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IDing a dimarzio and a SD

4K views 17 replies 5 participants last post by  Butthole 
#1 ·
Hello all,

I have two pickups lying around.

One is a dimarzio in a sort of odd p90 shape. The kohms reading is of approx 12.8.

The other is a SD. I have had trouble getting a clear reading on it last time I tried but believe it's around 16Kohms.

I contacted both dimarzio and SD. Dimarzio could not ID it but think it could have come off an old yamaha. Apparently, they provided pickups for them in the late 80s early 90s.

SD did not reply...

I am not expecting anybody to ID the dimarzio, unless I get really lucky. But maybe someone has an idea regarding the SD.

Pics should be attached (if I got it right):
View attachment 9398

View attachment 9399

View attachment 9400

View attachment 9401

View attachment 9402
 
#4 ·
Wow, yes the dimarzio does look similar to the yam; could be that exact same pickup actually. However the pole pieces aren't black/dark but standard. I also don't see why, given the age of that guitar and the pickup cavity shape, anyone would rip its only pup out knowing it cannot really be replaced. Maybe it came off an older guitar. But I don't know anything about the age of this pickup. I have had these PUs for about 2 years, so don't really know.

Could be a DLX Plus neck, which has a 13.8 kohms reading. But then why would dimarzio suggest it came off a yamaha...

dpm: true, given the output, could be either. Both are good, so I'm a happy man :)

Thanks!
 
#5 ·
The dimarzio is p90 size I believe. If you can get a peak at the Duncan magnet you'll be able to tell what it is. Shiny magnet is alnico so that mean jb. Black magnet is ceramic which means distortion. IIRC the dist magnet is thicker too.
 
#6 ·
One of the tricks to identifying Dimarzios is not only taking a DC resistance reading, but noting the patent stickers. That P90 has a 4501185 patent sticker on it, which is Dimarzio's patent for dual-resonance coils. The only two current Dimarzio P90s using only that patent are the DLX Plus Bridge and Neck. If you can get a precise resistance measurement at room temperature, you can see if it matches the resistance for either of those. The DLX Plus Bridge is 17.3 kOhms, the Neck is 13.8 kOhms. If it doesn't match either of those, then it's probably an OEM model, as you mention.

Edit: I just took a closer look at the pic. It says DP154 right on it. That's a DLX Plus Bridge:

http://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/soap-bar/dlx-plus-bridge
 
#7 ·
Excellent, you guys sure know your stuff!

I'm a real sucker for not having succeeded in tracing that "DP154" inscription there...

I'll check the magnets of the SD this evening (and double check the resistance of my pup but it constantly read 12.8 or something in those waters..).

Anyone know what these DLXs sound like? I don't have a test guitar to solder in to, nor the time :(
 
#9 ·
But DP154 is indeed engraved onto the baseplate.. Think I'm better of double checking with the multimeter. I'm no pro with multimeters, maybe I managed to do it all wrong, assuming it's possible to make a mistake when poking wires with little pointy sticks..
 
#14 ·
Ok well could not get a clear multimeter reading for either of the PUs last night. Don't know why, maybe low bats or smth.
Checked the magnet in the SD: black. The thing is old (before SD put their brand on the face of their pickups, so maybe the magnets changed color.. Dunno. Hoping it's ceramic though. I'll be installing it on a project of mine these next days so should find out soon enough.

Thanks for your input guys!
 
#15 ·
Ok well could not get a clear multimeter reading for either of the PUs last night. Don't know why, maybe low bats or smth.
Checked the magnet in the SD: black. The thing is old (before SD put their brand on the face of their pickups, so maybe the magnets changed color.. Dunno. Hoping it's ceramic though. I'll be installing it on a project of mine these next days so should find out soon enough.

Thanks for your input guys!
That's a ceramic magnet. The only Seymour Duncan humbucker with a ceramic magnet, the polepieces shown in the picture, and a DC resistance of about 16kOhm is the Duncan Distortion Bridge. I wonder if you mixed up the two resistance readings in the first post? That would make sense, since the Dimarzio DP154 should be around 17kOhm. If the Duncan is then the 12.something kOhm reading, it's probably a Duncan Distortion Neck:

Seymour Duncan

Searching for "SEYJ" suggests that this is of older construction.

Really, though, you need to get the DC resistances to confirm these hunches.
 
#18 ·
Dunno... the reading went all wild once I turned my attention to the dimarzio... As if I were testing the wrong wires. I don't know, I just have had trouble getting a clear reading recently.. Maybe stripping the wires a little bit might help, there is little contact space.
 
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