This was a neck pickup to be paired with a Super Distortion in the bridge and the DiMarzio site mentioned this one as a good match. The guitar I am using has a basswood body.
The output is similar to the SD in the bridge so there is no volume drop when switching pickups. At the same time it is not a very hot pickup, so it still sounds clear when playing clean. It gives the warm tones you would expect in the neck position. It does not have a specific emphasis in the tone shape so both bass and treble are even. It has a nice sweet, warm tone when playing round the 12th fret.
To be honest I was half expecting it to be more radical, as some other DiMarzios have a distinctive voicing. But this feels like a good all round tone for the neck position without focusing on only bass, mid or treble, with a bit more output than most stock pickups.
I agree with the advice from DiMarzio that it pairs well with the SD in the bridge. If you are using hotter bridge pickups or you are looking for a specific tone with more bass response then you may have to look for something else.