Battle of the Yngwie Malmsteen Pickups - Di Marzio HS-3 vs Seymour Duncan YJM Fury

[@MrPolevaulter]

Want to hear me, and some other people, playing some Yngwie? Check out this playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLNaLwTdlpQNFMOAPGrLAGqirCvBsokngd

[@photoguy4212]

The Dimarzios sing. The Duncan’s scream. Both sound amazing but the Dimarzios sound legendary.

[@likeanuuk6612]

dimarzio sounds way more like normal strat pickups, it gave yngwie a unique sound using them with distortion. the duncans just sound more like regular humbuckers

[@MrPolevaulter]

They do sound a bit more humbucky (the Duncans). That's probably because they're hotter. A lot of people seem to like the HS-3s. They're great, but I still prefer the YJM Furys.

[@christophercain9876]

I think they sound same.

[@JJLipton]

Ive played them both and with the Dimarzios you really need to stack on the gain to shred. They're quite underpowered ( the output is lower than vintage Strat pickups) but have a great smooth tone. The Duncans have a much more aggressive harder edge and don't require as much gain. I think for recording the dimarzios are better but for just jamming in a room at lower volumes the Duncans were so much more fun.

[@Pazuzu-]

100% agree. Dimarzio any day.

[@sergiomichelmusic]

I was friends with Yngwie's personal Luther, and actually lived in an apartment on the 2nd floor of the shop. Yngwie used to come by and hang out all the time. It was great. I've seen The Duck and all the main guitars disassembled all the time. I know well into the early 2000s, he still had the DiMarzio for sure. The story he told me, was that DiMarzio would not bend on the pickup profile Yngwie wanted. They basically said "this is perfect, don't mess with it", but Duncan gave Yngwie tons of different winds, materials, prototypes etc I til he found the one he liked, and then he left DiMarzio. Bjorn Englen (Yngwie's former bassist) was also my bassist and we used to talk about this all the time on tour. I personally like the HS-3. I had them on the neck of my 1st Fender. The Fury in the bridge would probably be better. I myself though, really like the Fender Texas Specials in my strat. I have also Vintage Noiseless that I like very much.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cool bananas :)

[@asherasator]

@@angusorvid8840 There was on here GIT students interviewing Yngwie when he came to the US and was in Steeler, one of the students had a strat with stacked single coils, Yngwie played it and was shocked there was no noise. That's when he was first introduced to stacked pickups and must've already been a thing in LA.

[@ActivateBeastMode1]

​@@asherasatordo you know where this video can still be found? I noticed Malmsteen management had it taken down of course. Probably because he admits that he practices to the students which in all of his recent interviews he claims he doesn't practice.

[@asherasator]

@@ActivateBeastMode1 I have the video and uploaded it here but after a few weeks Yngwie had it removed. He claimed copyright because the video has some of his early songs on it. Him being petty is disturbing, as his songs are all over youtube. He just doesn't want others to hear certain things.

[@ActivateBeastMode1]

@@asherasator it's because he now claims he has never practiced in his life and in that video he literally tells them he does certain speed drills. I would love to hear it again. Just hearing him play di meola even for a brief second was fascinating. Also it's mainly his wife that is patrolling the Internet and deleting all of this stuff about him.

[@pennyh.e.packer611]

I slightly prefer the Dimarzio recorded tones. However the Duncans feel so much better when playing in the room through an amp. With the Dimarzios, the very lower-than-vintage output requires you to pile on the gain or volume. The duncan's slightly higher output and more aggressive voicing is perfect for playing at bedroom volume levels. I would love to hear the split tones with a 5 way switch, with some clean reverb and compression and chorus for an 80s sound.

[@stiffrichard2816]

One thing a lot of Strat players don't do right, you should first set your amp's settings to make the bridge pickup sound good, then go from there. Don't expect it to be as thick as a humbucker, just tight yet solid lows and mids, and not too bright. Then raise the height of the high E side very close to the string so you get a strong note that sustains, then bring the low E side down until you can hear all the notes in a full chord clearly and the low strings sound tight and crisp. Then switch over to the neck pickup and do the same thing but go back and forth with the bridge so that they're balanced. When adjusting the neck pup itself, the low E side will wind up being set very low to get the boomyness out of the low strings so be careful not to go too far and drop it in. Once they're set, you can balance the middle pup in between. This is why a lot of strat players can't get the bridge pickup to sound good and always just go to the neck. It begins with the bridge pickup. And try to do this through your main amp. If you still find the bridge pup too bright, try wiring the neck tone pot to it. If you want to fatten it, install a base plate. There are a few different types out there.

[@drexlspivey5828]

How do you mean raise the high E side close to the string...?

[@drexlspivey5828]

Ah, you mean the pickup? Got you

[@stiffrichard2816]

@@drexlspivey5828 I revised it.

[@trilogyopus]

There are many comparison clips between these two pickups on the net, but often it was almost impossible for me to hear tonal difference. What I hear in this clip is exactly tonal difference what I experienced with these two pickups. The Fury is not bad at all, but HS3 is truly YJM signature tone (especially early works), period.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Good thing I managed to capture that then :) Thanks for the comment.

[@richiebohr5421]

The Duncan's are higher output but the DiMarzio's sounded better. Just crank the amp a bit when you use the DiMarzio's and you'll be fine!

[@timmcnabb2282]

Came for the pickups, stayed for the playing! Nice job man! A bunch of youtubers demo are tough to listen to cuz the playing is ,,,rough. But you are a pleasure to listen to! Thanks! I have the Dimarzios, was just wondering how it compares, thanks!

[@jedimindfrak82]

Great video, you've helped me decide to go with the Dimarzios. The Duncans are too dark and not as Stratty. Plus the tones from Yngwie's classic albums (the tones everyone chase) were made with the Dimarzios 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@ActivateBeastMode1]

Feel like the Yng has to have hearing damage at this point from all of the shows over the years which leads him to liking the Duncans better because they are hotter. Doesn't make them better tho

[@PinkPaisleymusic]

Spot on!

[@invay69]

Think on this: All the greatest Yngwie albums were composed with the Hs DiMarzios. The legendary tone and magic! When he started to use Duncans, he got muddy and crappy sounding...

[@MrPolevaulter]

Yes, because the entirety of his tone and compositional ability is in his old pickups.

[@joshmuz9018]

@@MrPolevaulter took me a few re reads to realise this was sarcasm haha

[@arnelwizardvlog]

It's TRUE, it so obvious that the duncan have a muddy sound.....the dimarzio HS3 is the winner ....🤟

[@themadmattster9647]

His producing his own albums and insistence on doing everything himself doesn’t help either. That said I prefer the HS3s

[@Returnality]

I like the Duncan Bridge and Dimarzio neck.

[@tomaburque]

Dimarzio has a patent for making pickups without strong magnets so they have less string pull which I think is important.

[@wayne3340]

Which came out in the 90's? I think it was the Dimarzios. I had a custom Strat built some years ago and the Luthier suggested I put a Malmsteen stacked humbucker in the neck position. I believe it was before the SD came out. Late 90's I think. I had a Fred in the bridge and no middle pickup. Should have kept it.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Dimarzios.

[@jake2355]

4:12 4:47 Best way to compare

[@tanshaomala]

Ahhh Unagi this comment should be pinned. I have both and what you hear in those two timestamps is exactly the difference.

[@Rammetallist]

Спасибо! Храни тебя бог!

[@EricTViking]

I went with HS3s, not such a big fan of Yngwies later work or sound. Great video 👍

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cool, thanks!

[@hectorguzman8435]

My favorites are the DM HS3. I have them both the SD Fury in my YJM Strat and the DiMarzio in my Squier Strat. HS 4 neck, Wilkinson vintage middle and HS3 bridge. The HS3 produces in my personal taste my favorite perfect tune I want. I enjoy both brands!

[@cisco680]

I just bought a used American Professional with YJM pickups in it, so I guess I put my money where my mouth is. I've been looking for the right Strat for a long time and finally found it! Thanks for the comparison, I found it helpful.

[@gsm2424]

thnxs for this video, i do like both of them a lot, but just for personal preferences i would go for the HS3.

[@robertbarrass7519]

Listened to this again after a year and even more strongly agree with the Di Marzio being the more true to malmsteen tone. Bearing in mind i prefer his tone up until mid 90's then (still di marzio i know) when he just seemed to add extra OD and ridiculous amount of delay. I think,to me, it is like the difference between a PAF and a higher output humbucker, PAF needs the extra boost but the tone is inherently "sweeter" and that is the difference here? They have that "buttery" neck tone which the Fury's seem to have lost. The Duncans just sound like excellent rock pickups without the the warmth to my ears! I have tried both by the way. and the Di Marzio with the right boost and amp,is that stupendous tone we all loved (back in the day hehe!)

[@loreart8161]

Usually I prefer Duncan over DiMarzio but this time I have to say DiMarzio HS3 are a lot better. At 7:00 on the rhythmic parts, the notes are too muddy while on the HS3 you can hear every single string. Being a huge fan of the early Malmsteen albums and "Trilogy" being my favourite, HS3s is what I would choose!

[@juancarlosprevostzarate7077]

Agree!

[@llluuuyyyooo]

Yngwie's rushin ascending runs have the "boom" sound discussed here, also his wild vibratos. Hell yeah

[@mirkojovanovic3216]

great video. love hs3 as you say both sets are good. got 1996 YJM strat and replaced original pickguard with FURY pickguard from seymour duncan. never regreted it.

[@jackmaddox4960]

Here's an interesting tale of pickup serendipity: I'm just putting together a new Strat, ebony fretboard, 3.25 lbs alder body, super-thin nitro cellulose lacquer, but wasn't sure what PU's to put in it... Wanted something noiseless, and I tend to prefer a humbucker in the the bridge position, so I looked at some Rails for that, but they're really hot, so finally had a friend rewind a Hot Rails for me, and replace the magnet, giving it a much more vintage PAF vibe... But then I was picking through an old box of junk I brought with when I moved from Germany to the US, and to my amazement, I found the first two pickups I ever bought, somewhere around 1984 as a kid of 16, to put into the neck and bridge of a gutted old Ibanez Roadstar II that was my first 'real' guitar... And those two pickups: Dimarzio HS-3's..! I restored the old Roadstar to original in the early 90's, found a complete original Ibanez pick guard for it, and gave it to my nephew. I threw the old Dimarzios in a box, where along with THREE different original Sony Walkman cassette players, and a bunch of Van Halen, Scorpions, Ozzy, AC/DC, and Iron Maiden cassettes, they eventually found there way from lower Saxony to the American Southwest. And now the HS-3's live in the new Strat, where they sound FREAKIN' AMAZING, and are the perfect match for the under-wound Rails pickup in the bridge. I play with .10 - .52 D'addarios (Light Top/Heavy Bottom set), and those pickups just wail and growl like crazy. I'd totally forgotten about them for almost 30 years, and after that long sleep, and traveling halfway around the planet, they've found a home in a guitar I imagine I'll be playing for a long time to come. I know this story doesn't have anything to do with the pickup comparison of this video, and I apologize, but I thought y'all might appreciate the way it happened. And, it goes without saying, to my ears HS-3's all the way! Though I have owned many Seymour Duncans, which are overall as good as Dimarzios, as well as Lindy Fralins, T.V. Jones, Burns, Armstrongs, DeArmond, and all the factory PU's too... So many good pickups out there, they all have a voice and a place, I make it a mission to find the ones that fit the guitar perfectly, regardless of brand & model. It's like my own personal match-making service! Anyway, cheers, and thanks for the great comparison video!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks for the story. Cool stuff :)

[@ramlihassan8238]

Just recieve my yjm guitar yesterday... My dream guitar.... Cant wait to jam with my friend

[@MrPolevaulter]

Have fun!

[@arisl2370]

The Duncan's to me sound less sweeter but clearer to my ears...they come across as slightly brighter...Either way this was an excellent demo and much appreciated ! Finally i've heard these pickups properly side by side.

[@MrPolevaulter]

aris Glad to be of service 😊

[@larryschmollinger5694]

This is a clean sound. With tons of reverb.. Because I like it.

[@AJDOLDCHANNELARCHIVE]

The HS-3's sound more like real single coils, very similar sounding to my 1988 MIJ Fender Contemporary Standard Strat with Kahler trem. Great demonstration, cheers!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cheers!

[@Mrbadluck65]

I put HS3`s in one of my strats to test them on how they sounded doing Hendrix type blues rock. I later put them in more of my strats because they are higher output which pushes the front of the amp harder, which is great for smaller venues, where you can`t blow the roof off the joint with volume, plus they clean up really good when you roll back the volume, AND they have more note definition when you play faster stuff with distortion. I think they`re fantastic.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cool!

[@wick67]

Came here just looking for a bit of perspective on what the HS-3 is all about, not from a Yngwie fan point of view. I have a Strat I bought 2nd hand about 15 years ago, and some... things have been done to it. I just took it apart to find out what's what. It started life as a 2000 Lone Star or 2000/2001 American Strat Texas Special. Originally the neck pickup was a Fender Texas Special, but now it's a DiMarzio HS-3, and I have to say, it's a pretty good sounding pickup in that place. Not quite as sold on the SD Alnico II Pro staggered in the mid spot. Now, as to why all of this was put on a vintage 11 hole pickguard that doesn't fit the modern 11 hole body, I have no idea. the whole upgrade looks to be a bit of a butcher job. But hey, it was $300 Canadian, so not at all a loss. in any case, thanks for the perspective, and your quite exquisite playing! Salut!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thank you very much :)

[@cd8292]

I know this video is old as hell but I was able to get a original 1988 YJM signature strat and it came with the dimarzio, I did not really like the dimarzio pickups that much and then I saw this video and it really helped me, I bought the YJM seymour duncan and put those on the guitar and it freaking screams, I do prefer the YJM, it was a nice upgrade. Thanks

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks!

[@samuelbalazs196]

Thank you for demoing clean aswell as dirty

[@VanjaSpirin]

I had hs3 in my strat. Sounds great for blues as well. Those pickups sing.

[@donsmith5385]

I really like the Dimarzio’s, the furypickups sound close to the BL L-250 which I been using for some time, it’s whatMalmsteen was using before the Dimarzio

[@MrPolevaulter]

Yeah I read about those somewhere.

[@portalwork286]

Hey! I am the ORIGINAL Ynvei J Malmsteen, of course I have the ORIGINAL 2007 Di Marzio¨s model, and I´m still astonished how beautiful sounds, and now I´ve gotten so used to the scalloped fretboard (I´ve had it for over 2 years) that now it is hard for me to play on a regular Guitar.

[@Korrado72]

I have both in two different Strats. I prefer DiMarzio, but my clean boost is always on, even when I need a pure clean sound. I prefer this way rather than using hotter pickups. Texas Specials are my favorite single coil pickups, but they can be noisy in some live situations. With the DiMarzio HS-3 and a clean boost I can get close to the Texas Special, and knowing it is what Malmsteen was using in his first albums just makes me feel better, haha...

[@MrPolevaulter]

Haha :D

[@metlguitar02]

Konrad K nice comment. It’s always interesting to hear other people’s experience and opinion. I also have a Texas Special and it sounds amazing tonally. It’s just that damn hum that’s an issue, but the ISP Decimator II helps a lot cleaning up that unwanted noise. Rock on!

[@alexpapadimitriou6242]

@@metlguitar02 Hey mate am thinking with the HS3s or the Antiquity Texas Hot, any recommendation? I like cross between Yngwie and Nick Johnstone. Thanks in advance.

[@francesco0185]

I thought - don't know why - the Seymour Duncan had more output, but from this point of view the two sets are the same. I have a Dave Murray USA Strat, the one with two Di Marzio Humbucker and the signal is very low. Now I'd like to compare the Di Marzio Malmsteen Strat with the Di Marzio Kotzen Strat!

[@MrPolevaulter]

They do have more output.

[@kobayashimaruaikiken]

Liked the video for expressing the best reason to use lots of reverb.

[@MrPolevaulter]

:)

[@markwalter9218]

Those fury's are killer pickups, love em.

[@derwinmoss5709]

I'd say they're fairly close, and both sound excellent. Maybe the DiMarzio's might be a little more flexible, as the Duncan's have a bit more output. The DiMarzio's sound a bit more "pure" when you're playing them with a clean tone. However, I'm wondering if the rosewood fingerboard gives the Strat with DiMarzio's a slightly warmer and more focused tone. The Duncan's have a killer tone when you're pushing the amp into overdrive. It's hard to choose between the two for me, I'd probably leave the DiMarzio's in, just so you have a bit of variety. Thanks for posting this!

[@MrPolevaulter]

You might be right. Although the Duncans clean up really nicely. The rosewood guitar is much better. It's an absolute killer guitar. Best I've ever played. The other one is good, but just good.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Derwin Moss And you're absolutely right about them being close.

[@derwinmoss5709]

And excellent playing too, Elmo!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Derwin Moss Thanks 😊

[@sean7193]

@@MrPolevaulter other then the wood differences what would you say makes the rosewood one better? Tighter tolerances on the neck joint and just overall better build? the rosewood one is of course older? maybe they were doing a better job of them back in the dimarzio days. what year is your maple? I have a 2015 maple, seems pretty good. also what gauge strings do you runs on yours? cheers.

[@joedinofrio8189]

I bought the vintage HS3’s with no screw for my 2 70’s Strats for the bridge position, And I installed the same era HS2’s in the neck, and it sings beautifully through my ‘71 Marshall’s.. You do have to crank the overdrive, but the tone is legendary.. at least in the room. And I end up keeping the tone on the clean side

[@sullyluther5519]

His best tone, IMHO, was with Alcatrazz- DiMarzio FS-2. I believe John Norum's Paoletti guitars have them.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Sully Luther I've heard of those yeah. Should test them at some point.

[@sullyluther5519]

My error, FS-1: www.paolettiguitars.com/product/stratospheric-winejn/

[@MrPolevaulter]

Alex Morris Not sure. Maybe around his first solo album.

[@sullyluther5519]

I believe both the HS-1 and 2 were originally developed for Eric Johnson

[@starblaster77]

@Alexander J. Morris It's hard to tell with the first Alcatrazz album. It's pretty stratty and I've heard that the Fs1 is not that straty. He definetly had them live with Alcatrazz. At least the No parole for rock n roll. There's a live bootleg of a concert he with steeler and you could hear the hum come and attack his notes during his solo. I didn't hear anything like that with the Alcatrazz stuff. But who knows. I could be wrong.

[@nickyd9361]

The SD's would suit my needs in a live setting, & i've had a little addiction for the HS3 neck pickup for while, i'd still use that when recording.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cool bananas :)

[@SteveMavronis]

Had to go back and watch this video again. I have a modded satin Strat with YJM-Fury's in them and they are great. I have a custom made maple/maple SuperStrat with a pair of guitarheads Mini Rails (which I guess are comparable to SD Hot Rails) and they are high output and don't really sound Straty. So I'm thinking about replacing them with either the HS-3 pickups or YJM-Fury pickups. I overdrive cleanish low watt tube amps anyway with pedals and love a more versatile "noiseless" pickup tone for all styles.

[@Liushenfanushui]

You should use the same one guitar loaded with these two different pickup-sets each time, to be accurate.

[@vinnyjamea96]

I think the fury pickup is a lot thinner sounding than the DiMarzio pickup but I do like that chunkiness in the fury but Yngwie Malmsteen likes that high treble he got that from Ritchie Blackmore

[@mavainfigatomareva]

First time I hear Blackmore in your demos! Please we need more Blackmore! :D

[@dancandersen]

It all depends on what amp you use. And style. I use the yjm furys (malmsteen strat) for country as well, and they work perfectly for every situation :-)

[@UptempoMusicLessons]

Would be better to test them on the same guitar.

[@michaelcraig9449]

Compare both guitars with the Marshall, switch the DOD 250 off and on to hear the difference in just Marshall and adding 250, and nothing else.

[@HarryThomsen]

Great playing, man - I definitely preferred the DiMarzios

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks a lot!

[@andydigelsomina7888]

I'm a long time lover of Dimarzio HS. The Seymour Duncan have both better bass and are darker, especially the neck pup. That said, if you're looking for something more all around, go for the HS. The YJMs are more spooky sounding Phrygian and harmonic minor realms, where you can get the brighter and crisper early Yngwie sounds from the HS. They're both great, but have distinct differences.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Yep. Small differences. Both great pickups.

[@wj74]

Dimarzio wins but I can hear newer Yngwie in those Duncans. Great playing too! But some backstory from my memory....the HS-3 was used by Eric Johnson too. They are wired to be intentionally less output. The theory as I recall is that an amp with higher gain with a pickup with less output helps create more sustain with a cleaner tone, hence EJ’s “violin tone”. EVH also had underwound his PAF’s resulting in a tone that screams and sustains yet is oddly not that saturated in distortion (circa 1984). Personally, I’d suspect that Dimarzio was was either unwilling to or didn’t like Yngwie’s whatever, and so Yngwie jumped to SD and bad mouths the HS-3 but it’s probably not a fair assessment of great tone

[@MrPolevaulter]

Might be. Oh, and thanks :)

[@johnsavchak8202]

Someone who understands. Higher output will compress the frequency response. The fact that the DiMarzio pickups were state of the art, what? Thirty years ago? Didn't Eric Johnson disconnect one of the coils in his HS?

[@Rypsolisti]

@@johnsavchak8202 I think he did disconnect the other coil and if my memory serves Eric Johnson used HS-2 in bridge position.

[@jefftherealdrunk]

For a truly fair comparison the guitars need to be identical. Better yet, they should be done on the same guitar and just swap out the whole pickguard. There is a HUGE difference between even just the maple vs the rosewood, not to mention body/neck density/weight and hardware, age etc

[@MrPolevaulter]

Absolutely. On the other hand, to get a proper feel for any gear you need to try it yourself, and any video on KZbin is just supposed to be a general guide. But you are right.

[@221b-l3t]

No there isn't. Pickup height and position is all that matters.

[@GooberGoo-mz8jv]

I, just bought the Duncan's. Thanks for the input. Although I didn't realize that they are hotter than the Dimarzio's. Either way, they both sound great :)

[@davidbakerscuba]

Elmo, do you like the wider spacing of the vintage trem or the narrower of a Floyd or Am Standard Strat. I was thinking of changing the vintage spaced trem on my YJM Stratocaster to a narrower spaced. Callaham makes a trem with vintage spacing for the 6 holes but the saddles are narrower. For pedaling riffs and string changes, things are closer together. Plus, the top E string doesn't want to pull off as easily. Thank you for all of the feedback you give. It is much appreciated.

[@MrPolevaulter]

I don't really care too much. Even a 7-string is fine. Glad you enjoy the videos :)

[@gwEmbassy]

Thanks for the comparison. I think both sets have their pros and cons. I don’t think anyone would be disappointed with either

[@starblaster77]

I played the Seymour Duncans and it was cool to hear how they were different. I still love the Hs-3. I just wish they louder! How much louder are the yjm’s? The Seymour Duncan’s have a really cool eq on the recent yjm strats I’ve played.

[@MrPolevaulter]

They are a bit louder. It's not a huge difference, but very noticeable.

[@christophercain9876]

The rosewood fretboard and maple sound different I use rosewood for rhythm work and maple for leads. I think pickups sound same the fretboard make bigger difference than pickups

[@MrPolevaulter]

Christopher Cain The pickups are different. The maple one used to have DiMarzios too. The guitars are different too. The construction and materials on the rosewood one are far superior. It's actually the best guitar I've ever tried.

[@woolgum]

Hm, I don’t know. Maybe in the neck of a HS guitar. I need a humbucker in the bridge. Single coils sound crappy in there with high gain.

[@jacksonk7566]

whats the riff you play at 5:40? soudns awesome

[@MrPolevaulter]

Stone Cold by Rainbow.

[@DanGower]

Awesome playing and tones man!

[@gameroftheyear1000]

As much as I love Seymour Duncan pickups, I give this to DiMarzio because like Steve vai and Ace Frehley alike, the basis of their tones are because they all use DiMarzio pickups.

[@rorycunningham5457]

The YJM furys are great if you hook them up like Eric Johnson does with the tone control connected to the bridge pickup otherwise they are just way to bright.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Bucky Sackabreski I like them just the way they are. I do use the tone pot on occasion though. Depends what I'm after.

[@ChristosNikolis]

Great review Elmo! \m/ 5:56 sounds a LOT like Savatage as well! Do you remember exactly which gear/config you had that day, PLEASE?? I saw you listed all your equipment on the video description - and thanks for that - but any extra info would be hot! Thanks a lot for your time.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks! No, can't remember. Think I was using the Axe-FX II then.

[@ChristosNikolis]

@@MrPolevaulter Ah that's amazing, thank you! I guess even if you can't be 100% sure, your recommendation must be close at least. I just love Criss Oliva's sound a lot and search for threads (the Universe and Everything) to see how! Cheers for your reply! \m/

[@ohmura07]

I own some of Criss Oliva's personal guitar gear

[@ChristosNikolis]

@@ohmura07 WHAT?! :D For real? :D Can you please share more info?

[@picksalot1]

I preferred the tone of the Di Marzio pickups. But, I think the Seymour Duncan overdriven sounded more like Yngwie.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Picksalot 👍

[@sirius11h58]

To my ears the Dimarzios have better dynamics , plenty of bites , pronounced high-end. That is the Yngwie sound that I like. The Duncans have WAY too much mids , and are too hot ; might be difficult to keed control with and overdrive in front of a cranked amp. My opinion :Dimarzio HS-3 all the way🤷‍♂️

[@youhavenothingifyoudonthav9895]

I prefer the Dimarzio Hs-3s .for my like it's more well rounded and more melodic sounding to me. I want a old Malmsteen strat from early to mid 80's with Red paint & rosewood fretboard.

[@yanava]

If you want his tone with steeler or alcatraz, use the fat 50s

[@861markus]

Thank You for this interesting Video, to be honest, to my ears the DiMarzios Sound "better", but I would be keen on a further comparison, when the seymour duncan set is mounted in the guitar with the rosewood fretboard, which You mentioned as the "better" guitar. It would be great, if you would do another Video with the same Setups in Your Axe FX and similar style in playin. kind regards Markus

[@DedeAldrian]

Great sound... friend.. fr Indonesia

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thank you :)

[@fescoversongchannel230]

Thank you Elmo. I'm with yjm fury. More output and I love it. I plan to change my neck and bridge stock pick up. Would there be a noise if I just leave the stock middle pick up unchange?I don't use it at all

[@MrPolevaulter]

Not sure.

[@johnsurdyk5116]

On yngwie’s original strat he had a dimarzio hs3 in the neck and bridge and then left the fender American standard pickup in the middle position lowered flush with the pick guard

[@assiscarvalhoo]

Hi friend, i'm waiting a test with new DOD 250 overdrive. Thanks!!!

[@MrPolevaulter]

MELATONINA I have a comparison between that and the Dod 308 and the Fender Yngwie overdrive done an waiting to be released. It's in two parts actually. Shouldn't be long now 😊

[@zvonimirbaljak76]

would you like to share axe fx yngwie preset please? tnx.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Don't have an Axe-FX anymore. Sorry.

[@zvonimirbaljak76]

@@MrPolevaulter no problem . tnx

[@mikecooper8465]

Yeah.I have the Duncan furys in my 94 strat.great p/ups.good review.thanks...

[@MrPolevaulter]

Mike Cooper Thanks 😊

[@christocaster]

Hi excellent comparison and playing, thanks Elmo. I Had a lot of Fender YJM with Dimarzio do you try to snip the TONE Cap? Sound's more Yngwie for me, HS3 are less compressed and open and brightness that YJM had Appears. Like Many others and you the yngwie sounds is with Dimarzio at his best period. (Really don't like his songs and sound after Facing the Animal)

[@MrPolevaulter]

I haven't, no. I use the tone quite often. And yeah, he seems to have gone downhill, although for me it was probably after Unleash the Fury.

[@christocaster]

you're a Beck fan too and i agree;) on my 1989 YJM strats thats works well. If one day you try to cut the tone cap please leave me a comment or maybe a video test comparison. Cheers

[@Rypsolisti]

I like the clean and more articulate sound of Dimarzios but then again with that Yngwie sound Duncans had more to give in terms of output and ''meat''. Hard choice but I've pretty much always used Dimarzios and especially Virtual Vintages, used to use HS-3 and now it's just lying around, so yes I go with Dimarzio but finally Duncan pickups that sound very very appealing! And very tasty and nice playing!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks :)

[@JRaptorCQC]

I have two YJM Signature Strats. One is an 05" Olympic White w/Maple fingerboard all stock with the DiMarzio HS-3's and an 07' Candy Apple Red w/Rosewood fingerboard that I installed the SD YJM Fury's in. Now I play at home through a Marshall JCM 200 - DSL 401 1x12 with a Celestion G12T-75, Fender YJM Over Drive pedal and a Boss NS-2 noise gate and there is a very noticeable difference in these pick ups through this set-up. The SD YJM Fury's I wouldn't say are hotter but they are most defiantly much more responsive with more definition. I like both so I am keeping my 05' completely stock because it is a killer guitar just the way it is.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Jerry Sturgill Cool setup 😊 The clean signal into the DAW did show that the Furys gave out more signal. They do seem a bit more responsive as well though. They clean up nicely too 😊

[@JRaptorCQC]

Thank you. I noticed the difference immediately. The SD Fury's just brought the guitar alive. The SD Fury's will defiantly expose your weakness's, they pick up every little move you make, every note. The HS-3's tend to allow notes to blend together or get covered up. And they can go microphonic.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Jerry Sturgill Cheers Jerry 😊

[@patrickrandall5043]

I really like the darker tones of the HS-3 with the YJM Fury’s are just too bright in my opinion; but with the shredding the attack on the Fury was nice and single string shreds were really clear while it sounded kinda muddy with the HS-3s

[@MrPolevaulter]

Patrick Randall Cool 😊

[@Hallow334]

I'm about to spring for a 920D Custom Shop loaded pick guard with the Duncans in it. I like the hotter sound.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cool :)

[@MagisterTuomo]

Great video and timing as I'm still looking into what pickups to set into one of my strats. I'd say on clean I couldn't really tell them apart. But when overdrive came into play I fell into the DiMarzio's. Felt they kept a more tight ringing at the lowend 🤔. Probably will need more comparisons though as my strat has a plastic nut which does affect. Great job on this one🖒, quite helpful.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Glad to be of service :)

[@starlifeforce]

Would like to see the sets swapped on the guitars. I find rosewood has a a more defined vibration than maple. Those dimarzios blew me away but your playing is freaking good. Thanks for your video

[@Pazuzu-]

Why would the rosewood model be a better guitar?

[@MrPolevaulter]

It's nothing to do with the model. It's that individual guitar.

[@jaywells5283]

I’m wondering about a hybrid thing! Like take a Richie Blackmore strat layout, three way switch, empty pickup cover in the middle, yadda yadda, and try the Dimarzio hs3 in the bridge and the Duncan yjm in the neck! I’m also wondering, you have a what looks like a malmsteen-esque warmoth strat, was there a reason you didn’t install a brass nut on that? And do you personally think it’s fuckery to not only have a brass nut, but a brass bridge block?!?! Asking for a .......... friend! Yeah! We’ll go with that!!!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Haha :D No reason really. The brass nut thing isn't a big deal for me. The hybrid thing you mention sounds cool. Only way to know is to try it though.

[@jaywells5283]

Elmo Karjalainen well, I have some gear I’m going to be riding myself of tomorrow! Maybe I can get an inexpensive used strat, the one I have is modded out already, fingers crossed!!!

[@misstress1928]

It's a great demonstration. Not strictly fair, because you used different guitars with different fretboards, but stil the playing is great and personal opinion is valuable. Thanks!

[@MrPolevaulter]

In a perfect world, I would have swapped pickups on one guitar. But alas, I am imperfect, and should not be let near a soldering iron :D

[@frankscassi4960]

You had my like at the Spinal Tap quote

[@MrPolevaulter]

Haha :D Cheers!

[@brandon_945]

I have the hs3’s in the bridge and neck of my guitar. Very microphonic, and they feedback. I contacted Dimarzio and they said to return for repotting. I wax potted them myself and it made no difference. Are the Seymour Duncan’s any less microphonic?

[@MrPolevaulter]

I haven't had that problem with either.

[@Anton_the_Vampire]

I have a stock USA Strat, and am thinking of putting stacked humbuckers in it (well, getting someone to do it, as it's beyond me! lol) as for the sound of these two, I found the HS3s to have more bass, while the Furies seemed to have more scooped mids. Is that how it comes across in person as well?

[@MrPolevaulter]

Not sure about the scooped mids. The Duncans are a bit hotter.

[@Anton_the_Vampire]

@@MrPolevaulter oh yes, they definitely come across hotter. Don't quite know what it is that I'm hearing in the mid-range. Maybe "scooped" is the wrong word.

[@phildemetro]

Fun video! I don't hear the pickups as much as the difference between the maple cap and rosewood boards. My fav Yngwie sounds are the first two albums so that's the gear I would seek. His new tone is nowhere are smooth and musical.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Phil Demetro Thanks man. It's fun to hear from different people what they hear. We all hear slightly different things 😊

[@phildemetro]

Yngwie's been at it a long time. His old gear would have been likely what he wanted to use (and afford, to be fair) ? Likely now it's about $$$...endorsements and free stuff and gear with his branding. Makes sense. Question for you...Do you like the sound of the new Fender pedal as much as the old DOD 250's?

[@MrPolevaulter]

Phil Demetro Haven't tried a Dod250. Ordered one and waiting for it. Going to compare those two and the Dod YJM. That should be interesting. I think he actually prefers the Duncans. But then that's just my thought. But I base it on how much he pestered the people at Seymour Duncan about the new pickup and how much of a perfectionist he was about it.

[@phildemetro]

I agree with you. I have no doubt in my mind that Yngwie uses only what he wants to use at any given time. He has never sold out. Your video has inspired me to dig my DOD YJM out of it's box.Keep up the good work.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Phil Demetro Cheers! I'll sure try 😊

[@armandomorenotherevival7827]

The Duncan’s have much more high mids . I can see how the yjm’s would stick out more in a live band mix because of the pushed high mids.

[@frankpaws]

I find the Hs3 thinner and the Fury more balanced tonally with no as bright of the top end. The Fury definitely has that bluesier tone to it.

[@GladRags]

11:03 that face is priceless

[@Katira-KR7]

I like the Dimarzios more. I hope soon I can buy a set and put them in my Fender Japan. Actually I will let a luthier do it and make the Brian May switching so that I have 13 sounds instead of 5.

[@chrisdaviesguitar]

Nice bit of Vai at the end. :) When are you going to post a tutorial on those runs of yours? Just been looking at an Yngwie Strat being advertised on Rerverb for under £1300, with what the seller said were DiMarzio Fury pickups. Yes, Dimarzio Fury Pups, not a typo by me.

[@MrPolevaulter]

I have a bunch of tutorials on all sorts of stuff, mostly over at my academy. You can find the link in all my video descriptions. It's free for the time being.

[@rrguitar1]

Newer version seems brighter. I have that one. I always have to maintain my highs with it. Older model with Dmarzios, seems warmer. Both are awesome imo. Wonder if the rosewood vs maple fingerboard makes it more noticeable ? I gotta try out a rosewood model with the fury in it.. 50$ more in price. lol

[@MrPolevaulter]

:)

[@lorenzissimo1]

rosewood vs maple??..the woods should be the same..what do you think?

[@MrPolevaulter]

In an ideal world, yeah.

[@ssolo8]

If I were you I'd switch the pickguards!!!! I too Prefer the Furys, but I also prefer rosewood necks! You can always undo this if you need to sell one later.. (Yngwie said in his book the HS3s were a compromise, but that's the only option he had at the time)

[@OrkhanJulfa]

For my ears Duncans sound like humbucker with some sort of single coil emulation like in some digital multieffect processor. I prefer DiMarzio. Very good video!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks man :)

[@LuterofromTx]

I loooove the HS3s, but also being a Paul Gilbert (and other guitarists like him who used to use really high output pickups) fan, i think the Furys would give the best of both worlds

[@MrPolevaulter]

Absolutely

[@Mister_Greg]

Late to the game, but a fair comparison would involve reducing the gain with the Duncans or increasing the gain with the DiMarzios, at a minimum (I believe there is also a difference in top end). Why cripple one set of pickups because the settings are better suited for the other? Unless you don’t really care about your tone this is not how we play.

[@MrPolevaulter]

How is it unfair to compare two sets of pickups with the same settings? I can understand the different guitars argument, but this I don't.

[@Mister_Greg]

If you wish to demonstrate how they differ in terms of output and tonality, sure. But, again, if you have a set of Duncans you’re going to dial the amp differently than you would with a set of DiMarzios. I’d want to know what they sound like with an equal amount of gain prior to power amp. Simply showing that one is cleaner, crunches more or saturates more than the other isn’t really all that useful. This is especially the case when showing the responsiveness of the volume control. Sure it makes a difference with a non-master volume amp, but even though YJM uses a Plexi, he still pushes with with a dirt pedal. That dirt pedal has a gain and output control. Do you think YJM kept it set the same way after he switched over to the Furies? Personally, I agree with the guy who said the DiMarzios sounded more like Yngwie. At least the tone I have in my head. If you were to back off the gain and add more presence and pull away some of the biting treble with the Furies I bet it would be closer to that tone. Anyway, I don’t know that I would be able to feel as confident about that if it weren’t for your amazing chops. I truly mean that. You also did a good job showing what the pickups can do outside of YJM tones. Kudos for that.

[@MrPolevaulter]

@@Mister_Greg Thanks Greg. When I met him in Miami he had a Fender Yngwie overdrive on his pedalboard, and he had both output and gain at 10. I'd imagine he's had pretty much the same settings on his previous gear as well. The problem is of course that the gear has changed over the years.

[@zofo666]

Prefer the Dimarzios,bit like replacing a PAF with a higher output PU,it,s not the volume ,it,s that buttery tone i think the dimarzios have. You can always make a clear pick have more gain but not in reverse,if that makes sense!!

[@MrPolevaulter]

zofo666 It does. I still prefer the Duncans though 😀

[@zofo666]

Nein zis is not gut!!!!Ha ha brilliant playing and demoes as always mate,sounds like a bit of west country accent going on,not sure you can here my Sunderland accent in my typing!!! Unless you haven,t (or i haven't searched,)you should do a whole vid on the classic Malmsteen licks and teach us earthlings baroque and roll!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Haha :D Doesn't come through in your tying, no :D I haven't done one of those. Maybe I will :)