Dimarzio 7-string pair but which one?

[J-PPP]

Looking to a buy a pair of new Dimarzios for a basswood body Ibanez. 26.5” scale, Hipshot Ibby bridge. Prefer brighter pickups. The Dimarzio Pickup Picker wasn’t helpful. Narrowed it down to these due to the bobbin color I’m going for not being available on the other ones.

1. Ionizer 7 bridge & neck
2. Imperium 7 bridge & neck
3. D Activator 7 bridge & neck
4. Evolution 7 bridge with ?
5. Super Distortion 7 bridge with ?

So which one do I want? Or a combination of the above. I’m leaning towards the D Activators. Not looking to djent but more general metal and hard rock.

 

[akinari]

D-Activator 7 Neck and Neck. No kidding.

 

[Fluence of Shred]

I am surprised with the Illuminator and Ionizer bridge and neck. They are oddly clear and high output, much more than the spec sheet implies and more than any reviews I’ve seen mentioned. When I first heard them, I plugged in after my usual favorite (fluence) and I was actually like ‘WTF?’ and I looked down to check the pickup models......couldn’t believe they were Ionizers.

 

[J-PPP]

D-Activator 7 Neck and Neck. No kidding.

Can you elaborate? Why the neck version for the bridge position instead of the bridge version?

 

[akinari]

Can you elaborate? Why the neck version for the bridge position instead of the bridge version?

It's clearer, tighter, and more natural/less fuzzy sounding. They split beautifully too, if that's you're thing.

 

[c7spheres]

D-Activator 7 Neck and Neck. No kidding.

Can you elaborate? Why the neck version for the bridge position instead of the bridge version?

I had D'Activators once in my 7 string, and they were incredibly powerful high output. So high in fact they slammed the input of my amp so hard they distorted it when I strummed harder. Way higher output than My Blaze 7's, rg-7b's, new 7's and EMG's 707's too. Like at least twice as hard. But they did sound and feel great. I should have tried lowering them more but never thought about it back then. They were at medium height. I bet when setup right they are even better. They are very articulate and not really harsh or anything too. I wouldn't call them brighter pickups like you're wanting, but they are clear sounding and a solid option I would think, but I'm an EMG guy so what do I know? pff : )

 

[littlebadboy]

Although on a 6, I really love the D-Activator X set on mine! I prefer the parallel tone than split and gives really nice clean sounds when combining them parallel + series.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

I'd go with the Ionizer set out of those you listed. I've always thought the D-Activator 7 set was a bit too hot and on the darker side of neutral eq-wise. Evo 7 with a PAF 7 neck would be my next choice.

The Ionizers have a great mid and high end presence that cuts well and doesn't get buried by the lower frequencies. They're not as hot as most other Dimarzio models, so they have great dynamics and articulation. I've had them in my 7620 for a while and also had another set of them in a 27" 7421XL and they sounded great in a wide range of tunings.

 

[J-PPP]

I'd go with the Ionizer set out of those you listed. I've always thought the D-Activator 7 set was a bit too hot and on the darker side of neutral eq-wise. Evo 7 with a PAF 7 neck would be my next choice.

The Ionizers have a great mid and high end presence that cuts well and doesn't get buried by the lower frequencies. They're not as hot as most other Dimarzio models, so they have great dynamics and articulation. I've had them in my 7620 for a while and also had another set of them in a 27" 7421XL and they sounded great in a wide range of tunings.

Thanks for your input. The PAF 7 doesn’t seem to come in yellow. But I’ll look into the Ionizers!

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

Thanks for your input. The PAF 7 doesn’t seem to come in yellow. But I’ll look into the Ionizers!

Give Dimarzio a call or email. I'm sure they'll make a PAF7 in yellow if you place a specific order for it

 

[odibrom]

Hi. Please allow my pitch in this. I have no experience with Ionizers, Imperiums nor Super distortion.

I used to have D-Activators (Neck and Bridge) and an EVO7 installed in my RG7s with fixed bridge and basswood body, so, here are my 2 cents from what I remember.

I found the D-Activators to be too hot, they split wonderfully with rich sounding tones, but in series they were too hot for my tastes. This is/was also due to the somehow shallow pickup routes of my guitars not allowing to back these pickups enough from the strings. As said before, they promoted amp distortion in a flash, almost as soon as one hits the strings a little harder, making them a bit difficult to get clean tones.

I also used an EVO7 and latter on a D-Sonic7, both paired with an AirNorton 7. The Air Norton 7 works quite well in the neck position, and is an all around pickup, either with cleans, crunch or lead tones. The EVO7 is very similar to the Blaze Custom, a bit hotter and brighter I think, but I don't play with those a long time ago. The D-Sonic was also a nice pickup for the bridge, not too hot as the previous and a little more open sounding.

A pair to think about is the Blaze Neck and Bridge or Custom. The Bridge model is a bit scooped, the Custom is, in my experience fantastic and super modern.

 

[J-PPP]

Give Dimarzio a call or email. I'm sure they'll make a PAF7 in yellow if you place a specific order for it

Maybe. But they're not making anything at the moment, so no rush. My dealer said any orders would take 3-4 months after re-opening.

 

[op1e]

I agree with getting neck pickups for both routes. I didn't realize how hot my bridge pickup was until I tried a Titan neck in the bridge of another guitar. It was uncontrollable in comparison. I really like the mids of the Titan a little better. I'd say get a neck version of that and a Liquifire like I did. If you want different color bobbins, go to BanjoMikez on eBay.

 

[Carl Kolchak]

Although on a 6, I really love the D-Activator X set on mine! I prefer the parallel tone than split and gives really nice clean sounds when combining them parallel + series.

So Cobra Commander is housebound and making YouTube demo vids now?