Which pickup combo, ToneZone/AirNorton or Breed/Breed ?

[SonicExplorer]

Hello,

Planning on swapping out the stock pickups in an Ibanez S470 (thin-body mahogany w/trem).

I've narrowed down the selection to one of two Dimarzio combos (bridge/neck): Either ToneZone/AirNorton or Breed/Breed.

Help me out guys, anybody try these combos or have experiences to share??

Much thanks,

Sonic

[mi2tom]

Paf pro/Tone zone rulez!

[Roadstar]

Originally Posted by SonicExplorer

Hello,

Planning on swapping out the stock pickups in an Ibanez S470 (thin-body mahogany w/trem).

I've narrowed down the selection to one of two Dimarzio combos (bridge/neck): Either ToneZone/AirNorton or Breed/Breed.

Help me out guys, anybody try these combos or have experiences to share??

Much thanks,

Sonic

the breed set is more versitle to me
the TZ/AN set is also great but the TZ has more output than the breed bridge pup and can sound too boomy.
what primary style will you be playing with the pups?

[_FR0D0]

Another good combo in the same vein is Air Zone / Air Norton

[SonicExplorer]

The style I'll be playing is mostly hard rock and metal. Melodic/progressive/shred metal. Not death/thrash or nu-metal.

My primary amp right now is a JSX. Rythm-wise things can get busy at times, I don't tend to play radio-rock and just let chords ring. So I can't have a bridge pickup that's boomy or muddy. That's my one concern with the Tonze Zone based on what I keep hearing about it.... however, the S470's natural acoustics are somewhat lacking in it's low-end so it's hard to judge....

One thing that has me thoroughly confused about Dimarzio's rating system is the term "mids". Mids can range from 400hz up to 2Khz. Meaning the sound can change every 500hz from thick to boxy to edgy. So how are we supposed to judge a pickup's tone by a single term "mids" !?

Sonic

[Ecstatic Youth]

I have a Tone Zone/Paf Pro combo in my RG3120 (mahogany) and I don't think the TZ's muddy at all. It's a great pickup for both rhythm and lead. I even like the clean sound.

[_FR0D0]

Originally Posted by SonicExplorer

The style I'll be playing is mostly hard rock and metal. Melodic/progressive/shred metal. Not death/thrash or nu-metal.

My primary amp right now is a JSX. Rythm-wise things can get busy at times, I don't tend to play radio-rock and just let chords ring. So I can't have a bridge pickup that's boomy or muddy. That's my one concern with the Tonze Zone based on what I keep hearing about it.... however, the S470's natural acoustics are somewhat lacking in it's low-end so it's hard to judge....

One thing that has me thoroughly confused about Dimarzio's rating system is the term "mids". Mids can range from 400hz up to 2Khz. Meaning the sound can change every 500hz from thick to boxy to edgy. So how are we supposed to judge a pickup's tone by a single term "mids" !?

Sonic

Then I think you should go with Breed Neck (Bridge) / Air Norton (Neck)

[SonicExplorer]

Oh hell....more confusion, now a suggestion to mix the two combos in question.... LoL

Help me understand....why is it I would want to mix the Air Norton with the Breed rather than putting another Breed in the neck ???

Sonic

[_FR0D0]

Originally Posted by SonicExplorer

Oh hell....more confusion, now a suggestion to mix the two combos in question.... LoL

Help me understand....why is it I would want to mix the Air Norton with the Breed rather than putting another Breed in the neck ???

Sonic

The Breed neck, in the bridge position, has a very warm, hot PAF tone--really smooth, with nice harmonics. Think about it like a middle ground between PAF PRO and Tone Zone

[RSVampire]

if you don't want boom'y (not necessarily muddy) then the Tone Zone isn't what you want. It isn't the tightest pickup around.

The Breeds would be a good choice, or maybe even just a Norton bridge and Paf Joe in the neck

[Roadstar]

Originally Posted by RSVampire

if you don't want boom'y (not necessarily muddy) then the Tone Zone isn't what you want. It isn't the tightest pickup around.

The Breeds would be a good choice, or maybe even just a Norton bridge and Paf Joe in the neck

I second the norton for the bridge
it has some breed and tone zone traits and will cover a lot of styles