TONE ZONE or AIR ZONE in neck position??

Joe Ran · #1 08-10-2005, 10:20 PM

Hey!
Someone here who have the tone zone or the air zone in neck position?
I know that some paul Gilbert-models have TZ in neck(and bridge).

I have a jem7vwh with a stock evo in bridge, and the PAF Pro in neck.
I changed from evo-neck to PAF Pro to get that vintage open wowelsound.
I also have a push/pull tonecontrol to split the PAF to get that twangy
malmsteen/fenderstratsound
but i`m not 100% satisfied.

i really like the tone Paul Gilbert have in his Guitar
i think i will go for the TZ in bridge to get a better tone in my dear jem. the evo is too screamy.
Some suggestions in neck? How is the Air Zone vs the paf pro that i already have? i want a pickup that has even more of that special woweltone in neck.

j.arledge · #2 08-10-2005, 11:31 PM

i replaced a paf pro with an air zone in the neck on my guitar.

The paf pro was too transperant for me, it lacked the power and drive i wanted, granted you dont want too much or things get muddy . The air zone is ok, it gives a nice distorted creamy lead type sound but it doesn't clean up like a paf pro does. I have an air norton in the neck on my other guitar and i love it. It is springy sort of like a single coil, it is warm and open, has a lot of power and drive yet cleans up extermly well. It is hard to describe exactly but if you like the classic type shred sound the air norton is an excellent choice.

I would be more then happy to record a clip of the air zone and air norton to send to you if you'd like , just pm me with your email and i will record a clip or 2 tomorrow and send them out to you.

hope that helped

buddroyce · #3 08-10-2005, 11:51 PM

I got guitars with the Air Zone/Tone Zone in the neck. Like jra2217 said, they don't clean up easy, but they do sound pretty good (that's if you want a thick creamy tone).

I always thought that the PGM models came with either paf pro's or Tone Zone/Humbucker from Hell pickups in addition to the jem single. Try the HFH in the neck, they're pretty darn good. (I got two on a J-Custom on a 5-way switch, talk about interesting tones).

the.godfather · #4 08-11-2005, 05:54 AM

If I had to choose, I would put the Air Zone in the neck. I had one in the neck of a RG550 about a year ago, and I loved it. As others have said, its not easy to "clean up". But I dont play clean really anyway. I thought it was a very nice pickup.

I wouldnt go with the tonezone in the neck though. I would save that for the bridge. They are just too good to waste in the neck. They are sooo good in the bridge though, one of my favourite pickups.

I also really love the PAF Pro at the moment though too. I have gotten into more Gilbert stuff over the last year or so, and so I thought I would check one out. And I loved it. They are just so well rounded, they are not a one-trick-pony at all. I find they are quite versatile.

If I was you, and I really had to pick.......I would go with the Tone Zone in the bridge, and then the PAF Pro in the neck.

lyconxero · #5 08-11-2005, 10:25 AM

I wouldn't suggest putting the Air Zone in the neck simply because I don't believe it's EQ'd quite right to sound like a good neck pickup. The Tone Zone, PAF Pro, PAF Joe, Air Norton, or a Humbucker From Hell would be better choices.

red5 · #6 08-11-2005, 10:45 PM

I'd vote for the Air Norton.

Joe Ran · #7 08-14-2005, 02:36 PM

Thanks for all suggestions.

How is the air norton v/s Paf pro? less power?
Is it more opensounding and got more of that "hollow" sound that i want?

Joe.

JohnnyGuitarCA · #8 12-31-2005, 03:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Ran

Thanks for all suggestions.

How is the air norton v/s Paf pro? less power?
Is it more opensounding and got more of that "hollow" sound that i want?

Joe.

If you want open and hollow go for a PAF JOE

rty13ibz98 · #9 01-03-2006, 11:39 AM

fred.

more character than a paf pro, while retaining alot of the paf pro's best characteristics. still has the woody tone of a vintage type pickup and is less fat than the air norton...or air zone. the TZ and AZ are really low end heavy and a neck pickup is always more bassy than the bridge. so a bassy pickup in the bridge translates to super bassy pickup in the neck. your going to lose the definition and woody tone that your looking for. my personal favorite neck pickup is the air norton...especially in mahogany, but the fred is my favorite neck pickup in basswood is the fred.

rich

Ant1981 · #10 01-03-2006, 11:41 AM

neither in neck, the guitar will be muddy and heavy in the neck with those

halmyar · #11 05-29-2010, 06:26 AM

Hello,

I used to have a Tone Zone in the neck of a basswood with floyd rose guitar that lack of basses (a super distortion in the bridge).

The sounds withe the Tone Zone in neck was very good for me in saturated lead sounds. Pretty close (to my ears) to the fast licking sounds of Petrucci. It's like having an humbucker sound plus a boost pedal engaged. The sound was too boomy for rythm tones but that's why we have an other pickup in the bridge, no ?

In clean tone Tone Zone is very loud, of course too loud. But I love the jazzy warm sound that it can deliver.

Today, I have put the Tone Zone in the bridge of an other guitar and search a replacent of this pickup with less output.

So this is the question part of my post : is the air zone offers the same eq curve that its big brother with less output (I know this is write on the dimarzio site but I would if possible answers from ears users) or is it something different ?

I'm afraid that an air norton on this guitar was too bright and I don't want this stuff. Want a bright rock sound in bridge (I have it with the super distortion) and a warm but present lead tone in the neck. Clean sounds are obtained spliting the coils so no matter with the high output or the muddy eq curve of the humbucker. What are you thinking of this ?

Thank you.

racerevlon · #12 05-29-2010, 07:41 PM

With a Tone Zone in the bridge I'd go with an Air Norton or FRED in the neck. The middle and treble push of FRED and the 305 mV output will balance ok with the Tone Zone. I'm putting FRED in the bridge of a Moser Custom MMi-T soon and will have an official review up soon after. I'm doing a Crunch Lab in the bridge.

Cheers,

Race

LonePhantom · #13 05-29-2010, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Ran

Hey!
Someone here who have the tone zone or the air zone in neck position?
I know that some paul Gilbert-models have TZ in neck(and bridge).

Paul Gilbert doesn't use a Tone Zone in the neck. He typically uses a Tone Zone in the Bridge, and a PAF Pro in the neck.

racerevlon · #14 05-29-2010, 07:51 PM

Oh--another good candidate for the neck position (and I know this is going to sound crazy) is the PAF 36th Anniversary Neck model--I've had great results with this pickup.

Cheers,

Race

LonePhantom · #15 05-30-2010, 02:57 AM

I just noticed, this thread is like 4-5 years old. How do newbies stumble upon these ancient threads, and then post suggestions in them? I think the OP would have found their solution a long time ago....