11

The Pickup Place / Re: Neck Position: Fast Track 1 vs. Injector bridge vs. Virtual Solo

« Last post by gregr on January 01, 2026, 05:12:55 PM »

I’ve been modding one of my Marshalls and testing it with my main guitar which has a Screamin’ Demon in the bridge and A3-loaded Duncan 59 Neck in the neck with a passive bass shelf control (to give you an idea of what I like in the neck position). I switched over to the guitar with the FT1 in the neck and both voicings sounded great without adjusting any of the controls on the amp. The bridge pickup is an A2-loaded JB/Screamin’ Demon hybrid which is a tad weaker and darker than the stock A5 Screamin’ Demon. The Screamin’ Demon is a vintage output pickup, on par with a Duncan 59 Bridge. With a stock JB in the bridge the FT1 is going to sound more like a vintage single coil (minus the chime, though still very bright), as if you plugged in a Strat and dialed your amp accordingly. There are key sonic differences between a rail pickup and a single coil, but in the neck position the FT1 sounds more like a single coil than a humbucker.

Piguitars has a demo of the Injector Bridge in the neck position to give you an idea of what it might sound like. It’s too dark for my tastes, personally. It still sounds very bell-like through the midrange unlike the FT1.

https://youtu.be/g5JQBRvF2qc?si=sJshNtJtHc6RCCl5

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck Position: Fast Track 1 vs. Injector bridge vs. Virtual Solo

« Last post by headcrash on January 01, 2026, 05:29:47 AM »

Thanks guys for keeping the discussion going 
I can’t report anything new here, but gregr‘s concerns about the FT1 lacking body made me think again 
Since I already have an Injector neck, the Injector bridge would a) be a good fit for what I want, b) would keep the original look of the guitar and c) maybe keeps the original concept of this guitar.
I think the Axis Sports had some variant of the DiMarzio Velvet series pickups there.
Well, since I rarely use this guitar, I don’t want to invest in a new pickup, so I’ll wait for a good offer on the used market.

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The Pickup Place / Re: My review of the Super PAF Ceramic

« Last post by wxs3 on December 22, 2025, 09:39:41 PM »

Yes, it still has the virtual tech in it. It has a similar sound to the Duncan 78 at that time. I can’t remember if I used a special magnet size or not though.

Hi guys, long time no post on my end (happens when we get old). I ordered a Super PAF Ceramic and installed it in my Kiesel Delos which has 2 bridge Cruisers in the neck and middle.  It replaced the Air Classic that I was running.  The sound, for me, was too compressed (less openness than the Air Classic).  I'm currently playing classic rock in my current band and recording progressive rock at home and various jams.  It just didn't have the openness that the Air Classic has, and for me, it was an exchange for another (a PAF 7 for the neck of my 7-string Delos with an Air Norton 7 in the bridge).  It was just too much squeeze for me, as I find myself going to more vintage pickups these days.  Some will like it, but for me it wasn't to be.
 Yours in 
Walt

Hi Walt. As a Zappa fan, glad to meet you

Virtual Hot PAf with A2 is something i really like to hear yet i'm afraid to spoil the pickup somehow. Did you leave the "airbucker" tech or took the ring out and put spacers?

Thanks for your review.

Nevertheless the result was too obvious; results from air classic to Super PAF are, you know, inevitable If i were you i would pick something more "real" PAF oriented like Virtual Hot PAF, Fortitude, PAF 36th bridge

I had replaced the cruisers with an Injector neck and Area 58 middle with a full strength Norton in the bridge.  So far/so good, but I due suffer from this disease called "I know how to solder" which seems to help keep Larry DiMarzio in business (all these years of loyalty and not even a Christmas card  )
I actually have an original production (not the custom shop ones) Virtual Paf neck and Virtual Hot bridge along with another Virtual Hot with an A2 magnet swap.  And I also have another strat that is over due for surgery, what fruits might that bare, time will tell.

BTW, I'm a big Zappa fan

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The Pickup Place / Re: My review of the Super PAF Ceramic

« Last post by nienturi on December 22, 2025, 12:55:23 AM »

Hi guys, long time no post on my end (happens when we get old). I ordered a Super PAF Ceramic and installed it in my Kiesel Delos which has 2 bridge Cruisers in the neck and middle.  It replaced the Air Classic that I was running.  The sound, for me, was too compressed (less openness than the Air Classic).  I'm currently playing classic rock in my current band and recording progressive rock at home and various jams.  It just didn't have the openness that the Air Classic has, and for me, it was an exchange for another (a PAF 7 for the neck of my 7-string Delos with an Air Norton 7 in the bridge).  It was just too much squeeze for me, as I find myself going to more vintage pickups these days.  Some will like it, but for me it wasn't to be.
 Yours in 
Walt

Hi Walt. As a Zappa fan, glad to meet you

Virtual Hot PAf with A2 is something i really like to hear yet i'm afraid to spoil the pickup somehow. Did you leave the "airbucker" tech or took the ring out and put spacers?

Thanks for your review.

Nevertheless the result was too obvious; results from air classic to Super PAF are, you know, inevitable If i were you i would pick something more "real" PAF oriented like Virtual Hot PAF, Fortitude, PAF 36th bridge

I had replaced the cruisers with an Injector neck and Area 58 middle with a full strength Norton in the bridge.  So far/so good, but I due suffer from this disease called "I know how to solder" which seems to help keep Larry DiMarzio in business (all these years of loyalty and not even a Christmas card  )
I actually have an original production (not the custom shop ones) Virtual Paf neck and Virtual Hot bridge along with another Virtual Hot with an A2 magnet swap.  And I also have another strat that is over due for surgery, what fruits might that bare, time will tell.

BTW, I'm a big Zappa fan

15

The Pickup Place / Re: My review of the Super PAF Ceramic

« Last post by wxs3 on December 19, 2025, 12:15:28 PM »

Hi guys, long time no post on my end (happens when we get old). I ordered a Super PAF Ceramic and installed it in my Kiesel Delos which has 2 bridge Cruisers in the neck and middle.  It replaced the Air Classic that I was running.  The sound, for me, was too compressed (less openness than the Air Classic).  I'm currently playing classic rock in my current band and recording progressive rock at home and various jams.  It just didn't have the openness that the Air Classic has, and for me, it was an exchange for another (a PAF 7 for the neck of my 7-string Delos with an Air Norton 7 in the bridge).  It was just too much squeeze for me, as I find myself going to more vintage pickups these days.  Some will like it, but for me it wasn't to be.
 Yours in 
Walt

Thanks for your review.

Nevertheless the result was too obvious; results from air classic to Super PAF are, you know, inevitable If i were you i would pick something more "real" PAF oriented like Virtual Hot PAF, Fortitude, PAF 36th bridge

I had replaced the cruisers with an Injector neck and Area 58 middle with a full strength Norton in the bridge.  So far/so good, but I due suffer from this disease called "I know how to solder" which seems to help keep Larry DiMarzio in business (all these years of loyalty and not even a Christmas card  )
I actually have an original production (not the custom shop ones) Virtual Paf neck and Virtual Hot bridge along with another Virtual Hot with an A2 magnet swap.  And I also have another strat that is over due for surgery, what fruits might that bare, time will tell.

BTW, I'm a big Zappa fan

16

The Pickup Place / Re: My review of the Super PAF Ceramic

« Last post by wxs3 on December 19, 2025, 10:53:39 AM »

First of  all, welcome back!

Going from an Air Classic to a Super Distortion type pickup is quite a radical change in output and compression, and it is a substantial volume mismatch to the Cruisers which are quite low output.

If you want a bit hotter than PAF level, Air Norton is worth considering.

Cheers Stephan

Thanks, it’s been awhile. I’ve got several Super Distortions laying around so it was more of a curiosity than anything. I’m kind of an “old”(72 to be exact) school player using the volume knob for various gain strength but using modern equipment (amp modelers) I’m too old to be lugging a tube amp around these days, the seven drunks at the bar yelling “Free Bird” ( yes, they still out there), can’t tell the difference, plus it’s easier to record without pissing off the neighbors at 1:30am.

I exchanged it for a PAF 7 for my Kiesel Delos 7 string (enter newer equipment  - GAS never goes away).  I’m going to match it up with an Air Norton 7 but can’t seem to find any demos of it in the bridge. Now mind you, homie don’t chug  but want to keep the low b in standard tuning and explore the extended range. How does the Air Norton 7 sound in the bridge as it has a ceramic magnet? 

FWIW, I took the cruisers out and put an Injector neck in the neck and a 58 in the middle and put a Full strength Norton in the bridge……for now

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck Position: Fast Track 1 vs. Injector bridge vs. Virtual Solo

« Last post by gregr on December 19, 2025, 10:42:23 AM »

It’s less than 2%.

From the patent abstract:
“The coils have substantially the same number of turns of electrically conducting wire wound thereon, and the wires constituting the coils are of different gauges.”

Perhaps someone can tell me what two different gauges of wire can give those DCR measurements using substantially the same number of turns.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck Position: Fast Track 1 vs. Injector bridge vs. Virtual Solo

« Last post by darkbluemurder on December 19, 2025, 04:58:48 AM »

That is a small offset but I guess this still qualifies as Dual Resonance. I just checked in the stickied post and found that the Satch Track is not listed. And since I assume you measured the coils back-to-back, we can rule out variances due to temperature changes.

The description on the current website does not help much insofar. "Articulate, vocal and musical, it is our most advanced Fast Track-style pickup to date."

You can only infer from the wording "most advanced Fast Track-style pickup to date" that it would not have fewer technologies than the other Fast Track-style pickup but we are talking marketing language here so I would not jump to conclusions.

Cheers Stephan

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck Position: Fast Track 1 vs. Injector bridge vs. Virtual Solo

« Last post by gregr on December 19, 2025, 01:27:21 AM »

I just measured mine (again):
Red-Black: 3.71k
White-Green: 3.77k

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck Position: Fast Track 1 vs. Injector bridge vs. Virtual Solo

« Last post by Schneidas on December 19, 2025, 12:55:19 AM »

Actually no, the Satch Track uses Dual Resonance as well, see the patent number (from their webpage back in 2014)