Air Norton S Single Coil Sized Humbucker Pickup - Black Review

Excellent All Around

For reference, I am using the Air Norton S in the neck position of my guitar. It's a ESP LTD Elite ST-1 (Japan made, alder body, maple neck and fretboard, 24 fret, HSS format, SD Custom Shop RTM in bridge, Elixir Nanoweb 9 gauge in standard tuning). I mainly play 80s, 90s rock, hard rock, metal, heavy metal, progressive metal, neoclassical metal (basically everything in that range).… read more My ESP originally came with the Seymour Duncan STK, which had a thin, cheap sounding non-metal sound. It was useless for my purposes. After doing some research, I decided to give DiMarzio a try and get the Air Norton S. I was a bit skeptical at first, having never used DiMarzio pickups before, and the few reviews of it online were mixed. After I got it in the mail, I took my guitar in for a full pro-setup. When I got it back, I was blown away at the difference. Highlights include: excellent sustain, full-sounding chords, and a nice fluid sound of running up and down the fretboard. Seriously, it's incredible how well 5-6 string arpeggios sound. It's very 90's Petrucci sounding, and I love it! When switching between this and my Seymour Duncan Custom Shop RTM in the bridge, there's definitely a good dynamic there, and they work great together. I remember reading a review elsewhere stating how thin sounding the Air Norton S works with 9 gauge strings. That wasn't the case for me. For comparison, my other guitar (a Jackson DK2QM bought here from Sweetwater) is very similar to my ESP, but with a full sized '59 in the neck. I always though the '59 was "good", probably an 4 out of 5 on the review scale. However, I prefer the sound and feedback that the Air Norton S gives. My only gripe about this pickup, is that it's a dust magnet. Whatever material the top is made out of, dust likes to get stuck along the pickup lines. But I didn't get this pickup for looks. Overall, I am very impressed with the Air Norton S. It ticks all the check-boxes, and is perfect for my playing. If you are on the fence of getting this (like I was originally), don't be! It's an excellent pickup.

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Air Norton S

Dropped this in the bridge position in a Ibanez RG ash body guitar and to my surprise it's a keeper! Sure it looks a little weird using a single coil sized pickup in a humbucker hole, but I'm more concerned with tone then looks. Might get another and try it with basswood. Hope it sounds as good, then I'll try one in the neck position.

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