7-String Pickup Shootout! DiMarzio D-Sonic/Air Norton VS Dreamcatcher/Rainmaker - Bryan Does Gear 2

[@neilmurphy7594]

This is how you do a pickup demo. Thank you. Why DiMarzio doesn't put this on their website for every one of their pickups, I'll never understand. Their entire business is to sell sounds.

[@illbeinyourband]

Thanks a lot for checking it out!

[@horstvazinksi3408]

Exactly! Seymour Duncan and Bareknuckle get it

[@illbeinyourband]

If I had a million dollars I would compare every dimarzio pickup for you guys!

[@Returnality]

They used have soundbites for each pickup, I'm not sure why they stopped that. Those soundbites actually introduced me to some great guitarists (Marco Sfogli and Nicola Fassi).

[@mateuspessoa5925]

5:56 Air Norton 6:25 Rainmaker

[@thesaj1110]

Thanks for the demo, the D sonic, and air Norton sounded better to my ears!

[@illbeinyourband]

I’d have to agree by this sound demo. But there is some quality in the feel of the Dreamcatcher. They are very, very close in sound in the room. Both are freaking great!

[@benwatts1333]

Thank you so much for your hard work. I am so lazy, I couldn't swap from one to another. the recording is super clean and your playing as well. Still difficult to make a decision without being in the same room with own amp but you did a real good job and sure it helps. Thanks a lot. DiMarzio has to thank you too : I will place an order for DC/RM.

[@nickx1754]

I'm switching from a Crunchlab to a Dreamcatcher because of the noise issue. I think the solid bar in the D-Sonic type pickups must act like an antenna. As well, there are dynamic and sonic qualities I hope and expect to change but that noise issue is kind of a big one.

[@marcelolivier]

Thank you very much for this awesome and objective comparison. I really appreciated!

[@illbeinyourband]

Awesome, glad you found it useful!

[@joegalford2319]

Great vid. Thank you for this.

[@illbeinyourband]

Thank you for watching!

[@Xe0nLight]

Thanks for the comparison, keep up the good work!

[@illbeinyourband]

Thanks for watching!!!

[@Xe0nLight]

@@illbeinyourband Do you possibly have the DIs? I got Crunch Lab but I'm not vibing with it, looking into D-Sonic. It would help if u have the DI so I can compare.

[@illbeinyourband]

No I do not. I haven’t got with modern times yet, I’m a mic in front of an amp kind of guy lmao

[@vl292]

Based on this, i would go for d-sonic because of the clarity and growl of the low notes. Good work on this video!! Cheers.

[@illbeinyourband]

I like it a bit better myself, if only it wasn’t so noisy!!

[@altpath]

First of all, VERY impressive production and review. As far as the pickups go, i don't think i would go for the newer pickups if i already owned the original pair, as the recorded sounds so similar, and for me that is ultimately the most important thing. As a starving musician, i think the d-sonic and air nortons can be found for cheap everywhere, but great video! I subscribed, and i don't subscribe to many gear/musician channels these days.

[@illbeinyourband]

Thanks for all the kind words, and I’m glad that my video helped you!

[@Aramgeddon]

Epic comparison 🔥 I will do a video on sh-4 vs d-sonic in a 28" 6 string Baritone tuned to f standard at some point in the future

[@illbeinyourband]

Nice!! I just did another on the Air Norton vs Liquifire (6 string)

[@Aramgeddon]

@@illbeinyourband just watched it. Nice sound and playing! Imo the Liquifire is a better choice for cleans because it has less mids and therefore a more balanced sound for cleans. When it comes to crunch and distortion the clarity of the air norton wins because of the pronounced mids of the pickup which work better for high gain sounds. Great comparison! 🔥

[@illbeinyourband]

👌🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@Aramgeddon]

@@illbeinyourband 🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@Xavofthedead]

It is possible to tweak your pickup to match those minor changes by swaping magnets, I change a Crunchlab 6 ceramic for an Alnico 8, it's warmer, and it would be even warmer With and A5 magnet. It's cheap (like 5 or 10$ on ebay) and just as effective as changing pickups. I was leaning towards the Dreamcatcher 7 but hearing this vid I'll just do a magnet mod.

[@illbeinyourband]

Interesting, I’ve never actually done a magnet swap. Good info!

[@giorgosk2884]

For neck i ve heard all possible combos and every time Air Norton is the best-the point of reference of the neck pickups. For the bridge they are all different kind of spectrum mid cut or not

[@illbeinyourband]

It’s such a great neck pickup. I have it in my 6 string as well. Bout to try out a liquifire though, because I LOVE JPs tones when he was using it.

[@rolandlemus203]

I think the DC and RM were much beefier, richer in tone, and while the other one is a tad louder, I didn't think it was better, I am getting the same set for my 6 string RG prestige and cannot wait when it is installed. I have the Sonic Ecstasy set already and these JP sig DiMarzio sets are killer, they sound rich and when you are lead playing they sound so sweet. Thanks for the demo!!

[@illbeinyourband]

And these things are never fully “fair” because for the full band demo I used amp settings set up originally for a completely different guitar. With some tiny tweaking you’d be able to get that bit of bite back with the DC. I love both sets, but I’m very happy with my choice to keep the DC/RM

[@rolandlemus203]

@@illbeinyourband Now that I have tested the DC/RM all night lol, fingers are a tad sore, but had to play and check my set out, I was a little bummed that the DC is not as full volume as the RM, but my luthier explained it to me, and its too much data to post here, but the point is, my tone is nice, on ALL areas with the DC, I got really spoiled with my Sonic Ecstasy's bridge pup. So thanks for posting this again, and just wanted to feedback on my experience with my new DC/RM.

[@Returnality]

The Dreamcatcher is basically just a darker, slightly less sizzly version of the D Sonic from what I can hear

[@illbeinyourband]

It’s pretty darn close, I was surprised

[@Khike]

excellent demo !

[@illbeinyourband]

Thank you so much!

[@JamesVanCleaf]

Pos 3 on the DC/RM sounds insane. Was hoping they'd sound better in pos. 4 though, kinda left me dissatisfied

[@twowheels808]

Definitely have to tweak the eq for the dream/rain combo. Very muddy when compared to the d Sonic

[@illbeinyourband]

It would be very easy to get the DC/RM to match the DSonic/AN set. Just some very slight tweaks on the amp would do it. There is a richness to the DC in particular that I am enjoying!

[@twowheels808]

@@illbeinyourband I actually got me a DC and I’m gonna install it when I get the RM since it appears to be in back order along with just about every JP signature pickup on Sweetwater.

[@piedpeter1]

Not muddy but more fuzz around the edges, goes well into a mix imo.

[@Noone-ew2wk]

do you still use these pickups? I cant think of anything better than the dc rm combo tbh. Petrucci and DiMarzio worked on how many pickups together? These pickups are the results of over 20 years of experimentation and upgrades.

[@realtruenorth]

Nice playing,, PUs sound good to

[@illbeinyourband]

Thanks for listening! Much appreciated

[@LoiXeev]

Thats a nice guitar

[@illbeinyourband]

It’s a mid level, but I like it!!

[@jayz6008]

How do you like the guitar?

[@illbeinyourband]

It’s okay. It’s fine in standard tuning, but it doesn’t handle downtuning well, which I like to do!

[@jayz6008]

@@illbeinyourband would you say it's worth buying for $320 or would it be better if I saved up for something else? I would likely upgrade the pickups in thr s7420 so that would add to the overall cost . I kind of always wanted one of these and I have debated getting one through out the years lol. Usually they'll pop up locally, I think it over for a few days then it sells / disappears but theres a fairly new one for sale and I've been debating it.

[@illbeinyourband]

Can you try it out? My issue with this guitar was the quality control wasn’t great out of Indonesia. I had to do a full fret level because they were pretty bad (especially compared to Korean RGs I’ve had). Otherwise, it’s a great guitar. I really like the trem, even though it’s a budget version of the Zero, it’s head and shoulders above like the Edge Pro II. $320 sounds like a pretty great deal.

[@jayz6008]

@@illbeinyourband from my under standing the bridge on this guitar is it's own thing separate from the Edge bridges. I believe it's called a Zero Resistance (ZR) bridge and the exact versions were on the lower cost Ibanez all the way up to the Prestige line. I know they're known for staying in tune really well but they're no longer in production which is another reason why I have hesitated, if parts on it were to break could be a pain to find replacements. I think I will try and out, if it's in need of a fret level I may have to re think it, I don't want to pour too much $$ into it , or else I'd be better off just buying something different all together

[@illbeinyourband]

You’re right thanks for the reminder. It is a very solid trem system, it’s a shame the DCd it.

[@DadoSimicStudiostriver]

I prefer D-Sonic&Air Norton. Bridge more cuts, and neck is warmer, how it should be, but its just eq perspective. Otherwise sounds almost the same besides eq changes.

[@illbeinyourband]

It truly felt to me that some minor tweaks on the EQ would match them. I thought that demo was interesting in that his sound hasn’t change drastically over the years, just tiny refinements in what he’s looking for

[@DadoSimicStudiostriver]

@@illbeinyourband Pickups sounds bit fatter, i except split sounds are less bright, but somehow sound is more going in Les Paul territory, hard to explain, just overall bit more low mids, less high end. Made us some more sound examples. :)

[@theintermediateguitarist662]

Hey man, awesome video as always! I made a Cover of Phantom Lord by Metallica. After seeing your cover of Phantom Lord, I decided to make one myself. Check it out if you want 🎸

[@illbeinyourband]

Nice man! The production value is much higher than the last two! Keep at it. For certain songs, you can find the individual bass, drums and vocal tracks, on your next one you should use those, so that your guitar is all we hear (if you’re feeling brave lol)

[@theintermediateguitarist662]

@@illbeinyourband thanks! Yes, I have been wanting to make a cover of a drum bass and vocal track. I’m gonna make something great! Only problem is I don’t know what song I want to do next lol 🎸😂

[@Charlie_Chicago]

D Sonic sounds better.

[@illbeinyourband]

I wish it wasn’t so noisy, thing picks up a crazy amount of interference

[@Charlie_Chicago]

@@illbeinyourband I was looking to buy one for my 7 string. Does it take any special installation?

[@illbeinyourband]

@@Charlie_Chicago nothing out of the ordinary besides deciding which side you want the blade to face (towards bridge or not), but that’s just a matter of preference

[@Charlie_Chicago]

@@illbeinyourband Awesome. Thanks for the help man!

[@pskim1282]

For lead tone, AN sounds better to me.