Thanks for this! This is what many wanted to hear a long time now because these are almost same kind of pickups. I liked 36th on neck and 59b on bridge.
Thanks for that! Incredibly irritating that he switched through multiple positions on one pickup before going to the other. Should have done neck to neck then bridge to bridge for a direct and immediate comparison.
Thanks. Instead of complaining, you contributed. I wish everyone did this. Of course 5 years ago when I did this stuff I didn't do it the same way I'd do it now. But i'm not going to take them down just because people whine. I did it how I did it. Not many others have almost a 100 shootouts on the internet. I challenge anyone to go for it.
To my ear the Dimarzios have the more accurate "Tele on steroids" sound that real PAFs have while the Duncans display the "hollow mids" that many modern PAFs exhibit. Nice demo and I've had both pairs before. Ultimately settled on ReWind Electric PAF-1s which are just superior in clarity and note definition
I agree with the hollow mids assessment on the 59s, although I have found plenty of modern replicas that have lots of midrange. James makes great stuff at ReWind!
Seems like the 36ths are modern sounding, aggressive, cut better. Transparent neutral character. But the 59s, true to their name, have a vintage sound with a distinct character that are ideal for clean playing and old-school blues.
Duncan neck sounds like it emphasizes the low end more & bridge the high end... the Dimarzios sounds like they have a more even eq response lending them greater clarity on both pickups
I’ve been using both of the 103 & 223 and 59’s in my guitars. For me, I prefer the DiMarzios. Thanks for the video, I can listen to a comparison other than myself.
Gee I really didn’t expect to feel this way but to my ear, through iPhone speakers anyway, the Dimarzios seem to be very rich and detailed. The Duncan’s felt like they kinda lagged behind to me for some reason. Your personal opinions?
@@VisualGuy I have some Hamers with SDs in them. JB, '59, Antiquity. They're all good, but I've not been able to A/B them with anything. The closest I've gotten is the PRS 8515LT, which I like A LOT! Very clear. Unadulterated sound.
They both sound great, but I would have to choose the Dimarzio because Seymour Duncan charges an extra $20 if you want 4 conductor cable for splitting.
Thanks for making a demo the way they should be tone, a variety of tones especially clean. Really annoying trying to get a feel for the overall tone of a pickup and finding demos that don't do that...
AIRed pickups have a spacer between the magnet and slugs/screws. That reduces the magnetic strength, but sonically it makes the pickup sound dark, less clear treble. It's not good for cleans but it's great for fluid high-gain leads. Too bad DiMarzio is not fully transparent about this in the tech talk.
Two browsers helps. Or making chapters. i made 30 videos in 2 weeks so keeping the clips like they are was less to manage than cutting them all in half and trying to keep things sorted. Thanks for watching
Great vid but could you show treble position of one then treble position of competing pickup. Then rhythm pickup vs rhythm pickup. That way I don’t have to think as much and can enjoy the video. I’m sorry just being lazy. Great comparison!
I did it how I did it. Make time stanps or use two browsers. It was 5 years ago and I've learned a lot since then. I challenge you to make 80 something paf shootouts the way you want then too be! 😀😉
The output makes very little difference compared to the inductance and offset of the coils, but sometimes that is slightly noticeable. You are correct. They sounded really close in the last clips. Cheers!
After so many videos this helps so much. I think, in my opinion, if vintage is wanted and by icons, EVH,Slash,Gibbons and Bonamossa, against Page/Gilbert, friendly and preference, it seems 36th vs Pearly Gates for vintage snd 59 vs PAF masters. I give the edge to PAF masters for hot PAF and a dead even PGs vs 36th. This video helped mail it for me after watching so many. Player’s choice. None bad, vintage, I wanted to hear clear, tones snd grit. Overwound I wanted similar, but the PAF Masters are far more clear than 59s. This helps immensely. I think go for PAF Masters for Gilbert/Page. For that vintage PAF, total toss up 36th snd Pearly Gates, my dilemma. No right or wrong! Subjective! All videos help more and more snd this to a good one. 59 is muddy to my ears. PAF Master, clear and hot! Cross videos is not always fair, but with no Pearly Gates vs 36th, I think 36th. Gibbons and Bonamossa would call BS, but subjective! The advantage or SD is their winding machine is the exact same as Gibson, Larry is a tone freak, do that evens the duel! Good thing is can’t go wrong with vintage PGs or 36th, with 36th more accurate to the real thing and PGs a bit hotter. Hotter, I think PAF Master or, Whole Lotta Love (forgot that one). I don’t see going wrong, but vintage got blues to GNR and hot for Page/ Gilbert, but vintage seems easier to control watching them. Oh, yeah, EVH vintage Dimarzio, which would likely be 36th before 36th existed. Called custom for EVH, but then 36th came along. Great video. Closing in! Well done!
The Dimarzios take the win here. What I'm trying to find is the 36th vs the Seth Lover vs the Pearly Gates which are basically the best cheaper PAf style options out there.
I’ve never felt the need to demonstrate comparisons between the middle during shootouts. I set the height the way I like it but others can vary the heigh of both and end up not being as good as a representation as the pickups individually. Just my opinion. Cheers and thanks for watching!
Great video, just what I was looking for, very informative. I’m a bit confused because I have 2 LP shaped guitars, 1st LP standard spec and the 2nd LP custom spec, the first got JB/59 but I bought a 36th anniversary set. Which set of pickups suit which guitar more in your opinion?
Honestly, it doesn’t matter the the style, they all sound diff. Listen to how they sound acoustically, and make an assessment based on the pickup characteristics by the manufacturer. More output, means less spikey treble, generally. But... the best way... try them both in both guitars, like me! ;)
When I did these shootouts, 9 times in 2 1/2 weeks. Haha. Not including other guitars. All for the science! It’s not that hard once you get used to it. You can loosen strings, pull them to the side. Flip the guitar over. Unsolder in the cavity. Pull the pups out and install new ones... reverse the process and retune up.
Excellent Demo, Very well done. I have both sets and was about to swap the 36's for the Duncan's. Like several other comments the 36's seemed clearer and more balanced to me. Going to leave them in.Thanks
Both great pickups. Dimarzio's has a bit higher output and better all around . For clean/low gain I prefer the 59, It's just smooth with just the right amount of grit and mud. Really you should match a 59 Neck with a JB SH-4 Bridge. If had to choose based on these setups I would go with the Dimarzio's, amazing midrange pickups. For a single Humbucker setup it's a no brainer. Still I would prefer the 59/JB setup. The SD's are also wax potted which of course has its own pros and cons.
36s have just a bit more "bloom" while the 59s are flatter, more reserved. I'm a Duncan fan 99% of the time, but fully admit the 36s edge out the venerable 59s
Well, I’m going backwards... this is the 3rd (of the 4 shootout) demos for me. I agree, all things equal, the 36’s have the edge here. Not to say the 59’s couldn’t be EQ’d etc. One to go😉.
Watching comparison videos and cannot understand, why people do a/b comparison of neck vs bridge of the same model instead of neck vs neck of different models?
After addressing this topic so many times now I cannot understand why people comment about it instead of just making the chapters in the comment section because its literally so easy to do, but viewers would rather just blame the creator on their effort instead of contributing to it.
@@VisualGuy completely understand the extra work and wanting to keep consistency with the other videos. I think your shootout and demo videos are some of the best on RUclips! I purchased a pair of Stewmac Golden Age Parson Street humbuckers (A5 neck/A2 bridge) because of your demo. Now I'm looking at some Wolfetones! Keep up the good work!
You know it would be really helpful if you did some edit work and compared neck to neck and bridge to bridge because I myself am only interested in one of those pickup positions. I gave you a thumbs down for that because all of your pickup comparisons are like this. That sucks! Go back and forth from each pickup selection instead of switching between the two. One more thing you don't give any examples of the middle position. You have already made a number of videos and sadly in the wrong way, please change this.
1: Any viewer doing pickup research will be using a good audio source on a computer. They can easily open two browsers for comparing. 2: Rather than complain, you could have taken the time to scroll through the four minute video and make chapters in the comments. Then you could click between them and its helpful for other viewers. 3: Why do you want to hear the middle position, where two pickups are paired as a set, when you are only interested in one position? (Which is why I didn’t do it in the first place) I’ve explained many times the reasoning behind me choosing to do it this way. I made 27 videos in two weeks for this shootout run. The previous was over 50 in two months. Chopping all the clips doubles the amount of editing, organizing and storing. There are easy solutions. I don’t think I did it the wrong way. I left you a thumbs down because I think your comment sucks.
Stop the press! David Smith has spoken! You know, it would be really helpful if you did some proofreading work to ensure consistency in your critique. Are you only interested in the neck position? Are you also interested in the middle position? The world may never know... In all seriousness, this guy has more pickup demos and comparisons than anyone else on RUclips. It is a great and convenient resource for people curious about these pickups. If you don't feel like it's helpful to you, move along. To think that it needs a "thumbs down" because it doesn't meet your discerning criteria is laughable. You are always welcome to make your own comparison videos. Take the time to source the pickups, obtain the recording equipment, record, and edit in the manner that you see fit. I'm always baffled by people who criticize others when they themselves are not putting in the effort to do something similar. Your channel has no content. Make videos that you feel are superior and lead by example instead of crapping on other channels.
Thanks for this! This is what many wanted to hear a long time now because these are almost same kind of pickups. I liked 36th on neck and 59b on bridge.
Glad you enjoy them. Cheers!
Both sound good but I preferred the Dimarzio’s here. They just sound more open an clearer and pleasant to my ears.
Thanks for watching as always!
2:44 paf 36 neck
2:59 paf 36 bridge
3:15 sh1 neck
3:30 sh1 bridge
Thanks for that! Incredibly irritating that he switched through multiple positions on one pickup before going to the other. Should have done neck to neck then bridge to bridge for a direct and immediate comparison.
@@roughcutguitars i know... It's so fucking obvious but 90% of pickup comparisons don't do it 🤷🏻♂️ guitarists are not smarter than the others
Thanks. Instead of complaining, you contributed. I wish everyone did this. Of course 5 years ago when I did this stuff I didn't do it the same way I'd do it now. But i'm not going to take them down just because people whine. I did it how I did it. Not many others have almost a 100 shootouts on the internet. I challenge anyone to go for it.
Bro, you still have the BEST pickup shootouts online... well done!
Thanks bud!
You are my hero for this series of videos, helping me choose
Thanks man.
To my ear the Dimarzios have the more accurate "Tele on steroids" sound that real PAFs have while the Duncans display the "hollow mids" that many modern PAFs exhibit. Nice demo and I've had both pairs before. Ultimately settled on ReWind Electric PAF-1s which are just superior in clarity and note definition
I agree with the hollow mids assessment on the 59s, although I have found plenty of modern replicas that have lots of midrange. James makes great stuff at ReWind!
Rewinds are fantastic. Just installed a set of his 58 pafs.
Seems like the 36ths are modern sounding, aggressive, cut better. Transparent neutral character. But the 59s, true to their name, have a vintage sound with a distinct character that are ideal for clean playing and old-school blues.
Nice. Cheers!
So difficult to choose, both are excellent..
Great demo as usual. Dimarzios for the win 👍
Cheers Paul!!!
I Agree !
These all sound so great! I have the Duncan '59s in a semi-hollow body guitar now... about to drop a set of the Dimarzios in a LP copy... can't wait!
Awesome!
Thats how a comparison is done
Duncan neck sounds like it emphasizes the low end more & bridge the high end... the Dimarzios sounds like they have a more even eq response lending them greater clarity on both pickups
Cheers bro! Thanks for watching!
I’ve been using both of the 103 & 223 and 59’s in my guitars. For me, I prefer the DiMarzios. Thanks for the video, I can listen to a comparison other than myself.
Thanks for listening! I have about 80 of these shootouts. Don’t fall too far down the rabbit hole! Haha
Dimarzio has a soft attack and seem a bit woodier and Seymour Duncan have a harder or more pronounced attack (snappier)
Gee I really didn’t expect to feel this way but to my ear, through iPhone speakers anyway, the Dimarzios seem to be very rich and detailed. The Duncan’s felt like they kinda lagged behind to me for some reason. Your personal opinions?
I agree: 59s sound slightly duller.
You’ve earned a sub from me sir. Lord knows you deserve more of them.
@@VisualGuy I like the Dimarzios in this case.
Cheers man!
@@VisualGuy I have some Hamers with SDs in them. JB, '59, Antiquity. They're all good, but I've not been able to A/B them with anything. The closest I've gotten is the PRS 8515LT, which I like A LOT! Very clear. Unadulterated sound.
36th anniversary for the win, IMO.
The 59 and 36 sounded good, if I i had to choose it would be the 36th set. Reason, it's nice and thick a real rockin roll pickup.
0:13 - 1:57 - 3:45 - 3:54 Dimarzio
0:44 - 2:27 - 4:05 - 4:14 Duncan
Thanks!
They both sound great, but I would have to choose the Dimarzio because Seymour Duncan charges an extra $20 if you want 4 conductor cable for splitting.
Nice!!! Thanks for watchin!
Guten Tag! Welche Pickups hast du behalten? Welche haben dir am besten gefallen?
Super! Thanks! Both sets sounds great!
Cheers! Thanks for watching!
Thanks for making a demo the way they should be tone, a variety of tones especially clean. Really annoying trying to get a feel for the overall tone of a pickup and finding demos that don't do that...
Thanks so much! Cheers
Dimarzios for the win! Great demo
Cheers!
both nice but the difference from 36th over to sd is like taking the proverbial "blanket off the speaker"...more presence on 36th
Cheers!
Love these shootout videos. Would love to see a similar one with the Dimarzio Air Classic.
Thanks! Maybe soon!
AIRed pickups have a spacer between the magnet and slugs/screws. That reduces the magnetic strength, but sonically it makes the pickup sound dark, less clear treble. It's not good for cleans but it's great for fluid high-gain leads. Too bad DiMarzio is not fully transparent about this in the tech talk.
DiM 36th Anniversary PAF Bridge SD '59 SH-1 Bridge
0:14, 1:09 (low vol.), 1:57 (low vol.), 2:59 (mid vol.), 3:55 0:44, 1:31 (low vol.), 2:27 (low vol.), 3:30 (mid vol.), 4:15
36th Anniversary PAF Neck SD '59 SH-1 Neck
0:00, 0:59 (low vol.), 1:43 (low vol.), 2:44 (mid vol.), 3:46 0:30, 1:21 (low vol.), 2:13 (low vol.), 3:15 (mid vol.), 4:06
Thanks for the video. Would be nice if you went dim. Bridge straight to sey. Bridge etc. Because it's hard to a/b if they're not next to each other.
Two browsers helps. Or making chapters. i made 30 videos in 2 weeks so keeping the clips like they are was less to manage than cutting them all in half and trying to keep things sorted. Thanks for watching
Great vid but could you show treble position of one then treble position of competing pickup. Then rhythm pickup vs rhythm pickup. That way I don’t have to think as much and can enjoy the video. I’m sorry just being lazy. Great comparison!
Would be much more effective if you edit it to compare neck to neck then bridge to bridge before switching through all the settings on one.
I did it how I did it. Make time stanps or use two browsers. It was 5 years ago and I've learned a lot since then. I challenge you to make 80 something paf shootouts the way you want then too be! 😀😉
All I can say is that well there was no bad tones here !
Glad you enjoyed the videos! Hope they helped somehow!
+1
Hello! Which pickups did you keep? Which ones did you like best?
The dimarzio's even thou very articulate and clean, sound extremely compressed. I like the 59s better
Cheers!
They are both great sets, ive had both and my guitars have the paf 36 in the bridge and the sd 59 in the neck....trust me it just works.
Thanks for watching
Funny - I was thinking exactly that when I listened to this vid.
All I use are 59 Duncan’s in the bridge of every guitar I own they are the best pickups ever made IMHO
Seymour-59s sound like they have short alnico. I very like 'em. Both models sound very vital an beautiful, at the same level.
It looks like paf 36th has more output. In the last riff both PUs sound nearly identical.
The output makes very little difference compared to the inductance and offset of the coils, but sometimes that is slightly noticeable. You are correct. They sounded really close in the last clips. Cheers!
After so many videos this helps so much. I think, in my opinion, if vintage is wanted and by icons, EVH,Slash,Gibbons and Bonamossa, against Page/Gilbert, friendly and preference, it seems 36th vs Pearly Gates for vintage snd 59 vs PAF masters. I give the edge to PAF masters for hot PAF and a dead even PGs vs 36th. This video helped mail it for me after watching so many. Player’s choice. None bad, vintage, I wanted to hear clear, tones snd grit. Overwound I wanted similar, but the PAF Masters are far more clear than 59s. This helps immensely. I think go for PAF Masters for Gilbert/Page. For that vintage PAF, total toss up 36th snd Pearly Gates, my dilemma. No right or wrong! Subjective! All videos help more and more snd this to a good one. 59 is muddy to my ears. PAF Master, clear and hot! Cross videos is not always fair, but with no Pearly Gates vs 36th, I think 36th. Gibbons and Bonamossa would call BS, but subjective! The advantage or SD is their winding machine is the exact same as Gibson, Larry is a tone freak, do that evens the duel! Good thing is can’t go wrong with vintage PGs or 36th, with 36th more accurate to the real thing and PGs a bit hotter. Hotter, I think PAF Master or, Whole Lotta Love (forgot that one). I don’t see going wrong, but vintage got blues to GNR and hot for Page/ Gilbert, but vintage seems easier to control watching them. Oh, yeah, EVH vintage Dimarzio, which would likely be 36th before 36th existed. Called custom for EVH, but then 36th came along. Great video. Closing in! Well done!
Thanks so much!
The Dimarzios take the win here. What I'm trying to find is the 36th vs the Seth Lover vs the Pearly Gates which are basically the best cheaper PAf style options out there.
I don’t have any videos of the Pearly Gates
The Paf master is a great set
Never tried them yet
We can put it this way...
Seymour Duncans: Modern, cleaner, clearer and more trebly sound
Dimarzios: Classic, dirtier, a bit muddier and warmer sound
Both sounded great, but for different reasons. Sound is subjective. No right or wrong. That said….. I’ll take the Dimarzio 36th Anniversary.
Damn. Dimarzio totally won for me! In both positions
I didn't see the middle postion demonstrated, oh well. I have a set of each of those on my shelf.
I’ve never felt the need to demonstrate comparisons between the middle during shootouts. I set the height the way I like it but others can vary the heigh of both and end up not being as good as a representation as the pickups individually. Just my opinion. Cheers and thanks for watching!
Great video, just what I was looking for, very informative. I’m a bit confused because I have 2 LP shaped guitars, 1st LP standard spec and the 2nd LP custom spec, the first got JB/59 but I bought a 36th anniversary set. Which set of pickups suit which guitar more in your opinion?
Honestly, it doesn’t matter the the style, they all sound diff. Listen to how they sound acoustically, and make an assessment based on the pickup characteristics by the manufacturer. More output, means less spikey treble, generally. But... the best way... try them both in both guitars, like me! ;)
Visual Guy just check your other vids and maaan, how many times do u swap pickups :)
When I did these shootouts, 9 times in 2 1/2 weeks. Haha. Not including other guitars. All for the science! It’s not that hard once you get used to it. You can loosen strings, pull them to the side. Flip the guitar over. Unsolder in the cavity. Pull the pups out and install new ones... reverse the process and retune up.
Excellent Demo, Very well done. I have both sets and was about to swap the 36's for the Duncan's. Like several other comments the 36's seemed clearer and more balanced to me. Going to leave them in.Thanks
Thanks for watching!!!! Hope you subscribe. There are lots more of these
Both great pickups. Dimarzio's has a bit higher output and better all around . For clean/low gain I prefer the 59, It's just smooth with just the right amount of grit and mud. Really you should match a 59 Neck with a JB SH-4 Bridge.
If had to choose based on these setups I would go with the Dimarzio's, amazing midrange pickups. For a single Humbucker setup it's a no brainer. Still I would prefer the 59/JB setup.
The SD's are also wax potted which of course has its own pros and cons.
Good insight!
0:14 Dimarzio bridge
0:44 SD 59 bridge
Dimarzio sounded more open, less compressed. SD sounded with more umph.
Thanks for watching
Dimarzios sound very good clean, but muddy with distortion.
It happens!
36s have just a bit more "bloom" while the 59s are flatter, more reserved.
I'm a Duncan fan 99% of the time, but fully admit the 36s edge out the venerable 59s
59s are pretty underwhelming all around the board IMO.
@@VisualGuy ever try the Transition or Breed neck pup in the bridge?
No, sure haven’t!
Well, I’m going backwards... this is the 3rd (of the 4 shootout) demos for me. I agree, all things equal, the 36’s have the edge here. Not to say the 59’s couldn’t be EQ’d etc. One to go😉.
Don’t burn yourself out! Haha
Watching comparison videos and cannot understand, why people do a/b comparison of neck vs bridge of the same model instead of neck vs neck of different models?
After addressing this topic so many times now I cannot understand why people comment about it instead of just making the chapters in the comment section because its literally so easy to do, but viewers would rather just blame the creator on their effort instead of contributing to it.
Making for myself, thank you for your advice.
0:59 Neck Clean DM
1:21 Neck Clean SD
1:42 Neck Clean 2 DM
2:12 Neck Clean 2 SD
0:14 0:44
Dimarzio FTW!
🙌🙌🙌
thanks Bro~lml
둘다 사기로 결정했어 둘다 소리가 좋다!!!
Dp103 or Alnico 2 pro?
I can't make my mind up
Good luck!
@@VisualGuy I did make my mind up finally, thanks much.
Cheers and enjoy!
Great shootout! I preferred the Dimarzio's. I like that upper mid sound. +1 on hearing what the middle position sounds like.
Thanks for watching! Hope they are still useful! Cheers!!!
@@VisualGuy completely understand the extra work and wanting to keep consistency with the other videos. I think your shootout and demo videos are some of the best on RUclips! I purchased a pair of Stewmac Golden Age Parson Street humbuckers (A5 neck/A2 bridge) because of your demo. Now I'm looking at some Wolfetones! Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much! I edited my comment. No need to senseless details! Glad they help, even though they aren’t perfect! I appreciate you hanging out!
По мне так оба сета хороши🤟💥, Seymour 59 более округлый звук по нежнее.
У dimarzio хорошая верхняя середина.
Di Marzio bridge and Duncan neck.
Cheers!
Dimarzio has a brighter tone.
59 is more western, 36th is more southern !
Dimarzio clearly wins.
00:14
Thank u! For me it’s much better to listen to pups in like for like positions than switch neck to bridge first. My ears can remember.
The 59s have a spiky and sharp pick attack. Too stiff
They both sound...meh.
Lol
You know it would be really helpful if you did some edit work and compared neck to neck and bridge to bridge because I myself am only interested in one of those pickup positions. I gave you a thumbs down for that because all of your pickup comparisons are like this. That sucks! Go back and forth from each pickup selection instead of switching between the two. One more thing you don't give any examples of the middle position. You have already made a number of videos and sadly in the wrong way, please change this.
1: Any viewer doing pickup research will be using a good audio source on a computer. They can easily open two browsers for comparing.
2: Rather than complain, you could have taken the time to scroll through the four minute video and make chapters in the comments. Then you could click between them and its helpful for other viewers.
3: Why do you want to hear the middle position, where two pickups are paired as a set, when you are only interested in one position? (Which is why I didn’t do it in the first place)
I’ve explained many times the reasoning behind me choosing to do it this way. I made 27 videos in two weeks for this shootout run. The previous was over 50 in two months. Chopping all the clips doubles the amount of editing, organizing and storing. There are easy solutions. I don’t think I did it the wrong way. I left you a thumbs down because I think your comment sucks.
Stop the press! David Smith has spoken!
You know, it would be really helpful if you did some proofreading work to ensure consistency in your critique. Are you only interested in the neck position? Are you also interested in the middle position? The world may never know...
In all seriousness, this guy has more pickup demos and comparisons than anyone else on RUclips. It is a great and convenient resource for people curious about these pickups. If you don't feel like it's helpful to you, move along. To think that it needs a "thumbs down" because it doesn't meet your discerning criteria is laughable.
You are always welcome to make your own comparison videos. Take the time to source the pickups, obtain the recording equipment, record, and edit in the manner that you see fit. I'm always baffled by people who criticize others when they themselves are not putting in the effort to do something similar.
Your channel has no content. Make videos that you feel are superior and lead by example instead of crapping on other channels.
00:45