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Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: The Tone Zone

« Last post by nienturi on July 01, 2026, 01:46:21 AM »

Thanks to nienturi's excellent review of the Air Zone (thanks for posting this on here), we have 8.3k for the screw coil and 9k for the slug coil, assuming the coils of Air Zone and Tone Zone are identical.

Cheers Stephan

I also have Tone Zone measurements
Thanks BTW.

Dimarzio DP155 Tone Zone
Magnet – Alnico 5
Advertised DCR: 17,31K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 17,45 K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 8,25 K Ohm (Slug Coil)
Measured DCR: 9,29 K Ohm (Screw Coil)
Inductance @100Hz: 8,79H (Series)
Inductance @100Hz: 3,77H (Slug Coil)
Inductance @100Hz: 4,03H (Screw Coil)
Gauss: 340G Screw, 375G Slug
https://www.tonejourney.com/post/dimarzio-tone-zone-dp155-review

2

Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: The Tone Zone

« Last post by darkbluemurder on June 29, 2026, 04:51:57 AM »

Thanks to nienturi's excellent review of the Air Zone (thanks for posting this on here), we have 8.3k for the screw coil and 9k for the slug coil, assuming the coils of Air Zone and Tone Zone are identical.

Cheers Stephan

3

Everything you wanted to know about .... / Tone Zone 7 half air mod. Who’s done it?

« Last post by wxs3 on June 26, 2026, 12:34:07 AM »

Just as the title says. Has anyone done a tone zone 7 half air mod?

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The Pickup Place / Re: Rail Strat humbuckers: splitting or parallel?

« Last post by darkbluemurder on June 22, 2026, 04:44:26 AM »

Ugh, Gregr... you're tempting me!
Alright, it's decided: the experiment is happening.

My favorite guitar has a BC-1 in the bridge position and a Cruiser Bridge in the neck position.

Using a Super Switch, I've already worked out the wiring to get these options:
1) Bridge in series
2) Bridge in parallel
3) Bridge partial split with a 2.2k resistor
4) Partial split bridge with a 1.2k resistor + (full) neck in parallel
5) Neck in series

In the next few days I will try!

I like that set up with the pickups you are using. As the Cruiser is bright and low output already it does not make much sense to me to split or parallel it on its own. On the other hand, with the powerful bridge pickup you are using the split and parallel sections should have sufficient output to work well.

Have fun.
Stephan

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The Pickup Place / Re: Rail Strat humbuckers: splitting or parallel?

« Last post by Lelik on June 19, 2026, 01:47:28 AM »

I find partial splitting useful only when combining a more powerful rail pickup with a weaker single coil. Otherwise I was disappointed with alternate wiring schemes (parallel, split or partial split*). This goes for the Fast Track 1, Satch Track, The Chopper, BC-1, BC-2 and Fast Track 2 (as well as some Seymour Duncan offerings).

The next person to contribute to the discussion will likely have a different opinion. The only way to know for sure is to experiment for yourself. The BC-1 is a good candidate for this, as is The Chopper. As with full-sized humbuckers you will get better performance with hotter models. The problem with the single-sized humbuckers is the coils lack top end chime, even with the weaker models.

(*) My partial splits typically involve two resistors and a capacitor in order to coax a little extra single coil voicing without sacrificing body. I’ve gone as far as three resistors and two capacitors in an attempt to get extra chime out of the Satch Track but it was like getting blood from a stone. Even the brighter Fast Track 1 lacked top end to the point that I could only weaken the duller of the two coils by a small amount with a single resistor and then reduce body further with a shelf. Again this was just to combine it with a middle singe coil. That scenario was with the Fast Track 1 in the bridge. I have another guitar with a Fast Track 1 in the neck and resorted to using only a shelf for a skinnier single coil tonality. I also have an HSH with a Fast Track 1 in the middle and have a position where I am running one coil in series with one coil from the neck humbucker and then shelving that combination for a position 4-style quack. It would have worked very well if it weren’t for the fact that it’s a 24-fret Music Man Silhouette with the intonation adjustment at the base, forcing the neck pickup to be far away from the optimal position. The Satch Track in parallel in the neck position wasn’t terrible as it is the only way to get any chime, but that is at the expense of body and wasn’t worth it. Combining that with a middle single coil sounded pretty good but three active coils didn’t produce the familiar Strat quack that I was looking for.

Ugh, Gregr... you're tempting me!
Alright, it's decided: the experiment is happening.

My favorite guitar has a BC-1 in the bridge position and a Cruiser Bridge in the neck position.

Using a Super Switch, I've already worked out the wiring to get these options:
1) Bridge in series
2) Bridge in parallel
3) Bridge partial split with a 2.2k resistor
4) Partial split bridge with a 1.2k resistor + (full) neck in parallel
5) Neck in series

In the next few days I will try!

6

The Pickup Place / Re: Rail Strat humbuckers: splitting or parallel?

« Last post by gregr on June 19, 2026, 12:20:39 AM »

I like a simple cap treble bleed circuit and turning down.   It thins the lows just a bit.

Me too, but also with a series resistor and a 1 Meg pot so it doesn’t also load down the pickup as much when you turn it down. What value do you like?

7

The Pickup Place / Re: Rail Strat humbuckers: splitting or parallel?

« Last post by HeyNorton! on June 18, 2026, 09:13:07 PM »

I like a simple cap treble bleed circuit and turning down.   It thins the lows just a bit.

8

The Pickup Place / Re: Rail Strat humbuckers: splitting or parallel?

« Last post by gregr on June 17, 2026, 05:13:39 PM »

I find partial splitting useful only when combining a more powerful rail pickup with a weaker single coil. Otherwise I was disappointed with alternate wiring schemes (parallel, split or partial split*). This goes for the Fast Track 1, Satch Track, The Chopper, BC-1, BC-2 and Fast Track 2 (as well as some Seymour Duncan offerings).

The next person to contribute to the discussion will likely have a different opinion. The only way to know for sure is to experiment for yourself. The BC-1 is a good candidate for this, as is The Chopper. As with full-sized humbuckers you will get better performance with hotter models. The problem with the single-sized humbuckers is the coils lack top end chime, even with the weaker models.

(*) My partial splits typically involve two resistors and a capacitor in order to coax a little extra single coil voicing without sacrificing body. I’ve gone as far as three resistors and two capacitors in an attempt to get extra chime out of the Satch Track but it was like getting blood from a stone. Even the brighter Fast Track 1 lacked top end to the point that I could only weaken the duller of the two coils by a small amount with a single resistor and then reduce body further with a shelf. Again this was just to combine it with a middle singe coil. That scenario was with the Fast Track 1 in the bridge. I have another guitar with a Fast Track 1 in the neck and resorted to using only a shelf for a skinnier single coil tonality. I also have an HSH with a Fast Track 1 in the middle and have a position where I am running one coil in series with one coil from the neck humbucker and then shelving that combination for a position 4-style quack. It would have worked very well if it weren’t for the fact that it’s a 24-fret Music Man Silhouette with the intonation adjustment at the base, forcing the neck pickup to be far away from the optimal position. The Satch Track in parallel in the neck position wasn’t terrible as it is the only way to get any chime, but that is at the expense of body and wasn’t worth it. Combining that with a middle single coil sounded pretty good but three active coils didn’t produce the familiar Strat quack that I was looking for.

9

The Pickup Place / Rail Strat humbuckers: splitting or parallel?

« Last post by Lelik on June 17, 2026, 03:46:23 PM »

I'm familiar with partial coil splitting (like PRS uses), where a simple resistor is added to avoid a full split. With full-sized humbuckers, I generally find that this produces a more convincing single-coil-like sound than wiring the coils in parallel.

What I'm wondering is how this translates to single-coil-sized rail humbuckers, especially medium-output models such as the Air Norton S or Mirage Neck.
In your experience, would a partial coil split be more useful than running the two coils in parallel if the goal is to get a distinctly different sound from these pickups?

I'm asking because I'm planning a custom Jaguar-style build and would like to maximize versatility. The idea is to use a Super Switch (DiMarzio EP1112) and experiment with a few alternative wiring options both in the neck and in the bridge positions.

At the moment I don't own either of the pickups mentioned above, so this is mostly theoretical. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried these wiring schemes with the small rail humbuckers.

I do have a BC-1 in the bridge position of another guitar, but I never wired it for coil splitting or parallel operation. Since it's my main guitar and favorite instrument, I'm a bit reluctant to start rewiring it just for experimentation. Maybe one day I'll give it a try, though.

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The Pickup Place / My review of the Pre-36th PAF DP103

« Last post by nienturi on June 15, 2026, 04:49:01 AM »

Hi.

I've recently published a review about the PAF DP103 but made before the 36th annv release.

https://www.tonejourney.com/post/dimarzio-paf-dp103-review-1990s-version