G&L Dual Blades vs. DiMarzios

[Muleya]

I've been thinking of getting a hot-rodded Legacy...something used, either a Legacy Special, or just a Legacy that I'll put new pickups in. I've actually found a Legacy selling for what seems to be a great price (waiting to get some details to see if it's really as good a deal as it looks). If I'd get it, I'd want to put some dual blade pickups in it.

Any thoughts on how G&L's dual blades stack up to DiMarzios. I've generally been pretty happy with DiMarzio pickups...have their Virtual PAFs in my Les Paul and the Area '61 and '58s in my current Legacy. They also happen to be cheaper than the G&Ls. Do some folks think the G&Ls are worth the extra $$?

I guess another question would be how easy would it be to find the G&L pickups used? Nothing on e-bay right now.

[Jim Sams]

Hi,
Do you want a "Strat Like" pickup?
I don't like Dimarzio dual blades for a traditional strat tone.
The Bill Lawrence L-45s are better.
I have a almost new Dimarzio Fast Track 1 (black with optional chrome blades) sitting around if you want to try one.

[KH Guitar Freak]

All depends on what you want. I'm sure those G&L double rail single coils aren't too bad. If you want a Dimarzio with a more traditional single coil sound but in the double rail configuration, the Cruiser it is...

[Muleya]

Actually in this case I wouldn't be going for a traditional strat tone...I've got that in my current legacy. This would be more of a super-strat...fat, high-output humbucker sound, but using single-coil sized pickups.

[Boogie Bill]

Legacy Special is the way to go. The Gotohs are kind of unique. If you want a more PAF type tone, single coil size and clarity--Legacy Special.

Bill

[Ohmart]

For what it's worth, my Legacy (my first G&L) had some mods done to it before I bought it that seem similar to what you're describing... it was originally a standard Legacy (all Alnicos), but whoever bought it swapped out the bridge PUP for a Dual Blade and the middle PUP for a Single Blade... I came from playing Les Pauls primarily, so the Dual Blade bridge was a great balance for me between a normal single-coil sound and the full-on humbuckers. I wasn't crazy about the middle PUP until recently, when I added a Keeley compressor to my pedal board. It really strengthened the output and balanced it well with the other two. As for the neck position, it's still the original Alnico, and having played a couple of Specials over the last couple of years, I much prefer that vintage tone in the neck position to the more hi-fi Dual Blade sound. That being said, if you've already got a regular Legacy, you may want something totally different. My setup just works well for me as an all-in-one kind of option.

[Muleya]

Thanks, Ohmart. I'm not entirely sure what I'll end up with. I have a Les Paul and a Legacy, so one thought I've had was the age-old quest to marry LP-ish tones with the comfort and flexibility of a Legacy. But I've also considered something like what you've got...the ability to get single coil-tones out of the neck and humbucker tones out of the bridge. So we'll see...