# Which DiMarzio pickups for technical death metal?



## RuiNs777 (Jul 26, 2014)

I'm currently trying to decide on a pair of DiMarzio pickups for an Ibanez RG752 i got. I mostly play technical death metal (Necrophagist, Spawn of Possession, etc.). I decided on a liquifire for the neck but Im having problems deciding for the bridge. Im thinking Evo, CrunchLab or ToneZone? It has to sound good on basswood.

What do you guys think? Any recommendations?


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## gorthul (Jul 26, 2014)

AFAIK Muhammed used Dimarzio Dactivators.
Despite of that, I would have recommended them anyways.


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## RuiNs777 (Jul 26, 2014)

A representative for BK told me Muhammed is now using a Painkiller for the bridge and a cold sweat for the neck.


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## oracles (Jul 26, 2014)

I'd second D-Activators, or alternatively a D-Sonic.


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## Pav (Jul 26, 2014)

D Activator all the way.


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## Stijnson (Jul 26, 2014)

I'd say D-Activator too!


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Jul 27, 2014)

D-activator! I have a DA/LF pair in a 7620 and it's great for those types of sounds


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## Dana (Jul 27, 2014)

dactivator no question.

basswood is neutral so any pickup will sound as it should and as described.

i use a painkiller.... and man... its awesome.


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## RuiNs777 (Jul 27, 2014)

Dana Im considering the painkiller for the bridge but im worried about it being too middy. What do you think about it?


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## Dana (Jul 28, 2014)

the painkiller is the best pickup my friends and i have ever heard.
tight articulate fast attack in the low end under heavy gain, mids that aren't honky but crush you with power and liquid sustain on the highs without being brittle.
everyone has their own interpretation of "lots" of mid. i don't think its too middy. the mids are in the upper mid freq... you know, the ones that hit the amp where it hurts

i use 1 megohm volume pot, no tone or caps. straight signal. its like having the pickup hardwired to my amp. MANLY


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## Orzech (Jul 28, 2014)

Evo, CrunchLab or ToneZone <- these sound really good in basswood but not for your style


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## Konfyouzd (Jul 28, 2014)

Evo could probably work, though.


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## MAJ Meadows SF (Jul 28, 2014)

Painkiller or C-Bomb. No question either will be equally awesome and do the deed. If you want to stick with DiMarzio then + infinity for the DA.


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## jerm (Jul 28, 2014)

Super Distortion?


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## Mike (Jul 31, 2014)

I like the X2N. It has plenty of power and a nice tight low end. The mids and highs are very present and yet the pickup is still very articulate for being so hot. Notes don't get lost in the mix with the X2N, that's for sure. Neck, go liquifire, it's the perfect shred neck pickup.


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## Jacksonluvr636 (Jul 31, 2014)

+1 on the pain killer.

Some of the best tones I have heard invloved that pickup.

If your looking to spend alot of $ like that It is worth a look into Motor City IMO.

Also, for me..When I decide on pups I hear the sound im getting and decide what I am lacking.

For example I got a Tone Zone for a guitar but it was an all maple neck and mahogany body and was just too bright. The TZ is very heavy on the bass and mids so it worked perfectly.

It is a great pup but if you are not looking to tame the brights then id keep looking.

I use those charts they have on the website and base it of what I want to hear. More or Less Bass, trble, mids?


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## revivalmode (Jul 31, 2014)

I'm thinking about getting Dimarzio D Activators too for my Ibanez RG1527M because currently the stock pickups aren't that great, only for leads they seem to be decent.

Would that be a great choice, body is Basswood btw, or would a BKP Juggernaut set be even better?

I play mostly technical death metal, progressive metal too.


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## ZeroTolerance94 (Jul 31, 2014)

As a tech death / oldschool death metal guitarist myself... I swear by my Duncan Sh-5 Custom (7 string). But before I did that I had a DiMarzio X2N (6 string), and D-Activator (7 string). Of those 2 DiMarzio's, I preferred my D-Activator. It was just all around a great pickup, and the note definition was unreal, with TONS of attack on the low end. 

However, my real $.02; playing tech death, your amp is gonna make a ton difference more than your pickups... so if you're playing through a B52 AT100 or something... you get my point...


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## jerm (Jul 31, 2014)

can i ask why the .... no one ever talks about the Super Distortion?


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## revivalmode (Jul 31, 2014)

ZeroTolerance94 said:


> As a tech death / oldschool death metal guitarist myself... I swear by my Duncan Sh-5 Custom (7 string). But before I did that I had a DiMarzio X2N (6 string), and D-Activator (7 string). Of those 2 DiMarzio's, I preferred my D-Activator. It was just all around a great pickup, and the note definition was unreal, with TONS of attack on the low end.
> 
> However, my real $.02; playing tech death, your amp is gonna make a ton difference more than your pickups... so if you're playing through a B52 AT100 or something... you get my point...



Well, I'm using an Axe Fx Ultra and I still couldn't get a good tone with it while my 6 strings sound awesome with the same settings...


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Aug 1, 2014)

jerm said:


> can i ask why the .... no one ever talks about the Super Distortion?



The 6 string version gets love left and right from people on here. The 7 string version is still pretty new, plus Dimarzio's 6, 7, and 8 string versions of pickups sound very different from each other


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## Pav (Aug 1, 2014)

jerm said:


> can i ask why the .... no one ever talks about the Super Distortion?



For something like technical death metal, the Super Distortion is almost the complete opposite of what you want in a pickup. It's very thick and heavy and sounds great in higher registers, but if you're tuning down and in need of tight, fast bass response, the SD is just not ideal.

Though I guess should add that I only have experience with the 6-string version, since Dimarzio's various versions of supposedly the same pickup can sound remarkably different.


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## jerm (Aug 1, 2014)

Pav said:


> For something like technical death metal, the Super Distortion is almost the complete opposite of what you want in a pickup. It's very thick and heavy and sounds great in higher registers, but if you're tuning down and in need of tight, fast bass response, the SD is just not ideal.
> 
> Though I guess should add that I only have experience with the 6-string version, since Dimarzio's various versions of supposedly the same pickup can sound remarkably different.


Zimbloth recommended that one for a bright death metal guitar, which is why I'm just asking hah


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## Pav (Aug 1, 2014)

jerm said:


> Zimbloth recommended that one for a bright death metal guitar, which is why I'm just asking hah



For the 6, it would have to be a guitar that sounded extremely thin and bright to work in a technical setting. But I'm guessing he was talking about the 7, which is a slightly different beast.


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## jerm (Aug 1, 2014)

Pav said:


> For the 6, it would have to be a guitar that sounded extremely thin and bright to work in a technical setting. But I'm guessing he was talking about the 7, which is a slightly different beast.



This was his post (For death metal and a maple neck thru/alder wings guitar): "I would recommend the DiMarzio Super Distortion 7 in the bridge, which is very aggressive and thick but also tight. In the neck I would opt for the Blaze Neck."


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