like jb over tone zone? how about 59 over Paf Pro?

[grathan]

If you agree with me on that, than i need your opinion. I need a replacement for Paf Pro/Tone Zone for a dimarzio 30 day swap. I want a neck/bridge combo that will augment my jb/59 and emg 60/85 sets. I don't think i could ever enjoy either the pafpro or the tonezone after playing the semour duncans.

tried these already:
-Dimarzio Super Distortion
-Dimarzio Fred

[buddroyce]

How about modding a Tone Zone for have a ceramic magnet? You can also try a Dimarzio D-Sonic,

[rgr]

Norton and Air Classic, the Norton is a great sounding pickup, kinda hot vintage sounding but with tighter low end and a little less output than the TZ, probably as close as you'll get to the JB from DiMarzio. I've used an Air Classic bridge in the neck spot, it sounds really good too, I'm sure the neck version sounds fine also. The PAF Joe is another good choice for the neck.

[frankfalbo]

The Virtual Vintage might be more appealing for a '59 fan. The Air Classic is a little more like the PAF Pro, with the "less fat" midrange and "more sparkly" highs. The Virtual Vintage is a little rounder, and more of a deviation from the PAF Pro.

For the bridge, if you like your JB and your EMG 85, you COULD try the Steve's Special. To me the JB has a high midrange scream to it, that is also present in the Steve's Special. The Evo has that, too, but it seems to be all scream and no warmth. The SS would give you the crisp attack you're used to from the EMG's, and the open, more natural harmonics of a passive pickup like the JB at the same time.

What it WON'T have, is the typical nasal, vowel midrange that Dimarzio has. PAF Pro, Fred, Norton, Tone Zone, and all their "air" equivalents have that type of sound to some degree, just different amounts of it, and at varying frequencies.

[jaxadam]

I was thinking D-Sonic too, but you're going to have a hard time finding a Dimarzio that is going to equate to a JB or 85.

[grathan]

I am not really looking to equate or even get another set of pickups that sound just like the ones i have. I am looking for a set of pu's that are cool in their own right and bring something new to the table. My refrences to me likeing the jb are merely to weed out people saying "Get a tone zone and a PAF pro dude!" which seem to be popular here, but are very muddy sounding for me. I should mention that i am not playing through an amp that needs to be "driven", rather a muli-effects unit with a simple set of headphones, i know people would say that these destroy the tone of the guitar, but at the same time they are very demanding of the input from the pu's because they utilize a lot wider range of frequencies than an amp would.

Is there a good pu that partners with the d-sonic?
so far gonna try a set of Evo's and the Steve's Special. thanks

[Shredcows]

good pu with D-Sonic?

There's the Air Norton. I used to ignore this pup because I couldn't stand the overly glassy tone of John Petrucci... but when I tried it, WHOA! It actually has a lot of dynamics to it. Glassy yes, but not as glassy as JP's, unless you plonk it in a 24fret neck axe and flip the pup then add thunderous amounts of gain. Its very sweet, dynamic and reacts to changes in vol pot very well. No mud man, no mud. Will balance well with the D-Sonic.

I've not tried a PAF Pro in neck, but I have tried a PAF Joe. My inital impressions was that it was uber sweet. Like a fender neck single coil, it had this hollowish kind of vibe. It still had the irritating (to me) wet pick attack that Satch's Paf Pro had on records... From what I hear in the records (PAF Pro) compared to my PAF Joe, i think the Joe is just sweeter and more single coilish.

[Roadstar]

Originally Posted by grathan

If you agree with me on that, than i need your opinion. I need a replacement for Paf Pro/Tone Zone for a dimarzio 30 day swap. I want a neck/bridge combo that will augment my jb/59 and emg 60/85 sets. I don't think i could ever enjoy either the pafpro or the tonezone after playing the semour duncans.

tried these already:
-Dimarzio Super Distortion
-Dimarzio Fred

JB/ jazz set is unbelievable!
it is duncan's best set
if you want to stay dimarzio and need a JB/jazz type combo go norton bridge and a humbucker from hell in the neck

this is the closest without actually buying the duncans