If you're a serious traditional Strat® player, you probably won't want to know about side-by-side coil pickups. But if you're the player looking for something more modern without the 60-cycle buzz, string loss, or sustain-killing magnetic pull, we designed The Cruiser® for you. The harmonics are exactly where you'd expect them to be from a "real" single coil, and the midrange is open and sonorous. It's warmer than the traditional single coil and the bass strings have a bit more bite; it's a great pickup to combine with mid-power humbuckers, and it maintains its sonic identity with high-gain amps and multiple effects.
The obvious question about the Cruiser® is "How does it compare to a single coil sound?" » Our feeling is that the unwound strings ("E", "B" and "G") are very close, and the wound strings ("D", "A" and low "E") sound a little bigger than a true single coil. This is really effective for getting open chords, because the high and low strings sound further apart from each other. Having approximately 40% less total magnetic pull than standard single coils also means the Cruiser® can be tuned much closer to the strings for more power than stock pickups.
Recommended for: Neck position with DP187, or neck and middle with a higher output bridge pickup or full-size humbucker.
Quick connection: No
Wiring: 4 conductors
Magnet: Ceramic
Resistance: 3.13 Kohm
Year of introduction: 1994