DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

[jrbowen81]

Ok, so I've got a DiMarzio Fast Track 2 that I plan on putting in the bridge of my MIM Strat (alder body, Warmoth Pro maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, stainless steel jumbo frets, 6-point tremolo bridge) but first I would like some recommendations for other DiMarzio rail-type pickups for the neck and middle positions.

I mainly play a variety of hard rock/metal, but I dabble in blues, ambient rock and other genres from time to time. So I'd like some versatility out of the other 4 switch positions if possible.

The only tunings I foresee this guitar being used in are standard and Drop D, most likely with 10-46 or 10-52 gauge strings.

I currently play through a Peavey 6505+ 120 watt head into a Port City OS 2x12 Wave cab with WGS Retro 30 and HM75 speakers.

(Just trying to be thorough in case these questions arise later.)

From what I've gathered, I think I wouldn't mind having the Air Norton in the neck and the Cruiser (bridge model) in the middle.

I know I won't exactly get that nice "quack" in the 2 and 4 positions, but it would be nice if I could get close. If it doesn't sound like true single coil tone, that's not necessarily a deal-breaker. If I still end up with a "good", unique tone, that's cool with me.

Whatever I wind up putting in there, would I need to switch ALL pots to 500k, or maybe just the volume?

Thanks in advance, guys!


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[idsnowdog]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

I have had good luck with the Fastrack II bridge, duckbucker middle and JB Jr neck.

 

[jrbowen81]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

I have had good luck with the Fastrack II bridge, duckbucker middle and JB Jr neck.

Hmmm... Interesting!


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[jrbowen81]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

I'll admit that I've never been too crazy about the look of the Duckbucker, but after hearing it, I may need to get over it. Lol

http://youtu.be/tzvzrYvAvZ8

 

[Juanhanglo]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

The air Norton s kicks all sorts of butt. It sounds great in parallel too

Dare I say, it sounds better than the full sized version. Less muddy.

 

[jrbowen81]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

The air Norton s kicks all sorts of butt. It sounds great in parallel too

Dare I say, it sounds better than the full sized version. Less muddy.

Good to know! I'm a fan of John Petrucci, which is what got me interested in the Air Norton years ago. Just never had a guitar that I thought it might sound good in until I got this Strat.

 

[copperheadroads]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

"스포츠배팅 →↑← CＨＵ７9．CＯＭ까톡: oxiz →∴← 토토사설 토토추천=== " holy crap were under attack

 

[DKSEARS]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

Just got my Squier back from my tech where I had him wire in a Satch Track in the neck, a Fast Track 1 in the middle and an Air Norton S in the bridge. I plugged it in for the first time tonight at my instructor's studio. Using his silverface twin, I'm really liking the pairing. The ST is full, but clear. The FT 1 is very smooth and pretty "Stratty". The Air Norton S has a little midrange honk and attitude that's I think is pretty cool.


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[jrbowen81]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

The FT 1 is very smooth and pretty "Stratty". The Air Norton S has a little midrange honk and attitude that's I think is pretty cool.

Nice. I'm seriously thinking about either the FT1 or Cruiser in the middle, mainly because of Andy Timmons' tone. Since I already have the FT2 reserved for the bridge, that Air Norton S seems like it would compliment it very nicely in the neck. I really enjoy the tone of the Air Norton on the Dream Theater albums it was used on for sure.

 

[jrbowen81]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

I wonder why I have such a hard time finding demos of the Fast Track 2 in action. It seems a little underrated.

 

[Sensates]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

I'm not a big fan of higher output neck pickups so I would suggest a Fast track 1/Cruiser bridge for a versatile fat single coily kind of sound, or Pro Track if you like to lean more towards the fat PAF sound in the neck position.

I have a strat currently setup with Pro Track bridge/Injector middle/Fast Track 1 neck and I love the sound and versatility of these pickups.

 

[jrbowen81]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

I'm not a big fan of higher output neck pickups so I would suggest a Fast track 1/Cruiser bridge for a versatile fat single coily kind of sound, or Pro Track if you like to lean more towards the fat PAF sound in the neck position.

I have a strat currently setup with Pro Track bridge/Injector middle/Fast Track 1 neck and I love the sound and versatility of these pickups.

Fast Track 1 in the neck and Cruiser bridge in the middle? That might work.

I totally forgot about the Injectors! I wonder how much quack I'd get with that in the middle and the Fast Track 2 in the bridge, wired in parallel.

 

[Sensates]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

Oh and definitely use 500k pots, I never like 250k with the rail pickups.

 

[jrbowen81]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

Oh and definitely use 500k pots, I never like 250k with the rail pickups.

Too dark?

 

[Sensates]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

Too dark?

Yes, too dark for my taste. If I need warmer tones I just roll down the tone knob. Only the Areas I would stick with the 250k pots.

 

[jrbowen81]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

Yes, too dark for my taste. If I need warmer tones I just roll down the tone knob. Only the Areas I would stick with the 250k pots.

Ah, ok. I've always been confused as to which ones I'm supposed to use if I have humbucking and single coils together on one guitar.

I REALLY like the tone of the Area 58 and 67, but I'm thinking they might be too low output to be in the neck/mid positions for this situation. What do you think?

 

[Sensates]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

Yeah, I wouldn't consider the Areas for your purpose.

 

[allbutromeo]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

I would recommend an Area for the middle, IF you don't really use the middle by itself and are looking for some of that "quack" in the 2&4 positions. The Area 61 is similar in output to the Cruiser and is the highest output of the Area series. I do like the Injector, but it's kind of dark compared to typical "strat" tones (both why I like and dislike it).

 

[jrbowen81]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

Good comments. Keep 'em coming!

 

[jrbowen81]

Re: DiMarzio Strat-sized Humbucker pairings

So at the moment, I'm thinking my winning combination would be combining my FT2 with:

(In no particular order)

Neck: Fast Track 1
Mid: Cruiser Bridge

Neck: Fast Track 1
Mid: Injector

Neck: Fast Track 1
Mid: Area 61

Neck: Air Norton S
Mid: Cruiser Bridge

Neck: Air Norton S
Mid: Fast Track 1

Neck: JB Jr.
Mid: Duckbucker

So many choices! Lol

I'm starting to think I would most likely want to have the big metal/hard rock tone in the bridge from the FT2 combined with fat, versatile Strat-like sounds in all other positions, if at all possible.

So with any of the above combinations, I'm assuming I need to switch all of my pots to 500k rather than just the volume. Is that correct?

Also, (I really need to write this down somewhere...) I can never remember whether the volume pot is supposed to be audio or linear taper. Same with the tone pots.