DiMarzio teams up with 8-String guitar virtuoso Tosin Abasi to create the Ionizer 8 pickup set for 8-String guitars.
Developed for Abasi’s new signature 8-String Ibanez, DiMarzio is set to release these pickups separately this coming January 2013.
Tosin Abasi is the lead guitarist for the progressive instrumental band Animals as Leaders, although many may not be familiar with the band, his name has been making waves thanks to his 8-string prowess.
Ibanez and DiMarzio recognized his skills and signed him up as their endorser. DiMarzio and Tosin then set out to create a versatile pickup set that will go beyond the high-gain metal cliche that has plagued 8-string guitars. The result is the new Ionizer 8 pickup set.
DiMarzio provided decriptive details for each of the Ionizer 8 pickups:
“The Ionizer 8 Neck Model (DP809) is warm and open like a vintage humbucker, solid and tight like a modern metal pickup, and performs like a classic single-coil in split mode. It’s unusual for a player to request a humbucker with the single-coil sound as important as the series humbucking sound, but Abasi was clear on this point. The split mode has lower resistance than a vintage Strat 6-string pickup in order to let the 7th and 8th strings stay clean, but all the other specs nail the classic Strat sound.
DiMarzio specifically created the Ionizer 8 Middle Model (DP810) single-coil to work with the Ionizer 8 Neck and Bridge Models. It’s clean, bright, and well-balanced. Although its construction bears little resemblance to a vintage 6-string single-coil, it performs similarly. Treble response is bright without being thin, and bass response is clean and solid.
When Abasi described what he wanted for the Ionizer 8 (DP811) humbucking Bridge Model, he said it is all about the mids. 8-string guitars have extended low-end response, and the mids need to power the bridge position so the sound doesn’t wash out. It also needs to have enough output to overdrive an amp without making the sound muddy, and enough headroom to clean up when the volume is rolled down.
The long scale length of an 8-string guitar can make the sound of the unwound strings brittle, but the Ionizer 8 Bridge Model has a low resonant peak that warms them up, and the high E doesn’t sound thin, even at the upper frets. The 4-conductor wired humbuckers allow multiple coil connections, enabling a wealth of diverse sounds within the Ionizer 8 three-pickup combination.”
The new DiMarzio Ionizer 8 pickups are all made in the U.S.A. and are scheduled for a release in January of 2013. The suggested list price for the Ionizer 8 Neck and Bridge Models is $139 each, while the Ionizer 8 Middle pickup is listed at $79. You can find out more about this pickup set by visiting DiMarzio.
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