ibanez (RG570FM) and It sounded Muddy and Horrible with the Pups someone put in (EMG-HZ and two stock pups in Neck and Mid) So I was Feeling 'Do I like this guitar, I might Sell it' And the Guitar itself Grew n me, like a Dangerous mould trying to Consume me, and I Really Appreciated the Feel and Beauty of the Guitar. Only Problem was the Pups, They were Muddy and Lifeless, So I put in a PAF Pro for the Neck, And a Tone Zone in the Bridge, I left the Middle Stock, Instantly I had a Beautiful tone, It was Slightly Muddy but after I adjusted the Pickups (Raised Polepieces lowered Pickup) I had the Tone I Wanted, in this Moment in time.
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| Liked about it |
Varieties of tone.
Tone
Zebra Pups look Epic
Did I mention Tone.
EVH and Paul Gilbert Tones all the way to Hendrix when you use your Knobs....
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| Didn't like |
Would love Two rows of adjustable Pole Pieces.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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Fat, beefy tone. Great for lead guitarists
| Comments |
I have experience with the Tone Zone in two guitars. One, is an Ibanez RG3120. This guitar is well known and much lauded for it's tone. Sustain, punch and growl aplenty in that guitar. I also had one in an RG570 with so-so results. For whatever reason, that guitar always felt and sounded weak compared to the 3120. Some feel the TZ in a mahogany bodied guitar results in muddy tone-I disagree. Bear in mind that my gain knob(on high gain amps like dual rec or 5150) is usually around 12 o'clock-Your Mileage May Vary.
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| Liked about it |
I love how fat the tone is. Singing lead tones are no problem with this pickup. I see that PRS recommends this as a close alternative to their HFS pickup and I agree. The voicing is great for lead guitar, but some may feel there's too much low mid for metal riffs. Again, I disagree. I also love the harmonic response of the pickup.
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| Didn't like |
The tone zone(in my experience) doesn't seem to like basswood body guitars by my memory. I will be trying it again soon in an RG550 so I will post an update with my findings.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.0 |
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My favorite Dimarzio EVER
| Comments |
This thing kicks butt. Build to make all those Basswood body guitars sound awesome. I have it in a strat look a like, with a basswood body and the guitar came alive with that in it. You need these in the bridge position of every Basswood RG you have. The Bass and Mids are pushed in this pick up with helps with the sometimes overly bright Basswood body guitars. Adds some meat to the bone. Rounds the tone out on the Basswood or other bright sounding guitars. Can get muddy with drop tunings or darker sounding wood.
I play in a 80's hair metal cover band so this fits into the sound perfectly.
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| Liked about it |
Brings guitar to life.
Hot (volume output wise)
awesome tone
great lead pick up.
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| Didn't like |
This is Dimarzio's gift to the guitar world.
Might not suite everyones playing style but for you lead players and shredders looking to beef up your RGs look no further.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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Very Hot Pickup
| Comments |
Before I got my Ibanez J-custom (which is what the tone zone is installed in), I was skeptical of how much output the tone zone would have and boy was I surprised. When I plugged my j custom into my Mesa Boogie Mark IV, the pickup was very loud and heavy. In fact, I had to lower the pickup just to reduce output. The pickup has plenty of bite and coupled with the air norton in the neck (which is a very common combo), you have a large palette of tones to work with. I play mostly progressive metal (Between The Buried And Me) and with that genre comes a large amount of tones that are required. Many Ibanez J-Customs and high end ibanezs have the Tone Zone bridge and Air Norton combo which definitely tells you something about this fantastic combo. This pickup along with a smooth neck pickup allows for much variation. Highly recommended.
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| Liked about it |
1) High output
2) Lots of bite
3) Great for rock/metal
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| Didn't like |
1)Too much output
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.5 |
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Heavy, Quality Pickup.
| Comments |
The Tone Zone pickup is a unique beast, that's loaded with interesting, soulful tone. It is a dark, muddy pickup, with an increased low and mid range. It has 4 conductor leads, so it can be wired in parallel and can be split.
I have installed it in a mahogany bodied rg520qs in the bridge, with an Air Norton in the neck.
As far as customer service goes, I have talked to DiMarzio once to exchange another pickup, and the service was okay at best. Overall, the man I talked to, was fairly in-descriptive about how to exchange my Air Norton.
It is popular for people to perform a "half-air" mod on, where one shifts the magnet in the pickup, and puts a spacer between the magnet and the pole-pieces. this mod gives it less output, but also brightens the tone.
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| Liked about it |
with your tone/ volume up, it responds to the lightest touches and is very articulate. It has nice harmonic response and has great tonal versatility. It has a nice "bite" on the high end, and is great for harmonic-filled leads.
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| Didn't like |
The pickup gets too muddy at times and inarticulate with your tone turned down. It doesn't have both rows of pole-pieces adjustable. harmonics can sound thin on the top 2 strings at times.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.5 |
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Is there a better all around pick up?
| Comments |
I'm not sure there is a better pick up. In the late 80's I was purely playing the PAF Pro, in the mid 90's I moved to EVO. Is it apparent I'm a Vai fan. :) I haven't played guitar much from '97 until a year ago. I'm back and bought a Prestige equipped with a Tone Zone. O - M - G! This thing puts everything in the rearview. It's full, rich, solid, heavy, high output, clean... it's everything all in one. Paired with the Air Norton, in the neck, it's simply astounding.
It can achieve all types of tones, just move your tone knob around. It will surprise you. I'm still in awe over what this p'up can do. It sounds rich and full when you're playing clean, but gets down and dirty close to an X2N with distortion. It covers all the bases. It's a high output p'up that's not JUST a high output p'up.
It is on the bassy side, but I love that.
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| Liked about it |
Everything. From top to bottom, clean to dirty. I love it.
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| Didn't like |
I'm still trying to figure out what I don't like. I've switched 3 guitars to Tone Zone / Air Norton, brilliant.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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Ready to Shred !!!!!!!
| Comments |
Great pickup for players that are looking for something more than a high-output pickup. It's got a high output indeed, but it has a wider range of sounds and it's better balanced and a lot more versatile than a "traditional high output model". You can get plenty of different tones from blues to metal.
Easiest soloing than in a higher output pickup because it has a more controlled signal, and very good sustain and harmonics.
Sometimes I rate the sound quality of pickups in order to the use I've made of them. I'll explain myself: A lot of pickups surprise me at first because they sound better than I expected, or maybe because of their super high output, but after some weeks of use I get tired of the sound, it slowly decays in my ears until it doesn't satisfy me anymore and I replace it for another model. The Dimarzio Tone Zone pickup is one of the few pickups I didn't get tired of with the pass of time. From time to time, I physically need to hear its tone and have to grab a guitar with a Tone Zone installed in the bridge position.
As it happens in a lot of records and artists, this fact is very indicative, and in this case make this pickup almost universal as long as you always like to hear it and consequently play it.
Also, not the best I've listened to, but it has a nice clean sound.
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| Liked about it |
- DiMarzio choice of pickup colors.
- Great in bridge or neck position.
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| Didn't like |
- Nothing I think.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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My favorite pickup---EVER!
| Comments |
As a tone freak, I'm always searching for THE pickups to complement my rig. I've finally found my favorite guitars (Ibanez RG550s and RG570s), favorite amp (Carvin Legacy 100w head), and distorion/overdrive pedal (Ibanez Jemini), but none of them would measure up without the perfect pickup. I found that perfect pickup when I bought my first Dimarzio Tone Zone!
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| Liked about it |
I love the ballsy low end and very open mids of this flamethrower. It has enough punch for any metalhead to sharpen their chops with. It has some nice, bright highs and harmonics sound natural. As with most Dimarzio pickups, there is a full pallate of colors to choose from. I love this pickup so much, that I have installed one in four of my guitars--so much for being diverse.
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| Didn't like |
Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing! Well, maybe Dimarzio could offer a few more colors--like orange.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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This how you know I love this pickup!
| Comments |
I've got 1 of these installed in both of my Ibanez guitars, They are hands down the best bridge pick up I've heard/used. Whether it is for Metal or smooth melodic soloing, if set up correctly, It will sound perfect!
The main genre I play is Metal, but Of course I play other genres on and off :) The tonality of this pickup is more trebley and middy as opposed to other dimarzios like FREDs and PAFs which is the exact reason I love it :) Sounds better with a maple fretboard rather than Rosewood, or vice versa if you prefer high squeeling pinch harmonics and ear bleeding metal tone :) Can't say much about the Clean tone haha, bit gainy for me unless I role the volume down to 5 on my guitar :)
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| Liked about it |
1. The tone!
2. The name!
3. The ear bleeding high squeels I can achieve with it.
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| Didn't like |
I wish it said TONE ZONE at the bottom of the pickup :D to show how extreme it is ;)
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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Great pickup and a true dimarzio classic.
| Comments |
A very versatile pickup. This thing sounds great recorded, whether it be; metal, rock, instrumental, etc.. The pickup can handle tons of gain, and won't feedback in way that interferes with your tone. I run the Tonezone through a podx3live as well as a tube amp, and it handles fine. I personally find it to sound best in Basswood body guitars. It's also the best pickup I've heard recorded thus far.
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| Liked about it |
The clarity is a definite feature of this pickup. The note definition is definitely captured nicely. The pickup inst too "Hot" to the point were it's over saturated or muddy. It's a great pickup for adding effects and distortion to get your sound. Paired up with a Pafpro in the neck, it will make your guitar sound like a million bucks! Plenty of versatile artists and recording engineers favor the Tonezone, I suggest checking out first hand why that is!
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| Didn't like |
Haven't found a dislike yet. It can handle anything I throw at it so far. The pickups come in a variety of different colors. I personally fancied a HSH configuration in Pink to go with a RG550 DY.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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What to say!! TONE!!
| Comments |
This is the first pickup I ever bought aftermarket. Talked to the store clerk and he said he never tried but heard it was good. I installed it. Although it took me 4 hours for my first guitar wiring mods, I finished it and plugged it in. That first chord was pure tone and loveliness.
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| Liked about it |
EVERYTHING!
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| Didn't like |
nothing!
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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internal use: spec68 spec356
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