Area '61s In Transit

[marnold***]

Our long national nightmare is over. Robert can finally get some sleep tonight. The chances of peace in the Middle East have just improved dramatically. Why? I got executive approval to order a couple of Area 61s from Music 123. With $20 off they are cheaper than anyplace I've ever seen them on the Net. They had black ones yesterday, but I didn't seize the opportunity. So I ended up getting white. If I'd want black later, Dimarzio sells covers for pretty cheap.

I did have issues with Music 123's website though. I spent a good amount of time on the phone with their tech support because the $20 discount wasn't showing up in my cart. The guy I talked to said to go ahead with the order and he'd credit my credit card. We'll see. I'll be keeping an eye on that. Of course, if I get the pickups and my account hasn't been credited, then I'll just return them immediately.

I decided on the Area '61s after calling Dimarzio to see if the Area '58s or '67s would be too bright/thin with only a single 500K pot. After discussing that and what I was looking for in tone, he suggested the '61s which was my original choice anyway.

I know I had talked about ordering them locally, but when the price difference (with tax included) comes to $20 per pickup, that's a lot of cash. Eventually, I will replace my bridge humbucker with a Screamin' Demon. When I do that, I'll get that one through my local shop. Since he's actually a Duncan dealer, he can offer it to me for the same price as I'd get it online and he'd still make a better profit than he would on the Dimarzios. I'll also get the ancillary stuff from him: push-pull pot, etc.

Still willing to buy them if I don't like them, Robert?

[Robert****]

Finally dude!
Well, I'll consider buying them if you don't like them. They are noiseless, right?

What is the difference between the '61, '58, '67?

[Tone2TheBone]

....What is the difference between the '61, '58, '67?

3, 6 and 9. Sorry couldn't resist.

[Robert****]

Funny Tone....

[marnold***]

Finally dude!
Well, I'll consider buying them if you don't like them. They are noiseless, right?

What is the difference between the '61, '58, '67?

Yep, they are noiseless. Here's the rundown of the pickups, in order of output:

Area '67:
Output (in millivolts): 120
Resistance (ohms): 5.86K
Highs: 9.5
Mids: 4
Lows: 3

Area '58:
Output (in millivolts): 125
Resistance (ohms): 6.12K
Highs: 9
Mids: 3.5
Lows: 3.5

Area '61:
Output (in millivolts): 142
Resistance (ohms): 6.46K
Highs: 8.5
Mids: 4
Lows: 4

The tone ratings are Dimarzio's ratings. The year that's after the "Area" indicates what year's Fender pickups they are intending to emulate. I've been told that the difference in tone and output between the 58s and 61s are subtle but noticeable. There are clips of the 58s on Dimarzio's website.

There's also this video from Guitar World where a Strat is fitted with 58s in the middle and neck and a 61 at the bridge. That seems to be a very popular combo.


I also liked this one of a guy demoing his Strat with a 58 in the neck, Virtual Blues in the middle, and Area 61 in the bridge through a Vibro Champ:

[Adrian30]

They're some sweet sounding pickups. I love their cleans.

[marnold***]

Grrrr. I got the email today that one of them shipped and the other is on backorder. Also they magically got more black ones in stock today. It also appears that the reason why I couldn't get the cart to reflect the instant rebate is because the promotion seems to have been over but they hadn't updated the website yet. According to what the customer support guy said yesterday, they gave me the discount anyway.

I guess if I only get one, I'll install it in the neck since that's the position I use most frequently. The due date for the other one is March 3, although I know they often get stock in before that.

[marnold***]

OK, I went from not ordering any pickups to ordering superfluous pickups. Not only that, I said in another thread that I wasn't going to take advantage of the Music 123 sale nor use my Musician's Friend coupon. Now I've done both.

Irritated by my issues with Music 123, and finding that Musician's Friend has the black Area 61s in stock, I ordered two black ones from MF using my 10% off coupon. That would make them the same price as with Music 123 if I had to also order black covers. Assuming that the black ones are actually shipped and they don't pull a backorder stunt on me, I'm just going to return the white ones unopened. Unless you want them, Bobby

[Robert****]

You are not having much luck with your online orders, it seems. Hint: Zzounds...

[marnold***]

You are not having much luck with your online orders, it seems. Hint: Zzounds...

In the interest of full disclosure, I did check Zzounds, but their price was the same as I could get them locally--i.e. way higher than anybody else. If I was going to do that, I'd just buy locally.

I can't say that I've had bad luck . . . yet. I'm just hedging my bets.

[marnold***]

Well, I got my one white Area '61 today. If UPS is to be believed, my two black ones will be arriving tomorrow. Naturally, I don't know if I'll have time to get the '61s installed tomorrow. I'll probably tear the guitar apart today and prep it for surgery.

I also learned something cool. If you don't like a Dimarzio pickup, you can exchange it directly with Dimarzio within 30 days for another one of their pickups of equal or lesser value. If you want a more expensive one, you pay the difference in list prices. Pretty cool. So it appears my wrangling over whether to get a 61, 58, or 67 was really pointless. It's not as huge of a deal when ordering from a place like MF that has a 45 day return policy, but it does offer peace of mind when ordering locally or from eBay where there might not be such a guarantee. It's only open to U.S. residents though.

Update! My Floyd is sitting in bits now. The single coils have been totally removed. All I need is the pickups, screw them into the pickguard, solder the hot to the switch and the ground to the pot, reassemble, and rock. I hope these sound cool. I recorded myself playing a blues progression with the old pups and will do the same with the new ones.