DiMarzio Mirage Neck vs DiMarzio Chopper | In-depth analysis

‪@jakebowen‬'s latest ‪@LarryDiMarzio‬ Mirage model has a lot of similarities to the DiMarzio Chopper. Today, we're going over both of their specifications in-depth to understand how they're similar, what makes them different, and how that translates to the sound that comes out the amp.
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[@jakebowen]

Loving the breakdowns on the set, thanks for putting the time into these!

[@guitarpickupdatabase]

Thanks for watching Jake!

[@jule_7625]

Plus one for being interested how the Mirage Neck sounds in the bridge.

[@Bellatore8]

Just adding that the Chopper works great as a bridge pickup in a HSS configuration. I initially had the Fast Track 2 in the bridge but found that it didn’t pair well with the 60s single coils in my strat, it was a bit too high output and compressed. The Chopper was noticeably more dynamic in comparison and still has enough output to chug with

[@passionplayer7]

I would be amazing for pickup manufacturers to be this in-depth, even with just their own product! Looking forward to the PRS deep dive!

[@guitarpickupdatabase]

We have PRS pickups to test! What’s more interesting, the USA 58/15LT TCI vs 85/15 TCI, or the imports vs. USA versions?

[@absatz5]

Kudos! Seen a million pickup demos from different channels. This one is probably the best and most accurate approach to making a direct comparison that I have seen to date 👏 hope you will do more in the future

[@ianyoung8392]

There are three pickups from the Chopper family, you also have the satch track. Add in the Fast Track 1 and 2 because of the DNA of that rail family where they aren't replicating other humbuckers in the Dimarzio catalogue (Air Norton, Tone Zone, Super Distortion etc). It would have been great to compare all through 250k, 500k and 1 Meg would show how the pickups opens up with increasing headroom. So that would be the Fast Track 1 + 2, Chopper, Mirage + Satch Track. What's useful with this is that if you have your overdrive pushing hard on a modern distortion channel and you are boosting the effects loop with an EQ pedal then you get level retained with musical sustain/compression throughout the chain but the dynamics come from your pickups/playing directly with the diaphragm of the speaker at the end pushed to an optimal air pressure with the cabinet magnet. A really strong signal sensitive to picking dynamics (high end detail) that gets more elastic the more you only attenuate the overall signal ONLY at the power amp stage and front of desk. You can achieve something similar with a JHS black box in your effects loop and ideally an EQ neutral speaker (Celestion C90 or G12k100 for me in this regard) to maximise the sound of your guitar and overdrive flavour. Vintage 30's "twist" your sound at the end and I am happier working with a neutral canvas. Same with the clean channel if you use a compressor you can max out the level and then season carefully with the rest relying on an insanely strong and clear signal from the point of the first thing after the guitar jack to the speaker cabinet, it magnifies picking dynamics really well on high gain and clean so it encourages people to play relaxed and works very well with large heavy picks to feel the note.

[@toddwilliamson2651]

Great video as always. I think it would be interesting to do the Chopper bridge in the neck, vs the Mirage. Most of us who use the Chopper in the neck are using the bridge version because of Andy Timmons.

[@BlueThunderFan99]

I agree with the idea seeing what it's like in the bridge position. Maybe also showing how it sounds with 250k vs 500k pots

[@BlueThunderFan99]

@GuitarPickupDatabase and comparing the Mirage to the Satch track in the bridge (Dimarzio suggested a Satch Track in the bridge for my G&L)

[@Luxaudiodesigns]

Great content brother. You're providing very cool and unique information to the community

[@SouthpawSatch]

I've had a chopper for a few years now. I've owned a number of the rail dimarzio mini humbuckers and the chopper is one of my favourites. There's lots of clarify and it has the characteristics of both a single coil and a single coil depending on your technique, pick attack and set up. Great pickup imo

[@kripes4967]

Thank you for showcasing the pickup in parallel! My favorite 24-fret neck pickup tone is an Air Norton in parallel, so would love to hear the parallel comparison segment in more of your humbucker (of any size) demos! Appreciate your attention to detail.

[@kylekarich]

Great breakdown!

[@_mysilentblue2227]

Cool I love the detail you put into this video. At 254 subscribers I feel i'm getting in on the ground floor.

[@nickcormier]

Great video, well done.. I've been a big fan of the Chopper in the bridge, especially the T version. Might look at trying a Mirage for the neck though in the future!

[@richarde3378]

Great analysis. Subscribed!

[@ianyoung8392]

Chopper = greatest neck pickup of all time. All the best qualities of a single coil crossed with a late 50's paf. The bass has that same presence you get but much more in the Evo neck and Air Norton. Strong low mids. So you can do anything from Vai to Yngwie and you don't sound like a compromise at all.

[@Nichaelesv]

I like the Sean ashes lick played through that

[@pedroroggla8129]

wow... im about to buy one of this and this video comes in great!

[@SawWaveSurfer]

Algorithm. Cool idea for a channel. Would love comparisons between original P90s and the various humbucker sized P90s like the DiMarzios and SD Phat Cats.

[@vox1962]

I liked the mirage for chords but the chopper for the lead

[@OrkhanJulfa]

The same for me

[@OrkhanJulfa]

I have Chopper with this solderless plug system. Looks like all new DiMarzio rail pups have it. Also solderless Custom Shop FRED humbucker. Mirage resembles me FRED with slightly cut bass.

[@mikemph7779]

Say I put one of these on a telecaster in the bridge position. What would pair well as a neck pickup ?

[@mkguitarhero]

Thank you so much ordered one in chrome to go with satchu8 :)

[@6oundStudio]

great video as always! keep up the great work!

[@guitarpickupdatabase]

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback.

[@zAvAvAz]

i am was looking at this single twin blade to go in the middle of my sugar chadra bridge and DActivator neck pickup. What else would you recommend? The super distortion single? Maybe. Although maybe that base is covered by the sugar. Just trying to get a wide array of detail on the strings while playing a really thrash def black metal kind of thing that has jazzy and shrilly things going on. It is like a groovey rythum metal with hook riffs and some key changes. I figure either the chopper , mirage, or bareknuckle cobras can give some pick detail in the middle, however also thought on P90's just do not know one with enough blazing blown hair back midrange zing. The single coils don't do that, however just thinking of some sounds. i am like the fact of the Neo magnet giving it some bandwidth. Really like the IGNO humbucker as well as all the dual resonance tech pickups. Well anything leading to mine landing correctly and awesome combo be much appreciated thanks for any other ideas and for this great tech video of science and chemistry..

[@nacienlos70]

Would be interesting to compare the mirage to the cruiser, they seem very similar, rather bright and single coily sounding.

[@miho4066]

So what do you suppose they mean by “super saturated single coil sound that was a mix between The Cruiser™ and The Chopper™ models”? Does this get stratty like the Cruiser but sing more with distortion like the Chopper?

[@guitarpickupdatabase]

I'm honestly not entirely sure what they meant by that in the description. Kind of like the Titan and Mirage bridge, the Chopper and Mirage neck are two flavors of a very similar category. The Cruiser is definitely farther from the Mirage than the Chopper is. The Fast Track 1, Satch Track, and Pro Track all sit between both Cruiser models and the Mirage/Chopper.

[@mrkrud]

Would love a lower output chopper variant for my strat neck. Wonder if I could just replace the magnet

[@flufficornss]

i wasnt expecting that big of a difference when you did the showcases of them, but i was suprised how when clean and heavy its really clear that frequency bump the mirage has, in the mid gain tone it was a bit more of a toss up for me though

[@flufficornss]

also the jbm position makes it much smoother and more rounded out sounding makes everything kinda compressed sounding

[@marianoarnaiz]

should do the satch track in the mix. I think it is also based on the chopper!

[@Livelaughlimpbizkit]

Genuinely surprised by how single coily they sound! I mean it's still very different but they still retain that touch of SC

[@gabrielfiedler5550]

Hi, Great comparison! And wondering about your thoughts of using the Maroge as a neck pick up on a Strat for bluesy, thicker, edge of break up tones ? Would you choose the Mirage or would you choose a different pick up?

[@guitarpickupdatabase]

I wouldn’t recommend the Mirage if that’s your goal. In parallel it could sort of do that, but there are other pickups that are designed specifically for that. That’s not this pickup’s goal. If you’re looking for that, I’d look for a strat pickup in the high-6k DCR range and alnico 5. If you want a DiMarzio noiseless option, I’d look at the Area 61 or the Cruiser. Check out our website (guitarpickupdatabase.com) and you can compare all major models by their specs.

[@gabrielfiedler5550]

@@guitarpickupdatabase Thanks vey much!!

[@nacienlos70]

I completely agree on the watermarks on pickups, I can´t stand it. Would paint it black with a permantent marker.

[@Annunaki_0517]

Chopper seems like the clear winner to my ears.

[@marianoarnaiz]

Can you talk about the dimarzio virtual solo and the fast track 1?

[@joachimlindback]

Thx even I can not hear any difference on the distorted tones.

[@christianboddum8783]

The Mirage is just that little better with definition, and that wins in the end for me.

[@thomaschilds8781]

Any new videos incoming? One idea, how different can 2 humbuckers possibly sound if they have the same dc resistance and magnet type? Do these headline stats account for most of the tone? Half the tone?

[@guitarpickupdatabase]

Definitely new videos coming in the next few weeks. I took some time off catching up on my work and dealing with a bad concussion I discussed on my Instagram account. As to your question, it really depends. Generally, they do capture a lot of the tone. But if something is abnormal, such as an unexpected wire gauge, a different sized magnet, internal changes, that can all create a large affect that makes it incomparable by normal specs. Let’s take the DiMarzio EJ as an example. By it’s specs (8k, A5), it should fall in the PAF category. But it uses 44AWG wire instead of 42AWG. That makes it sound much brighter, and more like a single coil. Luckily, DiMarzio does a great job explaining this in their details, but many companies will not do this. I’ve seen many “overwound strat” pickups that have a higher DCR, but they achieve that with a thin wire gauge. That makes them much brighter and whimper than expected. TLDR; ask your pickup provider what wire gauge is used. DCR can be useful once you have that. But without it, using DCR is kind of like expecting all measurements you hear to be in inches. You might be right a lot of the time, but sometimes that number might actually be in centimeters. Then you’re way off.

[@gregv297]

Which would be best for Yngwie-style stuff? I have a Tone Zone bridge.

[@guitarmainiac80]

Dimarzio Injector bridge model is amazing in the neck with the Tone zone and 500k pots. Yngwie tones with output to match the Tone zone. 👍

[@diarrhea_splatter]

I couldn't stand the Chopper

[@RICO_SUAVE21]

These are great with high gain…. Terrible on the clean imo 🥸