John Petrucci’s quest for his ultimate tone was realized with the LiquiFire neck pickup. The DiMarzio DP227F LiquiFire F Spaced Humbucker Pickup was designed in a collaboration between John and DiMarzio and was used by John throughout Dream Theater’s tenth studio album, ‘Black Clouds & Silver Linings’. John swears this is the best live and studio sound he has ever had. This neck pickup has a flowing, singing solo tone when used with an overdriven amp and a clear chord sound when clean.
Tech Talk
Since the mid 1990s, John’s neck pickup sound has been based on either the standard Air Norton or the custom version in his Ernie Ball guitars. The DP227F LiquiFire has several significant differences. Its treble response is warmer and smoother while bass response is tighter and brighter. The total sound has a more focused voice which works equally well for highly overdriven solos and complex, clean chords.