DiMarzio LiquiFire DP227 BK

One of the best neck pickups I've tried, and I've been through most of what Dimarzio produce. It's harmonically rich, fat and high output with a full frequency range. It cleans up well when the volume is reduced and doesn't loose too much treble (as per the Dimarzio Breed). Its not overly boomy on a 24 fret guitar but produces a nice rounded output when the upper frets are played on a heavily overdriven amp. Not thin and brittle like the Evolutions, or muddy like other pickups in the neck position.

The trouble with a pickup such as this is that it makes at least one aspect of many other high output pickups sound inferior!

Installation is dead simple, so long as you know how to use a soldering iron and know what flux is, the flex is more than long enough, just don't be tempted to cut it too short.

Quick delivery from Thomann as usual.

I bought the DiMarzio LiquiFire in conjunction with the DiMarzio Crunch Lab to be used in my Ibanez RGR321EX. The LiquiFire produces a very warm tone and is great for fat lead sounds and big solos. However the pickup works well for Jazz, Soul and R&B. The installation process was fairly straightforward using the manual that came with the pickup and there were even spare parts left over. I play anything ranging from death metal to jazz and so far this pickup has been handling everything extremely well. If my guitar fitted with the pickup was stolen I wouldn't hesitate to get the same set again.

The sound is extremely articulate for a neck pickup and never gets muddy. This thing can even do chugging! Sweep picking and hammer-on/pull-off licks sound like well, Liquid Fire. The soloing sound is so fluid and watery. For classic rock tones, the LiquiFire is great.That being said, the extremely warm cleans this pickup puts out are very good too, especially in parallel mode. They aren't conventional, but have loads of character that one wouldn't find in a classic rock or jazz pickup. It also cleans up well with distortion on, with the volume knob rolled down. With the tone dropped all the way and in parallel mode, the LiquiFire actually gives a decent jazz tone. Nothing any professional jazz player would gig with, but certainly useable at home.