Di Marzio Full Shred pickup - what do you hear here?

L

Loquenau

Power User
Di Marzio Full Shred pickup - what do you think?

It doesn't say what amp, etc is being used, and the parts are contant parallel fourths. Is this a fair example of the pick-up? What do you think of how it sounds, etc?

 
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I have this pickup in my Schecter SLS Blackjack C-1 and I love it. The video gives a very fair representation of the pickup and the articulation is so much better than lets say the EMG 81
 
I assume you mean Duncan not Dimarzio.
Full Shred is very, very tight and articulate. I put it in a guitar that was slightly muddy in character. It had a Bareknuckle Miracle Man set in it before and this is considered a very tight pickup. But the Full Shred goes even further in that regard.
I've never had a pickup do tight palm muting so well. I don't tune down but i can't imagine a better pup for downtuned metal. When you look at specs it would seem the FS is not as high power as some other metal pups, but this is a good thing imo... It's very clear and all your mistakes will come through aswell, so good picking technique is required.

I also have the neck version in the same guitar. This is also clear and articulate but more fluid, sustainrich and singing in character which is cool for fast runs a'la Petrucci.
 
@tohmy, and ztevie: thank you. Yes, Duncan....I keep mixing them up, but you can't change thread titles here..... I do really like the low mids in the sound shown. The guy did the same clip with the Dimebucker, and while still as articulate, it lacked the meat of the Full Shred.

What do either of you, or anyone else, think of the Di Marzio Super Distortion in comparison?
 
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Never had the Super Distortion in any guitar.
Ask over at the duncan forum. The people over there are really helpful with pickup questions, no matter what brand.
 
Loquenau said:
@tohmy, and ztevie: thank you. Yes, Duncan....I keep mixing them up, but you can't change thread titles here..... I do really like the low mids in the sound shown. The guy did the same clip with the Dimebucker, and while still as articulate, it lacked the meat of the Full Shred.

What do either of you, or anyone else, think of the Di Marzio Super Distortion in comparison?
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I used a Super Distortion years ago in a knockoff of a Les Paul. Really breathed new life into it. Nice midrange but not overly-so, and smooth highs. The thing I liked about the high end was it was clear but didn't have the "ice pick in the ear" effect! It tended to be bassy for my taste but nothing that the amp eq couldn't handle.
 
I think the guy is Keith Merrow ... I have his first records and pretty sure this is a song from one of them

Edit... Sorry ... He's Keith Merrow ... I've read the YT description right now
 
Am I alone in hearing "X" pickup played in this genre of music and thinking they all just sound the same....Juggs/bareknuckle stuff.
 
it think it sounds like a tube, shattering glass, smeared with peanut butter but with the resonance of a friendly ent. slicing yet gentle, not drawing too much blood but enough that you feel the wound.
 
Vhalen50 said:
Am I alone in hearing "X" pickup played in this genre of music and thinking they all just sound the same....Juggs/bareknuckle stuff.
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No. But then, my dad used to say that about my Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Uriah Heep records too.
 
jyflorida said:
I used a Super Distortion years ago in a knockoff of a Les Paul. Really breathed new life into it. Nice midrange but not overly-so, and smooth highs. The thing I liked about the high end was it was clear but didn't have the "ice pick in the ear" effect! It tended to be bassy for my taste but nothing that the amp eq couldn't handle.
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I liked the Super Distortion in a custom Jackson I compared to my Ibanez stock pick-ups (loved the Pearly Gates in the neck, of the Jackson, too), but I am wanting a sort of midsy singing tone, sans crunch. Basically what the stock pickup in the Ibanez Power 540 II was capable of.


Vhalen50 said:
Am I alone in hearing "X" pickup played in this genre of music and thinking they all just sound the same....Juggs/bareknuckle stuff.
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Not if I play them. I'm not better or anything, just different. I was at a music store looking into pickups, and the guy played my guitar (through a 5150 III and matching cab), and then some others to show me comparison, and while they sounded different, they all sounded like hard/classic rock. I can't play that way.
 
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Keith Merrow (the guy demoing the pickup in the video) has a rather unique playing style and choice of tone. The primary components here are Keith and his choice of amp/amp settings/mic/mic placement much more than the pickup.

He has several "shootout" videos in which he plays the same thing on several different pickups (same guitar). These videos are great for showing the subtle differences between the pickups. The overall tone remains similar but you do hear slight differences in EQ and compression.

I have a Full Shred in my Schecter Blackjack SLS. Love it in that guitar. As mentioned before, it's got a very tight low end and is very articulate. Plenty of highs without being ice-picky. Balanced mids. Every mistake you make will be clearly audible. Sounds best down-tuned IMO. I've tried it in an Ibanez RG (basswood, I forget the model #) and a PRS SE 245 (mahogany les paul copy) and didn't like it in either one of those guitars- it was just too tight in the lows for those guitars. So, it may be one of those pickups that's picky about what guitar you put it in.

Really, you never know how a pickup's going to sound and feel until you put it in YOUR guitar. However, "shootout" videos are great for showing the slight differences between pickups, but only if they're in the same guitar, same amp settings, etc.
 
jlynnb1 said:
it think it sounds like a tube, shattering glass, smeared with peanut butter but with the resonance of a friendly ent. slicing yet gentle, not drawing too much blood but enough that you feel the wound.
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Funny, you are reminding me of another member that use to use a lot of metaphors for tone. You should right a song with that title.
 
Der JD said:
Keith Merrow (the guy demoing the pickup in the video) has a rather unique playing style and choice of tone. The primary components here are Keith and his choice of amp/amp settings/mic/mic placement much more than the pickup.

He has several "shootout" videos in which he plays the same thing on several different pickups (same guitar). These videos are great for showing the subtle differences between the pickups. The overall tone remains similar but you do hear slight differences in EQ and compression.

I have a Full Shred in my Schecter Blackjack SLS. Love it in that guitar. As mentioned before, it's got a very tight low end and is very articulate. Plenty of highs without being ice-picky. Balanced mids. Every mistake you make will be clearly audible. Sounds best down-tuned IMO. I've tried it in an Ibanez RG (basswood, I forget the model #) and a PRS SE 245 (mahogany les paul copy) and didn't like it in either one of those guitars- it was just too tight in the lows for those guitars. So, it may be one of those pickups that's picky about what guitar you put it in.

Really, you never know how a pickup's going to sound and feel until you put it in YOUR guitar. However, "shootout" videos are great for showing the slight differences between pickups, but only if they're in the same guitar, same amp settings, etc.
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I agree with You JD about Merrow, for the down tuning too...

I mean , every guitar I've bought sounded better in down tuning ... Trough my real amp rig all analog TripleRecto sound so huge defined and harmonically rich ... My LP in D or tuned C is freaking amazing ... Maybe our perspective changes with our listening education ... So many baritone and down tuned guitars in modern rock and metal

Looking to my previous Eb tuning ... Just not the same ...

As you stated Merrow sound like Merrow because even in digital domain our hands makes 90% of the tone

IMHO with a tool like aAxe You can carve the sound with compression and Eq and all this goodies ... PU don't make this huge difference ...

With a good knowledge of tool we can let our HBuckers sounds like Single Coil and viceversa... We don't have to think mono dimensional because we can think per preset ...
When I plug in real world Amp ... Only guitars changes so much difference
In real world very different ....
 
@Der JD: thanks. That UBER-tight low end might be what I'm looking for, then. I liked the Super Distortion, but the Full Shred might be more what I'm looking for. Time to order.....


Johnnyh64 said:
Funny, you are reminding me of another member that use to use a lot of metaphors for tone. You should right a song with that title.
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I didn't get that he was talking to me. I don't identify with the ideas, anyways, as I don't ever infer 'aggressiveness', let alone.....have ever in my life with regard to metal.....used that word.
 
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Full shreds are probably my favourite pickups, in particular the neck position version, super tight and fluid, very clear but easy to play also. Love it.
 
Loquenau said:
@Der JD: thanks. That UBER-tight low end might be what I'm looking for, then. I liked the Super Distortion, but the Full Shred might be more what I'm looking for. Time to order.....
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The Duncan Full Shred and Dimarzio Super Distortion are completely different animals. I have both and like both. I've tried both in guitars that had extremely similar specs.

The SD has a much more loose low end. I wouldn't call it boomy or muddy at all but it's just not tight like the full shred. I actually love the SD for standard tuning. Does thrash and 80s metal really well. I especially like it for lead. I don't like it for low tunings (just too loose). It's more forgiving than the FS (your little mistakes aren't as evident). A bit less in the high mids than the FS, but contrary to a lot of opinions on the internet about the SD, I'd never call it a "dark" pickup.
 
Der JD said:
The Duncan Full Shred and Dimarzio Super Distortion are completely different animals. I have both and like both. I've tried both in guitars that had extremely similar specs.

The SD has a much more loose low end. I wouldn't call it boomy or muddy at all but it's just not tight like the full shred. I actually love the SD for standard tuning. Does thrash and 80s metal really well. I especially like it for lead. I don't like it for low tunings (just too loose). It's more forgiving than the FS (your little mistakes aren't as evident). A bit less in the high mids than the FS, but contrary to a lot of opinions on the internet about the SD, I'd never call it a "dark" pickup.
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I agree, the SD sounded pretty balanced in the standard tuned guitar I heard/played last week. Unfortunately, I didn't have my Axe with me, and there wasn't one there.... However, a very very streamlined sound at the source (but not sterile, a la EMG, or so many say) should allow me to back off the treble and presence, and perhaps even lows, to something that is quite soft, yet singing. Stay tuned.....
 
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