DiMarzio Area 58 Strat Pickup DP415

From the manufacturer:

 There are two major differences between a great vintage Strat® pickup and an average one: treble response and dynamics. A great pickup is clear and bright, but not thin-sounding. A great one makes the sound jump out of the amp when you pick hard and drop way down when you play softly, and the tone varies when the string is picked at different spots. The best pickup we’ve ever heard like this was from 1958, and that’s what inspired the Area 58™, with two major differences. Our pickup has way less magnet pull, and virtually no hum.

The Area 58™ has obvious similarities to the Virtual Vintage® 2.1 it replaces, but there are several non-visible performance factors that have changed. Dynamic range and string definition are greatly increased, leading to improvements in both clean chord-playing and overdriven soloing. The Area 58™ is very sensitive to small height adjustment differences: close to the strings produces a fatter, slightly compressed blues tone and further away yields crystal clean sounds. The final improvement is in noise reduction. All of the Virtual Vintage® pickups have better hum cancellation than full-size humbuckers. Area 58™ and Area 61™ are even quieter.

Recommended for neck and middle positions, but can be used as a bridge.

Ethan's picks for best videos/sound-clips:

Paul Riario takes a look at the DiMarzio Area 58 and 61 strat pickups in this clip. Clean tones can be heard at the following timecodes: neck – 2:25, neck/middle – 2:45, middle – 3:13, middle/bridge – 3:30, bridge – 3:42. The Area 58 in the neck is a very quiet pickup with a warm, bell-like quality to it. When you combine it with the Area 58 middle pup, you introduce a little more sparkle for a shimmery strat tone. The middle pickup by itself has a very thick clean sound with a solid midrange bite. Combine it with the Area 61 bridge and you get a little more snap and grit. The Area 61 by itself has a lot of twang, as well as increased output for a full, rich single coil tone. Dirty tones can be heard at the following timecodes: neck – 4:03, neck/middle – 4:12, middle – 4:20, middle/bridge - 4:27, bridge – 4:35. Adding a bit of gain brings these pups to life; you get a screaming Texas blues tone in the neck, a killer crunch in the bridge, and everything in between. The best part is how quiet these pickups are, given their noiseless design. With the Area 58 and 61 pickups, you get to retain all the single coil character of classic vintage pickups without the annoying 60-cycle hum.

The player is Paul Riario from Guitar World and he is using a Fender Strat.

This video demos a strat loaded with two DiMarzio Area 58s in the neck and middle positions and a DiMarzio Area 61 in the bridge. The action kicks in at 2:25, highlighting the Area 58 in the neck position with a little overdrive played over a bluesy backing track. It makes for a nice lead blues tone that has a smooth, almost bell-like quality to it. The player goes on to demonstrate each individual pickup on a clean setting, beginning with the neck at 5:04. The Area 58 has an incredible clean sound in this position; it is quiet, warm, and incredibly rich sounding with a nice glassy timbre. The Area 58 middle pickup (5:25) has great amount of treble for a nice crystalline sound with sheer single coil brilliance. The Area 61 bridge pickup has a little more output comparatively, and adds a lot of that snap, twang, and gritty bite strats are known for (listen at 5:40). This is a great pickup combination for players longing for a true vintage single coil sound without all the noise.

The player is Darrell Braun and he is using a 2014 American Strat through a Mesa Dual Rectifier Blue Angel.

Here is a clip highlighting the Area 58 neck pickup in all its glory. The first portion of the video highlights some of the beautiful clean tones you can get with this pup. It has such a nice warm low end with plenty of snap for a classic jazz tone. The noiseless design allows the tone to remain totally clear and articulate without sacrificing any of its vintage charm. A little overdrive kicks in at around 0:50 for a hot Texas blues sound. The neck pickup breaks up so naturally and has a mean, gritty sound that is perfect for blues solos. Skip to 1:42 to hear this pup in a lead context. Fast runs sound very smooth and precise and there is plenty of sustain for those wailing leads. Best part is, these pups don’t make a peep!

The player is Carl Roa and he is using a Fender Strat.

Check out some of the sweet clean lead tones you can get with the Area 58 Neck pup. This player is soloing over a reggae-style backing track and you can hear the neck pickup from 0:00 – 0:40. With a little bit of reverb you get a nice single coil lead sound that is bold and transparent. Plus, there is nothing more classic sounding than a good single coil pup through a Fender amp. The Area 58 is a great choice for this kind of application, along with so many other genres from jazz to blues, rock, and beyond. The neck pickup is especially sweet sounding, giving you plenty of warmth and snap for your solos to cut and soar. 

The player is Jason Wilford and he is using a YJM Fury guitar through a Fender Red Knob Twin.

This clip features a demo of the Area 58 pickup in the neck and middle positions. Clean tones can be heard at the following timecodes: neck – 0:00 – 0:18, neck/middle – 0:19, middle – 0:36. Cleans are definitely what these pickups do best. You get classic vintage single coil tone right out of the box without the hassle of 60-cycle hum. The result is a rich, articulate clean sound with warm lows, sparkly highs, and tasteful mids. Add a little dirt and you get anything from Texas blues grit to classic rock crunch. Dirty tones can be heard at the following timecodes: neck – 1:48, neck/middle – 2:06, middle – 2:23.

The player is Pablo Copa and he is using a Fender American Standard Strat through a Line 6 Pocket Pod.

Get killer rock tones with an Area 58 in the neck and an Area 61 in the middle position. Listen from 0:00 – 0:48 to hear the 58 and from 0:49 – 1:07 to hear the 61. The 58 does a great job handling that lead rock tone, sounding smooth and rich over the backing track. The 61 has a lot of punch to it and a natural bite that adds a little edge to the tone, making it perfect for leads and octaves (as heard in this clip). It also has an increased output for a hotter single coil sound. Both of these pickups are noiseless and great choices for a traditional strat sound.

The player is Jason Wilford and he is using a YJM Fury guitar through a Fender Red Knob Twin.