[darkbluemurder]

I take credit for the cap size, I was doing it before anyone else afaik. 

I experimented with smaller caps (although not that small) before  I had access to the internet but for those specific values Ray is right.

.0015uf cap bridge singles or FT1.  .001uf bridge humbucker (chopper for instance).  .0022uf neck/middle single, .0033uf or .0047uf in parallel positions.  I always use a super switch.  Regular 5 ways are so 1950s and pedantic...

Fully agree on the values, except that I normally use the  same value for everything but the bridge position for simplicity.
The regular switch severely limits the options  because the positions are fixed. Although I use it in the following setup: bridge Lollartron, middle/neck Injector neck - very simple setup, nothing fancy there.

One tone dedicated to bridge only, and it only operates in switch position 1.  2nd tone controls the other 4 positions, but may use different cap sizes in different positions, see above. 

500k (ones that measure 500k plus ONLY) in all positions except when doing the super duper series option wiring (I showed this to Stephan, but I'd appreciate it not being shared). 

A separate tone control for the bridge pickup is very useful. In fact I have one guitar  where the only tone control only controls the bridge pickup - no tone control on the neck pickup.

Again, thanks for the assistance with the wiring. It will not be shared. Any PM requests insofar will be ignored.

Cheers Stephan

[gregr]

I replaced the Satch Track with a Fast Track 1 that arrived in the mail yesterday. I decided to go with more of a single coil vibe than a humbucker vibe. While I still like the idea of flanking the Satch track with a Lace Sensor Silver I opted to keep things simple. Besides, I know the drop in output with the Silver would drive me crazy.

As most of you know already, the Fast Track 1 in the neck balances very well with the Chopper in the bridge. I was unsure about how the Injector Neck in the middle would fare, however. It’s a tad thin through the mids but it has no trouble keeping up with the Fast Track. Position 4 is surprisingly good even with the Injector dummy coil active, though it still sounds better without it. Position 2 with the white/green coil shunted on the Chopper with an RC network combined with the Injector without the dummy coil already sounds great. A 5WSS and this pickguard might well be finished.

I’m still debating the pots but what I have going on is pretty good. It has a 500k volume with a Kinman treble bleed, 250k tones with 22nF, one tone for the neck and the other for the middle and bridge. The Injector is loaded down with 510k. Thanks to the 500k volume the Fast Track has plenty of brightness on tap to cut so I’m able to keep the tone backed off. I’m probably going to use a linear taper for that one. I think I’ll disconnect the back tone control on position 4.

I’m really not a big fan of rail pickups in a Strat to be honest, but these DiMarzios allow me to get Stratty tones without requiring gobs of gain to crunch and sing.

[gregr]

I’m finishing up another pickguard which I think is noteworthy. This time it was built around the Fast Track 1 in the bridge.

As you may already know the  Fast Track 1 sounds like a single coil with humbucker tendencies. It is dynamic with a lot of output. It’s lean with a healthy amount of treble, though it lacks the pure bell sound and top end chime of a single coil, though additional presence can be had with larger value pots without sounding brittle. It can get strident with 500k controls, however.

An Injector Neck was fitted in the neck position which I believe is an excellent match, both in terms of output as well as frequency response. Like with the Fast Track 1 it can benefit from larger pots and can produce some really nice chime in split mode.

The middle position was fitted with an Area 61 which compliments the other two pickups nicely, both in terms of frequency response as well as dynamics. It’s a tad lean but well worth it since it’s able to deliver nice quack with the Injector when both are split. I reversed the polarity of the Area 61 with neodymium rod magnets so that hum is cancelled in positions 2 & 4.

The volume control is a B500k with a treble bleed that is 220pF in series with 20k. The middle control is currently an A500k with a 22nF cap acting as a master tone control. The outer control is a B500k with an 820pF cap acting as a presence control. It is only active in position 5 (neck only), where it is combined with the master tone control. I’ve configured the other end of the control so that it begins shunting the noise cancelling coil of the Injector around 8, fully shorting it when on 10. The active coil of the Area 61 is currently hard-wired with a 240k shunt resistor and the Fast Track 1 is currently shunted with a 510k resistor in position 1 (bridge only).

EDIT: The master tone control will later change as will the loading.

[darkbluemurder]

I found that linear pots (BXXX) work best for clean and semi-clean tones, especially with a treble bleed. For higher gain tones I cannot hear much happening until I turn it down almost completely.

Injector neck is a great choice for the neck position, in particular with 500k pots.

I am still to try a Fast Track 1 in either neck or bridge position.

Cheers Stephan

[gregr]

You’re absolutely right about using a linear taper for the volume control. I don’t like the large initial drop in volume you get with an audio taper, especially on a Strat pickguard where it sits so close to where my hand is. Because of the treble bleed, I treat the volume control as another tone control and the linear taper gives me a more precision. My rhythm tone is medium gain and I’m still able to clean up by rolling the volume back and by lightening up my touch.

The Injector definitely benefits from a lighter load, though the 250k total load from a pair of 500k pots is not enough. If I were only using two controls one would be a 500k and the other would be 250k, which is essentially what I am getting with three 500k controls (167k). The problem with reducing the load too much is that a spike begins to develop in the top end. The real key to getting an extension in frequency response with the Injector Neck lies in shunting the dummy coil. Configuring the second tone control the way I did I am able to do both. Again, the linear taper allows for more precision at the upper end of the control. I also use a series resistor with tone controls in order to prevent the cocked-wah sound.

The Fast Track 1 excels in all three positions. It’s a very versatile pickup. I first tried it in the bridge many years ago and liked the tone but it wasn’t what I wanted at the time. It’s reminiscent of the FS1, perhaps more-so than the Injector Neck which is closer to the FS1 in terms of specifications. The Injector Neck also makes an excellent bridge pickup, though I prefer the Virtual Vintage Blues for the extra sparkle.

[darkbluemurder]

The Injector definitely benefits from a lighter load, though the 250k total load from a pair of 500k pots is not enough. If I were only using two controls one would be a 500k and the other would be 250k, which is essentially what I am getting with three 500k controls (167k). The problem with reducing the load too much is that a spike begins to develop in the top end. The real key to getting an extension in frequency response with the Injector Neck lies in shunting the dummy coil. Configuring the second tone control the way I did I am able to do both. Again, the linear taper allows for more precision at the upper end of the control. I also use a series resistor with tone controls in order to prevent the tone from folding over, allowing me to quickly get the exact sound I want without undershooting.

My observations were quite similar. In two different guitars where I had Injector necks with 500k volume and tone they were a bit stiff sounding. Using a no-load tone pot solved that. In another guitar however removing the tone control load made the guitar too sizzly in the top end whereas with the 500k tone control the top end was nasal. A 1 meg tone control was the happy medium where I landed.

I did not want to shunt the shunt coil as I wanted to preserve the hum-cancelling ability.

Cheers Stephan

[gregr]

I don’t like having the tone up high when playing single coils with much gain, so hum from running the Injector with a compromised dummy coil will never be an issue for me.

I’ve used this pickup in all three positions in various guitars. While it is warmer than a traditional vintage single coil, I have never found it to be lifeless. Of course there are many factors involved that will influence how a pickup sounds, not the least of which being the materials used for the bridge.

[gregr]

I ended up using a 500k/250k dual-gang, single-shaft pot for the master tone control. It was the only way I could do everything I needed to do after exhausting all four poles for positions 2 & 4 on the 5-way super switch.

The final tally for the loading:
bridge (Fast Track 1): 125k
bridge & middle: 250k
middle (Area 61): 125k
middle & neck: 100k
neck (Injector Neck): 125k

Position 2 could possibly benefit from a lighter load. A 1 Meg pot for the volume control might make a slight improvement, though I don’t think it’s worth the effort since the Fast Track 1 simply won’t achieve the same result as a single coil. As it is, position 2 sounds good and is definitely useable.

I’m satisfied with the amount of chime for all of the other positions. The Area 61 in noise cancelling mode loaded with the standard 125k was my baseline for matching positions 4 and 5. With the exception of position 2, there was still room to go brighter, so the values chosen were free from the limitation of too little pot resistance; keep in mind that the noise cancelling coils aren’t being used in positions 2 & 4, and the noise cancelling coil on the neck pickup is dependent on the outer tone control that’s only active in position 5.

[darkbluemurder]

Wow - certainly not an easy task to finish - congrats!

Based on those values my guess is that your guitar is quite bright.

Cheers Stephan

[gregr]

Thanks!

Imagine an Area 61 in the middle position of an average Fender American Standard with 250k pots. I don’t think the guitar is particularly bright for what it is. The Injector Neck without the noise cancelling coil is akin to a more powerful version of the Area 61 with the noise cancelling coil. The load of three 250k pots is 83k, so in the case of position 4 consider it like having a 250k volume with a 250k tone in parallel with a 500k tone instead. This makes the position slightly brighter than with vintage Strat wiring.

I’m doing additional things to optimize each position considering the mismatches between the pickups, as well as voicing the FT1 to work better with distortion, but I think just summarizing the loading is able to paint the general picture.

After this project I’ve come to the realization that the Fast Track 1 is the only single-sized humbucker that I like in the bridge position out of everything I’ve tried, including The Chopper. For anything hotter I prefer a full-sized humbucker.

Just for the sake of comparison I’m toying with the idea of dropping in a pickguard with an Area 67 in the neck, Area 58 in the middle and a Virtual Vintage Blues in the bridge. I’ll be sure to post about it in the event that I do. If the guitar turns out overly bright then an Area 58 in the neck with an Area 61 in the middle and the Injector Neck in the bridge might work better, though I don’t have a spare Area 61 or Injector Neck on hand. (Please disregard; as much as I would like to build another set based on an Injector Neck in the bridge, doing it for the sake of being darker than the other set listed is wrong-headed on my part).

[darkbluemurder]

With the same load, the Area 67 is a lot brighter than an Injector neck in the same pickup position. As a rule of thumb, when I like an Area 67 with 250k, I mostly like an Injector neck with 500k. The 67 is still a bit brighter than the Injector neck with these loads.

[gregr]

The 67 is still a bit brighter than the Injector neck with these loads.

Reducing the load on the Injector neck with 500k pots won’t change its resonant frequency. I would instead consider an Area 61 and continue using 250k pots for a more traditional (less pointy) sounding response with the additional desired brightness, adjusting the heights of the pickups to help address the reduction in output if necessary. I intentionally chose the Injector for its warmer top end and output to keep up with the Fast Track 1 for distorted tones.

The exercise of swapping the pickguard for a vintage output set would be to determine whether the guitar was excessively bright, though I don’t believe it is. If it was excessively bright and I wanted the generous amount of chime provided by the vintage output set then I would use a brass block, perhaps changing out the saddles as well depending on the severity.

While the clean tones on this guitar are really nice, I’ll reach for a different guitar if I want the skinny Strat sound. As it is this guitar works well along side other guitars equipped with humbuckers. In a pinch I can plug straight in and get very useable Strat sounds without any adjustments. That’s the beauty of the Fast Track 1. It does an excellent job bridging the chasm between single coils and humbuckers.