How to compare them: Dimarzio D-Sonic 0:26 EMG 85 1:23 Dimarzio Crunch Lab 2:20 Dimarzio Tone Zone 3:16 EMG 81 4:12

In my opinion the Dimarzio's have a livelier sound, something the EMGs tend to lack. Everybody has their preference, but in this video the EMGs sound way to compressed for my taste. Also, Dimarzio's are noted for being more distorted at higher volumes. My Schecter came with EMGs and I hated them. Keep in mind I run my guitars through a high gain amp which is supposed to bring out the strength in the EMGs, but they failed. After a month, I installed the D-Activators and was blown away by how incredible they sound against the EMGs. So, in my opinion the Dimarzio's take the win. Sorry if I offended any EMG fans, I'm just stating my opinion thats all.

Chrunch Lab

Awesome testing, editing and riff! Thanks! Helped me decide wich cap I´ll buy for me! Cruch lab and Tone Zone are the chosen ones.

@KillorcureCoUk

10 жыл бұрын

Cheers Fabio, glad it helped.The Crunch Lab in alder is a personal favourite for tight but full high gain tones, it really gives focused depth to brighter body woods. The Tone Zone I found to be too bassy and flabby for modern metal, but in a bright guitar it is excellent for AC/DC style big crunchy open riffs, and it has a lovely solo tone - I used it for many of the solos on our first album (but would not recommend in mahogany.)

@FabioPagan

10 жыл бұрын

Thaaaank you so much for your reply! I have two Ibanez S (mahogany) bodies: S2020X (which has a strong mid-low sound) and a S7420QM (7 string). I was thinking of Crunch Lab in the 7 S7420Qm and Tone Zone in the S2020X (both bridges pickups). I want high gain pickups with nice bass and tight sound and I really like the singing Tone Zone sound. To play from Blues/Jazz to Heavy Rock (specially in the 7 string). What you would recommend? (love your reviews by the way!)

@KillorcureCoUk

10 жыл бұрын

I'd have a read of my blog here: killorcure.co.uk/7-string-pickup-comparison-test-results/ as my thoughts on what pickup is best aren't straightforward. I've got less experience with the 'S' range but a friend has an old 1990s Sabre with the stock Ibanez F2 pickup in, and I loved that, a very good high gain pickup. As the mahogany S series is quite light and some say lacking in low end, your choices of Crunch Lab and Tone Zone may actually work pretty well filling that out, but I reckon the Tone Zone will always be better for open and mid-rangey stuff like Van Halen or The Cult than modern metal crunch. My advice to avoid Tone Zone in mahogany was based on my experience in a mahogany RG - I doubt it would sound as muddy in a thinner S (I swapped it for a D-Sonic which tightened it up.and reduced the mud.) If you're worried the rather bassy Crunch Lab will make your 7 string too bassy, I highly recommend the Dimarzio "New 7" pickups that came in RG7620s. They can be picked up cheap on ebay. Less bassy than the Crunch Lab but very tight with a nice mid-range growl, without being overly thin like the D-Activator. If you watch my 7 string pickup test, the actual song at the end of the test is recorded using New 7s in mahogany. I also enjoy the Duncan Distortion in mahogany - big thrashy low end, but be prepared for a lot of treble too.

Nice playing and spiff Ibby's!!

I like the Dimarzios. note: the crunch lab may be installed "backwards", and I still like it.

Thx for this vid. very informative for a beginner looking to decide on proper pickup for playstyle....luv the D's for clear crunch.

@KillorcureCoUk

8 жыл бұрын

+Plethora Piles They definitely offer clear crunch and brightened up that mahogany guitar considerably - I could imagine they might be a bit abrasive on the high end in a brighter guitar - but a Crunch Lab would sort that out!

I love the Crunch Lab in that alder 6 string. However I tried a Crunch Lab in a mahogany 7 string and don't like the combination - planning to move it into an alder 7 and hopefully get great results. Seems like it's a pickup voiced for brighter woods.

great video thanks

I don't think I could ever get these correct in a blind A/B test, though I will say that I think the Crunch Lab is picking up the harmonics that are being produced better than the other pickups tested, with the EMG81 very close behind.

85. Tone Zone a close 2nd. All of them are great though. Great video man

in the drop tuning zone the DSonic has more clarity compared to the others, but the guitar wood may affect the tone a little bit so its not the best way to compare them

Si conviene comprar la crunch lab? es de buena calidad? o media?

I have bought guitars with the 81/85 setup. Put Dimarzio's PAF Pro, and a Steve's Special in a BC Rich. A DBZ with their own brand of "hot" pups. They all sound great, it just depends the sound your looking for. In a perfect world, you have something for everything. Really like the Tone Zone...maybe a future purchase.

I say DiMarzio. I like the brighter less flat sound. I've had guitars with EMG and they sound pretty lifeless and flat (Active & Passive - also very limited to EMG use), no matter how I had my amp/pedal EQ set. I never have this problem with DiMarzio, straight down to the Ibanez stock clone INF4 pickup which still isn't that great, but is decent for a stock pickup if the INF3 is removed (the INF3 muds things up). DiMarzio fits the warmth and style of literally any setup or playing style (simple or complex setups - my gear setup is simple). DiMarzio are simply more flexible in my opinion. I only use a single DiMarzio X2N in my guitars and remove the neck pickups (If I buy a guitar with a neck pickup that is). I don't like neck position pickups. That's how much I like my brighter and more lively sounds. The neck pickup magnets effect the vibration of the strings (even while toggled off). Neck pickups TO ME are only good for Jazz and Blues playing (thick muddy styles of music). Unless your like Yngwie Malmsteen or something who toggles through his pickups by second nature, ha-ha. This is all my personal opinion, so I'm not here to start or get into any debates.

@AhmadIkramBinAhmadHisham

10 жыл бұрын

My friend i somewhat agree with u...i have been using dimarzio's super distortion n when i bought a guitar with the 81 in it i was shocked to how lifeless it sounded...and like u i tweaked my eq for so long only to find a bearable tone from the 81 compared to the super distortion which sounds very alive. However the 81 sounds very clear for recording purposes (probably bcos of the preamp) n dats why i let it stay haha. Just rambling about. Cheers!

I'm trying to decide whether to keep the tone zone/air norton combo in my prestige(when I eventually buy it......) or go with the titans, or d-activators.... SO HARD TO CHOOOOOOSE!

@KillorcureCoUk

9 жыл бұрын

You might as well check out what you've got preinstalled before you think about upgrading. Every piece of wood is different, so find out what you want more or less of (bass/mid/treble, attack, gain etc) in your guitar and make your upgrade decision based on that - that's after you've checked a few tweaks of your pedals or amps won't give you the sound you need. Personally I prefer the Tone Zone for solos and 80s rock in a bright guitar. The bass is a bit woolly for modern tight stuff in my rig. Air Norton sounds great in a variety of guitars. Tried the D-Activator 7 but it was too hot and scooped/thin for my rig. YMMV. Not tried the Titans...yet!

d-sonics sounded best to me!

Emg seems to have a bit more of the mid-high scooped out. Impressed with what I hear of the d-sonic so far.

Tone zone ,but really since these were all in different guitars it was not a accurate comparison

@ritsmond

6 жыл бұрын

Guitarz 5150 It's good enough. Yes, the woods make a difference and all that but the difference is really minor. You could own the excact model you seen on the video and still have it sound different depending on which part of the tree it was cut from.

What string gauge do you use? My Schecter with an EMG 81 and 10-46's won't give me a nice, aggressive bite from the pick attack like my other guitars do. One has .009's (an 81 in it as as well) and the other has a Tone Zone with .010's. For some reason this is bothering me... :P

@KillorcureCoUk

9 жыл бұрын

ozzman1997 I find off the shelf sets don't give me the right tensions so I buy individual strings for Drop C tuning. So on a 25.5" 6 string I use 52-36-24-17-13-9(or sometimes 10). For 24.75" 6 string I use 56-42-30-17-13-9 (or 10). For 25.5" 7 strings in standard tuning (with a low B) I use a standard set of 9-42 Ernie Balls, but I use a 56 or 58 for the low B - the stock 52s are too flappy for me. Personally I've not noticed much difference in tone with different gauges, so I choose my gauge based on bends, resistance and feel. I've tried heavier sets but am happiest with the above.

They all sound, how can I say? Distorted? EMG do sound a bit flatter though...

what is the model number of that ash guitar?

I know this video is old but just in case someone else is planning on making a similar video... Instead of switching to a pickup and playing through all the riffs, I wish you played one riff with each pickup and then switched to the next riff and played that with each pickup and so on. Maybe it's just me but i think it would've been much easier to compare. Also, adding some more variety would've been helpful too; like a clean tone, note picking, sweeping, harmonics, sustain test, dissonance, and so on...

D Sonic cuts through the best Thanks nice Riffing@!

@KillorcureCoUk

8 жыл бұрын

+Morgan Bucks Cheers Morgan. That particular guitar needed something with bite like the D-Sonic - it came with a Tone Zone which was too muddy for tight, drop tuned stuff.

@axismusicman

8 жыл бұрын

+Kill or Cure , is the green-ish Ibanez is RG 1702 J Custom?

@KillorcureCoUk

8 жыл бұрын

Yes

@axismusicman

8 жыл бұрын

+Kill or Cure , thanks, i have just bought 1702, it has tone zone/air norton. Is it just me or TZ is too muddy and bassy? should i raise/lower the pickup/polepieces or there's nothing that can be done about it and i should just replace it with something else? also my 1702 is in E standard, i think there's no chance that it will sound nice if i detune it to lets say drop B? thanks for advise, there is almost no information about 1702 on forums as well

@KillorcureCoUk

8 жыл бұрын

I agree with you - I find the Tone Zone a strange choice by Ibanez in the mahogany J-Customs. I don't like a thin sound - I do like mids - but the TZ is just too muddy for modern metal with lots of palm muting, especially tuned down. The D-Sonic was a big improvement. I've also used a Seymour Duncan Distortion in a similar guitar, and that would be a good match. Lots of newer pickups out there too that I haven't tried!

I'm wondering if you could help me with choosing a pickup. I'll soon get a PRS Custom 24 equiped with 85/15 pickups. And I'm not sure if they are the perfect match for the guitar sound I'm after. Anyways, I digress, the PRS is a Mahogany body guitar with a set mahogany neck. It has a maple cap on top and a rosewood fingerboard. I was wondering which pickup best suits this guitar in your opinion. I am struggling between the D-Sonic and the Crunch Lab. The kind of music I listen to is Linkin Park, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, those kind of bands. As such I want a pickup that is really thight and articulate for low tunings, but sounds really huge and clear when strumming big chords with high gain and has a good harmonic structure. Which do you think is better suited for the job, the D-Sonic or the Crunch Lab? Thanks in advance and sorry for the long comment. I tried to be as precise as possible :p

@KillorcureCoUk

7 жыл бұрын

Tricky question. Here's the for and against: Brad Delson from Linkin Park used to use the D-Sonic back when he played Ibanez. I've also successfully used the D-Sonic in a drop-tuned mahogany guitar that was too muddy and it brought out the treble nicely - in fact I used it to record 50% of the Kill or Cure album 6 string rhythm tracks. As for the Crunch Lab - as a pickup, I prefer it, but I use it in alder - it's a risk as in some of my 7 string mahogany guitars i tried it and it can be a bit muddy and uninspiring - having said that I've got a Crunch Lab 7 sat in a mahogany Ibanez K7 and it's great, so the jury is out. For your new guitar I don't think there's a clear winner. I'd also be tempted to look at some of the newer pickups designed for prog bands like the Dimarzio Titan, although not tried one myself yet.

@SuperAssasinSteve

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the advice! I´ve looked around a bit and I've taken interest in the Seymour Duncan Nazgûl. I think thats the pickup im gonna' choose to put in my new guitar, but I'll have a look at the Titan none the less. Thanks for the advice again! :)

@KillorcureCoUk

7 жыл бұрын

I've just opened a guitar store called Live Louder and I have the Schecter Keith Merrow 7 in stock, which has Nazgul 7 bridge, so I can confirm it's a good choice if you combine it with a tight amp - it's very hot though so I recommend a lot of tight palm muting to keep it tamed. Here's a video of a customer playing it: facebook.com/livelouderuk/videos/1732613130326216/

@SuperAssasinSteve

7 жыл бұрын

Awesome! ATM I have Jim Root Dark Terror which I like, but after I have the PRS I'm gonna save for a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier. Both very expensive things, I know, but it's my dream rig :D

@KillorcureCoUk

7 жыл бұрын

Go for it and enjoy! BTW you're not in the UK or Europe are you? Since I'm now an authorised PRS dealer and will be shipping throughout EU, I might as well mention it!

D Sonic and Tone Zone killed it.

Dig the pickup shootout , But dig the flippin tune even more !!

@KillorcureCoUk

8 жыл бұрын

+Darrelb07 Cheers Darrel. have you seen the video for the released track? kzread.info/dash/bejne/aqOYk7uAXZDNg7Q.html

@Darrelb07

8 жыл бұрын

Did so . Wicked !

I think the EMGS 8 1 ' s have the deepest, warmest, and most crisp and full sound.

What kind of wood top or if it's neck through or bolt on doesn't matter on the tone. Tone --> Strings -- > Pick ups -- > Amp. Debunked.

@KillorcureCoUk

9 жыл бұрын

Not debunked. Some argue that the difference you hear unplugged cannot come through the signal chain to affect the plugged in tone - however they also concede that the relative stiffness of the piece of wood can affect the way the string resonates, which in turn affects the tonal output. Personally I'm happy just to know that I have guitars with identical electrics where the only variable is the piece of wood - and they do record with noticeably different timbres from each other.

@StratMatt777

9 жыл бұрын

Kill or Cure Eh, what do you expect from a guy who would spend his hard-earned money on a Chevy?

that ash ibanez with the tonezone! was it rgt220a??

@KillorcureCoUk

10 жыл бұрын

RG1302. Originally blue, stripped back to natural, pickups changed to TZ/AN. ibanez.wikia.com/wiki/RG1302

dimarzio says to mount the pickup with the bar towards the neck, i dont think it matters in your case.

@KillorcureCoUk

7 жыл бұрын

I've got the Crunch Lab installed the standard way, with the bar towards the neck; and the D-Sonic with the bar towards the bridge. Worth trying both ways though to see what works best in each guitar.

I love 85 in the bridge OMFG killswitch engage all the way

i was about to get dmarzios but after seeing this video i think i will keep my emgs,thanks man

RG1302 (it's a 1995 model)

85

what do u guys do for drum playback ? i used guitar pro but samples are so bad :\

@chevytom3016

9 жыл бұрын

Armin Akvan This is also bad. Look elsewhere if you want good drum tracks

@arminakvan424

9 жыл бұрын

tnx ;)

@KillorcureCoUk

9 жыл бұрын

Armin Akvan Hi Armin, I asked our singer/ drum programmer, and he said 'imagination' lol. Not sure if Chevy Tom is just trolling, but he's got a point - the drums won't sound great in this vid - but that is because they are very low in the mix so you can hear the subtle guitar pickup differences, which is what this vid's all about. Personally, as a guitarist looking for drum tracks to jam to, I like Superior Drummer 2 and EZDrummer.

@arminakvan424

9 жыл бұрын

Kill or Cure thank u ;)

just my opinion, crunchlab's sound is amazing.. deep n round tone..also has its own character.. but if u want to fatter sound, take Dsonic or emg 81. again, it's just my newbie opinion.. btw thx for sharing..

@KillorcureCoUk

8 жыл бұрын

the crunch lab is amazing :)

EMG had the best overall clarity to my ears.

@KillorcureCoUk

10 жыл бұрын

Look out for the mother of all 7 string pickup vids coming soon...

on my phone they all sound too close to tell

0:27 1:24 2:20 3:16 4:13

I think Dimarzio Tone zone Sound's better than any one of those.........Dimarzio Tone zone (y)

@jordanmayer5932

9 жыл бұрын

i agree, i just put one in a tele, and it kicks ass, the sperzels help also ;)

500k pots and .22 caps on dsonic??

@KillorcureCoUk

10 жыл бұрын

.22 yes. Haven't changed the pots so more than likely 500.

I like the Lunch Crab

Dimarzio all the way!

heard cords best in the 85

@KillorcureCoUk

10 жыл бұрын

I'm glad everyone is showing the 85 some love - the 81 usually gets all the publicity in the EMG camp.

And the EMG 81 clearly wins at least with that guitar and setup.

Tone Zone.

Tone Zone wins...

@angusorvid8840

3 жыл бұрын

Damn right!

Dimarzios for me

Overall the sound is too muddy for my liking so gives me really no clue how these pickups sound like.

Tone Zone all the way..

@svilendenchev9984

8 жыл бұрын

Agreed. My Favourite Dimarzio along with the X2N

@danhall716

7 жыл бұрын

Svil Buscus Are you a Michael Romeo/Symphony X fan?

@svilendenchev9984

7 жыл бұрын

Dan Hall Not really, but I like his playing.

Emg 81 and ceramic magnets win - crunch lab 2nd

@danhall716

7 жыл бұрын

Mike C The Crunch Lab is ceramic magnet too. These all are except for the Tone Zone.

EMG !

emg 85

Crunchlab sounds best to me

Drop Sonic its mesaboogier to any midhump British amps

Liked d-sonic & 81, didn't like tone zone & 85

Wow the d sonic blows the crunch lab away

EMG's are soo fat compared to the dimarzio ones. i think i'd prefer the dimarzion ones.

All of those Dimarzios sound so muddy, hard to hear the notes in the chords. I'll keep my EMG thanks . I've also heard clarity in the Seymour Duncans like Jeff Loomis and Dave Mustaines livewires and thrash factor , the Dimarzio doesn't suit me. Thanks for the demos!

Little out of tune

D-Sonic is the least usable. No useful mids.

@Anrooox

8 жыл бұрын

+batmandeltaforce If you flip the humbucker with the pole pieces toward the bridge it gives you a lot more mids.