Larry DiMarzio began his career repairing guitars for professional musicians in Staten Island, New York, in the 1960s, often being asked to retrofit standard humbuckers into Les Paul Deluxes and Stratocasters.

[2] By the early '70s, DiMarzio felt alternatives were needed to the stock pickups being produced by major guitar manufacturers like Fender, Gibson, and Gretsch, all of which had been bought by large corporations that prioritized cutting costs at the expense of product quality.

It combined a brighter ceramic magnet with smaller-gauge wire that allowed for more turns per coil, thereby significantly increasing its output.

In the '80s, the pickup was used by many metal and hard rock players, including Dimebag Darrell, Kerry King, and Randy Rhoads, while Kurt Cobain and Kim Thayil adopted it in the '90s.

DiMarzio argued this marketing use was legally distinct from Gibson's use of the original "patent applied for" stickers.