Super Distortion rocks! (MkII)

[hammered]

I tried a new DSD in my Strat with 250k pot. Found it dark and mushy compared to my Lawrence L90XL. Drive levels were comparable, both loud pickups but the Lawrence much more open and articulate. Maybe I just needed a 500k pot but I'm wondering if your new DSD is a dud or if they are all dark like that.

I would definitely try it with a 500k pot before thinking of possibly ditching it

[Funky Hunky]

I agree, try 500k and make certain it's series parallel not parallel. Should be very "ballsy","crunchy" and "hot" sounding.

[stef]

I like it with a 430K (CTS 500K) pot

[dirtycooter]

With mine there is not a huge difference in tonality to a sd59 and I consider the 59 very bright. Maybe smidge less top and thicker lower mid and its got the 500k pot direct-no other horseshit wired in between. One of the hugest noticeable differences is the amount of drive. It is hot as hell.
Thats what gives it its smack factor on the attack. Its just like POW! On every pluck. Also makes it feel like your runnin a compressor almost-and thats cool actually.
Downside is if you don't have lower gain cleaner circuit to drive it turns to a mush pile of over done crap-but perfect for some wimpy considered stockish plexi. That helps it maintain alot of detail you lose with hot pickups. But enter a gainy amp and its typical squished lifeless turd sounding with no articulation and obnoxious feedback that would make preacher swear.
One thing I notice is when you do something like the intro to Outta Love where he is gettin that whistle.....he is actually near the cab and opening up the volume all the way when it whistles-thats what mine does anyway on the last 1/4 turn of the volume. You gotta keep your distance with this thing from the ol speakers.

[rgorke]

With mine there is not a huge difference in tonality to a sd59 and I consider the 59 very bright. Maybe smidge less top and thicker lower mid and its got the 500k pot direct-no other horseshit wired in between. One of the hugest noticeable differences is the amount of drive. It is hot as hell.
Thats what gives it its smack factor on the attack. Its just like POW! On every pluck. Also makes it feel like your runnin a compressor almost-and thats cool actually.
Downside is if you don't have lower gain cleaner circuit to drive it turns to a mush pile of over done crap-but perfect for some wimpy considered stockish plexi. That helps it maintain alot of detail you lose with hot pickups. But enter a gainy amp and its typical squished lifeless turd sounding with no articulation and obnoxious feedback that would make preacher swear.
One thing I notice is when you do something like the intro to Outta Love where he is gettin that whistle.....he is actually near the cab and opening up the volume all the way when it whistles-thats what mine does anyway on the last 1/4 turn of the volume. You gotta keep your distance with this thing from the ol speakers.

I agree with you DC. I switched out an 8.7k Dimarzio vintage PAF with a Super D both with square legs. With the DF specs to the letter, the tone if very very similar. With the SD, I get more clarity and a bit more sustain. With the PAF, there is a warmth and softness to the tone. To someone's ear that doesn't obsess like us, I would be they would not hear an appreciable difference.

Also with the DSD, if I were to boost the signal too much on the front end with an EQ or what have you, the tone will be too much...mud, fizzy, kind of like the sound when opening a soda can or bottle that has been shaken for 10 minutes.

[EJSLPlexi]

No. Just the pickups. They’re P.A.F.’s also, rewound.

You really like those P.A.F.’s.

Oh, yeah! Like on the record, I like the way they sound. They really sound different. They’re not stock, though. Like this one right here, I just bought that gold-top because it’s got two original ones in it, but they don’t sound quite right, so I gotta get ’em rewound."

[Funky Hunky]

Yeah, and his amps were modded by Jose.... He turned the Variac up to 130... He liked PAFs so much he rewound em!

[EJSLPlexi]

Yeah, and his amps were modded by Jose.... He turned the Variac up to 130... He liked PAFs so much he rewound em!

Oh well i guess he was just a fucking liar then!

[garbeaj]

You gotta keep your distance with this thing from the ol speakers.

No shit. The new DSD in my VH-1/Clapton strat and the old Super 2 with nickel cover in my Destroyer will feedback microphonically with the PPIMV on my Mod5 Marshall on "2"! I have to stand at least 10 feet away facing away from the amp to play and even then I get the microphonic feedback if I move a little. The new DSD is potted from the factory and my tech potted the Super 2-both the pickup and the space between the pickup and the nickel cover.

I wish I could really crank the PPIMV because these guitars with these Dimarzio pickups sounds great with my amp...I guess I need to bring the guitars back to my tech and see if he can figure out what is up. But maybe that's just the way these pickups behave with a Mod5 or any high gain amp?!

[rgorke]

You gotta keep your distance with this thing from the ol speakers.

No shit. The new DSD in my VH-1/Clapton strat and the old Super 2 with nickel cover in my Destroyer will feedback microphonically with the PPIMV on my Mod5 Marshall on "2"! I have to stand at least 10 feet away facing away from the amp to play and even then I get the microphonic feedback if I move a little. The new DSD is potted from the factory and my tech potted the Super 2-both the pickup and the space between the pickup and the nickel cover.

I wish I could really crank the PPIMV because these guitars with these Dimarzio pickups sounds great with my amp...I guess I need to bring the guitars back to my tech and see if he can figure out what is up. But maybe that's just the way these pickups behave with a Mod5 or any high gain amp?!

I have sent most of my vintage pickups (DSD, MM 1300, 1400) to Lindy Fralin for potting. It has made a world of difference. I can stand very close with the PPIMV on 6-7 and be 3 feet away.

[SteadyEddie]

Yeah, and his amps were modded by Jose.... He turned the Variac up to 130... He liked PAFs so much he rewound em!

Oh well i guess he was just a fucking liar then!

He prolly lied about the Schwinn bike paint too. I bet it's just Krylon.

[Tone Slinger]

I think the dishonesty in Ed's statement about his rewound PAFS was the part about "like on the album,etc". After the production of that first album, with it OUT OF THIS WORLD sound, I think Ed felt he needed to possibly CONFIRM his ability to replicate that sound. He was proud of it and wanted people to believe that sound was the product of a 'special' rewound PAF. It is obvious to me that Ed had a DSD type (Mighty Mite) in the strat on that first album. I hear that ceramic aspect.

Ed would have obviously KEPT the alnico magnet in his old pafs, with the only thing being done would be the wire type and turns.

SO I think the pu Ed got rewound by Seymour in the early part of '78 was probably a old Paf that was rewound pretty much full up with awg 42 wire. That would of made it between a 9k to no more than 10k type output. The Duncan '78 makes sense. A jb would also make sense, but I dont think Ed's particular rewind was that hot (JB).

[garbeaj]

I think the dishonesty in Ed's statement about his rewound PAFS was the part about "like on the album,etc". After the production of that first album, with it OUT OF THIS WORLD sound, I think Ed felt he needed to possibly CONFIRM his ability to replicate that sound. He was proud of it and wanted people to believe that sound was the product of a 'special' rewound PAF. It is obvious to me that Ed had a DSD type (Mighty Mite) in the strat on that first album. I hear that ceramic aspect.

Ed would have obviously KEPT the alnico magnet in his old pafs, with the only thing being done would be the wire type and turns.

SO I think the pu Ed got rewound by Seymour in the early part of '78 was probably a old Paf that was rewound pretty much full up with awg 42 wire. That would of made it between a 9k to no more than 10k type output. The Duncan '78 makes sense. A jb would also make sense, but I dont think Ed's particular rewind was that hot (JB).

But then we get back to the Destroyer tracks and how similar in sound they are to the Frankenstein...did he put a Super Distortion/Mighty Mite clone in that guitar? I don't know...the P.A.F. type sound of a Super 70 might be able to get that sizzle with a fully wound up/modded Marshall and he could have used the stock pickup. Strat78 felt that it was more likely a stock Super 70 after his experiments with DSD's in his Destroyers...

My personal experience is that I couldn't get close to the sound with the Super 70 in my 2 x 12 Mod5 Marshall...I am MUCH closer with my Super 2 pickup. But then that is apples and oranges when you compare a Mod 5/PPIMV to a 100W Marshall 4 x 12...

[rgorke]

I think the dishonesty in Ed's statement about his rewound PAFS was the part about "like on the album,etc". After the production of that first album, with it OUT OF THIS WORLD sound, I think Ed felt he needed to possibly CONFIRM his ability to replicate that sound. He was proud of it and wanted people to believe that sound was the product of a 'special' rewound PAF. It is obvious to me that Ed had a DSD type (Mighty Mite) in the strat on that first album. I hear that ceramic aspect.

Ed would have obviously KEPT the alnico magnet in his old pafs, with the only thing being done would be the wire type and turns.

SO I think the pu Ed got rewound by Seymour in the early part of '78 was probably a old Paf that was rewound pretty much full up with awg 42 wire. That would of made it between a 9k to no more than 10k type output. The Duncan '78 makes sense. A jb would also make sense, but I dont think Ed's particular rewind was that hot (JB).

But then we get back to the Destroyer tracks and how similar in sound they are to the Frankenstein...did he put a Super Distortion/Mighty Mite clone in that guitar? I don't know...the P.A.F. type sound of a Super 70 might be able to get that sizzle with a fully wound up/modded Marshall and he could have used the stock pickup. Strat78 felt that it was more likely a stock Super 70 after his experiments with DSD's in his Destroyers...

My personal experience is that I couldn't get close to the sound with the Super 70 in my 2 x 12 Mod5 Marshall...I am MUCH closer with my Super 2 pickup. But then that is apples and oranges when you compare a Mod 5/PPIMV to a 100W Marshall 4 x 12...

I am not sure...I have different guitars set up with DSD, PAFesque, and MMs. If I switch between them, the difference really is only marginal. Most of the tone is coming from the amp. I would think any major differences would be or could be reduced or masked by the engineer.

[EJSLPlexi]

the one thing i want to add to the last three replies is that whatever he used it was tight and aggressive
Listen to the notes after the A chord in eruption, a alnico II paf wont do that and neither will a JB but a rewound gibson PAF to 14K with a ceramic will. I still stay with my original statement that on that first record he had a gibson paf from the es-335 he hacked up rewound(this was wound to the spec of 13.8K with a ceramic as per duncan early guitar player ad for the custom van halen pu that EVH got pissed off about and i think he used a gibson a 300K pot to keep this pu from getting too brittle with his marshall. I will never believe he used a rosewood neck on that record no way!