[Virtuoso]

Hello

For those who has or have had a Fast Track 1, The Cruiser bridge or The Cruiser neck in the middle on a HSH, HSS or SSS config. How is the sound splitted in position 2 and 4, aswell as in standalone in position 3 when used in clean ? Which one quacks the best, have greatest sound, less hum etc.

I’m replacing my noisy stock single coils on 3 HSH config super strats, cannot decide which one of these 3 are best for middle position 

[greenlion]

I found the fast track extremely boring and sterile. It was hot, but did not have personality in my opinion. I have the Cruiser bridge in the middle of a Fred and Paf Joe in an Ibanez RG. The Cruiser has a stratty, but modern and more aggressive tone with bite. In my opinion all of the Cruiser, Virtual Vintage, and Area single coils need a resistor un parallel to the hot lead (run to ground) so they "see" a 250k volume pot while the humbuckers still see a 500k volume pot. They sound WAY better wired this way.

[darkbluemurder]

In my opinion all of the Cruiser, Virtual Vintage, and Area single coils need a resistor un parallel to the hot lead (run to ground) so they "see" a 250k volume pot while the humbuckers still see a 500k volume pot. They sound WAY better wired this way.

I agree on the Cruisers and the Area models with "Area" in the name.

With 500ks I found the Cruisers too bitey on the 1st and 2nd strings and the Areas too thin overall. With 250k they are just right (and I mean that in the sense of "really right").

I also would agree with the Virtual Solo (in the bridge position) or one of the Injectors. In neck/middle on the Injector neck/Virtual Vintage Heavy Blues 2 I am fine with 500k.

Cheers Stephan

[Virtuoso]

I found the fast track extremely boring and sterile. It was hot, but did not have personality in my opinion. I have the Cruiser bridge in the middle of a Fred and Paf Joe in an Ibanez RG. The Cruiser has a stratty, but modern and more aggressive tone with bite

Okay, Fast Track 1 is out of the question then!
How would The Cruiser bridge or neck blend with very heavy output pickups like a Titan Neck and D sonic bridge ? The Cruisers are very low output, will there be any problems splitting them together ?
Also, what are the differences between the bridge and neck Cruisers used in middle pos, which one is better ?
I play these guitars in EB and C.

In my opinion all of the Cruiser single coils need a resistor un parallel to the hot lead (run to ground) so they "see" a 250k volume pot while the humbuckers still see a 500k volume pot. They sound WAY better wired this way.

With 500ks I found the Cruisers too bitey on the 1st and 2nd strings and the Areas too thin overall. With 250k they are just right (and I mean that in the sense of "really right").

Interesting. What kind of resistor do I need to buy, or what do I have to tell my luthier to do to get this ? For the Cruiser to see a 250k pot and the humbuckers to see a 500k pot.

[greenlion]

There will be somewhat of a drop in volume between a D-sonic and the Cruiser. I have run the Areas and Cruisers with pickups like the Tone Zone, Air Zone, and Fred, and the slight drop does not bother me.
Here is a video that shows how to add the resistor for the single coil: https://youtu.be/SJZ2Do7Ywx0

[darkbluemurder]

Good explanation. Just note it is the volume pot that matters, not so much the tone pot.

Cheers Stephan

[Virtuoso]

Here is a video that shows how to add the resistor for the single coil: https://youtu.be/SJZ2Do7Ywx0

Just note it is the volume pot that matters, not so much the tone pot.

Thanks guys for the answers, I will show my luthier the video!

Regarding the differences between the bridge and neck Cruisers, I know Andy Timmons use the bridge in the middle pos, he has a great clean sound when splitted! From what I’ve heard the bridge has a scooped midrange and warmer lows. Would the neck version be a better choice ? I’m playing these guitars in Eb, D and drop C.