DiMarzio DP182 Fast Track 2

For the longest time I've had a fundamental divide. My favorite bridge humbucker has been the Dimarzio Super 3 for a long time. I've always loved Strats. Not Fat Strats, mind you (with an actual humbucker in the bridge), but classic Strats. Leave it to Dimarzio to provide a pickup that fits in the space of a single-coil, but has the output to bring the Stratocaster into the hard rock and metal arenas. Dimarzio claims the Fast Track 2 bears a strong resemblance to the Super 3, and once I installed one in the bridge of a newer Strat I got, I became a believer. Now my Strat can do everything from cleans and blues, to classic rock tones, to full-on shred and metal. With 321 mV of output, 18.07 Kohm DC Resistance, and a B/M/T curve of 7.5/8.0/5.0 it would be easy to think this pickup would be too muddy, but that's not the case. The Fast Track 2 has a great punch, nice mid-range grind, and plenty of top-end to be balanced but not veer into ice-pick territory. It does its humbucker big-brother proud. I installed the Fast Track 2 in an ESP LTD M203 with a Fast Track 1 in the Middle and a Chopper in the neck (reviews to come). The Fast Track 2 does full-force assault in the bridge position but changes character nicely when switched to position 4. This is something I figured I would have to compromise with a pickup with so much output and bass/mid push but I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only does it clean up fairly well on its own, but that it does even better when coil-split with the middle pickup. If you have the dilemma that I did, you like playing Strats AND you like playing metal, the Dimarzio Fast Track 2 pickup just may be the solution to your internal struggle. Now you don’t have to be Yngwie or use massive overdrive/distortion pedals to shred up a strat. Probably 80% of full-sized humbuckers don’t have the output that the Fast Track 2 has. It’s for real, make no mistake.

Despite its name, the Fast Track 2 wasn’t really a variation on the Cruiser in terms of sound. This is a much more powerful pickup and is almost on the exact opposite of the tonal spectrum compared to the Cruiser. It features dual blade rails like many other DiMarzio single coil humbuckers, four conductor wiring and a ceramic magnet.

The Fast Track 2 is for people who want a pickup that has a somewhat Super Distortion vibe going on. It’s very hot, has tons of bass, tons of mids and a pushed back treble. This is pretty much strictly a bridge pickup given its high output. The split coil tones sound great, and it’s not too bad in parallel, either.

Originally, I’d say that if you were a fan of the Super Distortion, this would be your pickup. However, DiMarzio now has the Super Distortion S on the market. Because of that, this model kinda lost its place in DiMarzio’s line up. Both the Fast Track 2 and Super Distortion S sounds pretty similar. The main difference between the two, besides overall output, is that the Fast Track 2 sounds a bit more like the original oldchool PAFs in terms of getting that “vowely” sound. This pickup works best with 500k pots, so be sure you’re running a setup so that this can see 500k in some way. 250k pots make this sound too dark.

If you’re looking for a high output, fat and heavy midrange single coil sized humbucker, this pickup, along with the Super Distortion S, are worth checking out. The best guitars for this would be guitars made out of alder, maple, walnut and other woods with more pronounced treble. It tends to sound a bit “too much” when in mahogany, but all pieces of wood are different.

In search of the big sound of a Fender single coil, I found the position in acute Grall
that with this micro level of a large double coil without having to perform opration violin.
However, it has less personality than a single coil but possde biting all the common Di Marzio and use a level of play in tune with ease.
Its default: virtually no Intrets clear because its too powerful and slamming
I use it for 5 years now on a strato amricaine has a beautiful vintage sound but whose position acute left me on my end.
I tried MODELS such as the hot rails and various other dual format simple, but this one caught my attention for its contrast with other simple guitar; ume true lead position in sum.
On the occasion is a true case, I bought it new and looking back I reffer this choice without hsiter
I would put 9/1O because it lacks the personality of simple vintage, but we can not have it all.
If you want a big sound on a Start will give you your money's worth