Dimarzio Super Distortion Review DP100/Dual Sound DP101
I think writing reviews about classics is both the hardest and the easiest thing. I mentioned similar things before in my Jazz review. These types of pickups are very common; their tones are often heard in well-known albums or songs and because of this, everyone has some kind of opinion about them. However, despite this, there are quite different, even completely opposing, opinions floating around, which causes confusion. That’s why i decided to write a review for Super Distortion from Dimarzio as a gift to its 50th Anniversary.
Test Guitar
Super Distortion stood on my “Pink Tiger” for a while. That pink tiger is a superstrat has a Jackson Dinky body made of alder, one piece maple neck in modern C profile, German made Jackson Floyd Rose tremolo with Japanese made stainless steel saddles, 25,5” scale, nickel silver frets, Alpha 500K pots and elixir strings in E-std tuning. Guitar has Dimarzio PAF Pro neck and Jackson middle pickups. Its primary (unplugged) tone is neutral to fairly bright.
Evaluation
Let’s read the official desciption first;
“This pickup started a sound revolution. Replacement pickups simply didn’t exist before the invention of the Super Distortion in the early Seventies. The Super Distortion (and its original 3-conductor version, the Dual Sound) was the first pickup specifically designed to kick a tube amp into total overdrive, and is still the standard by which all other high-output pickups are measured. The Super Distortion has a perfect blend of power and tone: both single-notes and chords jump out of the amp and fill the room (or the track) with a wall of sound. The balance of tones is classic — thick, boosted mids, big lows and fat highs. This is the sound you’ve heard for five decades on platinum records, from players as varied as Ace Frehley, Al Di Meola, Phil Collen, Tom Scholz, and Paul Gilbert. It’s also versatile: 4-conductor wiring allows instant access to Strat-like split and series-parallel modes. Discover what thousands of great players know: the Super Distortion is the best all ’round high-power pickup ever made...”
And short info from early 80s;
“Thick, smooth overdriven sound with punch & plenty of edge”
Want to see the measurements, right here!
Dimarzio Super Distortion DP100
Magnet – Big Ceramic
Advertised DCR: 13,68 K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 13,69 K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 6,93 K Ohm (Screw Coil)
Measured DCR: 6,71 K Ohm (Slug Coil)
Inductance @100Hz: 6,30 H (Series)
Inductance @100Hz: 2,98 H (Screw Coil)
Inductance @100Hz: 2,57 H (Slug Coil)
Measured C: -19,3 nF (Series)/ -37,5nF (Screw Coil) / -35,7nF (Slug Coil)
Output: 425 Milivolts (advertised)
EQ (B/M/T) – 8/8/6 (80s catalogs), 8/7,5/5,5 (2012 catalogs) – 8/6,5/6,5/4,5 (official website)
Gauss: 480G screws, 540G slug (measured at top center of D&G pole pieces)
Patents: None
In this sction of my reviews i tell history. For Super Distortion (shortly SD hereafter) there is a great documentary from Larry Dimarzio;
If you haven’t read before, that’s your loss. Stop reading this now, click the link above and read it first. This article has broken my walls to Dimarzio :)
When it comes to versatility, I don’t usually include high-output pickups in this category. Generally, in my opinion, medium-output pickups have a greater potential for versatility overall. However, the Super Distortion/Dual Sound can turn into a jazz pickup in Al Di Meola's hands, a rock pickup in Ace Frehley's hands, a heavy metal pickup in the hands of Dave Murray, Randy Rhoads, or Phil Collen, a shred pickup in Steve Vai's hands, or a thrash metal monster in Alex Skolnick's hands. Thus, it possesses such a versatile characteristic, even if not in the traditional sense we know. It is true that turning the volume pot down is not going to clean up like other humbuckers, but going to a preset with a different kind of overdrive/distortion structure they do. That’s how those guys could use SD on their guitars and setup.
Sound describtion of Super Distortion is actually well identified on the official info below: “thick, boosted mids, big lows and fat highs”, remember? Indeed SD has plenty of lows, delicious low mids and relatively crisper highs. Trebles are not that rich as expected but rich hi-mids can get you enough of brightness for that kindo hi-output humbucker. So i can’t say SD has no issues with mud. But can’t be considered as “muddy as hell”. According to Antigua Guys measurements, its loaded (200k ohms & 470pF) resonance frequency is 2.38KHz (6.29KHz unloaded). Which is very close to the hi-mid area of frequency chart.
If we consider the Super Distortion as DiMarzio’s flagship and roughly compare it to JB, the flagship of Duncan, I can say that the Super Distortion sounds brighter and a bit clearer compared to the JB. Mind that JB has higher inductance and lower resonant frequency value. Moreover SD feels more balanced through the frequency chart while JB has dominance in the mids. SD has plenty of mids, too. But SD is not a flamethrower of mids, if you know what i mean :) It’s bold, full and meaty. Compressed, yes, but not as much as many of its rivals.
What i particularly like about SD is, when you put on your guitar and plug into a hot amp (or simulation whatever), the sound. That’s how rock should sound :) I have never played SD on a Les Paul but on Strats and Superstrats have a neat kind of reaction. As you may know Eddie Van Halen used SD on some of his guitars in the VH I album. Watch this video of mighty Pete Thorn below with his Super Distortion;
You play lower tunings? You will find good tones with your SD on your bridge. I just dropped D, not lower but my drop D was very thrilling.
Next thing you should know is an suggestion for those who don’t pay much attention. Please mind your pickup and pole piece heigh well with your SD. Your fine tuning does have a real importance for the quality of your final distorted/overdriven tone. Okay, not day and night difference yet still a note to remember.
I used on my guitar with PAF Pro in its neck position. They did pair so well. Dimarzio suggest SD in combination with PAF, PAF Pro and Super 2. I had once used SD with Super 2 and they were bit closer tone wise. So if you want a neck pickup closer anathomy with SD, stronger and brighter go for Super 2. Want more overall versatility you can jump to PAF or PAF Pro. BTW, SD Works well with Duncan ’59 kindo A5 PAF clones.
Conclusion
If you’ve enjoyed Rock 'n Roll music in any form over the past 50 years, chances are you’ve crossed paths with Super Distortion. Therefore, when you get an SD, there’s no doubt you’ll hear somehow a familiar sound. I’ve explained the details above to help you determine whether it’s compatible with your guitar and/or setup. If you think it’s a good fit and haven’t tried it yet, you might want to give it a chance to see firsthand why SD is considered a classic. After all, products that have become industrial standards don’t achieve classic status without reason; WD-40, Super Distortion, Stratocaster, Heineken (though I personally prefer the German Weihenstephaner), JB whatever…
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