Originally posted by Lordathestrings
... but the DiMarzio X2N is the most extreme high-output passive pickup out there! It will not play cleanly...

I know you're experienced, Lordathestrings (I, as well), and I respect your opinions, but I've been using the "X2N" for MANY years as my #1 pickup in almost ALL of my guitars. It plays very clean. I use more gain (even when clean) then most players, and have never experienced 'clipping' prob's with it.

Several of my customers & students have had us put the X2N in a guitar-or-two (and they mostly use amps/heads, not rack gear like my own set-up); still never a prob' when clean.

AGREED, it's a VERY high-output pickup that's not necessarily suitable for MOST players, & I don't always recommend it to my clients. An average output of about 510mv, most 'lower-impedance' ACTIVE pickups usually can deliver over a VOLT(1000mv) without clipping clean signals.

The "Humbucker From Hell" I see mentioned [here] quite a bit, and is a very BRIGHT pickup, primarily designed to replicate the tone/attack/response of a 'single-coil', with reasonably MORE output than a single-coil (averaging 220mv or more, where the common high-output "single-stacks" are in the 110mv-130mv range).

btw- I was quite surprized to find out just HOW MANY of Zappa's guitars had the X2N in the bridge position, and how much praise he offered it. Once, when speaking to Larry DiMarzio, he told me he used the X2N HIMSELF in several guitars & offered a funny story as to how the original design came about!


~JSV