DownByLaw
Silver Supporting Member
- Messages
- 2,341
Howdy all,
Well, I don't review much, because frankly I don't buy much that often, but recently I dropped a 36th Anniversary in the bridge of my much loved '93 strat plus deluxe, so I thought I'd share.
Previously I had a Suhr SSV+ in the bridge, and although I quite like it, after reading some of the commentary on the DiMarzio I thought it might be closer to ideal. (other previous bridge pickups: Original Red Sensor, JB junior, Suhr LPS, Anderson Single)
My strat is ash/maple neck, and is a very big/fat sounding guitar with very prominent highs. Main amp is a VHT clx, main music hard to very hard rock and blues based music. I quite like mids, and don't want my guitar to sound like a bass or compete with a bass on recordings. Think Zeppelin, not Metallica.
Early impressions of the 36th are great. Really even, very balanced with forward mids that are chewy and not grating. Nicely tight bottom end, while still having a bit of an elastic quality. Highs are present, but not shrill or cutting in a bad way. Overall the pickup really seems to let the "wood" of the guitar shine through, with an acoustic like air about it, even under heavy gain. (and I mean really heavy, sometimes approaching metal levels) Feeds back in a really cool way, quite controllable.
As my guitar has a bit of a scooped quality, the forward mids really evened out the bridge position. Cleans up very nicely as well, very musical. Crunchy without being overbearing. Punchy without being too hot. Really mixes nicely with the Suhr LPs I have in the middle and neck positions, the output between the 3 just seems "right". My strat is equipped with a TA switcheroo and currently I am running the 36th in parallel/series rather than series/split due to the remarkable tones I get when running the parallel mode with the singles. Either way it sounds great.
This is all very subject to the particular guitar/amp combo I have, but I'll compare the SSV+ to the 36th with my setup:
36th - very even and balanced, mid forward, lower output but with balls, mixes nicely in SSH. Great for my standard, open G, and dropped D tunings.
SSV+ - hotter, (slightly) more bottom, less mids, not as even, more emphasis on highs and lows, looser bottom, spiker top. Somewhat more nasal with more of a drastic leap when switching from singles to bucker position. Doesn't clean up quite as well, tends to darken when doing so. Great for standard, dropped D, didn't like open G quite as much. (shrill)
Again my guitar, my rig. But I didn't see many review for this p.u. in the strat bridge position, particularly my wood combo. Hope this helps.
Patrick
Well, I don't review much, because frankly I don't buy much that often, but recently I dropped a 36th Anniversary in the bridge of my much loved '93 strat plus deluxe, so I thought I'd share.
Previously I had a Suhr SSV+ in the bridge, and although I quite like it, after reading some of the commentary on the DiMarzio I thought it might be closer to ideal. (other previous bridge pickups: Original Red Sensor, JB junior, Suhr LPS, Anderson Single)
My strat is ash/maple neck, and is a very big/fat sounding guitar with very prominent highs. Main amp is a VHT clx, main music hard to very hard rock and blues based music. I quite like mids, and don't want my guitar to sound like a bass or compete with a bass on recordings. Think Zeppelin, not Metallica.
Early impressions of the 36th are great. Really even, very balanced with forward mids that are chewy and not grating. Nicely tight bottom end, while still having a bit of an elastic quality. Highs are present, but not shrill or cutting in a bad way. Overall the pickup really seems to let the "wood" of the guitar shine through, with an acoustic like air about it, even under heavy gain. (and I mean really heavy, sometimes approaching metal levels) Feeds back in a really cool way, quite controllable.
As my guitar has a bit of a scooped quality, the forward mids really evened out the bridge position. Cleans up very nicely as well, very musical. Crunchy without being overbearing. Punchy without being too hot. Really mixes nicely with the Suhr LPs I have in the middle and neck positions, the output between the 3 just seems "right". My strat is equipped with a TA switcheroo and currently I am running the 36th in parallel/series rather than series/split due to the remarkable tones I get when running the parallel mode with the singles. Either way it sounds great.
This is all very subject to the particular guitar/amp combo I have, but I'll compare the SSV+ to the 36th with my setup:
36th - very even and balanced, mid forward, lower output but with balls, mixes nicely in SSH. Great for my standard, open G, and dropped D tunings.
SSV+ - hotter, (slightly) more bottom, less mids, not as even, more emphasis on highs and lows, looser bottom, spiker top. Somewhat more nasal with more of a drastic leap when switching from singles to bucker position. Doesn't clean up quite as well, tends to darken when doing so. Great for standard, dropped D, didn't like open G quite as much. (shrill)
Again my guitar, my rig. But I didn't see many review for this p.u. in the strat bridge position, particularly my wood combo. Hope this helps.
Patrick
