| Since I've sold the Blaze Bridge from the neck position of a UVGR, I moved the Evo7 from the bridge to the neck and got a D-Activator7 for the bridge. Here are my impressions on both:
Evo7 in neck:
Good: wow... tons of sustain and cuts through the mix. Not bassy at all! The mids seems to be dominant in this position. Otherwise, I dig the Evo tone in this position.
Bad: Not recommended for clean settings unless you roll the volume knob to 5. Also had to find the appropriate height so it balances out with the D-Activator7 without bottoming out. Can get a fat "jazzy" tone by rolling both vol + tone knobs to 6/7.
Ugly: Picking attack sensitivity is less defined and not as pronounced.
D-Activator7 in bridge:
Good: Took me a while to actually hear and comprehend the differences between this and an Evo7. In the end, the D-Activator is "active" sounding as it gets. It responds and attacks like an EMG and handles pick dynamics without sounding "compressed" and "metallic" while retaining the clarity DiMarzio's seem to be good at. Triplets and crunches are also top-notch.
Bad: It's a bright pickup... might have to adjust treble/presence settings on amp. Not your typical "Dimarzio tone" but one can hear the PAF-ness on the D-Activator7. Cleans are very natural but somehow lack "character".
Ugly Picks up more ground noise; the X2N's are much quieter! Noise suppression recommended for hi-gain madness with these pickups.
Reg |