DiMarzio Tone Zone with the EVH 5150 III

[@angusorvid8840]

The Tone Zone gets a very harmonic crunch. Very controllable, responsive pickup.

[@JoelDucote]

Thanks! Yes, I do feel that the Omen Extreme is a good platform for upgrades. Although the only think that I felt needed upgrading were the pickups. It's got a mahogany body with a maple cap. Rosewood board on a maple neck. The neck feels good in my hands. My only complaint was the pickups. SO I simply swapped them out. It's a great guitar.

[@AkiraSpectrum]

dang these Dimarzio Tone Zone's sound wicked.

[@Murphy_R9]

AkiraSpectrum Yeah i agree they have a great growl to them

[@JoelDucote]

Yes, the DiMarzios that I chose are coil splittable.

[@angusorvid8840]

I set up all my DiMarzios for coil splitting. They do it better than any other pups.

[@D20band]

Anyone tried the TZ in alder hard tail guitar?

[@bucknasty69]

I’ve got a Tone Zone in an alder hardtail partscaster I put together and I dig it. I started with a Super Distortion but that was way too bright. I had an old Tone Zone laying around so I threw it in there and I really liked the way it sounded so I left it.

[@angusorvid8840]

I've been using DiMarzios since the mid 80s, starting with the PAF Pro, Super Distortion, Double Whammy, and MegaDrive. Eventually, the MegaDrive became my main pickup and I had it in about ten guitars at one time. I've used many DiMarzios over the years, and have had more Tone Zones than any other model. I have the Tone Zone/Air Norton set in a number of guitars, including a Schecter Diamond Deluxe C6, really an entry level Schecter, and it sounds amazing! It just roars, and it's a very easy guitar to play. I Also use the Norton/Air Norton set on a few guitars and love it. It's like the TZ but with more treble than bass and slightly less output. Still, a lot of crunch, sustain, and harmonics just fly. I also used the Super 3/Super 2 combo on some strats and love it. But yeah, the Tone Zone is awesome. It's designed to handle massive overdrive and still have a lot of nuance. You play it damn well, BTW. Keep rocking.

[@JoelDucote]

My first DiMarzio was a PAF Pro. I bought it because that's what Steve Vai used. lol! I installed my first Tone Zone in 1997ish. It was my go to pickup for the bridge position until the mid 2000s. There is definitely a DiMarzio sound. It something in the mids. A vowel like thing. I've moved away from that sound in recent years, but every now and again, I get a guitar that calls for what the Tone Zone delivers.

[@angusorvid8840]

@@JoelDucote The Tone Zone is one of my top five favorite pickups of all time. It's everything I wish a JB was. I owned an original handwound JB that came on an old classic Holdsworth strat I had in the 80s. Great pup. I eventually put it in another guitar and put a Super Distortion then a Tone Zone in the Charvel which was perfect. Yes, there is a DiMarzio sound and it's very mid focused but generally with fuller, lower mids than what you hear on Duncans and generally with more clarity. I find Duncans have too much in the high mids and I can't stand high mid pups, they always cheese out on the high end and get shrill and the low and just falls apart. One DiMarzio worth trying, which is very unusual in design, is the Steve's Special. It has very dialed back mids and has a lot of clarity with high gain and tight, powerful lows with no mud. Great pickup. Not everyone's cup of tea and by the description it would normally turn me off, but I took a chance on one couple years ago and have now owned three. They let you fill in the mids with the amp,, and with the sort of high gain amp you play, the EVH, it's going to sound awesome. They are great with the Air Norton. I also love the Air Zone which is like a Tone Zone with less output and a lot more clarity. It has very responsive low end but much more clarity than the Tone Zone. I think it's fairly close to the Andy Timmons pup or the EVH Music man bridge pup. It pairs great with the Air Norton.

[@adrianoganzarolli859]

iNCREDIBLE!

[@NAZGVL_147]

Solid tone man!! \m/

[@disturbed4life1996]

Great tone!Is this guitar good base for upgrades? (changing pickups ,hardware etc.)

[@joemarabella2145]

Is the Tone Zone noisy? The Crunch Lab and Air Zone has been, the X2N and Super Distortion hasn't been

[@JoelDucote]

I didn't find the Tone Zone to be noisy. You may want to check the grounding on your guitar.

[@joemarabella2145]

@@JoelDucote Just got the Tone Zone installed. There's no output

[@JoelDucote]

Joe MArabella that doesn’t sound right. Check to see if there is a cold solder. The Tone Zone should have a ton of output.

[@joemarabella2145]

@@JoelDucote It does look like the pickup is installed very low/far away from the strings, but not sure if this is the case

[@JoelDucote]

Joe MArabella granted, it’s all a matter of preference, but I usually run my pickups about 3/32 from the string. You can pick up a small ruler from any hardware store to check the measurement. It’s an easy adjustment.

[@jerbear1601]

Dududududududah! Dududududududah! Dududududududah! Hey yeah! Dududududududah!

[@Danvezina]

Joel how does the growl of the Tone Zone compare with the Tone of the SD Custom? The low end and growl of the tone zone is awesome in these clips.

[@JoelDucote]

The Tone Zone was a good pairing for that guitar. I actually think the Custom has a better mid range growl. I personally try to match a pickup to each guitar based off of what works best for a given application.

[@AkiraSpectrum]

how do you like the Tone Zone? positives/negatives?

[@JoelDucote]

I think the Tone Zone is a great pickup. In some guitars, I really like it. In some I don't. Just depends on what I want out of that guitar. In the right guitar, it's fat and balanced. Harmonics just off the fretboard. The not separation is very good as well. Just a great all around pickup.

[@AkiraSpectrum]

joel ducote sounds like what I'm looking for, thanks!

[@swanation45]

what were your red channel settings here?

[@JoelDucote]

Gain- 1:00, Bass- 1:00, Mids- 10:30, Treble- 12:00, Presence- 11:00

[@disturbed4life1996]

Do you still have the split coil option with these pickups?

[@LFC-Star]

as they've 4 wires on the pickups.. Then yes they're coil tap capable.However I would recommend you change your tone pot to a 500k one if you intend to do coil taps.

[@dayne1ful]

Does this guitar require f spaced versions of Dimarzios?

[@JoelDucote]

I found that the F Spaced pickups do line up better with the strings on these guitars.

[@dayne1ful]

Thanks and do you have any other pickup recommendations for this guitar ?

[@LFC-Star]

yes you'll need F Spaced for the bridge.. Neck can be Normal spaced.

[@olejoergenmalm16]

Is that standard tuning or Drop-D?

[@JoelDucote]

Drop d.

[@joemarabella2145]

@@JoelDucote Is Drop D sort of similar to d standard?

[@JoelDucote]

Joe MArabella if you take Standard running and drop the low E down a step to D ... that’s drop d. It allows for swift power chord transitions.

[@JoelDucote]

@@joemarabella2145 It is similar to D Standard in that the lowest string is tuned to D. The main difference in a dropped tuning is that you can play a root/fifth/octave power chord with only one finger. So to play a G5 power chord instead of 355 you would play 555.

[@markolivares6943]

Dude I just bought the same pickups and they fucking scream !!

[@123lowp]

tone zone has a "cocked wah" sound all the fucking time... I don't like it.