Where to measure to determine Trembucker vs Bridge Humbucker on Mexican Strat

[dennis1077]

Well.....my little guitar project has ignited my OCD. I decided to throw a JB in the bridge of my Mexican HSS. Fun, right?

Suddenly realize it's not that simple. Trembucker vs Bridge Humbucker? Oh.....easy.....my Strat has a trem! Trembucker it is!

I measured to see. If I measure over the pickup itself, I get two inches.... suggesting a bridge humbucker. That runs counter to accepted wisdom, right? Am I doing it wrong?

If I measure to under the pickup, closer to the bridge, I get over two inches, suggesting a Trembucker.

Apparently some MIM strats have narrower bridges than their American counterparts. But not ALL of them. *Sigh* This was supposed to be fun.

Anyway, where EXACTLY do you measure for string spacing? From E to E over the actual pickup.....or closer to the bridge? What if these provide two different measurements?

Thanks for any input. I just want to move past rulers, measurements, and Google searches and just play guitar!

[playas]

I just checked my American Standard Strat with a Fender two point bridge the other day with a standard sized Seymour Duncan and it lined up perfectly as is.

To measure you would ideally want to measure as close as possible to where the pole pieces will sit in the guitar. i.e where the pickup sits and not at the bridge.

[dennis1077]

I just checked my American Standard Strat with a Fender two point bridge the other day with a standard sized Seymour Duncan and it lined up perfectly as is.

To measure you would ideally want to measure as close as possible to where the pole pieces will sit in the guitar. i.e where the pickup sits and not at the bridge.

Thank you! That's immensely helpful.

[beaubrummels]

Welcome to the forum

For the strings, measure the center of the outside E bridge saddles
For the pickup, measure from one side of the outside E poles

[Rex_Rocker]

My Mexican Strat has the 6 point Trem. It's a Road Worn from 2010.

The Nazgul Trembucker i have in it is slightly too wide. But I also had a Distortion SH-6 on it which was slightly too narrow.

Both worked and sounded fine, though. So... pick whichever bothers you the least. Too wide or too narrow.

FWIW, the DiMarzio F-spaced D Activator I had in it was spaced perfect.

[beaubrummels]

My Mexican Strat has the 6 point Trem. It's a Road Worn from 2010.

The Nazgul Trembucker i have in it is slightly too wide. But I also had a Distortion SH-6 on it which was slightly too narrow.

Both worked and sounded fine, though. So... pick whichever bothers you the least. Too wide or too narrow.

FWIW, the DiMarzio F-spaced D Activator I had in it was spaced perfect.

I would suggest wider would be better than narrow. I have an SH-5 Custom in my Jackson and had to raise the outside E poles to balance the levels of the strings.

[Rex_Rocker]

I would suggest wider would be better than narrow. I have an SH-5 Custom in my Jackson and had to raise the outside E poles to balance the levels of the strings.

I'd agree. But I didn't have an issue with the Duncan Distortion either, TBH.

The one thing to look at with Strats and Trembuckers they tend to be too wide for the pickguard. Not to the point where they're unusable, but you might need to do some sanding along the edges of the pickup hole on the pickguard to get it to fit.

Also, not all, but most Fenders with humbuckers tend to have the bridge pickup further away from the bridge itself than something more Gibson-esque. So the further away from the bridge they are, the narrower the spacing is too.

[dennis1077]

I would suggest wider would be better than narrow. I have an SH-5 Custom in my Jackson and had to raise the outside E poles to balance the levels of the strings.

I was considering the SH-5. I might still give it a try one day. For now, in very curious about the infamous JB.

[Teleplayer]

I just measure the bridge spacing. If a Mexi strat is 52.5mm, then a standard humbucker is suitable.

USA spec tremolos are normally 2-1/8” (54mm). In that case a Trembucker is better to get the outer e /E poles properly aligned. Standard humbucker will also work and many people do it. SD Trembuckers can be inconvenient because the bobbins are too wide to fit standard mounting rings and pickguards, so that may be a factor in your choice.

[Rex_Rocker]

Yeah, Mexican Strat bridges tend to be spaced like the wider-spaced Tune o Matics like Gotoh or Schaller.

[htrd]

https://www.callahamguitars.com/tech_compatibility_strat.htm

This can be helpful.

[ThreeChordWonder]

Measure the distance between the low E and high e strings, preferably close to the middle of the pickup you're planning to replace.

I say that because although you might need a trembucker bridge pickup, you might get away with a regular humbucker in the neck.

Standard humbucker pole piece E to e spacing is about 1.90 to 1.97 inches, 48.3 to 50.9 mm, depending in manufacturer.

Trembucker pole piece spacing E to e is closer to 2.09 inches or 53 mm.

Pick the one that suits the string spacing best.