Dimarzio V. PAF is yummy!

[Ironman]

I have to admit that I've never been a Dimarzio fan in the past but I'm really very impressed with their Virtual Vintage PAF (bridge position, haven't tried the neck yet).

Anyway, I've been experimenting with pickups in my Les Paul R8 this past week looking for a little something extra. The Burstbuckers in my R8 weren't quite doing it for me. I love the BB's in my R7 though, they just don't compliment the wood on my R8 for some reason. She's got a huge acoustic voice and plays like butter but is overall a little bland sounding and lacks some omph plugged in. Well, I ran through all of my bridge pickups that I've got laying around ('57 classic, SD '59, Seth and Dimarzio V. PAF) just for giggles, trying each one in the bridge position and was totally surprised by the results. The Dimarzio actually sounded incredible in my R8, clearly beating out the others on many fronts! The V. PAF really has a unique tone, a very chimey sweet high end, incredible harmonics, killer bloom and sustain, strong and tight bass with punch and a pleasant midrange too. I'm surprised at the tonal improvement. She really shines now and is such a pleasure to play. I love the way she growls when I dig in now. Mucho character! I'm indeed a very happy camper!

You know, I thought for sure that I'd end up blowing bucks on some big name replacements, all of which I'm sure have some incredible offerings. But man am I glad I gave the Dimarzio a whirl, she's a keeper. Great sounding pickup, maybe not for the purist though. I think the Virtual PAF would be a good place to start for someone wanting something else in a pickup just because it's inexpensive and really is a musical sounding PU...at least in my R8. Now I need the neck to match my bridge. BTW, the double creme looks quite handsome in a Butterscotch R8.

Steve

[dazco]

Dimarzio for some reason seems to be often overlooked in favor of SD or many others. I guess people see them as the Mc Donalds of pups. But i always seem to find thier pups good even when stacked up against others. Especially SD, who's pups never seem to do it for me while Dimarzio often does. They've been around longer than anyone else. Good stuff IMO.

[exhaust_49]

What is Dimarzio Pickups web address. Curently Im looking into SD pickups (jazz neck, jb bridge) but want to see what else is out there. Do you have any recomendations?

[rwe333]

Originally posted by exhaust_49
What is Dimarzio Pickups web address. Curently Im looking into SD pickups (jazz neck, jb bridge) but want to see what else is out there. Do you have any recomendations?

http://dimarzio.com/

Their customer service is great, so it's worth getting their rec on things...

[HHB]

I love the virtual P-90 that I've been using, a great pickup, I'm going for some virtual strat pups next

[malabarmusic]

I've been singing the VPAF's praises for some time here. I have a pair in my HBII and couldn't be happier. They also brought on the rock like nobody's business in the Baker B1 that's now with another owner on this board. FWIW, the VPAF was Gene Baker's pickup of choice for his short scale 'bucker axes (and also got the call for neck duties on the long scale guitars).

- DB

[exhaust_49]

Does anyone here have a VPAF neck in a lp. I know what the bridge sounds like but I don't know what the neck sounds like. Im not too hot on the idea of buying a pup without knowing it's sound.

[Ironman]

Originally posted by exhaust_49
Does anyone here have a VPAF neck in a lp. I know what the bridge sounds like but I don't know what the neck sounds like. Im not too hot on the idea of buying a pup without knowing it's sound.

I'll have one soon and am sure I'll love it because the bridge works so well in my R8. The positive reviews of the neck V. PAF on the Les Paul forum tell me that it's an awesome pu. I'll probably like the neck even more because of the single coil like chime the Virtual has. I'll post my impressions once I get her.

Steve

[Gary Ladd]

I took the hex set-screws out of my 70s Dimarzio SD - It died several years ago due to an unexplainable break in the coil-winding, only second PUP I ever had this happen on, the other was a PAF Pro

Anyways, I took a MightyMite PUP that put-out like 20K!!! and modified it by adding the SD hexpoles in the front and PAF slot-heads in the rear with a vintage A5 mag & VIOLA! Monster-shred tone with crunchy chord functionality when turned down...it also sounds KILLA spilt & in Parallel.

This PUP smokes anything I've EVER purchased for the hi-gain/vintage tone from Seymour or Dimarzio!

[The_Whale]

Originally posted by Ironman
Well, I ran through all of my bridge pickups that I've got laying around ('57 classic, SD '59, Seth and Dimarzio V. PAF) just for giggles, trying each one in the bridge position and was totally surprised by the results.

a little off topic....

Did you notice any difference in the hum/noise levels between any of those pickups?

I'm only interested in noticable differences in noise when used with lots of distortion.

[Ironman]

Originally posted by The_Whale
a little off topic....

Did you notice any difference in the hum/noise levels between any of those pickups?

I'm only interested in noticable differences in noise when used with lots of distortion.

No difference in noise levels. I've never ran across a properly wired bucker that had noise problems though. My BB's aren't potted and I don't experience any pig noises from them either.

I don't use lots of distortion. My main amp is a Marshall Slash and that is kind of a medium high gain affair at best. She's just right for me.

BTW, I didn't mention that the V. PAF has a tad of compression to her. Some guys might not dig that especially the PAF purist. She is definitely in the PAF class, just with a little chime, less clank and a touch of compression. Gorgeous sounding pickup to my ears!

Steve

[The_Whale]

Originally posted by Ironman
No difference in noise levels. I've never ran across a properly wired bucker that had noise problems though.

I guess it depends on how much noise is a problem. I have a humbucker guitar where I can hear some noise, but I'm not sure if it's a problem.

Here is the thread from the other day on this topic:

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/sho...threadid=80164

[carltonh]

I think some of the bad side of Dimarzio's reputation comes from their Super Distortion pickup, which was their first pickup and about their most common or famous one... and that pickup is great for one sound and that's about all. In fact Dimarzio quit working for Bill Lawrence and went out on his own to build the Super Distortion, the antithesis of what Bill Lawrence thinks a pickup should be.

But yes, Dimarzio does make some good pickups that are much better and more versatile than the SD pickup.