
If I were to rank DiMarzio's most underrated pickups, the Norton would probably make it into the top three. I can’t quite understand why a pickup with so much potential remains so overshadowed. Compared to its counterpart, the “Air Norton,” which is widely renowned, calling the Norton “barely recognized” wouldn’t be an exaggeration. I regret discovering it so late, yet I thoroughly enjoyed crossing paths with it in some way. There’s a saying, “a pickup for every purpose,” which I don’t particularly like as a description, but I must admit the Norton is one of the closest pickups to fitting that definition.My detailed impressions are as follows...
The Test Guitar

NORTON still standing on my “Pink Tiger” for a while. That pink tiger is a superstrat has a Jackson Dinky body made of alder, one piece maple neck in modern C profile, German made Jackson Floyd Rose tremolo with Japanese stainless steel saddles, 25,5” scale, nickel silver frets, Alpha 500K pots and elixir strings in E-std tuning. Guitar has Dimarzio Air Norton neck and No-name blade style middle pickups(~9K thou). Its primary (unplugged) tone is neutral to fairly bright. You can hear the guitar on my demo video below.
Evaluation
Let’s read the desciption first, as always;
“The sound of a Norton is right between FRED and the Tone Zone. It’s got some FRED-like harmonic overtones that can only be described as nasty, with more of the power and mid-range of the heavyweight Tone Zone. The same patented dual-resonance design used in FRED and the Tone Zone delivers a sound that’s hotter and “bigger” than any vintage model, but not as loud as a distortion-class humbucker. Norton might be our most versatile bridge pickup. Combine it with a wide choice of neck pickups like the Air Classic, PAF 36th Anniversary, PAF Pro, and Air Norton.
Norton was originally designed to extend the tonal range and power of standard output humbuckers without going over the top. It's more modern than a PAF sound: the benchmark Gibson Les Paul/Marshall combination yields more midrange crunch and high frequency pick harmonics than vintage-style pickups were capable of putting out. Norton is really good for opening up the sound of mahogany set-neck guitars.”
Let's read my measuremens here;
Dimarzio Norton DP160
Magnet – Alnico 5
Advertised DCR: 12.62 K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 12.59 K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 5.64 K Ohm (Screw Coil)
Measured DCR: 7.06 K Ohm (Slug Coil)
Inductance @100Hz: 6.76 H (Series)
Inductance @100Hz: 2.78 H (Screw Coil)
Inductance @100Hz: 3.08 H (Slug Coil)
Measured C: -22.4 nF (Series)/ -49.2nF (Screw Coil) / -37.3nF (Slug Coil)
Output: 352 Milivolts (advertised)
EQ (B/M/T) – 6,5/7/5 (old catalog data) 6/6,5/6,5/5 (official website)
Gauss: 450G screw, 410G slug (measured at top center of D&G pole pieces)
Patents: Dual Resonance
Ambient Measurement Temperature: 21C
When we visually examine the pickup, the first thing we notice is that it has two asymmetrically wound coils, a detail that measurements also confirm. The pole pieces rare classic humbucker style; screws&slugs. In terms of magnetic flux density, I measured a very high Gauss values compared to the ordinary A5 humbuckers. In my Custom 5 review, I mentioned that a reading of 400G was the highest I had measured so far. Just a few weeks later, I measured the Norton and found it to be at 450G/410G, which is almost at the level of ceramic-magnet humbuckers.That’s where the power of Norton lies. But there’s more. Even though we can’t see it on the patent label, we’ve learned through the Guitar Pickup Database (GPD) that the Norton features a half-air mod. In other words, according to the GPD, although it’s not written on the Norton itself, there is a thin black spacer between the slugs and the magnet, meaning the magnet bar doesn’t make direct contact with the slugs. There is also a photo on his intagram post but i have not seen a plastic barrier; only an empty space between the slug and magnet. At the end, nothing matters. Magnet is not in contact with the slugs. Period. This also explains the difference in magnetic flux measurements—typically, we’d read slightly higher flux density on the slug side on standard humbuckers. For the specifics of this mod and how it works, I’ll direct you to GPD’s detailed explanation, which you can find here;
When we analyze the EQ spectrum of the Norton, I can say that the lows are well-defined and rich, but not as tight as some other Alnico 5-loaded powerful humbuckers. For instance, in my opinion, the Custom 5 is much tighter. However, when compared to the Tone Zone or JB, the lows here feel tighter. The highs are relatively richer and sharper than those of the Tone Zone; not as round or spongy as what you’d find in the Tone Zone or Custom Custom. Now, the mids are what make the Norton stand out. If I were to say that the mids are the defining characteristic of many popular DiMarzio humbuckers, would you agree? In the Norton, it’s all about the mids. They are prominent but not overly dominant. The balance and the response of this frequency range—particularly its interaction with the upper mids/highs—combined with its output level, is where the pickup’s charm lies. Thanks to this, the Norton sweetens the tone without much muddying it. But all the sweet mids i’ve spoken about doesn’t make this humbucker “Honky” (or “too honky” at least). JB can be considered honky which sometimes makes it a little bit boring. At first you like it very much but after playing hours or days you find yourself saying “okay, but what else?” but not with the Norton.

In this sense, the claim in the official description about it being the child of “the Tone Zone” and “the Fred” isn’t off the mark. I can hear many of the aspects I love about the Tone Zone in the Norton. But while I can’t imagine installing a Tone Zone in a Les Paul, I can very naturally see myself equipping one with the Norton. Besides, i can hear some of the good aspects that “the Fred” has, just like “harmonic liveliness” and “brilliant vibe”. But no, i don’t mean Norton is a bright pickup.
Catalogs state its output is 352 milivolts which can’t be considered low. It’s mid/high output pickup that sounds so good. For versatile pickups on Dimarzio output scale 320-370 milivolts are handy.
When evaluating the DP160 in terms of dynamic range, I must say has a natural compression when volume pot is full up, but as you lower the volume knob down, you can get distinct cleans. This level of sonic clarity and control wasn’t as achievable with the Tone Zone. Moreover, even with the knobs fully open, if the amp’s compression or saturation isn’t overly high, the DP160 proves to be a “relatively“ sensitive humbucker that isn’t like “no matter how hard you play, i will sound the same you moron!” :)
The most characteristic feature of the Norton can be described as versatility. Yes, I know. This term is often overused in pickup reviews. I also occasionally find myself joining this group for various reasons. But the Norton truly is a versatile tool. Want to play something from the '80s but don't want anything as focused or mid-heavy as the JB? Norton might be the answer. Need something mid-focused like the JB but with better clarity? Norton is just around the corner. Looking for something fat for your bright Strat bridge tone but don’t want it to go as “boosted” as the Tone Zone? Norton is ready. Are you into Satriani-style playing but find “the Fred” too bright (I belong to this group, too)? Norton is up for the task! Playing Gary Moore-style blues and feel like the 8.5K Gibson humbuckers just aren't cutting it? The Norton is here. Want an AC/DC-like tone but find your thin-bodied SG's bridge tone too piercing? Norton’s got you covered.
The Norton is a pickup that can successfully handle many tasks within rock genres, adapting to various guitars with different wood types, constructions, scales, and pickup configurations.
If I were to exaggerate and sum everything i’ve ever written up in one sentence, I’d call it a “JB with more balanced mids & much higher clarity”.
The Norton pairs well with the Air Norton in the neck—they complement each other very well. Plus, i’m sure it will also pair well with PAF Pro, PAF & ADM Neck or Air Classic from Dimarzio, Pearly Gates neck, Alnico 2 Pro, Jazz or even alnico 4 modded ’59 from Seymour Duncan. Depending on your preferencies and your setup and your desire for tone.
You say ‘How ‘bout cleans?’ DP160 has a character and playability.
I haven’t used it on lower tunings yet. Keep an eye on that review for updates ;)

Conclusion
DiMarzio has several highly popular models. Many prestigious manufacturers use these pickups in their high-end guitars. The Air Norton, for instance, or the Tone Zone, Super Distortion, and PAF Pro... Norton, on the other hand, has never been the most popular in its class. Yet, it has carved out a special place among DiMarzio users. That said, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Norton in any models from well-known guitar brands. One thing I was sure of after using it for the first time: if I were designing a rock guitar and didn’t have a specific focus in mind, I’d probably choose the Norton for the bridge pickup.
Famous guitarists who use the Norton? While I can’t provide a very concrete reference, we read in the 2000 DiMarzio catalog that Reb Beach and David Grissom used the Norton. I even recall Reb Beach mentioning in an interview that while playing with Dokken, he opted for the Norton instead of his usual EMGs because a more open, breathing tone without compression was expected. However, I can’t quite remember which platform that interview was on.
If your style goes around rock, almost every kind of rock, and your tone goes around overdrive and beyond, then the Norton will suit to your versatility needs. Sweet tunes for your melodic style. To clarify further or specify a particular specialty, I’d say it’s tailor-made for ‘80s tones.
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