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Dimarzio/Wizards


leftyhook
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I had a Dimarzio Jazz pick up fitted to my Squier P/J. It definitely sounded punchier when on full (very sudden fall off of volume when rolled down)
I then bought a Dimarzio neck pick up from ebay (original 70's).

Sound check in house. "Hmm.... not as crunchy as I had hoped' Let's see live"

What a let down. Boomy with less cut that the stock pick ups! After the first 3 songs I just wanted to pick up my Wal.
One gig they lasted then I sold them.

Now this bass might not be an American Fender, but it's a decent Squier and I can't believe the Dim'z's didn't improve it
beyond just being louder.

Did I do something wrong to not get a great sound?


I've emailed Andy at [b]Wizard[/b] to tell him my ideal sound. I have spoken to him in the past and if he thinks something won't work, he says so.

The thing is, do I risk another forking out for some pick ups that may not live up to my expectations? All I want is a sound that will cut through the band with some clarity and warmth without being overly clinical.

I can't shell out for the real deal, but I really want to play a Precision of sorts!

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[quote name='Mog' timestamp='1329910963' post='1549433']
What model pups and what pots are you using?
[/quote]

the Dimz's were oldish models (?) cream. Sorry but I've never ben up on gear/fiddly bits, just the playing.
All I know is, they didn't do it for me.

What's back on at the moment is the stock Squier pups. Daren't risk them with band. I get 30 seconds to sound check!

edit:

sorry forgot. stock pots. roll off is severe.better ones improve that?

Edited by leftyhook
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I've got the Wizard P/J Combo in my Squier VM Jag and I think they're great. They really respond to both plucking dynamics and the tone control (on the bass and on the amp) in a very pleasing way. I wouldn't think of buying any other sort of pick-up after the customer service I got.

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Sound lad. I reckon they're Model P and Model J(L) both designs were introduced in the mid-late 70's. Each are [u]very[/u] ample in the low end department. I tried opening up one of the DiMarzio loaded basses to check exactly what pots were in there put the screwheads are shot. From what I can remember the volume on each was 500k. I've been told it makes a huge difference.

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[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1329865039' post='1548943']
I had a Dimarzio Jazz pick up fitted to my Squier P/J. It definitely sounded punchier when on full (very sudden fall off of volume when rolled down)
I then bought a Dimarzio neck pick up from ebay (original 70's).

Sound check in house. "Hmm.... not as crunchy as I had hoped' Let's see live"

What a let down. Boomy with less cut that the stock pick ups! After the first 3 songs I just wanted to pick up my Wal.
One gig they lasted then I sold them.

Now this bass might not be an American Fender, but it's a decent Squier and I can't believe the Dim'z's didn't improve it
beyond just being louder.

Did I do something wrong to not get a great sound?
[/quote]

If you wire them series (DiMarzio's default wiring) they are VERY loud and boomy. Parallel gets you a bit more open top end but still quite thick in the lower mids. Also as Mog says if you just used the stock Squier 250k pots then you will lose a lot of the characteristic response peak in the upper mids, that's why Dimarzio recommend using 500k or even 1M pots - makes a very worthwhile difference IME, brings back a lot of character. However, if you really want that classic single coil upper/mid treble bite then you're best looking elsewhere, from what people say on here Wizard would be a good place to start but don't underestimate some of the Fender offerings either.

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For the Andy Rourke sound, get a P bass, use a pick and make sure your strings are pretty new and bright. An amp with a decent EQ helps too, such as an old Trace. Works for me anyway.

I recently put some Model P's in the P bass I use with the Smiths tribute. Massively louder than the stock pups!! :blink: But I'm not so sure it's the sound i need; seems to be a little more crunchy and not as clear as before. I think I'll be putting the stock pups back in.

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I replaced a cream DiMarzio - 80s vintage - with a Wizard 84 on my old Shergold Marathon. This bass has an extra non-stock pickup bunged on near the bridge and the Di Marzio was the first one in there. Massive improvement when the Wizard went in. The DiMarzio sounded brittle and flat in comparison. The Wizard is more up front, produces a taught bass end and cuts through. The Wizard 84 is the darker sounding Jazz type pickup, but placed in the bridge position works really well, adding some meat to the bright tone you'd expect from near the bridge.

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Another Wizard fan with a Squier P/J here - got a Thumper and an 84 in mine. To be honest the J doesn't really do it for me, although that's more my preference and no criticism of the pickup at all. I use the P pickup pretty much exclusively and it holds its own against other (much more expensive) basses.

Andy's service is excellent too - he tweaked my 84 to be a better match for the Thumper and for the tone I was after rather than just throwing a stock set in the post. Top bloke.

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[quote name='mike257' timestamp='1330362269' post='1556252']
Another Wizard fan with a Squier P/J here - got a Thumper and an 84 in mine. To be honest the J doesn't really do it for me, although that's more my preference and no criticism of the pickup at all. I use the P pickup pretty much exclusively and it holds its own against other (much more expensive) basses.

Andy's service is excellent too - he tweaked my 84 to be a better match for the Thumper and for the tone I was after rather than just throwing a stock set in the post. Top bloke.
[/quote] I emailed him last week,heard nothing back.

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Seems unusual, I've been in touch with hin a few times in the last couple of years, sometimes for pickups and sometimes just to pick his brain but he's always got back to me pretty quickly. It's a one man business as far as I know though, so its possible that there's nobody picking up the slack if he's unavailable for any reason.

Might be worth giving him a quick ring if you don't hear back.

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[quote name='mike257' timestamp='1330879161' post='1564246']
Seems unusual, I've been in touch with hin a few times in the last couple of years, sometimes for pickups and sometimes just to pick his brain but he's always got back to me pretty quickly. It's a one man business as far as I know though, so its possible that there's nobody picking up the slack if he's unavailable for any reason.

Might be worth giving him a quick ring if you don't hear back.
[/quote]
thanks, but I ended up dropping the idea in the end and buying a different bass.

Won't put me off trying again should the need arise.

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