1

The Pickup Place / Re: Ultimate Strat Sound Rail Pickup Configuration?

« on: March 22, 2019, 09:15:31 AM »

Hey Stephan, thank you for the reply!

Would you still run the 50k Volume Pot with the active preamp, even if the pups are humbuckers/silent?

Because from what I remember (and this might be wrong), the newer EC stratocaster models that come with Vintage Noiseless pups come with 250k volume knobs, even if they have the same active preamp (mid boost) setup.

Since my idea with the Cruiser/FT1 set is similar to it in a sense, wouldn't it be best to go for 250k?

Again, thank you very much for your input!

Gus

2

The Pickup Place / Ultimate Strat Sound Rail Pickup Configuration?

« on: March 21, 2019, 10:41:12 AM »

Hey guys!

[TL;DR: What do you think of this pickup set: DP187 (The Cruiser Bridge) on Neck/Mid; Fast Track 1 Bridge? I'd also like to add a Fender EC Mid Boost active control. Would you say this is a good idea for a "beefed up" stratocaster sound with rail pickups? What values would you guys recommend for the volume pot?]

I'd like to apologize for the longwinded post ahead, but I reckon I might as well paint the full picture so if anyone is able to help, they'll have the whole description of my expectations.

Recently I've been gifted a project of a guitar, and I would like to make it unique!
Its a strat-like guitar, with a Spanish/Brazilian Cedar body, and a brazilian species similar to Maple (Marfim).
Anyhow, I'm thinking of it as if they were a basswood/mahogany mix of a body and a maple neck.

The thing is, it has a Fast Track 1 as a Bridge pickup. I've yet to test it, since the pickup was broken and has been sent to repair. Searching around what other pickups would compliment it (even if it changed positions), I came across many sets, but I came up with one in particular that I haven't seen any records of throughout the net.

And thus, I would like to hear from more experienced people if they reckon this as a good idea before I bury the hatchet and buy said pickups: Cruiser Bridge (DP187) [Neck & Mid] / Fast Track 1 [Bridge].

Now to make it a little harder:

I have another strat (a Fender Classic 50s) that has a set of SDs SSL-1s(neck/mid)/SSL5(bridge), and I love its current tone.

Thing is, I was gifted a Fender EC Mid Boost Set (50k Volume Pot, TBX Tone Control and Mid Boost, respectively) and installed it on this "classic" setup. The active preamp added a little bit more bite, even if the Boost is not active.

The problem with it is that it amplified the hum (figures, since this kind of active control was normally used with Lace Sensors and Vintage Noiseless), so I'm thinking of taking it out of this guitar, and adding it to this new frankenstrat, but I wouldn't know what kind of volume/tone controls/pots and values I should add...

Since my idea is to make a hum-canceling strat sounding rail set, and I think they must be pretty quiet, I'd say this is the best way of making use of this active pre-amp (EC MidBoost) in a guitar without the added hum that it has been amplified on the Fender. Should I keep the 50k volume control or should I go for 250k (since the active preamp adds brightness, I don't think I should go for the regular configuration of those pickups - 500k volume pots)?

Either if you only read the TL;DR or you took your time to go through it all, thank you so much, and hopefully you can give me a cool input!