Dimarzio PAF Pro Vs. Super Distortion in Dean 79 ML

[jimihendrix1117]

Hello all. its been a while since i last posted on the forum. well anyway when i get the money i want a Dean 79ML F, but i want it customized with a chrome Original Floyd Rose, either a DiMarzio Paf Pro (cream/black with chrome pole pieces) or a Super Distortion (again cream/black with chrome pole pieces) in the neck, and a B&B Bill Lawrence L-500XL (all black shielded in the chrome plated housing) in the bridge. Now the dilemma is whether i should get the Paf Pro or the Super Distortion. What im lookin for is to have a badass metal tone at the bridge (L-500XL) and a nice shreddy tone at the neck. Obviously im a huge fan of Dimebag and i know his Dean from Hell had the Super Distortion, but from what ive heard about PAF Pros is that they will prolly be better suited for the shred tone that im lookin for. so what do you all think will be better for me?

[CityofBlindingLights]

Well, it depends specifically on the sound you want.

The Super Distortion is very blunt and raw, but still retains its PAFishness.
The PAF Pro is a much more rounded, expressive, organic pickup imho.

Don't worry about output, this is a common misconception. You can play metal on a vintage output pickup if you want to; all output means for practical use is how easy it is for a pickup to throw a tube amp into overdrive, or sometimes distortion. Higher output pickups distort easier, this doesn't mean you'll get more or higher levels of distortion out of a high output pickup. If you have an X2N (510 mV of output) and are not playing with any gain, it really won't distort. Distortion comes from a pedal or preamp.

So it's up to you. Decide based on tone. The DiMarzio sound clips pretty accurately depict the pickups, especially "Frantic" by Dave Sharman for the Super Distortion (although that's also hte bridge, so in the neck the super distortion ill be a bit more rounded) and "En Aranjuez con tu Amor" by Fredrico Miranda will give you a very good picture of what the PAF Pro sounds like.

And both will give you a wonderful shred tone.

[jimihendrix1117]

thanks man. output is not so much a factor really to me. but in all metal guitars i decided the day that my L-500XL was installed that ANY guitar that i play mostly metal on will have that pick in the bridge. i LOVE that pup to death.