RG 470 bridge pup - Can't decide....

[winger]

Sorry for starting yet another thread about pickup choice. But after reading for days on various forums and review-sites, I still can't make up my mind.

In the neck there's definately going to be an Air Norton.
For the bridge I'm thinking about :

Norton (No soundclips to be found. Besides... I'm a little worried that the neck / bridge positions will turn out too similar.)

Tone Zone (Maybe a bit too bassy ?)

Steve Special (Maybe too clear ?)

D-Sonic (Same as Steve special and a bit too funky looking.)

Breed, Airzone, the various Paf's have already been deleted as possible choices.

What I'm looking for is a pickup that will cover most styles. (Rock, pop, metal, maybe even some funk, reggae and the like.) In other words, the (split)clean sound is just as important as (pinch) harmonics or it's distorted sound. Since I'm using a GT-Pro and power amp, instead of a tube amp, I don't really need an overly hot pickup to really drive the amp. I'm looking for a nice round and warm tone. Not too sharp or scratchy. Actually I like the stock INF2 a fair bit. I just wish it was a bit more "open" sounding.

Does anybody have some views to share on the subject ?

[Rotti]

Have you tried an Airzone? I just installed one in an RG450. I think it sounds great. I used to have a Tonezone in my RG470 and I liked it a lot in there too. Not too bassy. Just a little high output for clean stuff. The AZ is perfect for me.

[winger]

I had already dismissed the Airzone as a possible replacement, due to the crappy soundclip on Dimarzio's website. Maybe I'll have to take another listen.

[rummy]

Tone Zone. Bassy is good in basswood body.

Love the TZ in my Ibanez, hated the TZ in my Schecter.

[Rotti]

Yeah I don't think you can realy go by that soundclip. The band is detuned and the pickup is installed in a Les Paul.
I also liked the inf pickup quite a bit as well. They are versatile, just not perfect for the heavy stuff.

[winger]

So... Anyone able to comment on the Norton / Air Norton combo in a basswood bodied guitar ?

[ubertwerp]

I played a regular norton briefly and it was not bad in the bridge ,but the tone zone had more power.

The tone zone was quite muffled and flabby sounding in my guitar ,but I did the Roadstar mod and made one coil an air coil -this was very cool,
however ,I liked the air norton so much,in the neck ,I was was curious
how it would sound in the bridge-
To my ears it kicked butt..

Clarity and sustain out the wazoo good harmonics and good clean .
I toyed with the idea of running dual air nortons -one in the bridge and one in the neck /parallel-still undecided on that one though.
I am coming to the conclusion that medium output pickups may be a better bet than high out put ones for my style(hard rock/blues/classical)
.Unless of course I can come across a high output pickup that cleans up well.


-Do Keep in mind though I am running solid state and a tube screamer booster
so your mileage may vary if you are running straight
into a tube amp.

PS -about the steve's special -tried it in the bridge -it had excellent clarity ,
and harmonics -even clened up well-however -I found that after time -I missed
the midrange -it was a close to being a winner though.
If you prefer scoop-like petrucci's sound-you may like it -If you like Michael Schenker
like I do ,it won't cut it for you long term.



_Ube

[winger]

Now we're getting somewhere! I think we're basically looking for the same thing _Ube.

Can you decribe the differences between a standard Norton and the Air-version in the bridge a bit more ?

[ubertwerp]

The regular norton definitely had more power than the air norton,but the tonal
color was the same pretty much-

I actually think the sustain was better on the air norton,while the harmonics
were better on the regular norton.

If you have enough gain or boost -you may not need the full norton.

I think of the air norton in the bridge ,kind of like what the paf pro should have sounded like -a little more bass
and a little less treble.

In fact ,if you go to domarzios website,the tones are very similar
between a breed neck and and the air norton .
a little bit of out put difference but not much

Some people like to use breed neck in the brisge and rave about it .
Maybe the air norton is very similar?

If you got the air norton first-you could play around and swap
the neck and the bridge and see how you liked it in both spots..

Also, I highly recommend parallel for the neck air norton -you can dial in some awesome clean and blues tones this way-almost like a strat.

I'm still thinking about going with 2 air nortons ....

_Ube

[winger]

Thanks for your input!! This was exactly what I was trying to figure out. If you do go with the dual Air Nortons, I'd really like to hear your comments on that setup.

Once again... Thanks man !

[JackButlerGOT]

I'm endorsed by Dimarzio and in a few of my guits I run the Air Norton in the neck. Its got a snap in its split positions and can sometimes even have a nice "stratty-ness" to itself even in high gain mode.
You can hear the separation from string to string.
I've got it paired up with a Steve's Special one guitar and with an Evo in seven string form in another guitar.
One of my favorite neck pups.
For bridge pup.. it kinda depends on the sound I'm looking for and the body wood.
In Mahogany, I prefere either the Tone Zone or the Super3.
In Alder, its the Evo. And Basswood, its the Steve's Special.
My all around favorite "go to" bridge for a while has been the Super3. Its just very well defined and "chunky" for lack of a better term. I like the placement of the harmonic tones in the upper mids.
If you're set with DiMarzio, they've got a 30 day return. So you could experiment around a little.

[winger]

I Don't know if this return service is offered in Europe as well. Would be cool though. The SS, TZ, Evo etc. are all "high output" pup's. I kind a had my mind set on medium power models. (And the (Air) Norton description appeals to me somehow.) Airzone is also still an option.

Thanks!

[waylay00]

Go with a Tone Zone.

[winger]

Won a used Norton on the ***bay. Ordered a Air Norton the same day. I wonder which one is going to arrive first......

[jim777]

Well, I was going to say a Steve Morse bridge model might do you as well. It's right between the Super 3 and Super Distortion tone wise, and sounds great in basswood. Good luck with the Norton/Air Norton comparison!