Dimarzio Vs Seymour Duncan Pickups [Difference & Which is Best]

In the case of making amazing pickups both Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan offer numerous great ranges. But they definitely are not the same kind of pickups. Professionals about pickup know how much they differ from each other.

But for beginners, the comparison between Dimarzio Vs Seymour Duncan pickups is new and confusing. However, being two different brands, you will find some distinctive dissimilarities. However, from my personal review, I found Seymour Duncan more eligible to cover my expectations.

Primal Differences in Short:

The primal difference I found out is Dimarzio is unable to provide you active pickups while Seymour Duncan can. Apart from that, both companies’ major production is passive pickups. Another major difference is Seymour Duncan comes with tons of varieties of pickups while competing with this brand, Dimarzio falls short in this case. From the general view of tones, Dimarzio’s humbuckers lack and give off a punchier tone. But Seymour Duncan’s pickups offer a fuller sound, more low-mids, and bass.

These major differences are not enough to detect which brand is superior to the other. So, I need to expose more of my thoughts regarding these two pickup brands. I will start with a comparison table that I am going to add here.

Comparison Table:

Dimarzio Vs Seymour Duncan Review:

It is almost a foolish idea to judge two pickup brands that come with different types of pickups. You cannot just have all the pickups from these brands and make a general idea about them. That seems pretty much a mindless act. The best one can do is to search more about the brands and then, read and learn about the brands individually so he can use his own intellect to decide which brand has the best pickup.

Dimarzio Pickup – Brief Overview:

Dimarzio brand makes impressive pickup and has popularity for contributing to hard rock and heavy metal genres. This brand is mainly focused on making passive pickups. The high-end pickups of this brand come with a sleek and perfect look.

They suit your guitar and your confidence level will infinitely boost. Dimarzio offers pickups like single coils, humbuckers, P90, bass, and many more. The magnetic feature of these pickups is either made of alnico or ceramic magnets.

Most of the Dimarzio pickups offer punchiness in the tone. It’s true that some humbuckers play really cool with this brand and many other pickups have high output. But in comparison to brands like Seymour Duncan, they have low mids and that makes some of its pickups unfit to a little extent.

Things We Liked About / Pros:

• You can choose from its various different passive pickups for both professionals and beginners
• Comes with durable and great magnetic features either made of alnico magnets or ceramic
• These pickups are mostly famous for their reliable high output and brighter sound
• Dimarzio pickups assure you of noiseless single pickups and they provide a punchy texture in the tone

Things We Didn’t Like About / Cons:

• If you’re a very classic or vintage-oriented sound craver, then Dimarzio will not fit you
• They cannot offer a fuller tone and has a tighter tone

Seymour Duncan Pickup – Brief Overview:

Though Seymour Duncan is my favorite pickup brand for its amazing and wider range of pickups, I’ll try to give a completely neutral view of this brand. This brand is making active humbucker pickups along with passive pickups to cover more of the tone.

From single coil to humbuckers to bass pickups and P90, Seymour Duncan is an expert in making different types of pickups. And the sound quality is also up to the mark. Mostly because Seymour provides more low mids and bass in its pickups, people with heavy metal and rock genres find them more suitable.

Another great fact about a Seymour Duncan pickup comes with a magnetic feature that you can swap because it is not glued to the pickup. What people like about Duncan pickups is they provide a vintage tone in their pickup. It gives a classic and warm vibe.

Things We Liked About / Pros:

• It comes with an extensive range of pickups both active (limited though) and passive
• Offers classic and vintage sound and absolutely perfect humbuckers for heavy metal and hard rock
• Comes with more low mids to provide a perfectly saturated tone
• Each pickup has a great interior with a swappable magnetic feature and a beautiful exterior look

Things We Didn’t Like About / Cons:

• Seymour Duncan lacks in providing high-output sound
• Cannot provide a brighter sound compared to other pickups like Dimarzio

Difference Between Dimarzio Vs Seymour Duncan Pickup:

As I have used both Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan pickups, I found solid differences. Not being biased, both brands have their own fan bases and in the end, it depends on the taste of the user and what he or she likes the best. In this section, I will reveal both Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio pickups and you will be assured that they both have advantages and disadvantages.

1) Range of Varieties –

Being two discrete brands, Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan offer different types of pickups. Both of them produce single coil, humbucker, P90, Stratocaster, and so on. But while we compare, you will see that Dimarzio has a little few collections than Seymour Duncan. The latter has a more extensive range of pickups.

2) Type of Pickups –

Usually, there are two types of pickups – active and passive. But some brand only focuses on making passive pickups like Dimarzio. You will not find any active pickups from this brand. Conversely, Seymour Duncan has recently launched active humbuckers though limitedly. Apart from that, Seymour Duncan is also obsessed with making passive pickups.

3) Humbucker Pickups –

You will get some differences in the case of humbucker pickups. As I use humbucker mostly, I tried both Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan pickups. The former sounded terrible and I found out by google searching the reviews that it happened because of their thinner, tighter, and brighter voice of mid-ranges.

But things are pretty smooth while I played Seymour Duncan humbucker. It was pretty fuller and the balance it provided in the sound was impressive. Overall, I found a Seymour Duncan humbucker more praiseworthy than a Dimarzio humbucker.

4) Single Coil Pickups –

You might think I’m giving a biased tone so I thought to provide my thought on single coils. Dimarzio offers the cleanest single coils ever. They are noiseless and provide a peaceful sensation in the tone. A Seymour Duncan single coil is unable to provide this much noiseless sound but the brand is trying hard to correct the tone.

5) Tonal Difference in General –

What difference I found in these two brands is Seymour Duncan knows how to satisfy the players who are into vintage or classic tones. Dimarzio has its vintage pickups but they are not efficient in my opinion.

These Dimarzio Pickups have a punchier texture in the sound. Besides, their tone is a little tighter and more focused.

6) Magnetic Feature –

There is a slight difference in the magnetic feature between Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan’s pickups. Though both brand offer either alnico or ceramic magnets, the setting and wiring are different. The latter comes with a magnetic swap. But Dimarzio pickups are glued in the interior, so you cannot magnet swap them.

7) Pickup Covers –

Both Dimarzio vs Seymour Duncan pickups are sufficient and it is evident in their look. The pickup covers a very beautiful exterior. Some come with a vintage look, some classic, and some modern. But I personally liked the sleek covers of Dimarzio pickups and they look beautiful on a guitar.

Price Range –

Even though Dimarzio pickups start at a lower price, their top-notch pickups are pricier than the top-notch pickups of Seymour Duncan pickups.

So, which Pickup is better?

If you are a picker and fan of warmer and vintage sounds like me, then pick a Seymour Duncan pickup without any doubt. But if you need more high output than more bass or mids, then Dimarzio pickups are at your service. Besides, you can have both to experience something new.

FAQs –

Question 1: Are DiMarzio pickups the best?

Answer: Dimarzio pickups are one of the best ones. They have variations and come with high-end features. With lots of high outputs, they are pretty great.

Question 2: Did Eddie Van Halen use DiMarziopikcups?

Answer: Earlier, Dimarzio pickups were Eddie Van Halen’s favorite brand for his guitars. From Fat Strat to Super Distortion pickups of Dimarzio, Van Halen set all these in his guitars.

Question 3: What guitarists use DiMarzio Super Distortion?

Answer: Dimarzio Super Distortion pickup was a gem for guitarists like Ace Frehley, Paul Gilbert, Van Halen, Al Di Meola, and so on. Seymour Duncan pickups are also used in many good-quality guitars.

Last Updated on December 25, 2022 by Perry Garner