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Secret Agent as Strat Middle

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  • Secret Agent as Strat Middle

    How well do those with Secret Agent experience (the pickup, not the CIA...) think the pickup would work as a strat middle pickup beneath the pickguard? I would like the visual appearance and room between pickups of a Hum/Single set-up but with the flexibility of HSS.

    Hmm...19 years and first post...that's gotta be some kind of record!
    Last edited by Chuckracer; 01-09-2023, 12:20 PM.
    ...what the Chuck...

  • #2
    Welcome to the forum...kinda?

    I don't know if I've ever heard of a Secret Agent being used that way, but it is a really cool idea. I'd love to know what that would be like, too. If you decide to try it, please report back.
    Administrator of the SDUGF

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    • #3
      I think it's a cool idea and bet it would work well. I've never liked banging my pick off the middle pickup on a strat.
      Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

      Originally posted by Douglas Adams
      This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

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      • #4
        Yes, it would probably solve the issues I have with a Strat's middle pickup. Mostly the pick hitting it, or it getting caught under my nails when I hybrid pick (ouch).
        Administrator of the SDUGF

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Chuckracer View Post

          Hmm...19 years and first post...that's gotta be some kind of record!
          Hmm...
          Are you trying to suggest that you are a secret agent ?

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          • #6
            Originally posted by playas View Post

            Hmm...
            Are you trying to suggest that you are a secret agent ?
            Well, not so secret anymore

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            • #7
              I think it could work - as long as you prefer a weaker & slightly darker middle position.
              Many do, and turn their middle pickup's tone down & set it lower to the pickguard than the neck.

              In Teles the S.A. requires lowering a vintage bridge pickup for decent balance in the middle switch setting.
              Even after that's done, some say their neck is quiet and requires a booster for use by itself.
              And that's in neck position - middle position is weaker still, due to the physics of a vibrating string.

              Secret Agent was designed to gave Brad Paisley what he likes, but apparently it isn't as strong as even a standard Tele neck.
              Which is already weaker and far less spanky than a vintage output Strat pickup.

              So the S.A. will be quieter and darker than a low output Strat pickup. But many do prefer their middle that way.
              I used an SHS Floydcaster for many years and I enjoyed having a quieter middle position for instant cleanup.

              On the plus side, even aside from the cool look, the SA should have significantly less magnetic pull on the strings.
              So, less tendency towards Stratitis and wolf tones, and possibly better sustain too.
              Maybe even a slightly more aggressive bridge tone.

              Of course there's still a neck pickup in the equation here, so the magnetic difference won't be as pronounced as in an actual Tele.
              But IMO it's not unreasonable to expect it could be perceptible.
              .
              "You should know better by now than to introduce science into a discussion of voodoo."
              .

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              • #8
                Beauty...that's exactly the information I was hoping to find. I do like a pronounced middle pickup sound - just can't play Trower without it! - so it sounds like this wouldn't be the tea for me.

                Thank You!
                ...what the Chuck...

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                • #9
                  I wonder if the Custom Shop could make a special one for you, if they knew the Robin Trower tone was what you are after...
                  Administrator of the SDUGF

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                  • #10
                    I use the secret agent in the middle for a tele Nashville. I don’t think it would work for you.

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