DiMarzio D Activator Pickups

[jma111000]

@jma111000 I might get an ibanez S420 instead. 2 pickup slots, and a better trem.

[Snake0682]

i hear the neck and bridge the fucking same ._.

[blackwidow88812]

lol, all the guys he talked about (kerrie, zakk and kirk) use EMG's

[Motherfuckerish666]

@blackwidow88812 Hello, captain obvious. That's because these pickups are BASED upon active ones, even being pasive. And the most famous brand which builds active pickups is EMG (cause the 81, 85 and 60 are way more famous than SD Blackouts, for example). So it is obvious that one will mention EMG's when referring to active pickups.

[jma111000]

When I get my ibanez rg I might get this pickup. Maybe. I'm still researching, cause I play Metallica, slipknot, etc an I don't want EMG cause I don't want to hook actives up with passives, that would be hell and back to do. And the rg470mh has a single coil slot in the middle, and an active emg wouldn't fit.

[hhalexm]

Hey! I have dimarzio d activator pickups on my ibanez iceman ict700. It's tuned in drop c and I use pretty thick strings (D'Addario EXL148 Drop C 012-060). When I play the thickest c string I only hear a swoosh sound. Is it normal? Someone told me it's because of the Dimarzio pickups. Like because they are not made for thick strings. Can someone help me please?

[zeemonkey187]

@hhalexm I am not familiar with this problem. Maybe you can post a video with the guitar so that we can hear the sound. It is more likely that someone can help that way.

[Totofan09]

@hhalexm Maybe you should enlow one of the pickups; 'cause the string goes on it. Or, try to change gauge!

[Fluffypopcicle]

@hhalexm

Whoever told you that is retarded. It's not the pickups, it's something else.

[bikinibutton]

"wah"

[bikinibutton]

"wah"

[thebigugly2006]

No that is an Eclipse 1. They are only available overseas. Look them up on the japanese website

[asianboi528]

is that a les paul with a esp ec-1000 neck???????

[andrewisthechamp]

@asianboi528 that's the ec-1000 which always had the les paul shape. the deluxe model has the black matte finish like that.

[llamaduckmen]

I love it!

[ChaserHUN]

Guitar World makes everything sound like shit :S

[Wrathofkala]

@ChaserHUN ...............good point lol

[NGDemonSlayer12]

0:30 battery power? I have these pickups in my Xiphos, there is no battery...

[75SilentWarrior]

@NGDemonSlayer12 He's talking about the active pick-ups used by metal guitarists that these are based off of.

[xxPSYCHOSLUTxx]

@NGDemonSlayer12 he was referring to active pick ups.. 

[ThatBigMetalhead]

he can shred his ass off though lol

[ThatBigMetalhead]

cut off that wah pedal, yeah? screw this guy

[Metallimeister]

This demo does not make me wanna buy those pickups.

[Wrathofkala]

@Metallimeister ...co-signs sounds too 80's too me...I'll stay with my emg'S

[cbertram11]

he should re do this video with a better tone.

[GreenDay3213]

If only I could reach into that video and steal his ESP eclipse.....

WHHYYY did i get an epiphone les paul black beauty!!!!

[cbertram11]

@GreenDay3213 youve gotta good guitar dude id say better the esp ! way thicker and juciy! trust me ! get some Dimarzios they will brighten your tone! DO it upp brosef

[GreenDay3213]

@cbertram11

I was actually looking at some DiMarzio D-Activators before considering an ESP or LTD guitar, they sound great! Im still debating whether or not to swap my guitar for an LTD eclipse or buy better pickups and hardware for my guitar

[DylanB003]

sounds like he forgot to tune off the wah pedal...

[mrguano7]

Nice looking guitar. I hate the sound of it, and those pickups are great.

[snickersfan15]

Love that alternative part, towards the end! ;)

[FourthHorseman666]

Christ, it sounds like he's playing through a wah set toe-down.

[kuzWich]

F spaced in bridge position (dp220) or regular for this axe?

[ProgMetal01]

@kuzWich From the looks of it, Paul didn't have an F spaced one, so if you think this sounds fine, go for the regular model. The sound difference between F-Spaced and regular pickups is minimal anyway ;)

[kuzWich]

@ProgMetal01 Already own a kit (regular) in my edwards LP. Sounds terrific, but looks cheap and awkward 'cause of the magnet misalignment at bridge. I planned purchasing the esp ctm ft and fitting it with my D-acts later on, so was just curious on the string spacing at bridge position. Looks like my 220 will be moving to Aria's bridge under the humbucker cover, since 'Eddie' must get its SDs back in place))

[Therium1]

Do these have any buzz?

[luisguitarc214]

i wanna get d activators but i dont know if i should get the ones paul is using right now or the x series?!?!? if you guys could plz help!! i play every type of style.

[SovietJedi8000]

4:48 - 5:34 sounds incredible. I need these pickups!

[SlowyBluesMan]

Justin Bieber Quality

[demonbike666]

they sound terrible, really tinny.

[WarriorOfMetal1986]

@demonbike666 He sets up his tone flat as fuck

[loljonasfail]

@demonbike666 look at the video by jamie robinson in the related vids. you'll have a change of heart.

[metalman9057]

If you want a good full clean sound on the neck pickup, get the dimarzio humbucker from hell. my guitar has the D-activator in the bridge and the humbucker from hell in the neck. great versatility, great tones and all you need to blend the tones to get ANY sound you want is 2 volumes and a 3way toggle.

[luisguitarc214]

he has d activators in the neck too? i thought they arent supposed to go in the neck. what neck pickup is he using?? please tell me

[JURGMANDR]

@luisguitarc214 d activator neck pickup.

[Sdrumer15]

You know, I have no idea why you would put this pick up in the rythm position. It's obvious why you would want it in the bridge but it doesn't have a creamy enough sound for my liking. How could you play sweet child of mine with these pick ups? That's why i only changed my bridge posititon.

[ScreamynDemon]

He needs to learn how to do metal riffs because he sucks something aweful at them in this video and in the *shudders* review of Mick Thomsons AWESOME signature Blackouts.

[BrujoAsesino123]

Whitch is better on the bridge for a basswood body this the X2n or the dimebucker and why please respond!

[UMadUJelly]

@BrujoAsesino123 Do NOT get a DimeBucker, they're probably one of the worst pickups out there. You'd be better off with the D Activator or the D Activator X.

[BrujoAsesino123]

@UMadUJelly thanks ill put the D Activator X or the X2N

[MetalzShredah550]

@UMadUJelly Shut up, newfag.

[dedski7]

I know the esp custom shop offers the 2 and 2 les paul style tone/volume positions I'm not sure about the cutout though

[dedski7]

Thanx! Now I'm gonna figure out how to get one!

[dedski7]

What model EC is his esp guitar the cut is like a les paul florentine and same w/the tone an volume,it looks much better then normal eclipse models

[KillsEngage]

@dedski7 It's an ESP Eclipse-I CTM Standard VT (Japanese Made Model, not Available in the US)

[Therium1]

Would these be good for thrash metal? Do these need a ton of distortion to sound metal?

[atylerplai]

@Therium1 Yes they are great for metal, i thinks that primarily what they were designed for, as they were made to have the power of an active pickup without actually being an active pickup. Anyway i have a set of these and they are indeed phenomenal for metal (as well as most other genres) very versatile

[KazKylheku]

This video is proof that ceramic magnets do not suck in guitar pickups.

[BlakeNeo2]

he is so gay but plays guitar as hell

[punk4life1029]

That Guitar IS SEXY

[mad4mtl]

Too bright!

[HezzaBlog]

Love how he played fairly modestly til 4:48 ; casually shred like a demon. This guy's a good guitarist...

[deathmetalmachine]

wow this funny he name emg players not dimarzo players

[HezzaBlog]

@deathmetalmachine because he was making a reference to the fact that the Ds are passive emulations/improvements on EMG designs.

[deathmetalmachine]

@HezzaBlog i c what your saying but it's still weird 

[WarriorOfMetal1986]

I was thinking of putting one of this in the bridge position of Ibanez S model I am getting soon. Im going to be playing off an Marshall g100r head. Good buy?

[MintChip743]

@GiveInToMetal That is tremolo picking with some legato, not too advanced, but it is hard to keep from getting sloppy

[LapizLazuli333]

the D activator pick ups sound nothing like this in person. These pick ups back a punch, D activator pickups rival EMG's, and Semour Duncan JB.

[kingv911]

how does this geek get a gig like this?

[MetalzShredah550]

@kingv911 4:50 to 6:00, that's why. Plays like a motherfucker. Sorry he doesn't act cool like everyone else does, but I guess in your eyes, it's all about being cool and not being able to play. Poser.

[ElectricTurkey1]

i wouldnt trust these demos. everyone i watch is pure shit and does not show the capability of any gear reviewed.

[dgmods]

that's ac dc/s tone!

[TheSweatyfatguy]

i have an ibanez s series guitar and wanna drop dimarzio d activaors in there. but i dont know what to put inside the single coil middle pickup!! can someone help me!!?! i need a good suggestion!

[ImSoNotHereRightNow]

@TheSweatyfatguy Dude I am in the exact same situation, I'm putting the D-Activator X's in the Bridge and Neck, and I'm thinking really hard about putting the Fast Track 1 on it.

[TheSweatyfatguy]

@ImSoNotHereRightNow yea that single coil can be such a boner kill lol i decided to just go with the steve vai dimarzio evolution set for all three slots so it flows smoothly. ima put d activators in my guitar with only two cavities

[andrewds98]

this guy makes every guitar sound amazing

[VanishaGlamChick6]

They´re good but i´d rather put the Tone Zone in my guitar , i´m just saving some money for it.

[GhostOfAE]

These pickups sound terrible. It's like a permanent stuck-wah!

[metallica5252]

@Guitarstring187 if you can't hear the difference between a neck and bridge pickup then you must be tone-deaf.

[MArXSharin]

Notes are readable enough.

[salvationarmy23]

I must admit, you get an amazing zakk wylde tone out of this. The first tone was excellent! Put those bitches on a les paul and hello.......... =)

[VHTLtdDimarzio]

Doesn't really sound like an active pickup, but whatever.

[Goth3m3]

Wow that is fucking snappy.

[RandyFoxKiller]

preamp pickup???? someone fill me in

[Goth3m3]

@RandyFoxKiller Active pickups have a pre-amp in them, they basically don't get any of their tone from the wood of the guitar, it's all a pre fabricated sound, so that you can drop them into any POS guitar, and they sounds like EMG's basically.

Passive pickups don't have this... and that's why they sound a little less dull, they have a more organic feel to them, and that's why most people prefer them.

[Nickhead87]

@Goth3m3

Everyone always says EMGs all sound the same in any guitar, but I have an ESP Eclipse II and an LTD F-400FM, both with an EMG 81/60 set (I put the 60 in the LTD myself), and I can hear the tonal differences easily. The quality of woods and the different woods used in both guitars have an influence on the sound. The cleans on my Eclipse sound much richer than on my LTD. My Eclipse is also a lot thicker sounding than my LTD. Compare James Hetfield's tone to Kirk's. Night and day.

[GhostOfAE]

@Nickhead87 People that say that stuff, I find, tend to have not been playing long enough to recognize the tonal differences.

[The1970sInfatuate]

Way too bright...everything sounds out-of-phase.

[hermanli370]

sounds much better in real life , this guy has crap eq

[phonz0]

which is better.. d activator or d activator x? i want the one that's good for metallica sound

[Erock09291]

I think the best pickup combination ever is a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge and a 36th anniversary PAF in neck

[themodernguitarist]

Honestly... Does he have a Wah pedal on at full tilt?...

[guitarguy217]

what pickup would you guys suggest for me? i play a lot of van halen but i also like to turn up the gain and play metal like BFMV. so basically i want something like a brown sound that can also play metal

[Zhaggysfaction]

@guitarguy217

Well, Van Halen was known for using a low output alnico2 PAF Gibson pickup in the early years and to my knowledge he uses high output ceramics now. BFMV obviously uses EMG's. So, first of all, when you find a pickup that does both, let me know 'cause I certainly want one. With Dimarzio some say The Tone Zone is good for EVH stuff and it has lots of output for heavy stuff, but not too much for dynamics. Also Evo2, Norton or Air Zone should have sound, output and dynamics you seek.

[Louisthefish23]

@guitarguy217 EMG's for BFMV and Some fairly decent passive pickups like DeMazio's or seymour duncans humbuckers

[AlochEX]

is this better or as good as seymour duncans SH 4?? .... at the bigining it sounded really AC/DC ish

[osvas23]

zakk wylde ,kirk hammet,kerry king

all use emgs

[crazystrings89]

what model are those d activators

[neverendingdeception]

what guitar is that?

[zeemonkey187]

@neverendingdeception

ESP Eclipse.

[mrguano7]

@zeemonkey187 Shitty guitar. Les Paul stays untouched.

[joeytruelove]

@mrguano7 Feel free to elaborate on that statement. Often we need to add why we think this or that is the case or it easily can be misstaken for a plain preconception.

[yaxowx]

@mrguano7 lol Les Pauls are certainly fine guitars. they're way over hyped though, les pauls have been outdone for a while son.

[mrguano7]

@yaxowx Yes they are over-hyped, i do agree, over-priced too. Thing is i've played some old gibsons from the 80's, some of the first re-issues before they were called re-issues and the sound that comes out of that is, at least for me, unbelievable. Can't be touched.

I'll say this about the eclipse, it feel it has no dynamic (Compressed sound), it plays weird (it's kind of stiff, you can't ever get a deep tone out of it), and it feels like im playing on the treble setting all the time.

[0bigeyez0]

@neverendingdeception thats an esp/ltd eclipse guitar

[dddddddddie]

WAY to much treb

[dpapaioannow]

wtf?they sound like single coils where's the humbucker beefeness?they're just too trebly

[John27686]

It might be the type of dely he's using. I've heard it happen it fades in to slow and cuts the crunch out.

[deathcore1239]

@Necrobvtcher yes, they are. but the X2N has more distortion so that might be your option

[Clipster15]

Would these work well in a Gibson Les Paul?

[dpapaioannow]

@Clipster15 sure they will..if you want your les paul sound like it just got castrated

[MMZen]

Do all these videos have like that fast delay setting sound to avoid copy write infringements on playing known riffs?

[CiscoMcLovin]

does anyone know how mmuch these cost and if i can buy them together or separately?

[greenwake69]

@CiscoMcLovin guitarcenterdotcom musiciansfrienddotcom it would take seconds to find out

[frustratedemo11]

do i have to change anything aside from the active pick up to the deactivator? how about the controls?the requirements?do i have to chnge the controls if the guitar comes with emg 85 81 combo?tnx.. pls answer..

[TheTyrantRaptor]

@frustratedemo11 - Dude right now you have actives, they use 25K pots, when changing to the passives, you need to change the pots to 500K pots.

[frustratedemo11]

@TheTyrantRaptor tnx man.. but i dont have the idea of the wiring..

[alexandros03101994]

correct me if i'm making a mistake but i think that these pickups lack of bass ..

[zeemonkey187]

@alexandros03101994

It's the way he plays+his equalization plus his choice in amplifiers. He could make a pregnant women look flat.

[blondiebabae]

@zeemonkey187

Boy you aren't kidding... I always groan when I see this tard demo'ing something aimed at metalheads. He's shit

[rockerdude29]

@alexandros03101994 its definitely his amp/EQ,EVERYTHING he plays sounds bass-less and really sharp.

[aboveunow]

@alexandros03101994 That would be the horrible eq and settings of the amp. I mean, he mentioned some heavy guitar players. Then busts out a buzzsaw sounding dooky! ...sad

[Divljina89]

@alexandros03101994 I have one in the neck. Yeah, it really does lack bass, but not in a bad way. You will just adjust your current setup for a little more bass.

[RAASUW]

@alexandros03101994 not enough low end at all

[afireinsidemysoul]

@alexandros03101994 i do have to agree the highs are great but all they have are highs

[Joshelion]

@alexandros03101994 Like zee said, Its not the pick ups alone but his entire amp settings. Amp settings are different depending on the pick ups and guitar you are using. The main thing that Dimarzios focus on is Lead guitar, so its main purpose is to sound very clear in soloing/lead/rythm etc. and opposed to EMG which are more on the bassy side mainly for metal riffs, but not as great as dimarzios are in lead. I guess each pick up has its own weakness. But its mainly a matter of preference

[adgcfbea]

What is the diference between the standard version and the f spaced ones

[zeemonkey187]

@adgcfbea

F-spaced pickups have the polepieces spaced to the string distance of a guitar equipped with a Floyd Rose bridge.

[adgcfbea]

@zeemonkey187 I was asking the diference because I just got a d activator f spaced and I was thinking to install it on a les paul, do you think there is gona be a problem since you said the f spaced is for a floyd rose bridge

[AmberEatsAirplane]

@adgcfbea Probably not. I believe Dimarzio suggests the F Spaced if you are unsure if your bridge is f spaced or standard spaced.

[Sifuben]

@adgcfbea TBH it won't make that big a difference

[marcoandres96]

@zeemonkey187 If I do not have a floyd rose . . .

a) do you think that i can install a F-spaced ones without a problem?

b) can that affect the sound?

c) Does it depend on the guitar?

[HotKarl78]

@marcoandres96 I have an Ibanez RG with a hardtail bridge. They have F-spaced pickups. The standard pickups will work fine, but they may look a little off. There is a guide on DiMarzio's website to help with the spacing you need. All you need to measure string spacing.

[Joshelion]

@zeemonkey187 Yea I don't really know which bridge is better. The edge zero or the floyd rose, it is said that with the edge zero it is easier to change strings, how ever it does not flutter as great as the floyd rose. But the thing is that Im afraid of my string popping during a gig, that would be extremely bad

[keithgatti]

@zeemonkey187 actually, being right like you are, the f space is for fender guitars while regular space is for gibson. other companies may vary, but many are regular

[syfman7]

@zeemonkey187 That's incorrect. A Trembucker is spaced for a Floyd Rose Bridge. F-spaced, I was told, originally came from the Fender spacing. In any case, the pole pieces are a little wider spaced to line up with the wider spacing of the strings on a F-spaced guitar.

[OMMIAMSalvation]

love the metal riff :D

[TempestaRiggs]

These pickups came stock in both of my Ibanez VBT 700 V blade guitars. I put on a set of GHS custom lows and tuned to drop B. I then took one my guitars and swapped out the stocks for the classic set up EMG 81/85. I like the the EMG's better. The EMG's are fatter, heavier, and warmer.

[cjrizzle93]

I know thats an extremely well made guitar and those pickups are monsters! There is no reason for this video to sound so shitty. "Oh, but you cant get good sound over youtube!" bullshit, go watch almost any of Chris Brodericks vids. I hate this guy....

[nanni12]

Good compression

[NammiNamm95]

@haropro2 he means they use "active pickups" not dimarzio pickups...

[joejmjoejm]

do those pickups need a batterie



[Zhaggysfaction]

@joejmjoejm No they don't.

[ig0c0mmand0]

the tone would be alot better if the the treble wasnt turned up too high and there was more bass

[THEguammer]

@ig0c0mmand0 the tone would be alot better if he didnt have such a gayness. gayest little mini windmills

[SpaceDude3600]

Close your eyes, imagine a woman talking.

???? profit

[funkin182]

@SpaceDude3600 so much win

[GuitaristfromHell100]

I love the axe he has, but I honestly would not but Dimarzio in Mahogany. Dimarzio screams in basswood. Seymour duncans the way to go for Mahogany/ alder or EMGS. That's me though.

[sotgouli]

hey guys, i want to put those babies on my sg-400 epiphone,

will they fit well, or i would destroy my guitar's sound?

[sotgouli]

hey guys, i wan't to instal those babies in my sg epiphone.

do they fit?

[RushIsMyLifeFool]

would these sound good in my ibanez rg370dx? its bass wood, i wanna put these bad boys in the bridge.

[hermanli370]

@RushIsMyLifeFool it sounds good . pinch harmonics are good

[4thReichRifle]

Chris Broderick (Megadeth) uses these , they are fucking beast !!!

[geicowithdagheko1]

@4thReichRifle beast?

[SuperDean224]

@geicowithdagheko1 beast = AWESOME

[garyjfoster]

where the fuck is the bass

[sadismminds]

wtf !! from this review i can say they r perfect for country music !! :S

[GuitarmanIeuan]

Hmm... I'm stuck between these and SH-6's!

[DDoms99]

Is it just me or these pickups suck?

[GuitarmanIeuan]

@DDoms99 One of the best passive pickups in my opinion. Might suck to you but I love them!

[DDoms99]

@GuitarmanIeuan It's probalby screwed eq on amp

[DDoms99]

@GuitarmanIeuan  It's probalby screwed eq on amp cause tones seep too tight and dead

[OttoVonGoenne]

he's a good player but damn his voice is waay too femme for the music. he needs to not talk and just play the damn guitar.

[joniiboy]

@mongoferd Hey, its the guy that is jealous at paul cuz he knows he will never be as good as him, seriously, paul is a kickass guitar player