DiMarzio Blaze 7-String Pickup Set

The Blaze 7-string set is something I’ve been playing since it first came out in 1990 as the stock appointments on the Ibanez Universe guitar.  Steve Vai was setting the shredder world on fire and was seen on the cover of practically every guitar magazine.  It was like the dude could do no wrong.  So…. we will not discuss “Slip Of The Tongue” at this juncture.  LOL!

Given the path that popular music took in the early-to-mid 1990s, there was little room for players to showboat on a 7th string.  Most music on the radio wasn’t even making full use of 2 strings at the time.  HaHa!  The Ibanez Universe backed away from the verge of relevance for a few years.  As is the way of trends, things change.  And then heavier music was back on the menu once again.  Alt-metal, prog-metal, industrial metal, and even death metal.  They demanded the extended lower range.

These 7-string pickups were really the only significant option at the time, until the DP703 Blaze Custom 7-string pickup showed up around 1998.  And then the DiMarzio PAF 7 and Tone Zone 7, both in 2000.  And in the years since, it’s a veritable gravity storm of options (get it? Ha!).

Dual Resonance

Dual Resonance is basically mis-matched coils. It’s common for several pickup companies to allow about a 5% variance. But Dual Resonance is an intentional mis-matching of the coils to produce a specific “tuning” of the pickup’s voice. According to the patent, it is pretty much about putting a similar number of turns on each coil. But with different wire gauges.

The Blaze DP702 bridge and the Blaze DP700 both utilize the Dual Resonance tech. This will be important in a minute.

Switching System

It’s a hum-single-hum.  The Ibby Universe switching that I’ll be covering is as follows:

Pretty basic.  The 2 and 4 positions are one humbucker coil and the DP701 Blaze Middle single coil.  This middle is the only real 7-string single coil option that DiMarzio offers.  It’s a little bit hot in relation to the more traditional DiMarzio single coil models.  The middle does seem to pair well with the level of the DP702 Bridge and DP700 Neck.

Learning Curve

Straight up, my Ibby Universe is serial number 00038. And I bought it new. Just saying that there aren’t all that many people this side of Steve Vai himself that have as much time with this set of 7-string pickups. As of this writing, about 35 years. Am I the final word? Nope. But I have made oversights through the years that provide me a better appreciation for this set. For several years, the Blaze is the only reasonably available options. My cabs, speakers, and power amps options are fairly pedestrian at that time. It’s also a time when hair metal aficionados such as yours truly are diming out the gain knobs. So… an interesting cocktail of how to not get the best out of your rig! LOL!

Yet even as that knowledge base expands, it is when the brain wraps around the versatility of the Dual Resonance tech that the gears start to hit better speeds for an improved ride. Much like flipping the Mega Drive or the D Sonic 7 or the Crunch Lab 7. You can get a different result from what coil is in which direction.

Evaluation

Overall, the independent tuning of each coil of each humbucker does allow for each coil to have it’s own resonant peak that works towards a more open footprint for the respective pickup. In this instances, the mids are a little relaxed. This make it handy for players that are looking for definition in the lows and the highs while having a little sizzle in the chords. While definitely the 1989-1990 ubiquitous shred characteristic, it remains relevant in to current modern and extreme metal preferences.

Spinning the Blaze neck is a genuine revelation for my preference. A little more woody and refinement in the low end. Slightly more balanced in the 10-15 fret, with still plenty of the same flavor across the highs. If you leave the wiring as-in, this does move the slit soil to be further away from the middle in the in-between slots. If that affects your configuration, definitely try it first to see if you like it. You can definitely change it around and it’s always reversible.

The Blaze bridge is slightly different with respect to the Dual Resonance. For my money, the stock configuration will be a little better for the drop-tuning and some of the more modern and extreme metal options. Giving it the spin will broaden it out a smidge that delivers a little more depth to the overall character. Depending on your rig and your goals, it may or may not be as obvious as spinning the neck. But still very much worth the effort when you do try it out.

Blaze 7 Single Coil

The way the middle single coil works in 2, 3, and 4 positions are some great options for clean amp tones.  Aside from the bigger-sounding options from the humbuckers, the Blaze Middle is really versatile.  Spanky, chirpy, glassy, snappy.  Experiment a little, and you’ll find them all.  Since it is the only 7-string single-spaced option DiMarzio offers, it’s been in place while I’ve checked out the other 7-string humbuckers.  The Blaze Middle does well at holding up in that capacity.  It can hit a little hard if you typically use alnico-based single coils.

Demo

Want to hear the Blaze set?  Check out this video of Steve Vai, off the 1990 Passion & Warfare album:

Something more modern? How about James McIlroy (Cradle of Filth):

Specs

Conclusion

The Blaze 7-string set remains a staple in the Ibanez menu.  Be it as a full set in the Universe model, or just the humbuckers in some of the other guitars.  I can say that I definitely prefer the Blaze 7-string humbuckers over the DiMarzio PAF 7 set and about the same as the Ionizer 7 set.  The scooped mids of the Blaze set are clearly beneficial to the metal genres mentioned previously.  If you’re looking for a little more balanced EQ from the bridge, definitely consider the Blaze Custom.  Or more overall balance as a set, check out the Titan 7 set.

Additional users include: Dave Weiner (Steve Vai Band), Dan Vadim Von (Morbid Angel), Herman Li (Dragonforce), James McIlroy (Cradle Of Filth, Order of Apollyon, Chaosanct, NFD), James Ford (Mel Gaynor’s Risk), and more. The Blaze 7-string humbuckers are available in 5 solid colors, 4 zebra colors, 6 colors of covers, and 3 pole piece colors.

For reference, this DiMarzio Blaze 7-string pickup set evaluation was conducted with the following: Fractal Axe-Fx II XL+ featuring Celestion Impluse Responses and Fractal MFC-101 MIDI Foot Controller. ADA MP-1 Tube Pre-Amp loaded with Tube Amp Doctor ECC83 Premium Selected tubes, using the ADA MC-1 MIDI Controller. Fryette LX II Stereo Tube Power Amplifier. Physical cabs use are Marshall 1960B, Mojotone British, and Peavey 6505 cabs loaded with Celestion Classic Series Vintage 30s and Classic Series G12M Greenbacks.

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