I bought this pickup as part of a swap over set for Fender Strat pickups to DiMarzio's.
The result is not only are they MUCH better, more volume, depth and punch, but because of what DiMarzio call "universal" pickups, where they don't have to be aligned with the strings.
The simplest way to describe DiMarzio's rail/blade humbucking single-coil-size pickups is "transparent".
In the same way that some distortion pedals are called transparent, when they "add" to the original tone, but that original tone can still be heard through the distortion.
The end result is almost a "re-modeling" of the Fender sound. The pickups that I chose were Pro Track-neck, Fast Track 1-middle, and humbucker D Activator X Neck - for the bridge.
The Pro track adds a lot of punch and clarity to the neck sound and is slightly warmer. The Fast Track 1 gives a usable middle pickup sound a little clearer but with that Fender twang. The bridge, which is actually a neck pickup and less powerful, is a good match as it is not overbearing in tonality or volume. The 2 and 4 positions of the 5 way switch are neck and middle - slap-twangy, bridge and middle - nasal-honky. All of them with increased volume.
Overall the sound IS still obviously Fender, which is great but with the addition of strength an clarity that makes all of the 5 way switch usable. The pots are the original Fender with no additional 500K capacitor on the volume - personal choice.
Thomann service as usual - faultless, synchronized, and great prices.
Thanks once again to Thomann. As a professional musician I appreciate not having to wait for my order - Thank You Thomann Guitar Team!
