You've frequently recommended the DiMarzio Area pickups for the Strat. Since I hadn't tried them I ordered a set of one each. I am using the Kinman solderless wiring harness so I had to do some soldering, LOL! The harness uses a quick connect system which the Kinman pups come with so I had to install the connectors to the DiMarzio pup wires. I fabricated my own. Anyway I was quite impressed with the Kinmans (AVn-69) and I knew they would be pretty tough to beat. I actually ordered 4 DiMarzios because the Kinman harness makes it so easy to mix and match and try different positions (once the connectors are installed) that I wanted to do some experimenting. I bought the 3 Area pickups, the '58, '61 & '67 and I also bought the Virtual Solo. I just finished installing the first combination and I have to admit they sound damned fine. I'm running the '61 at the bridge, the '58 in the middle and the '67 at the neck. These pups are not quite as hot as the Kinman Woodstock set so it'll take me a while to adjust to them as far as grind and drive goes. I have to admit that as good as the Kinmans are these Areas do have a little better quack. They are a little brighter but they're not too bright. Great chime too. They're not very forgiving concerning pickup height. It took quite a few adjustments to get the right balance. So far I'm finding the '61 to be not quite hot enough for my taste so I may swap in the Virtual Solo but the '58 mid and the '67 neck are going to stay put for a while. I really like them quite a lot. They truly are the most single coil sounding stacked pups I've ever tried and that's saying something because the Kinmans are pretty damned good. I very likely would never have tried them if it hadn't been for your recommendation about a year ago.

So ... thank you.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

I've been using the DiMarzios in a couple of Strats for three years now, based upon my personal luthier's recommendation. Both guitars are configured with the Virtual Vintage Solo Pro at the bridge, the Area 58 in the middle, and the Area 61 at the neck. I find them much "strattier" than Fender's SCN's or their Vintage Noiseless -- I love 'em!

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Cool. Thanks for the tip!! That will be the next config I try. One of the great things about the Kinman harness is that I can switch them around at will without any trouble. That and the 9 position switching.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

I also configured the bottom tone control for use with the bridge pickup on both of my guitars, which allows me to take some bite out of the Solo Pro as the occasion demands.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Yah .... I won't be able to do that with the Kinman setup because the bottom tone knob isn't a tone knob at all. It's a push/pull affair that selects the neck pickup as well as changing from series to parallel. Down is parallel, up is series, 10 is full bridge, 0 is bridge and neck 50/50 for a very convincing Tele sound. With the 5-way switch at bridge alone and also at bridge and middle you can gradually roll in the neck pup by dialing back on the bottom knob. You can do that in both series and parallel modes, ie: up/down. With the series mode and all three pups in play you can get a very warm full jazzy sound that sounds like a cross between a Gibson and a Fender, or more to the point a Gibson with just a slight hint of quack. There's a little more quack in parallel mode but it's also brighter as well and a little more Fendery. It's a very interesting system and so far it's been completely trouble free. (4 years) You should check it out.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

You're quite welcome.

I NEVER recommend anything I haven't tried in great length myself. One of the great things about the DiMarzios is that they cost the same as any other popular production humbucker.

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