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

« on: Today at 02:25:16 PM »

I’d consider The Chopper or warmer/rounder Pro Track in the neck, and perhaps a Virtual Solo in the middle. Satch Track is another option in the neck if you want to go a little weaker, though I prefer the Seymour Duncan single-sized humbuckers over the Satch Track which I found to be disappointing.

I have an HSS with a Fast Track 1 in the neck, an HSH with a Fast Track 1 in the middle and an SSS with a Fast Track 1 in the bridge. It’s a great pickup for straddling the line between single coil and humbucker. It has the dynamics to keep up with vintage up to weaker medium output pickups but it isn’t particularly fat sounding in the latter context. It completely lacks top end chime, as does anything else hotter than the Virtual Vintage 54 Pro (though some chime can be coaxed out of the Injector Neck). This can be a good thing with distortion dialed for humbuckers where top-end chime can get brittle and harsh. I’m not recommending it for the fear that it won’t keep up with the Custom EVH as you described it, combined with your preference for humbuckers in the neck that will likely also preclude the Injector Bridge and Virtual Solo, which sound even more like single coils than the Fast Track 1.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Quacky Neck PU for Super 3 Bridge PU?

« on: November 30, 2025, 12:01:09 PM »

What do you mean by quack? The term is normally used to describe the tone created when combining single coils from distinct positions in parallel. You can get quack-adjacent with a single humbucker when you run the coils out of phase though I don’t imagine this is how you’re using it.

If you simply mean bright then the most obvious choice is a Super 2 since it seems clear you want high output. Otherwise the PAF Pro is the overall winner for a bright powerful neck pickup that doesn’t peel paint. I imagine the D Activator Neck is also a good option from the high output category.

I’m not certain dual resonance makes for a particularly bright pickup as the goal is to impart a more vocal quality by broadening out the midrange. Virtual Vintage, on the other hand, provides more output, allowing for fewer turns in order to retain more top-end.

Non-DiMarzio higher output recommendations with a decent amount of treble for the neck:
Seymour Duncan Screamin’ Demon or Perpetual Burn.  EMG 81 (active, but worthy of a mention).

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The Pickup Place / Re: NGD - Ibanez JS1000

« on: September 15, 2025, 02:24:56 PM »

Good thing you have a Breed Neck lying in a drawer.

BNIB + PAF Pro FTW!

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: September 01, 2025, 02:49:10 PM »

Regarding whether DiMarzio pickups are hand-guided I dug this up. It’s an interesting read with contributions from someone who used to work at DiMarzio.

https://www.dimarzioforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=7154.0

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: August 31, 2025, 08:41:17 PM »

If it reads ~8.6k out of the guitar then I guarantee the pickup is mislabeled. At that point it could be anything, really; so it’s probably most accurate to say that if it doesn’t measure ~7.3k then it most definitely isn’t a 36th Neck. I’ll be charitable and say anything between 7.1k and 7.5k. +/-200 ohms is a large variance for a modern DiMarzio pickup.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: August 28, 2025, 10:42:06 AM »

You cannot compare the DC resistance of the Air Norton to the 36th for output because the coils are wound with a different wire.

This is especially true with DiMarzio pickups in general since air bucker, virtual vintage and dual-resonance technologies effectively render DCR numbers useless.

That out of the way I’m not sure why this is being raised.

The mV value is a better indicator.

The 36th Anniversary model that is spec'd with a DCR of 8.6k is spec'd with an output level of 285mV.

The Air Norton is spec'd with an output level of 270mV.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: August 27, 2025, 10:39:33 PM »

Okay, I am not great with guitar electronics but I cab use a meter. AM comes in at 12.5k ohms and the 36th neck at 8.5.

https://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/vintage-paf-output/paf-36th-anniversary-neck

Check the resistance specification of the 36th Neck.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: August 25, 2025, 05:10:32 PM »

The spec for the 36th Anniversary Bridge model is 8.60k. The neck model is 7.31k. 8.60k connected to a 500k pot will measure 8.45k.

That someone might have a problem pairing the 36th neck with an AN in the bridge doesn’t come as a big surprise to me. It is no wonder that you would have to bottom-out a 36th bridge in the neck position, assuming that is what you have.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: August 24, 2025, 02:29:10 AM »

The PAF 57 is likely going to be closer to the Duncan Seth Lovers. The wire used on the APH (and Jazz which is the same pickup but with an A5 magnet) has a different insulator which reduces the inter-wind capacitance. I have no reason not to believe that the wind pattern is also significantly different between the APH and a traditional P.A.F. as this is something that I regularly see attributed to the design.

It doesn’t sound like you’ll be pulling the Fred out of your Ibby to try with the 36th, but do try The Breed Neck in the bridge if you haven’t already. Even if you don’t keep it, I think the experience is worthwhile.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Paul

« on: August 23, 2025, 07:41:11 PM »

Set neck guitar or bolt on?

As a point of reference, the Full Shred Neck is the leanest Duncan humbucker which is also quite bright. It would probably be my first choice to pair with an AN, though I also like the EJ Custom Neck. That said, I’m under the impression that you don’t want a bright pickup so i didn’t mention these.

The other pickup that came to mind was the Air Classic Neck, which like Fred for the bridge to pair with the 36th Neck in the neck, I thought it might also come up as a suggestion to pair with the Air Norton in the bridge.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Pasul

« on: August 21, 2025, 12:15:48 AM »

The PAF 59s are A5. Are you considering a magnet swap?

A2s are lower output and less punchy, in my estimation. Ask five different people about the frequency response and you’ll get five different answers. I would say they provide a slightly softened top end but still produce plenty of sparkle with a 42 gauge vintage wind.

I would consider using the Nash wiring on the tone control if you use the Bluesbucker.

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The Pickup Place / Re: HSS with Dimarzio Bridge HB

« on: August 20, 2025, 07:27:29 PM »

Like I said, reversing the polarity of the alnico slugs in a traditional single coil is trivial. It is far easier than flipping a magnet in a humbucker because it is non-invasive. I was able to order a package of 1/4” diameter, 1/2” long neo rod magnets for $9.

Reversing the polarity of a stacked DiMarzio pickup is not as easy because it requires disassembly but is still doable. It is perhaps more difficult than flipping the magnet of a humbucker as the construction is a bit more delicate. I highly recommend desoldering the short black/white wire pair so that the top coil which contains the slugs can be physically removed from the rest of the assembly.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Pasul

« on: August 18, 2025, 05:59:57 PM »

Since the AT-1 was mentioned I think it’s worth noting that The Breed set is back on the website. Personally, I would opt for the more balanced Breed Neck (DP165) in the bridge over the AT-1.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup to go with Air Norton in the Bridge of a Les Pasul

« on: August 17, 2025, 07:58:04 PM »

I had a similar experience with the AN in the bridge and Humbucker from Hell in the neck. I found the AN to be very lean in the bridge position. The HFH produces a fair amount of low end in the neck position against a vintage output pickup in the bridge, despite what the specifications imply, exacerbating the situation.

I don’t have any suggestions but have a feeling someone might mention a Fred since you like the harmonic content of the AN. Regardless, I would look at the medium output section to find an alternative to the 36th bridge assuming I wanted to keep the 36th neck in the neck position.

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The Pickup Place / Re: HSS with Dimarzio Bridge HB

« on: July 28, 2025, 02:35:12 AM »

I prefer the outer coil but recommend trying both ways. Depending on the pickup, rotating it may also provide different results.