The DiMarzio/Steve Vai UtoPIA Pickups Are AMAZING!
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DiMarzio UtoPIA vs Seymour Duncan Custom Staggered (SSL-5)
DiMarzio UtoPIA
middle Strat single-coil
80 match
medium confidence
Seymour Duncan Custom Staggered (SSL-5)
Strat single-coil
Compared with the DiMarzio UtoPIA, the Seymour Duncan Custom Staggered (SSL-5) has a darker top end and tighter low end.
Specs side by side
differs marks specs where they part ways| Spec | DiMarzio UtoPIA | Seymour Duncan Custom Staggered (SSL-5) |
|---|---|---|
| DC resistancediffers | 13.32k | 12.9k |
| Inductancediffers | not measured | 6.16 H (measured, 1 reading) |
| Magnet | Alnico 5 | Alnico 5 |
| Coil | Single coil | Single coil |
| Resonant peakdiffers | — | 4.9 kHz (Seymour Duncan's own test load) |
| Bass (tone chart)differsEach maker grades its own chart, so read these within a brand | 6.5 / 10 | 5 / 10 |
| Mids (tone chart)differsEach maker grades its own chart, so read these within a brand | 5.25 / 10 | 4 / 10 |
| Treble (tone chart)differsEach maker grades its own chart, so read these within a brand | 6.5 / 10 | 7 / 10 |
| Slotdiffers | middle Strat single-coil | Strat single-coil |
| Traits | high output, bright | high output |
How close on each spec
100 means identical on that spec. The score weighs these, and counts anything we couldn't compare as a typical difference. How scoring works
Output
95
DC resistance (no inductance for one of them)
Magnet
100
both Alnico 5
Coil
100
same coil type
Brightness
49
each against its maker's average
Mids
71
each against its maker's average
Bass
48
each against its maker's average
Videos
DiMarzio UtoPIA
Steve Vai's DiMarzio Utopia Pickups
Seymour Duncan Custom Staggered (SSL-5)
No videos of its own collected yet.
What players and reviewers say
On the DiMarzio UtoPIA
“The upper-mids in the bridge give the position a bit of snarl.”
“Plenty of chime and sparkle while offering some quack in the 2 and the 4 positions.”