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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup options for HS superstrat

« Last post by gregr on May 31, 2026, 03:10:48 PM »

From his original post I didn’t think the Satch Track would be good fit so I didn’t mention it. I think the Chopper would work better if the goal is a cleaner sound against a Tone Zone because it will saturate a bit better given the same amount of gain.

Neither pickup will deliver shimmering clean tones if that is the goal. The weaker Fast Track 1 can’t really do that either, even with 1M pots.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup options for HS superstrat

« Last post by HeyNorton! on May 31, 2026, 03:02:29 PM »

No mention of the satch track?   

Not too bright
Not too warm

Not too tight
Not too creamy

Nice output.  ~240mv

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Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: 36th neck in bridge?

« Last post by LPBII on May 27, 2026, 10:54:34 AM »

I do like the 36th bridge (DP223) in the bridge position better in guitars with a maple top or a maple neck, or in a strat/tele type.

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Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: 36th neck in bridge?

« Last post by gregr on May 26, 2026, 08:38:17 AM »

Keep in mind that in the 50s when the role model for the 36th was invented (the Gibson PAF) there was no such thing as a "bridge" or "neck" pickup.

Not to mention the Bridge version of the 36th, with its A5 magnet, 8.6k wind, and virtual vintage tech, was designed to be at the hotter end of the PAF spectrum. I don’t have any data but it seems to me that the neck version is more on par with a typical PAF.

Fun fact: the bridge pickup in Jake E. Lee’s blue burst, the one he used to play Killer of Giants was a Pearly Gates Neck. The Pearly Gates being closer to a more traditional PAF than anything DiMarzio had made prior to the PAF 57 and 59.

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Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: 36th neck in bridge?

« Last post by darkbluemurder on May 26, 2026, 04:12:38 AM »

Keep in mind that in the 50s when the role model for the 36th was invented (the Gibson PAF) there was no such thing as a "bridge" or "neck" pickup. It is all personal preference.

Cheers Stephan

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Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: 36th neck in bridge?

« Last post by LPBII on May 21, 2026, 11:10:33 AM »

I just put a 36th (DP103) in the bridge position of an all mahogany PRS. Really woke up this guitar.  It did the same to an all mahogany strat build several years ago. Read about good results with SGs. It seems to be a repeatable result.  This pickup really seems to work well in the bridge position of all hog guitars.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup options for HS superstrat

« Last post by darkbluemurder on May 21, 2026, 04:28:56 AM »

Back to topic: in order to have a suitable balance with the Tone Zone in the bridge, I would also lean to the Air Norton S as a compromise between clarity and high output. The Chopper could be an alternative, even though I only ever used it in the bridge position. Be sure to use pots of at least 500k.

Cheers Stephan

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup options for HS superstrat

« Last post by gregr on May 05, 2026, 12:49:35 PM »

Andy doesn’t use the AT-1 by itself in humbucking mode for cleans. And yes, he seems to always use the Cruiser in conjunction with a pedal of some sort. What I don’t know is whether he uses a pedal with the Cruiser for high gain solos which he doesn’t also use with the AT-1. I suspect the answer to this question is no.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup options for HS superstrat

« Last post by darkbluemurder on May 05, 2026, 11:54:30 AM »

It is also my experience that the Cruisers are rather low output. I could never use them in combination with anything similar to an AT-1 in output as Andy Timmons does. Apparently it works for him but for me the output differences between the bridge HB and the Cruisers would be too much. I would need a hefty amount of compression on the clean tones to make it work.

Cheers Stephan

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup options for HS superstrat

« Last post by Schneidas on May 03, 2026, 11:41:34 PM »

While I agree, the Cruiser Bridge is an excellent Neck pickup, it does not balance well with hotter bridge Humbuckers IME.
I tried it with a Breed Neck in the Bridge and the volume and "fatness" difference was just too obvious. In the end, the Fast Track 1 was a much better match and is the minimum I would choose for a medium-hot Humbucker in the bridge.
With a ToneZone, you might need something even more, like a Pro Track or Air Norton S.