Low output and unpotted super distortion

Does anyone know where I can get a double cream unpotted low output super distortion style pickup. Kind of like a t top.

Check with the winders you like

dc007 said:

Check with the winders you like

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I agree that this is going to require a dialogue with whoever is supplying the pickup, because everyone describes these things in their own way.

I think that if you find a low output, and unpotted...it will no longer super distort.

i owned an original 70's Dimarzio super distortion once. It was stolen from me, otherwise i would still own it, it was that special in the bridge position!...even though it was a one-trick pony.

It was transcendental in overdrive with a Marshall, my JCM 2204 was on fire,lol.

But that pup could not do clean.

rogue3 said:

I think that if you find a low output, and unpotted...it will no longer super distort.

i owned an original 70's Dimarzio super distortion once. It was stolen from me, otherwise i would still own it, it was that special in the bridge position!...even though it was a one-trick pony.

It was transcendental in overdrive with a Marshall, my JCM 2204 was on fire,lol.

But that pup could not do clean.

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I got a SD somewhere in one of my parts boxes. Don't think it's a 70s as it's a 4 wire. It does the 70s rock thing real well. Not getting used but never thought about selling it

Manlius does a clone of the 70s era Super Distortion, called the 70s Super D. You could probably ask him to not pot the pickup and he'd probably fulfill the request free of charge - that's what he did when I asked him to leave my T-Top Replicas unpotted that was in my old SG. I've used it before, it's a very good pickup that does the 70s/80s rock, early heavy metal type of sounds extremely well. I don't have it in any of my guitars at the moment, but i'd be happy to use it again if I had another ax to put it in.

Manlius does have a hotter wound T-Top variant though, called the Vinyl. I have no experience with it but it sounds excellent from what i've checked out of it. Vineham does a hotter T-Top wind if i'm recalling right as well. Wolfetone does T-Tops as well, you could probably contact him and he'd probably be willing to do a hotter wind based on that, etc.

dc007 said:

I got a SD somewhere in one of my parts boxes. Don't think it's a 70s as it's a 4 wire. It does the 70s rock thing real well. Not getting used but never thought about selling it

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I put SD in my Ibanez LP way back in the '70s when they were brand new. As good as they were, when I traded that guitar for my new '89 Gibson Les Paul Standard, even my mother knew the difference. Three minutes after plugging in at home for the first time, she hollered up the stairs "You bought a new guitar, didn't you?"

Super Distortion has a ceramic magnet which is 'high' output.

You could put a ceramic magnet in a T-Top, but it would then be high output.

Even though the DC resistance would be low.

That combo would also probably be painfully bright.

Just My Humble and very amateur Opinion.

It'll be really bright.

The SD uses a double thickness ceramic magnet and a very high wind. The high wind reduces treble, the ceramic brings it back so it balances nicely.

You reduce the high wind and you're gonna be left with a whole lot of high end. Leaving that unpotted then opens the door for microphonics and feedback.

Or, you change the wind, change the magnet, and what you're left with is a pickup that's nothing like an SD.

Maybe what you really want is just a pickup with 2 rows of hex poles? In which case, send me a message. I build pickups for dudes all over the world. This is a low output set, but using the black hexes the dude wanted.

Goodcleanfun said:

It'll be really bright.

The SD uses a double thickness ceramic magnet and a very high wind. The high wind reduces treble, the ceramic brings it back so it balances nicely.

You reduce the high wind and you're gonna be left with a whole lot of high end. Leaving that unpotted then opens the door for microphonics and feedback.

Or, you change the wind, change the magnet, and what you're left with is a pickup that's nothing like an SD.

Maybe what you really want is just a pickup with 2 rows of hex poles? In which case, send me a message. I build pickups for dudes all over the world. This is a low output set, but using the black hexes the dude wanted. View attachment 857443

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I think OP is trolling us.

mdubya said:

I think OP is trolling us.

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I'm not so sure... The amount of requests I've had from people looking for a thing kinda similar makes me think otherwise. A lot of players don't know/care about the technicals or what makes what happens, they just know the sound they want and it's up to the winder to translate that into an actual thing.

I get a lot of requests like "I want a pickup that's clean and fat and open sounding but also tight" wtf does that mean? That's for me to work out for them.

Then again they might be trolling but either way, my point stands, what they're looking for won't be what they want when/if they get it.

Goodcleanfun said:

I'm not so sure... The amount of requests I've had from people looking for a thing kinda similar makes me think otherwise. A lot of players don't know/care about the technicals or what makes what happens, they just know the sound they want and it's up to the winder to translate that into an actual thing.

I get a lot of requests like "I want a pickup that's clean and fat and open sounding but also tight" wtf does that mean? That's for me to work out for them.

Then again they might be trolling but either way, my point stands, what they're looking for won't be what they want when/if they get it.

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To me it is like they are asking for a fair haired brunette.

They are purposely asking for something for which there is no answer.

What difference do the specs make if you are looking for a particular sound, which OP has conveniently not identified, either. They are being intentionally vague and ambiguous. IMHO.

mdubya said:

To me it is like they are asking for a fair haired brunette.

They are purposely asking for something for which there is no answer.

What difference do the specs make if you are looking for a particular sound, which OP has conveniently not identified, either. They are being intentionally vague and ambiguous. IMHO.

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I'm still not so sure. People communicate in the ways they know how. If all they know is they want something like a super distortion but not as hot, then that's what they ask for. Not everything is a troll post and people don't know what they don't know. Take it at face value. I've made pickups for people with worse descriptions than this that's for sure, it just takes careful questioning of what it is they actually want should their vocabulary on the matter be falling short.

Any occasion is good when it comes to share honest reflections... Here are mine (edited to be clearer).

I'm not sure that less turns (and therefore lower DCR / inductance) would suffice to change a Super Distortion in a low output humbucker : to me, such a recipe would make it closer to a Super 2, IOW brighter but not that weaker (DiMarzio rates the 8.7k Super 2 at 400mV vs 425mV for the Super Distortion).

Personally, I'd just try a regular unpotted Super distortion, possibly with a few less turns, but mainly with a super low gaussed magnet. An A3 bar (not double thick) might be something to try there. YMMV.

FWIW: Thinking out loud. Opinions may vary...

Geeky footnote - To me, a really underwound Super Distortion would be somehow closer to a Filter'Tron than to a T-Top. Both FT and SD designs include double thick magnets + double rows of identical pole pieces + parts designed to take advantage of eddy currents without overdoing them... After all, DiMarzio has stated in an interview to have borrowed the idea of a double thick magnet to Gretsch. I see his double rows of big hex poles as inspired from FT's too, as is the use of brass to favor these Foucault currents that Bill Lawrence was conversely trying to avoid... End of my rambling. ;-)

Goodcleanfun said:

I'm still not so sure. People communicate in the ways they know how. If all they know is they want something like a super distortion but not as hot, then that's what they ask for. Not everything is a troll post and people don't know what they don't know. Take it at face value. I've made pickups for people with worse descriptions than this that's for sure, it just takes careful questioning of what it is they actually want should their vocabulary on the matter be falling short.

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Where is OP?

mdubya said:

Where is OP?

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Right here. Was busy yesterday.

dc007 said:

Check with the winders you like

Click to expand...

I emailed dimarzio and they just told me to get a norton and they won't do anything unpotted.

rogue3 said:

I think that if you find a low output, and unpotted...it will no longer super distort.

i owned an original 70's Dimarzio super distortion once. It was stolen from me, otherwise i would still own it, it was that special in the bridge position!...even though it was a one-trick pony.

It was transcendental in overdrive with a Marshall, my JCM 2204 was on fire,lol.

But that pup could not do clean.

Click to expand...

I actually own a first year sd with the long legs. I loaned it out to a friend so I don't have it here, but I should get it back by the end of the month or so.

Goodcleanfun said:

It'll be really bright.

The SD uses a double thickness ceramic magnet and a very high wind. The high wind reduces treble, the ceramic brings it back so it balances nicely.

You reduce the high wind and you're gonna be left with a whole lot of high end. Leaving that unpotted then opens the door for microphonics and feedback.

Or, you change the wind, change the magnet, and what you're left with is a pickup that's nothing like an SD.

Maybe what you really want is just a pickup with 2 rows of hex poles? In which case, send me a message. I build pickups for dudes all over the world. This is a low output set, but using the black hexes the dude wanted. View attachment 857443

Click to expand...

I like microphonics and feedback

Vineham.