Members antiochband Posted August 31, 2007 Members Share Posted August 31, 2007 Very little noise! Not only compared with EMG's, but compared to other similar-output pickups. Also, I tune my Ibby in C standard, and these pickups are AWESOME for injecting life into the low C string. Almost better than EMG's. My question is this...I don't know a whole lot about the d-activators, but the idea of no batteries and good tone for metal is appealing.I went through a series of pickups last year trying to find a replacement for my EMG's, as I felt like I was tired of the sound...The 3 I liked most was the Duncan Distortion, the JB and a Bill (and Becky) Lawrence L500XL. The DD was my absolute favorite, followed by the L500XL. The biggest issue I had with them was the noise factor. I never put much stock in the noise idea until I had replaced my EMG's with passives. I couldn't believe how much more cord/handling noise the passives emitted.How are D-Activators in the noise dept.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JamesPeters Posted September 3, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 3, 2007 Bumpage! I know lots of you want to know about this pickup... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nwright Posted September 4, 2007 Members Share Posted September 4, 2007 Hmm, I tried to get these at GC yesterday and the dudes at the counter tried to sell me a Duncan Designed Detonator, haha...They had no clue what I was talking about. As for handling noise, James, my cables are fine when using EMG's, which may not mean anything. When I had the passives, if I walked across the stage or moved my cables, I'd get the noise. I guess it COULD be the cables and the EMG's are just quiet enough to not have me notice, but on all 6 passives I tried last summer, I had that noise, and with the 81 and 85 I tried (and stayed with the 81), I had 0 noise. I also noticed the usual interference noise much worse in the passives, obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members indespise Posted September 4, 2007 Members Share Posted September 4, 2007 I'm curious now, I think I'll take a drive over to Sam Ash later and try out the new Ibanez V with these in it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JamesPeters Posted September 4, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 4, 2007 I'm curious now, I think I'll take a drive over to Sam Ash later and try out the new Ibanez V with these in it... Yes, you WILL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jopop Posted September 4, 2007 Members Share Posted September 4, 2007 If I ever have a problem with a cable, it's been the cable. However, when I troubleshoot a problem I try to be as specific as possible. Unless you've eliminated all the variables systematically, I'd hesitate to say that EMGs are lower in noise for "handling". As it stands if anything they're higher in noise than passives because of the hiss generated by the internal preamp (which isn't much at all, but it's noticeable under some conditions).Since you have to switch jacks in the guitar to a T-R-S (stereo) type to use EMGs, perhaps it was the old T-S (mono) jack in the guitar that was creating the noise (from having oxidized or otherwise dirty connections).Yes, you WILL. I agree. Both my EMG's and my Blackouts does have some hiss. D activators didn't hiss. Why do they hiss? Bad preamp design? However, since an active pickup has lower impedance and such it isn't as picky on the cable. You can run just about any cable without much difference. Even two bars of rusty iron welded to the output jack would probably do fine. Passives however are another story, they're more prone to radio interference and microphonic cable in my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JamesPeters Posted September 4, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 4, 2007 I agree. Both my EMG's and my Blackouts does have some hiss. D activators didn't hiss. Why do they hiss? Bad preamp design?However, since an active pickup has lower impedance and such it isn't as picky on the cable. You can run just about any cable without much difference. Even two bars of rusty iron welded to the output jack would probably do fine.Passives however are another story, they're more prone to radio interference and microphonic cable in my experience. If the preamp is small enough to fit inside the pickup along with everything else--and in the case of EMG it's a design from 20+ years ago--it wouldn't be a surprise if it's not the best preamp you could possibly use for the application. That being said it could be the application itself and how the design is implemented. Good points about the impedance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kinggeoff Posted September 4, 2007 Members Share Posted September 4, 2007 If the preamp is small enough to fit inside the pickup along with everything else--and in the case of EMG it's a design from 20+ years ago--it wouldn't be a surprise if it's not the best preamp you could possibly use for the application. That being said it could be the application itself and how the design is implemented. Good points about the impedance. Can the D Activator be tapped (coil tapping) to separate into single coild signal? I'm thinking of replacing one of the SD's that came in my godin edit: just read through the whole thread after posting this immediately...did you end up trying the coil tap? how did it sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jopop Posted September 4, 2007 Members Share Posted September 4, 2007 I tried it and i think it sounded very good, but don't take my word on clean or single coils. Wasn't a world of difference though from humbucking operation, just added hum, reduced gain and maybe a bit sweeter tone.. not as screaming as it can be in humbucker mode. I'd probably prefer split for some chord rhythm backing and humbucking for leads with a slighly broken up tone that screams (ala blues). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thinkpad20 Posted September 4, 2007 Members Share Posted September 4, 2007 Yes, my interest is definitely piqued on this pickup. So, checklist here. Does it sound good: 1) In a mahogany guitar?2) In low (C# in my case) tuning?3) For teh br00talz?4) When coil tapped (cuz I like to have a nice jangly split coil sound for cleans)? Someone let me know, I might go for this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JamesPeters Posted September 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 5, 2007 Yes, my interest is definitely piqued on this pickup. So, checklist here. Does it sound good: 1) In a mahogany guitar? 2) In low (C# in my case) tuning? 3) For teh br00talz? 4) When coil tapped (cuz I like to have a nice jangly split coil sound for cleans)? Someone let me know, I might go for this one. 1) It's less about the type of wood than the individual cuts of wood and consequently how the individual guitar sounds, irrespective of the model of guitar. There's always the possibility you'll hate it in your exact guitar, with any pickup. 2) Sure, why not. 3) Duh. 4) Yes. However the output is lower. It's not the pickup's strong suit but it's fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hjcooper Posted September 30, 2007 Members Share Posted September 30, 2007 I am familiar with and use the L500XL (currently in an Ibanez). I'm in the process of building a "super" strat, ssh config, and haven't settled on pickups. I'm thinking of Dimarzio Cruisers in the neck and middle. Sounds like the Activator would work as far as not overpowering the Cruisers. So how does the Activator compare in tone to the D-Sonic and L500XL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JamesPeters Posted September 30, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 30, 2007 So how does the Activator compare in tone to the D-Sonic and L500XL? The D Activator is much more like an EMG 81 crossed with some warmth of the 85. It's not like those other pickups much at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paganini Posted December 12, 2007 Members Share Posted December 12, 2007 Anyone here tried the D Sonic, how is it compared to the Activator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JamesPeters Posted December 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 12, 2007 Anyone here tried the D Sonic, how is it compared to the Activator? It's very different, more like the X2N than the D Activator (which sounds more like an EMG). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kinggeoff Posted December 12, 2007 Members Share Posted December 12, 2007 damn this thread being resurrected and me STILL not having a d-activator! cmon used canadian market! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JamesPeters Posted December 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 12, 2007 damn this thread being resurrected and me STILL not having a d-activator! cmon used canadian market!It's a pickup. Sell off a pedal or something and buy a new D Activator if you're that broke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kinggeoff Posted December 12, 2007 Members Share Posted December 12, 2007 It's a pickup. Sell off a pedal or something and buy a new D Activator if you're that broke. hahaha I'm not set enough to drop new cash on it. but it has me scouring the used market. It'd be replacing a SD godin custom (i think it's based off the custom custom or something...) that came in the bridge of my LGXSA the only problem being that i'm not unhappy with the custom...so the d activator thing is just an interesting proposal if i can find one on the cheap (was kinda hoping someone on here hated em and wanted to ship it here on teh cheap ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JamesPeters Posted December 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 12, 2007 Good luck with that. It's quite new, not a lot of people own it, and the ones that do tend to like it a fair bit (except for one person who had a wiring problem with his...and I ended up getting that one). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kinggeoff Posted December 12, 2007 Members Share Posted December 12, 2007 Good luck with that. It's quite new, not a lot of people own it, and the ones that do tend to like it a fair bit (except for one person who had a wiring problem with his...and I ended up getting that one). hahaha score, see there has to be more idiots out there that cant solder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shask Posted December 12, 2007 Members Share Posted December 12, 2007 When I start buying pickups again, this is at the top of my list... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HELSTRUME Posted December 13, 2007 Members Share Posted December 13, 2007 The Dimarzio EVO is my fav, but now its a choice between the EVO ll, and the D-Acts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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