Fast Track 1 vs The Cruiser bridge and neck in middle position

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Offline Virtuoso

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Hello

For those who has or have had a Fast Track 1, The Cruiser bridge or The Cruiser neck in the middle on a HSH, HSS or SSS config. How is the sound splitted in position 2 and 4, aswell as in standalone in position 3 when used in clean ? Which one quacks the best, have greatest sound, less hum etc.

I’m replacing my noisy stock single coils on 3 HSH config super strats, cannot decide which one of these 3 are best for middle position  :)

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Offline greenlion

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Re: Fast Track 1 vs The Cruiser bridge and neck in middle position
« Reply #1 on: May 13, 2019, 07:56:30 PM »
I found the fast track extremely boring and sterile. It was hot, but did not have personality in my opinion. I have the Cruiser bridge in the middle of a Fred and Paf Joe in an Ibanez RG. The Cruiser has a stratty, but modern and more aggressive tone with bite. In my opinion all of the Cruiser, Virtual Vintage, and Area single coils need a resistor un parallel to the hot lead (run to ground) so they "see" a 250k volume pot while the humbuckers still see a 500k volume pot. They sound WAY better wired this way.

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Offline darkbluemurder

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Re: Fast Track 1 vs The Cruiser bridge and neck in middle position
« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2019, 04:06:13 AM »
In my opinion all of the Cruiser, Virtual Vintage, and Area single coils need a resistor un parallel to the hot lead (run to ground) so they "see" a 250k volume pot while the humbuckers still see a 500k volume pot. They sound WAY better wired this way.

I agree on the Cruisers and the Area models with "Area" in the name.

With 500ks I found the Cruisers too bitey on the 1st and 2nd strings and the Areas too thin overall. With 250k they are just right (and I mean that in the sense of "really right").

I also would agree with the Virtual Solo (in the bridge position) or one of the Injectors. In neck/middle on the Injector neck/Virtual Vintage Heavy Blues 2 I am fine with 500k.

Cheers Stephan
Area 67, Area 58, Area 61, VV Pro 54, Injectors, VV HB2, Virtual Solo, SDS-1, Area T, Area Hot T, Area T 615, Virtual Hot T, Chopper T, Bluesbucker, Breed set, Air Norton, Super Distortion, DLX+ set, DLX-90, DP240, DP198, DP168, VPAF b, AT-1, Mo' Joe, FRED, Super 2; GS b

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Offline Virtuoso

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Re: Fast Track 1 vs The Cruiser bridge and neck in middle position
« Reply #3 on: May 14, 2019, 01:53:25 PM »
I found the fast track extremely boring and sterile. It was hot, but did not have personality in my opinion. I have the Cruiser bridge in the middle of a Fred and Paf Joe in an Ibanez RG. The Cruiser has a stratty, but modern and more aggressive tone with bite

Okay, Fast Track 1 is out of the question then!
How would The Cruiser bridge or neck blend with very heavy output pickups like a Titan Neck and D sonic bridge ? The Cruisers are very low output, will there be any problems splitting them together ?
Also, what are the differences between the bridge and neck Cruisers used in middle pos, which one is better ?
I play these guitars in EB and C.

In my opinion all of the Cruiser single coils need a resistor un parallel to the hot lead (run to ground) so they "see" a 250k volume pot while the humbuckers still see a 500k volume pot. They sound WAY better wired this way.

With 500ks I found the Cruisers too bitey on the 1st and 2nd strings and the Areas too thin overall. With 250k they are just right (and I mean that in the sense of "really right").

Interesting. What kind of resistor do I need to buy, or what do I have to tell my luthier to do to get this ? For the Cruiser to see a 250k pot and the humbuckers to see a 500k pot.

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Offline greenlion

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Re: Fast Track 1 vs The Cruiser bridge and neck in middle position
« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2019, 07:42:49 PM »
There will be somewhat of a drop in volume between a D-sonic and the Cruiser. I have run the Areas and Cruisers with pickups like the Tone Zone, Air Zone, and Fred, and the slight drop does not bother me.
Here is a video that shows how to add the resistor for the single coil: https://youtu.be/SJZ2Do7Ywx0

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Offline darkbluemurder

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Re: Fast Track 1 vs The Cruiser bridge and neck in middle position
« Reply #5 on: May 15, 2019, 04:33:21 AM »
Good explanation. Just note it is the volume pot that matters, not so much the tone pot.

Cheers Stephan
Area 67, Area 58, Area 61, VV Pro 54, Injectors, VV HB2, Virtual Solo, SDS-1, Area T, Area Hot T, Area T 615, Virtual Hot T, Chopper T, Bluesbucker, Breed set, Air Norton, Super Distortion, DLX+ set, DLX-90, DP240, DP198, DP168, VPAF b, AT-1, Mo' Joe, FRED, Super 2; GS b

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Offline Virtuoso

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Re: Fast Track 1 vs The Cruiser bridge and neck in middle position
« Reply #6 on: May 15, 2019, 08:22:19 PM »
Here is a video that shows how to add the resistor for the single coil: https://youtu.be/SJZ2Do7Ywx0

Just note it is the volume pot that matters, not so much the tone pot.

Thanks guys for the answers, I will show my luthier the video!

Regarding the differences between the bridge and neck Cruisers, I know Andy Timmons use the bridge in the middle pos, he has a great clean sound when splitted! From what I’ve heard the bridge has a scooped midrange and warmer lows. Would the neck version be a better choice ? I’m playing these guitars in Eb, D and drop C.