DiMarzio Norton...who here likes it?

[Smitty]

Ive been trying to find a unique bridge pickup tone for some time. I know that the Air Norton and the Cruiser are staples in my rig, but I just cant find the right bridge pickup. The Steves Special is great, but doesnt pair with my Carvin V3 well, and the Vai ones are all too....well, Vai. The Super Distortion is too 80s. The Tone Zone is great, but is overused. Plus, I like the power to medium-high power.
I own a JS1000BP, and the Fred is OK, but is, of course, Joe's thing, and tightens up a bit too much with higher gain. Im looking for broad tone, like the Tone Zone, but a newer sound and a bit less known. I do like some of the qualities that the Fred has. It growls well.
I also dig Andy Timmon's tone alot, especially on the new CD "Resolutions." Based on his description of the AT1 classic bridge pickup on his Ibanez AT300, and DiMarzio's description of the Norton, they seem to be pretty similar, and what Im looking for. So now I just need to know...does anyone here use it? I need some real user reviews. Thanks alot in advance dudes.
smitty

[RSVampire]

the Dimarzio Breed Bridge pickup is super close to the AT1 humbucker. In fact the AT1 humbucker is just a slightly tweaked version of the Breed pickups.

[Smitty]

Woah! Whered you hear that?
smitty

[winger]

I have the Air Norton / Norton combo on my RG and like it very much.
The Norton is like the description on the DMZ website describes : Fred like (plenty) harmonics and TZ-like power, combined with a rounded top end.

[RSVampire]

http://www.jemsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61947

there ya go. it's around a lot of the internet and everything.

I'd say get a AT1 off evil bay or just buy a set of Breeds. I've got a set and they nail the Andy tone pretty darn close.

[Algiman]

I love the Norton - and it works equally well in Alder or Basswood. I really don't like the Tonezone, but the Norton to me has the good bits of the Tonezone and the good bits of the PAF Pro. Fantastic clean sound too.

[Smitty]

Sweet. Thanks dudes.
smitty

[Jshadow]

Does the Norton works well with super distortion?

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by Jshadow

Does the Norton works well with super distortion?

It depends on where you want to put it...I assume that you mean super distortion in the bridge, norton in neck, and if I assume correctly, the answer is a big no. Air norton or PAF pro are the two best choices for neck pickups.
smitty

[Algiman]

Installing as Smitty suggests would be interesting, but I suspect it would sound crap. Mind you, some say the Tone Zone is great as a neck pup so perhaps it would work!
Unless you happen to have a spare Norton to experiment with, I'd go with Smitty's suggestions.

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by Algiman

Installing as Smitty suggests would be interesting, but I suspect it would sound crap. Mind you, some say the Tone Zone is great as a neck pup so perhaps it would work!
Unless you happen to have a spare Norton to experiment with, I'd go with Smitty's suggestions.

Tone Zone as a neck pup!?!? Thats so weird!! Its so weird to think of a high power pickup in the neck. Ew!
smitty