Guitar Pickup Review

Dean DMT Leslie West Mountain Of Tone Humbucker

Wow!  The Mountain Of Tone humbucker from Dean’s DMT line of pickup is incredible.  Let’s first consider the man it’s made for:  Leslie West.

 

There is no denying that Leslie is most commonly known for 1970’s Mississippi Queen.  Fun footnote: Leslie also played on covers of the song for Sam Kinison in 1990 and Ozzy Osbourne in 2005.  The big provocative riff that hits you in the chest while the sweetly rude solo licks at your ears.

Dean DMT Mountain Of Tone
Dean DMT Mountain Of Tone

The Mountain Of Tone humbucker has it’s work cut out for it.  Of course, that makes me interested.  LOL!  The people at Dean have always been a pleasure to deal with, so I’m glad to have the opportunity the check out this pickup.  A Dean pickup shows up in the packaging you’d expect from a boutique product.  Dean also labels the baseplate with the name of the pickup in plain language.  And last but not least, the hardware.  Nicely substantial springs that keep things firmly in place while being an manageable length for ease of installation.  Or am I the only one that chases those long skinny springs across the room?  HaHa!  Also, the screws are Phillips head, which I find much easier and faster to work with.

And the tone!  Sheesh!  The Mountain Of Tone lives up to it’s name.  Big and full and rich and saturated while being articulate and snarling.  This humbucker has more juice than a NFL training camp locker room.

Dean DMT Mountain Of Tone Black
Dean DMT Mountain Of Tone Black

On a dirty amp tone, the Mountain Of Tone is in the comfort zone.  Riffs are hard-hitting with explosive authority.  Big open chords fill the room with character.  And the harmonics.  Holy moly, Batman.  This pickup is one of the most responsive to harmonics that I’ve laid ears on.  It doesn’t meet a squeal that it doesn’t like.  LOL!

Going to a clean amp tone, I’m totally expecting overbearing breakup so commonly found with humbuckers in the 16k range.  Not so with the Mountain Of Tone.  In series wiring, there is a totally workable voicing that makes clean options very versatile.  Even more so in split and parallel wiring options, where cleans are snappy and super chimey.

Here’s an official sample of the Mountain Of Tone in action:

 

 

Ready for some specs?

Series – 17.279 K
Inductance – 7.732 H
Split N – 8.693 K
Split S – 8.608 K
Parallel – 4.327 K
Magnet – Alnico 5

The Mountain Of Tone comes in single and four conductor wiring options.  Cover options include satin nickel, gold, and uncovered black or zebra.  If you’ve been kicking the can down the road on this one, it’s time to get busy.  I continue to be impressed by Dean’s DMT pickups.

For reference, this Dean DMT Leslie West Mountain Of Tone pickup evaluation was conducted with a Fractal Axe-Fx II XL+ featuring Celestion Impluse Responses and Fractal MFC-101 MIDI Foot Controller.  Real cabs used were Marshall 1960B cabs loaded with Celestion G12-65s, Vintage 30s and G12M Greenbacks.

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