Neck vs. Middle strat pickups

[WoodyTone]

Tried searching for this but search did not work for me....

What is the difference sound-wise between using a middle Strat pickup in the neck position vs. a pickup designed for the neck? Asking because I have an opportunity to pick up a Seymour vintage-type stacked middle pickup for cheap, but want to use it in the neck. Any help appreciated.

 

[Diocletian]

Re: Neck vs. Middle strat pickups

They're generally the same thing, i.e. a Hot Rails middle is actually just a Hot Rails neck. The SSL-1 bridge/neck/middle is the same exact pickup I believe, unless you specifically get a calibrated set.

I think the only real difference comes with RWRP type shenanigans and if the one you're after is stacked I don't think that comes into the equation anyway.

 

[sonnyblu]

Re: Neck vs. Middle strat pickups

Don't laugh until you try.... I think a Lace Silver sounds good in the middle all by it's self.
.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Neck vs. Middle strat pickups

a "middle" pup will usually be the same as a neck pup but rw/rp
if its one of the newer stacks it is also wound just a little hotter but should still work fine in the neck

 

[WoodyTone]

Re: Neck vs. Middle strat pickups

Does rw/rp entail any wiring changes? I'm pairing it with a Humbucker at the bridge.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Neck vs. Middle strat pickups

Depends on the humbucker but it's an easy problem to solve. If you find they're out of phase with each other, either flip the mag in the humbucker or reverse the leads on the single.

 

[WoodyTone]

Re: Neck vs. Middle strat pickups

Thanks much.

 

[LeoFazzilani]

Re: Neck vs. Middle strat pickups

Well, I have a Tagima T-635 strat-like with an STK-S4m (Classic Stack Plus for Middle) installed in the neck position! Comparing with the neck-designed, the middle's DCR is only 0.1 k lower... in practice, it sounds quite similar to my middle positioned pickup (an SSL-2 Vintage Flat), when the "hum-canceling" coil is split - preserving due proportions, of course. For clean and crunch tones, I like the way it sounds, but using high-gain overdrives I'd rather something more distinct...

 

[Mincer]

Re: Neck vs. Middle strat pickups

Well, I have a Tagima T-635 strat-like with an STK-S4m (Classic Stack Plus for Middle) installed in the neck position! Comparing with the neck-designed, the middle's DCR is only 0.1 k lower... in practice, it sounds quite similar to my middle positioned pickup (an SSL-2 Vintage Flat), when the "hum-canceling" coil is split - preserving due proportions, of course. For clean and crunch tones, I like the way it sounds, but using high-gain overdrives I'd rather something more distinct...

Welcome to the forum!

I use a middle Classic Stack in the neck, too. It was the only way to get the right combination of hum-cancelling coils that I was looking for in my particular wiring scheme.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Neck vs. Middle strat pickups

No sound difference between classic style Strat middle and neck from most pickup makers. But these days, middle pickups are usually RW/RP from the other two. Not sure about stacks, but it wouldn't make much sense to make the middle pickup RW/RP on them.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Neck vs. Middle strat pickups

Does rw/rp entail any wiring changes? I'm pairing it with a Humbucker at the bridge.

A stack is a humbucker, just smaller. You might encounter opposite phases if mixing brands, but that is easily reversed by swapping leads on one pickup.