Dimarzio Area T *Neck* Users?

[jamester]

I'm about to assemble another tele, got everything figured out except the neck pickup.

I usually have a HB in the neck, but for this build I think I want to go more traditional. However I still want a fat, solid tone with no noise. I do a lot of clean-toned soloing, so I need that punch like a PAF would give, so my single notes project over the rhythm section.

Will the Area T Neck give me this? Or is it more scooped in the mids, what I would call more "strat-like"? I know this pup sounds good overall, but if it's too "chimey" then it likely won't work for me for clean jazz-type soloing.

 

[Jim Soloway]

I'd say no. I've used and love the Area T but mostly because it gives me a quite traditional Tele neck sound without the hum. It's probably not going to give you the kind of punch you're describing though.

 

[clothwiring]

"punch like a PAF would give" is not an Area T neck. Why not just toss a humbucker in the neck? It's what I did to jazz up my guitar. I had a Kinman AVN60 in that position. I also had a Tele before with Areas that was great, but I don't feel you'll get what you're after. They are shooting for a vintage style sound without the hum and do a nice job with it.

 

[John Thigpen]

Mini-humbucker!

 

[jamester]

Thanks guys, pretty much confirming my suspicion about this pup. :-/

I wish there was more of a market for noiseless tele pups, that would give more tonal options. There are plenty of true single coils out there that give me what I want (my current fave is OC Duff's Paint Peeler - super punchy) but the handful-or-less noiseless offerings available are all geared towards vintage tones.

 

[jamester]

Mini-humbucker!

True, in fact the tele I'm rebuilding here is a 52 HotRod so I've got the SD mini-bucker.

My only experience with mini's is this SD, and I'm not sure... It's pretty dark, definitely punchy but doesn't "breathe" like a good PAF does. The Lollar is probably great, but it's so expensive.

Will def keep this option in mind, thanks..

 

[Jim Soloway]

True, in fact the tele I'm rebuilding here is a 52 HotRod so I've got the SD mini-bucker.

My only experience with mini's is this SD, and I'm not sure... It's pretty dark, definitely punchy but doesn't "breathe" like a good PAF does. The Lollar is probably great, but it's so expensive.

Will def keep this option in mind, thanks..

DiMarzio has some really nice mini-buckers. They redesigned them a couple years ago and I've used a bunch of them.

 

[burningyen]

I'd say no. I've used and love the Area T but mostly because it gives me a quite traditional Tele neck sound without the hum. It's probably not going to give you the kind of punch you're describing though.

What Jim said, although to my ears it does sound somewhat like a Strat neck pickup.

 

[rawkguitarist]

I'd say Jim Soloway is a pretty good endorsement of your pickups....

I love Dimarzio pickups. I've had a few custom Koll's made, one shipping possibly today, and of course could have any pickups in them... Dimarzio's are in two of them. They have knocked the noisless "single coil" out of the park if you ask me.

 

[K-Line]

Barden rail? I just used them in a Truxton and was impressed with the punch.

 

[12guitdown]

Most memorable to me is that the area T sounded strat like; not boomie whatsoever, I mean none. That's a good thing for many but I don't recall it being punchy. It was almost identical to the kinman broadcaster set, as far as the neck is concerned.

 

[jamester]

Thanks again for the thoughts and info...

I think for the time being I'll just use some single coils I have. Perhaps I'll try out the Area T down the road just for curiosity's sake, may also give another mini-bucker a try also. I've always had good experiences with Dimarzios, so I'll def keep them in mind.

Have thought about the Bardens as well; they'll definitely give me the noiseless punch I'm looking for, but aside from exorbitant cost I worry about their brightness and possible lack of "air" as well.

I do realize that the perfect solution for PAF tone is a PAF haha...would just like to have a traditional look while keeping the sound. This would be much easier on a strat, the tele market is still so small comparitively. Wish SD would put out a Lil '59 Neck pup like they did for strats, for example...

 

[toomanyamps]

Maybe a Duncan Hot Rails?