[tonejam]

Why are there so few reviews/ comments on this PUP?
Does it suck big time?

[DarthPhineas]

I've been wanting to get one to match up with the FRED and the Mo Joe and compare to the PAF Joe. Not seeing any show up on eBay....and I might need to go with one without the flange (special order). So I'd also like to know more before dropping the cabbage.

[slugworth]

It's a great pickup. Think Chopper, but a little less boisterous, and not as sharp of an attack.

[darkbluemurder]

It's rather new and probably not to many users yet.

Cheers Stephan

[DarthPhineas]

Got one installed last week. Pairing it up with a Mo Joe for the first test run.

[DKSEARS]

Getting one installed soon (it's on order).  It's going in the neck slot of one of my Squier Strats with a Fast Track 1 in the middle and an Air Norton S in the bridge.  Should be fun.


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[jazzfromhell]

Killer neck pickup. My favorite of all the DiMarzio railbuckers.

[tonejam]

Killer neck pickup. My favorite of all the DiMarzio railbuckers.

Jazzfromhell, would love a detailed assessment of this PUP. As noted by others, there's so little info/comment available.
Particularly, how does it differ or is better than, the Protrack? I installed a Protrack a little while back. I was tempted to try the Satch, but there just wasn't enough info about it.
I like the Pro, but wonder whether I made the right choice. Particularly, I'd like just a tiny bit more edge to the tone, while still keeping the  humbucker-like fatness.

[jazzfromhell]

This was my first impression of the Satch Track:

"I have a Transition in the bridge, and the guitar is a basswood H-S Ibanez. I previously had a Chopper in the neck and while I like it Im always looking for more brightness and cut from the neck pickup so I wanted to try something different, and the ST is a tiny tad brighter but its not night and day. (Just for reference I find the Air Norton S for example to be unuseable; way WAAY too dark for me...I could barely hear the notes on the top strings when I was using it, they were so dark).
My initial impression is that the ST and Chopper are darn close. It pretty much feels the same to play as the Chopper, gain- and compression-wise, maybe the ST has a tad cleaner bottom end.  Ill post a longer review when Ive spent some serious time with it. "

Now after Ive spent some serious time with it....

...I feel pretty much the same about it. Its close to the Chopper but has a litte less compression and is a tiny bit leaner in the bass. Its really hard to put my finger on why (and im not great at expressing my views and feelings in words unfortunately) but I like it more than the Chopper. Maybe its psychological
It feels/sounds cleaner and jucier somehow, and it sounds great in parallel. Like a true SC? No, but close enough for me.

Compared to the Pro Track:
The ST is brighter and a bit more cutting, the PT is darker and PAF:ier. Best I can describe it.

[tonejam]

Thanks for the reply, Jazzfromhell.
Worries me a bit, as I don't like the Chopper much.
Is the Satch still "Paf-ish"? 
From the descriptions on the Dimarzio site, it would seem very close to the Protrack, just a little less bass, a little more bite. I would like that, but is that the only difference? Does it retain some of that thick  humbucker quality?
Thanks for your time.

[jazzfromhell]

Absolutely. It's still a meaty 'bucker. It's just a bit clearer and cleaner than the Pro Track. A little bit more open and bright, and less congested.

[tonejam]

Thanks, if I can get one at the right price, I may try it.

[DarthPhineas]

spent some more time with the Satch Track.

it's a solid and versatile neck pickup.  keeps the low end under control and has some nice edge to the highs for lead/solo work.  it does have a bit of push to it, so my clean amp setting was a little closer to breaking up in all wiring options (series, split, and parallel), but I think that could be handled by a light picking technique or some amp tweaks.

it sounds like you might be a little undecided.  ideally, the best thing might be buying it new so you can have the return policy on standby.  not the cheapest option, but nobody said that tinkering with guitars is easy on the wallet.

[marcwormjim]

My review:

I recorded the opening chords of Joe Pass's version of Misty, then some cliche SRV lick above the 12th fret. I played them with the Air Norton S coils in series, parallel, then split. Then I swapped in the Satch Track and compared.

The mids of the Air Norton S really want to push your preamp into distortion, and the coils in series-humbucking have a boomy quality to the bass that I don't care for - Low Cs really rumble. With amp EQ, I'm able to get it to impersonate a Les Paul neck tone. Though a dark-sounding humbucker, the neck-facing coil on its own is surprisingly chimey, with the parallel option about 25/75 between the two. Playing solo, you can hear the difference - But in a mix, running the coils in parallel successfully apes the single-coil territory without fear of hum. I wouldn't describe it as sounding strat-like in any of the options, but they're all workhorses - I only replaced it for the sake of auditioning the Satch Track.

The first thing I noticed about the Satch Track in series-humbucking was how clear and clean the lower-output and quarter-pipe EQ curve made the jazz-chords. Thumbing single-note arpeggios brought me a pleasant surprise - To my ears, this pickup has the singing midrange of some of my favorite hollowbodies, and it translates to a Satriani-scream when cranked up.

The pickup becomes very sweet-sounding when put in single-coil or parallel; with the differences between the two much harder to pick out than with the Air Norton S. The midrange-honk is sacrificed for a Hendrix-y glassiness that begs for double-stop licks.

In short, the pickup was everything I'd hoped for, with the bonus of the series-humbucking embellishing my sorry Joe Pass impression in a flattering way. All that remains is seeing what a pain it might be to balance its relatively-low output against the Kiesel Holdsworth I have in the bridge.