DiMarzio Tone Zone pickups can be divisive; some find them attractive while others find them objectionable. As high-output humbuckers go, these units boast bass/middle ratings of 8.5 while treble ratings stand at 5.
This humbucker is ideal for big rock, punk and metal styles. With a clean amp it produces plenty of power; however, its highs tend to sound muffled.
Guitar parts
DiMarzio Tone Zone Humbuckers offer high output, fat sounding and incredible dynamic range. Their dual-resonance coils produce more overtones than you’d expect from such powerful pickups; making this pickup an excellent option for solid body bridge positions like Air Classic, Air Zone, PAF Joe or FRED models.
DiMarzio’s best-selling high-output humbucker features an Alnico 5 magnet with a bass/mid rating of 8.5, producing massive low end grunt. Ideal for heavy rock, punk and metal styles; particularly suitable for heavy riffing on bass guitar. Unfortunately it has proven not to be very reliable: mine in my Charvel Predator developed a tinny sound after only several years while my Charvel Pro Mod does not display similar issues.
Frets
Frets are thin metal strips that divide a fingerboard into individual notes and act as the points of contact between string and guitar neck, so their condition must remain optimal for proper playing. They are typically composed of an alloy composed of multiple metals; their size and shape have an impactful influence over its playback quality.
Frets have been used on stringed instruments for millennia. Not only do they make playing easier by distinguishing between note pitches of a fretboard, they’re also essential components of its sound as they help with vibration and intonation.
There are four different kinds of fret wire: nickel silver, stainless steel, brass and evogold. Nickel silver fretwire is most often seen on modern electric guitars; its composition consists of an alloy of 18 percent nickel and 80 percent copper; this makes it harder than traditional fretwire while wearing better than stainless steel in terms of wear resistance. Evogold features similar properties but comes from an amalgam of different metals similar to nickel silver’s hardness; brass wears faster due to being soft – however both nickel silver and stainless steel fretwire types wear similarly over time – particularly with steel strings!
Frets come in all different shapes and sizes; short or tall frets may cause strings to strike hard against the fingerboard when being played, and are more vulnerable to capos’ damage, leading to premature wear down. Taller frets cost more, but typically wear down less quickly (especially with use of capo) and last longer before needing replacement.
Truss rod
A truss rod is a thin metal shaft that runs the length of an acoustic or electric guitar’s neck, typically made of titanium. When installed into its slot it can be adjusted using either an adjusting screw or nut at either end; its purpose is to counteract any natural forward bow created by string tension and prevent high action that causes strings to buzz against frets.
Most acoustic and electric steel-stringed guitars feature a single-action truss rod. This strong T-shaped rod allows users to bend the neck backward or forward in order to relieve an overbow. When tightened at the nut, this rod also tightens a walnut dowel near it; this pushes against the neck to bend it forward while correcting convex neck curvatures.
Some players prefer a steep neck angle while others desire something less steep. Players who play slide guitar or fret very lightly require greater relief than fingerstyle players; as a general guideline, a gap of no wider than one business card at the sixth fret will provide sufficient relief.
Truss rods should never be used to ensure that the neck remains perfectly straight. If you experience string buzzing up the neck, this usually indicates either too tight truss rod settings or worn and pitted frets – both signs that professional guitar setup or repair services may be necessary.
Headstock
The headstock of a guitar’s neck contains its tuning pegs/machine heads. It may feature an angled scarf joint or be straight and can even be recessed (such as on cigar box guitars). It may also contain capstans which enable strings to pass when using tuners; often ebony is used for this part, although other materials may also be suitable; once attached or glued into place.
Headstock construction can significantly change the sound of a guitar. Nut and tuners are two of three points where strings touch an instrument, so their affective power on sound production cannot be understated. Furthermore, headstock designs can influence string break angle and tension accordingly.
Guitars with straight headstocks are more susceptible to string breakage issues due to close spacing between their nut and tuners and string benders, causing strings to pinch against one another when bent, which prevents their return back to pitch after bending, leading to broken strings that compromise tuning stability. Straight headstock guitars typically utilize string trees – bend pieces of wood used to provide downward break angles on strings over the nut – in order to help mitigate string breakage issues.
One key decision regarding headstock construction is whether to choose a scarf joint or non-scarf joined headstock. Guitars featuring scarf joints tend to be stronger, though their construction requires additional time and thus usually costs more to build. Luthiers cite better sound and longer-term tuning stability as main benefits of scarf joints for guitar building projects.
Pickups
Pickups are among the most essential components of an electric guitar, providing string vibrations with electrical energy to be amplified into incredible sounds.
Different kinds of pickups can provide your guitar with an array of sounds, and selecting one suitable for your set-up can help you to reach the tone that speaks to you. But it is important to keep in mind that pickups alone do not determine tone – other factors like strings used on your instrument, amplifier types and pedals may all have an influence.
The two primary types of guitar pickups are single coil and humbucking. A single-coil pickup consists of one magnet wrapped with copper wire that creates a brighter tone; in contrast, a humbucker pickup features two magnets wrapped with copper wire that are placed closer together so as to cancel out any humming noises. There are also noiseless single-coils available which combine brightness with no audible hum.
Fender offers other types of pickups such as the Jazz bass pickup with its warm and clear tonality that makes it well suited to jazz music as well as rock (Geddy Lee from Rush is a notable user). Split-coil pickups feature two halves that rest slightly higher on one pickup; this style of pickup is often employed by blues guitarists.
Seymour Duncan Tone Zone pickups can be divisive; many players either love or loathe them. Boasting a massive low-end wall of sound that’s ideal for high-gain tones but can sound muddy when played cleanly, playing around with their pole-pieces allows players to tame it into producing some truly fantastic tones from this pickup.