DiMarzio believes the Area '58 and Area '61 are a major step forward in the performance of hum cancelling Strat replacement pickups. The technology that went into the DP417 models has allowed them to make a similar advance with Telecaster guitar pickups. The Area T neck model has the combination of clarity and warmth that Telecaster players have always sought.

The DP417 pickup is recommended for the neck.

The contrast between a warm neck pickup tone and a biting bridge pickup sound is a Tele hallmark, but it's hard to achieve if the neck pickup is muddy. The Area T neck model has a very smooth tone, but its ability to remain clear even with heavy overdrive is an essential quality of Area design. The Area T pickup was designed to work with 250K controls, but treble response and output can be increased by using 500K volume and tone controls or tweaked further with a 250K volume and the EP1202 1 Megohm tone control.