For me, a lot depends on what I want to do with a particular guitar. And the intrinsic tonal characteristics of that guitar determine what you have to work with. A pickup can't generate tone that isn't there to begin with. I use DiMarzio pickups simply because I know what to expect from them. I find the descriptions and technical info on their website to be useful guides in getting the sound I'm after. I've heard some great sounds from Duncan-equpped guitars, I just haven't felt any need to try them out, for what I know I can get from DiMarzio.
- For Classic Rock: DP 101 Dual Sound (bridge) & DP 106 SCHB (neck) in a Yamaha SBG1000
- for Hard Rock & modern Blues: DP 155 Tone Zone (bridge) & DP 151 PAF Pro (neck) in a Yamaha SBG1000
- for classic Blues: DP 155 PAF Pro (bridge) & DP 156 Humbucker From Hell (neck) in an Odyssey Custom V
Both the Odyssey V and my old Washburn A-20CS came with DiMarzios installed, but there's no model number stamped on the baseplates, so I don't know for sure what they are. They both sound great, but I'm going to change the V setup as listed above, to make it stand out a bit more. I really enjoy the PAF Pro, and the Humbucker From Hell is the closest thing now available to my much-loved, long-discontinued SCHB (Super Clear HumBucker), which I've been using since 1986.[/font]