Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan pickups sample audio questions

[RayKnight]

For some reason, SD pickups' audio sample are "more accurate" than Dimarzio's. Not being able to try out the pickups before I buy them, I know I am risking the fact that I'm gonna put my money on something that I will never get to hear until I pay for them and have them installed.

So my questions would be...

1. How accurate are the sound sample on the Dimarzio website?
2. HSS set up, what would you guys recommend for humbucker? (either SD or Dimarzio)

Thanks in advance.

 

[subversion]

what do you expect from the pickup (good cleans/ crunch/ intense distortion)?

 

[RayKnight]

Hi Subversion, looking for something that's all rounded, more harmonics. My guitar is too clean so looking for something that has better crunch. I don't play much music with intense distortion. The AT-1 and Tone Zone seems like a nice choice but again, question 1 comes into mind because I don't know if that's how it'll sound like when they're installed in my guitar.

 

[subversion]

i believe i was the first to acquire the tone zone when it debuted here- that's like 2 decades ago... wasn't too happy with it & felt duped because it sounds killer in Paul Gilbert's guitar. but it was juvenile times for me, lesson learnt the hard way- do NOT fall prey to impressionable ways before knowing what's really in store. like you said, with pickups, it's a hit/ miss affair we don't know what's in store for us, really. not to say the tone zone was dud, but it's not my type...

anyway, being a Duncan fan, i'd say you should check out the following Duncans for you prefrences:

*Custom Custom (click link)
*Custom 5
*Alnico II Pro (i believe this might do you good, it sounds good in combination with single coils)

 

[RayKnight]

Ouch. Sorry to hear about it. But does the Tone Zone sound like what it is on the website? Duncan's pickups sound more "real" for me for samples than Dimarzio. I'll reconsider Tone Zone then. Any recommendations for "wailing" kind of tone? Last question, besides Davis and 77, where else can I get Duncan pickups? Thanks for your responses so far, it's enlightening.

 

[RayKnight]

Also while we're on the topic of pickups. Could you enlighten me the pros and cons of getting a 2nd hand pickup?