DiMarzio Humbucker From Hell Review: The Ultimate Cure for Muddy Neck Tones
- Baris Sahin
- 16 hours ago
- 13 min read
Updated: 9 hours ago
There are certain DiMarzio pickups I’ve never had the chance to play, yet my curiosity about them has always been strong. Unfortunately, finding these models in my country has never been easy. Pickups like the Evolution or the Tone Zone are relatively common, but others are far more elusive — models such as the Fortitude, MegaDrive, Class of 55, Super 3, Virtual PAF, Virtual Vintage ’54, and so on.
One of those hard-to-find models was the Humbucker From Hell. I first came across it in 1999, when I spotted it in Ibanez’s outstanding 1996 catalog — outstanding, especially because it featured the JEM10th. Back then, the year was 1999, and the neck pickup of the PGM500CA was listed as the Humbucker From Hell. In my mind, it immediately took on an entirely different, almost mythical character. I imagined something closer to the Black Winter Neck: a humbucker “from hell” had to be ferocious, dangerous, and brutally high-output — a true flame-thrower.
I finally discovered what it really was in 2002, after playing a PGM500, and I was genuinely taken aback. At the very least, I had expected something along the lines of an EMG 85, but what I encountered was anything but a war machine. Unfortunately, my time with it in the shop was limited, and until just a few weeks ago, I never had another opportunity to try one again. When I recently came across a second-hand example, I decided to stretch my budget and bring it home. Now the real question remains: did I end up liking it?
The Test Guitar
The Humbucker from Hell (HFH shortly) I have still sits on its throne on my hand-made superstrat, Goldie, that has a Turkish alder body, a Q-sawn one-piece maple neck in a chunky Endur-Neck profile, Gotoh 510T-FE1 tremolo, 25.5” scale, steel frets, Bourns 500K volume and Alpha 500K tone pots, and 009-046 D'Addario NYXL0946 strings in E-standard tuning. The guitar has a Dimarzio Air Zone and custom wound middle (true single with coil tapping 5.5K/6.5K windings, now on 6.5K side is on) pickups. Its primary (unplugged) tone ranges from balanced to medium-bright.
Evaluation
Let’s read the official desciption first, as always;
“Because a conventional humbucker senses the string at two different places, it cancels some frequencies along with the hum. What if there was a humbucker that cancelled fewer frequencies? It would be brighter and cleaner: almost glassy-sounding. In other words, it would sound a lot like a Strat pickup, but with about the same power as a PAF. We created The Humbucker From Hell primarily as a neck pickup. You won’t believe how much it will open up the sound in the neck position of a Gibson Les Paul, and it has an almost acoustic quality in the neck spot of a bolt-on guitar. Why is it called The Humbucker From Hell? Try it in the bridge position with a bright amp — but put in your earplugs first, and don’t say you weren’t warned.
Okay, we admit it — it's a strange name for a pickup that's not a mega-voltage monster, but try it in the bridge position with a really bright amp and you'll get it. What we really wanted was a super-clean neck pickup, because we've heard years of complaints about muddy-sounding humbuckers. This pickup is the cure. With some guitar/amp combinations, it can sound almost acoustic. With others, it's real Strat-like. Aside from canceling 60-cycle hum, it bears very little resemblance to a standard humbucking sound.”
From 1997 catalog
“Humbucker From Hell
guitars: Ibanez PGM500
artists: Paul Gilbert
Want the single-coil sound with the output and quiet operation of a standard humbucker? The Humbucker From Hell goes where no humbucker has gone before. It has the glassy, open sound of a great single-coil, with bright pick attack and warm depth of tone.
Because The Humbucker From Hell is a full-size humbucker, its output and noise specs match perfectly with other humbuckers–now your guitar will sound absolutely balanced in all positions. To get a bigger “single-coil” tone from your rig, use The Humbucker From Hell in the neck and bridge positions. It will drive your system harder, while maintaining the springy, transparent sound you expect only from a single-coil pickup.
Recommended For: Neck position in solidbody guitars.
Tech Talk: Okay, we admit it - it's a strange name for a pickup that's not a megavoltage monster (but try it in the bridge position with a really bright amp & you'll get it). What we really wanted was a super-clean neck pickup, because we've heard years of complaints about muddy-sounding buckers. This pickup is the cure. With some guitar/amp combinations, it can sound almost acoustic, with others, it's real Strat-like. Aside from cancelling 60-cycle hum, it bears very little resemblance to standard humbucking sound.
Specifications:
Wiring Standard four conductor
Magnet Alnico 5
Output 226mVDC
Resistance 5.82K
Year of introduction 1992
Patent # 4,501,185
DP156, DP156F"
…And, my measuremens are here;
Dimarzio Humbucker From Hell DP156
Magnet – Alnico 5
Advertised DCR: 5.82 K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 5.53 K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 2.30 K Ohm (Screw Coil)
Measured DCR: 3.28 K Ohm (Slug Coil)
Inductance @100Hz: 2.36 H (Series)
Inductance @100Hz: 1.01 H (Screw Coil)
Inductance @100Hz: 1.05 H (Slug Coil)
Measured C: -47nF (Series)/ -115.1nF (Screw Coil) / -67.5nF (Slug Coil)
Output: 226mV
EQ (B/M/T) – 5/5/9 (older catalog data) – 4.5/4.5/8.5 (old catalog data) 1.5/3/4/8.5 (official website)
Gauss: 310G screw(South), 330G slug (North) (measured at top center of D&G pole pieces)
Patents: Dual Resonance
Ambient Measurement Temperature: 20oC
Users: Paul Gilbert, Jamie Brantley, Andy Martin, Alex Skolnick, Lou Reed, Jason Lamb, Gary Paulson, Gabriel Moses, David Torn
Let’s examine the pickup from the outside in, as usual. At first glance, it looks like a very typical DiMarzio. Think PAF Pro or Super Distortion: Allen-head pole pieces, a brass baseplate — nothing visually out of the ordinary. However, once you take a closer look at the coils, it quickly becomes clear that this is not only not a typical DiMarzio, but arguably not even a typical humbucker. When you visually inspect the coils and then correlate what you see with individual coil DCR measurements, a rather unusual picture begins to emerge. Neither of the two coils is fully wound, and one of them is noticeably underwound — almost anorexic. My assumption is that the south coil is wound with 42 AWG wire, while the north coil uses 43 AWG. After all, this pickup is built around DiMarzio’s Dual Resonance patent. Even the pickup’s total series DCR is remarkably low for a humbucker. Unsurprisingly, the individual coil DCR and inductance values are also quite low. Adding to this atypical construction, the pole pieces extend unusually far through the baseplate, much like on the PAF Pro.
As for magnetic flux density, it sits right where you’d expect from an Alnico 5 magnet, measuring around 310–330 gauss.
On DiMarzio’s “Does it matter which direction I install my pickup?” page, the Humbucker From Hell is described as sounding “slightly brighter with the cable exit toward the neck.” I installed it in my guitar accordingly.
As I mentioned in the introduction, the first time I tried the Humbucker From Hell, what stayed with me most was the realization — or rather, the surprise — that it was not a flame-thrower at all. On top of that, I didn’t have the chance to spend much time playing it in the shop, and even if I had, I honestly didn’t yet have the experience to clearly identify what made it different. Not long after, something else deepened my curiosity about the Humbucker From Hell. I learned that on Images and Words — one of my favorite Dream Theater albums — John Petrucci’s most frequently used Ibanez in the recordings was equipped with a Humbucker From Hell and a Tone Zone. Being a die-hard Dream Theater fan at the time, that discovery gave the Humbucker From Hell a special kind of appeal for me.
Let’s move on to the tone of the Humbucker From Hell. I have to admit, it’s not the easiest pickup to describe. The official description says: “It would be brighter and cleaner: almost glassy-sounding. In other words, it would sound a lot like a Strat pickup, but with about the same power as a PAF.”
I can’t fully agree with the Strat pickup comparison. Single-coil–like? Yes. Strat-like? No — at least not to my ears. What is immediately noticeable is how clear it is for a neck humbucker, especially on the wound strings. Traditional neck humbuckers — including lightly wound PAF-style models — tend to sound boomy on the wound strings in one way or another. The Humbucker From Hell, on the other hand, retains a much more single-coil-like feel in that range.
To my ears, it sits right between a typical Strat single-coil and a classic P-90 while Humbucker From Hell (HFH, shortly) is undeniably a humbucker, yet an exceptionally articulate one. You never have that moment of surprise where you think, “Wait, isn’t this a single-coil?” — but at the same time, it is remarkably, even unusually, clear. I absolutely loved that clarity.
But now, i want to dig a little deeper into this supposed similarity to Strat single-coils and try to pinpoint what actually differs. The most obvious distinction, to my ears, is tonal richness. A good Strat’s neck pickup can be truly magical; when both the guitar and the pickup are right, the harmonic complexity can be genuinely captivating.
The tone you get from the Humbucker From Hell — if our reference point is a clean or lightly overdriven Strat neck single-coil — simply doesn’t reach that same level of richness or enchantment. I’m sorry to say it, but it doesn’t. If you’re expecting the Humbucker From Hell to combine a traditional humbucker construction with all the best qualities of a Strat neck single-coil, then the HFH is not your destination. In fact, no humbucker really is.
Another major factor that makes a clear difference is dynamic range. Compared to a true Strat neck single-coil, the Humbucker From Hell inevitably feels more compressed. I tested this directly by running several of my Strats through the same amp settings back-to-back, doing proper A/B comparisons. The difference is clearly audible. This is a direct consequence of the HFH being built on a humbucker architecture, and it makes itself felt.
Two final aspects worth mentioning are output and noise. Compared to a true Strat neck single-coil, the Humbucker From Hell delivers noticeably higher output — almost double, in practical terms — and, being a humbucker, it is of course completely hum-free.
That said, none of this should be taken to mean that the Humbucker From Hell has the kind of compression you’d associate with an active pickup — absolutely not. My conclusions here are based on repeated comparisons with two genuine Strat neck single-coils, one lightly wound and one with a more standard winding, as well as on many earlier experiences.
Interestingly, if the point of comparison shifts to typical neck-position PAF-style pickups, the picture flips entirely. Compared to classic neck humbuckers — PAF clones, underwound neck models, and the like — the Humbucker From Hell is far clearer, more harmonically detailed, and more dynamic. In that context, it sits much closer to the “single-coil” side of the spectrum.
At one point, after comparing the Duncan Jazz with the PAF Pro, I had written: “Roughly summarizing, while the PAF Pro is a clear ‘humbucker,’ the Jazz comes across more like a Strat single-coil–ish humbucker to me.” I was wrong. Compared to the Humbucker From Hell, the Jazz is far more of a humbucker 🙂
When it comes to EQ character, DiMarzio’s published data is quite clear — and accurate. This is a pickup with an exceptionally rich high end, yet it never sounds overly crisp or harsh. The low end is tight, and while it isn’t lacking in low mids, the upper mids are not especially pronounced. In other words, there’s no nasal quality here. That said, both these descriptions and the official EQ charts might lead you to expect something overly shrill or excessively glassy. They shouldn’t. You’re still firmly in the border of “clear yet warm” territory somehow.
I also really enjoyed its pick response on attacks. The way it reacts to fast picking under drive is particularly satisfying. In that sense, if you’re a guitarist who relies on rapid picking passages, likes using the neck pickup for fast runs, but dislikes the muddiness that often appears above the 12th fret on the higher strings, the Humbucker From Hell might be exactly what you’re looking for. In that sense, the Humbucker From Hell can confidently be described as a shred-friendly neck humbucker. I understand why John Petrucci had prefered it once in a while. You know what, it may be just a placebo, i’m not stubborn with this, but i feel the licks from Images&Words sound better than the Air Norton.
Dynamic range or compression feeling? I mentioned about them while comparing HFH with a strat single. But, evaluating by itself alone, HFH is a dynamic humbucker. Cleans up really well with the volume pot. You get more PAF-type-ish of sounds by dropping the tone pot down. Pharisng licks in the levels of crancking the amps are nice and fine.
One thing you won’t need with the humbucker from hell is the split operations. Just turn the volume down, that’s it. I was suggested to try parallel wiring but i couldn’t experience this mod yet. I believe it will sound great, too.
Dimarzio tells about HFH can be used in the bridge. I haven’t tried and i won’t. I don’t believe that i can love how it sounds.
I can almost hear you asking how it compares to another unique DiMarzio design: the Bluesbucker. The Bluesbucker has become one of my absolute favorite neck pickups in recent years. The Humbucker From Hell has now joined that list as well — but just how different are they? At the most fundamental level, the difference can be summed up as body. The Bluesbucker leans much more toward a P-90 character (and, naturally, a more PAF-ish feel), whereas the Humbucker From Hell sits far more decisively somewhere between a Strat single-coil and a humbucker. So which one is better? That depends entirely on the guitar. If your guitar already has a brighter overall voice, the Bluesbucker is usually the better match. On the other hand, if your neck position suffers from a serious clarity or muddiness issue, the Humbucker From Hell is the clear choice — no question about it.
There’s also another way to look at it. If your playing involves a lot of fast alternate picking — especially if you’re into early-to-mid ’90s Paul Gilbert tones (think Mr. Big era) — then, once again, the Humbucker From Hell would be my pick. In fact, one of the Racer X clips that used to be featured in the Humbucker From Hell webpage on DiMarzio’s old website was recorded with this very pickup;
Let’s move on to what the Humbucker From Hell pairs well with. At the moment, my Goldie has an Air Zone in the bridge, and to be honest, they’re not an ideal match. The Air Zone is quite throaty, while the Humbucker From Hell is noticeably brighter and clearer. That level of contrast doesn’t bother me personally, but I know many players who wouldn’t enjoy it.
In practice, I think the Humbucker From Hell would form a much better partnership with a Virtual Hot PAF, a PAF Pro (which is a bit too bright for my taste, but could work very well in a warmer-sounding guitar), a Super Distortion, or — perhaps even better — a Steve Morse bridge or a Transition.
On the Seymour Duncan side, I believe it would get along nicely with a wide range of medium- to high-output, brighter-voiced humbuckers. The first ones that come to mind are the JB, Distortion, Custom, and Full Shred.
Clean tones deserve a special mention. For a humbucker, they are genuinely impressive. If you enjoy the cleans of a good P-90, chances are you’ll appreciate the Humbucker From Hell as well. It also works exceptionally well with classic ’80s solid-state amp tones — and yes, I’m looking at you, Roland Jazz Chorus.
First of all, anyone who is looking for a true Strat single-coil experience. Those players will likely describe the HFH as sterile, somewhat lifeless, or too compressed. They may complain that it doesn’t feel shimmering or lively enough. And honestly, they wouldn’t be entirely wrong—because the official product description does tend to push expectations in that direction. On the other hand, if you’re one of those guitarists constantly fighting mud issues and lack of clarity in the neck position—yes, I’m looking straight at you—HFH is basically your prescription drug :) I’m pretty sure there are plenty of Les Paul owners out there who have no idea that their long search for neck-position clarity could end the moment they plug in an HFH. One quick test, and it’s very likely to turn into a “where have you been all my life?” moment.
Conclusion
The DiMarzio Humbucker From Hell is a pickup that makes sense only when you stop judging it by its name and marketing. It is not aggressive, thick, or high-output. Instead, it is a highly focused answer to a very common problem: neck-position muddiness.
If you expect a true Strat single-coil experience, the Humbucker From Hell will likely disappoint. It doesn’t deliver the same harmonic richness or wide dynamic range, and it remains more compressed by comparison — simply because it is still a humbucker. Players chasing pure Strat neck magic may find it too restrained or sterile, and that criticism wouldn’t be entirely unfair.
But compared to traditional neck humbuckers — PAF-style pickups and their underwound variants — the picture flips completely. Here, the Humbucker From Hell stands out as remarkably clear, articulate, and controlled. Wound strings stay tight, fast passages remain defined, and high-register notes avoid the familiar neck-pickup congestion. In that context, it sits much closer to the single-coil side than most humbuckers ever do.
With its fast pick response, clean articulation, and hum-free operation, the Humbucker From Hell is an excellent choice for players who value clarity, speed, and precision in the neck position. It may not be “from hell” — but for the right guitar, it can feel like a cure.
Pros
· Exceptional clarity for a neck-position humbucker
· Tight low end with no muddiness on wound strings
· Very fast and precise pick response
· Excellent note separation, even in higher registers
· Brighter and more articulate than typical PAF-style neck pickups
· Hum-free operation with higher output than a Strat single-coil
· Cleans up beautifully with the volume pot
· Works very well for fast alternate picking and shred-oriented playing
· Pairs nicely with medium-to-high output bridge humbuckers
· Particularly effective in guitars with neck-position clarity issues
Cons
· Not a true Strat single-coil replacement
· Lacks the harmonic richness and dynamic range of a real Strat neck pickup
· Can feel slightly compressed compared to single-coils
· May sound too bright or lean in already bright guitars
· Limited appeal for players seeking thick, warm neck humbucker tones
· Bridge position use is likely too niche for most players
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