DiMarzio Rail Pickups for Tele

[Bruxist]

I was thinking of a Chopper T for an Esquire build (with split and parallel wiring) and was looking at all of the options DiMarzio offers for telecaster rail pickups, particularly the Fast Track T.

It seems like the Chopper T is the most popular choice around here. The Fast Track T kinda seems like it would be more popular among most tele players with its lower output and higher treble response (according to their profiles on the DiMarzio website).

The Tone Zone T and Super Distortion T seem they would be for people who want a full size humbucker to fit a tele route, so I don't think that is what I want here.

If you have a DiMarzio rail pickup, which one and how did you come to choose that one?

Thanks!

 

[uriah1]

SD rails here. Pretty powerful.

 

[BB]

I had a Tone Zone T for a year or so and it was great. I wired it for split and using that gave me one of the best traditional tele tones out of the several single coil sized buckers I've tried.

 

[NICQ]

I have a Chopper T in a Talman Tele - nice bridge pickup that gets along well with Distortion.. very balanced humbucker sound - not too bassy and not too mid-heavy ... Medium hot output


I also have a Mustang with a Cruiser Neck in the Neck and a Super Distortion S in the Bridge.. the Cruiser is very bright and sounds almost glassy like a strat single coil while the Super Distortion sounds quite like a Super Distortion Humbucker ... maybe a bit less punch in the low mids than the full version, but that could also be the shortscale Mustang.. high output definately

Also had a Fast Track 1 in a Strat as bridge pickup - also very balanced.. hard to describe.. like a the eq was dead flat.. medium output and like a transparent low wind humbucker

The Dimarzio Rail Pickups are their own thing - while being noiseless they are a bit compressed and hifi somehow compared to real singlecoils but really not in a bad way. I like them in the bridge position and with overdrive or distortion.

They do have a lot of models to choose from and from the ones I tried I can say that the description on their site was very accurate.

 

[Bruxist]

I have a Chopper T in a Talman Tele - nice bridge pickup that gets along well with Distortion.. very balanced humbucker sound - not too bassy and not too mid-heavy ... Medium hot output


I also have a Mustang with a Cruiser Neck in the Neck and a Super Distortion S in the Bridge.. the Cruiser is very bright and sounds almost glassy like a strat single coil while the Super Distortion sounds quite like a Super Distortion Humbucker ... maybe a bit less punch in the low mids than the full version, but that could also be the shortscale Mustang.. high output definately

Also had a Fast Track 1 in a Strat as bridge pickup - also very balanced.. hard to describe.. like a the eq was dead flat.. medium output and like a transparent low wind humbucker

The Dimarzio Rail Pickups are their own thing - while being noiseless they are a bit compressed and hifi somehow compared to real singlecoils but really not in a bad way. I like them in the bridge position and with overdrive or distortion.

They do have a lot of models to choose from and from the ones I tried I can say that the description on their site was very accurate.

Funny to me that they don't have a Cruiser T.

Also that they don't have a dual rail tele neck pickup.

 

[Bruxist]

SD rails here. Pretty powerful.

Is that a tele neck pickup sized one or a strat pickup sized one?

 

[uriah1]

Is that a tele neck pickup sized one or a strat pickup sized one?

Yep. Basic tele neck hot rail. You have to wiggle it just a bit but good fit and sound.

 

[Hoodster]

I have a Chopper T in a Talman Tele - nice bridge pickup that gets along well with Distortion.. very balanced humbucker sound - not too bassy and not too mid-heavy ... Medium hot output


I also have a Mustang with a Cruiser Neck in the Neck and a Super Distortion S in the Bridge.. the Cruiser is very bright and sounds almost glassy like a strat single coil while the Super Distortion sounds quite like a Super Distortion Humbucker ... maybe a bit less punch in the low mids than the full version, but that could also be the shortscale Mustang.. high output definately

Also had a Fast Track 1 in a Strat as bridge pickup - also very balanced.. hard to describe.. like a the eq was dead flat.. medium output and like a transparent low wind humbucker

The Dimarzio Rail Pickups are their own thing - while being noiseless they are a bit compressed and hifi somehow compared to real singlecoils but really not in a bad way. I like them in the bridge position and with overdrive or distortion.

They do have a lot of models to choose from and from the ones I tried I can say that the description on their site was very accurate.

I have a Chopper in the bridge of a Mustang and like it, but the Cruiser in the neck is not at all bright and glassy, actually quite dull until you crank the volume up on the amplifier. I’m wondering if you used 500 K pots and that’s my problem since I used 250.

 

[NICQ]

Yeah I use 500k for humbuckers and the Dimarzio rail pickups as well.. the Cruiser Neck sounds very bright - I guess even more so when switching back and forth with the Superdistortion in the bridge..

 

[dougstrum]

I like the fast track 1 as a neck pickup.
Pretty powerful and keep the bottom to stings crisp.

 

[Southpaw Tele]

I love the Chopper T. Had a fast track 1 and 2 in a Mustang. Chopper T would be a great choice for an only pickup. Fast Tracks were kinda blah for me, but they were in a basswood Mustang and nothing seemed to bring that thing to life and I sold it off.

 

[cuccumusic]

creative wiring for a telecaster rail.

At the end I land always on Di Marzios...
but this could apply to most rails with four conductors.

Looking for a versatile still very chimey standard tele, I selected a

dmz Twang King Alnico 5, dynamic, clear at the bridge (beware of phases: there are 2 versions therefore try the W/B wires connection)

dmz Fast Track ceramic dual coils, roboust still clean and detailed, with an acoustic flavour in parallel and good take on higher gain in series. series clean stay very tellysh anyhow.

4 ways switch standard series parallel wiring (with a twist)
1M volume with treble bleed (1.2pf in parallel with 130k resistor)
500k tone downed to 300ca via 820k resistor bridging the wiper and ground. push pull

push down
standard tone with fast track humbucker

pull up
no tone (could be a litlle noisy since disconnected cap) and FT parallel wich gets more "single" at tone pot full open (twice as noisy but more than acceptable in modern stages or in studio)

a quirk twist: connecting the white end of FT white-red bobbin to pin 2 in the switch, you have a series of TK and 1 bobbin on FT instead of FT full humbucker what you could like: bodied but less massive and with a very telly "acid" twist.

 

[MAS Tequila]

In my Contemporary I have SD pus, a JB, Gibson spaced in the neck and an Alternate 8 Trembucker in the bridge, it sounds awesome.

In a Bullet build I have GFS wiring and pups, a Crunchy Pat, full size in the neck and a Lil Kicker dual rail single coil size in the bridge.