Search results

1) In the early 1990s, DiMarzio designed both the neck and bridge pickups for the (now discontinued) famous Van Halen Music Man signature guitar. This was the first ground up guitar design that Van Halen made. (See DiMarzio Remembering Van Halen)

All magnetic pickups produce a clean signal with no distortion. Distortion is produced either in the amplifier or in effects pedals or rack effects. When a pickup is said to produce distortion, it indicates a pickup with high output, which more easily drives amplifiers into distortion. An amplifier with a totally clean channel or clean setting may not distort at all, even with a high output pickup.

Our full warranty and exchange policy can be found here.

All DiMarzio^® pickups are handmade in the USA.

In our current production, there is no difference whatsoever, but we include a 500K push-pull pot with the Dual Sound^®. Our original Super Distortion^® had 1 conductor plus shield. We introduced the Dual Sound^® with three conductors plus shield to allow more wiring options. As guitar manufacturers and players became more sophisticated, the market demanded four conductors plus shield on all humbuckers, so both models now have four conductors, as do all of our full-size humbuckers.

In addition to the Parker Fly Custom Neck model PHWP1 and Parker Fly Custom Bridge model PWHP2, which are currently standard on most recent Flys, we also offer Fly versions of the Humbucker From Hell®, PAF®,  PAF® bridge,  PAF Pro®,  PAF Joe™, FRED®,  Mo' Joe™, Norton®, Air Norton™, Air Zone™, Tone Zone®, Breed™ neck and bridge models, Air Classic™ neck and bridge, Bluesbucker™, AT-1™, EJ Custom™ neck and bridge models and LiquiFire™.

There is no specific distance that works best for everyone. We measure string height from the top of the polepiece to the bottom of the string when the string (usually the high or low E) is held down at the highest fret. For standard, full-size humbuckers, a reasonable starting point for the bridge pickup is at least 1/16" (1.5mm) from the high E and 5/64" (2 mm) from the low E. There are no recommended distances for the other 4 strings.

Most humbuckers are symmetrical and their sound does not change at all when installed backwards. Humbuckers that are not mentioned in this FAQ sound the same when installed in either direction.

Airbuckers are full-sized humbuckers that contain a gap or space between the magnet and the polepieces. The distance is quite small, and may be filled with nothing but air or by some non-magnetic material. The purpose of the gap is to lessen the magnetic field over the pickup, which in turn lets the string vibrate more freely. This results in a purer, more open sound and improved sustain.

Terms like "neck" and "bridge" models aren't meant to be rules. The only rule that's good to follow is to not put a pickup in the neck position that's louder than the bridge pickup. String vibration is stronger at the neck position, so it may be difficult or impossible to balance neck and bridge pickups if the neck pickup is louder than the bridge pickup.

To find color availability please go to the PICKUP link at the top of the page and select the model you are interested in. All of the available colors for that particular pickup will be listed under Color Options.

It's also true that using a high-output or "distortion" pickup with the lead channel of a very high-gain amp may create an extremely distorted sound, to the point where individual notes have reduced definition and chords blur together. The best way to reduce the amount of distortion in this situation is by lowering your amp's preamp volume or first gain control.