DiMarzio Super Distortion

The DiMarzio Super Distortion, introduced in 1972, was the first commercially available aftermarket humbucker pickup and one of the most influential guitar components in rock history. Designed to deliver higher output than standard PAF-style humbuckers, it produces a thick, compressed tone with aggressive midrange presence that cut through heavy band contexts where lower-output pickups got lost. Its high output drove amplifiers harder, producing more natural saturation and sustain. Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein of The Misfits used DiMarzio Super Distortions in his custom Annihilator guitar, and the pickup's aggressive character is central to the band's guitar tone on Walk Among Us and Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood. The Super Distortion has been used by a wide range of rock and metal guitarists across four decades.