Reversing middle strat pickup

[JB_From_Hell]

Oz Noy mentioned somewhere that he likes a "left hand" middle pickup for the Jimi sound. Since my Texas Special pickups have the exaggerated vintage stagger, I think I'm going to give it a shot next string change.

Anybody else try this, meaning only reversing one of the pickups?

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Reversing middle strat pickup

Is your Strat routed for vintage style pickups or a bigger style rout? The vintage ones are keyed for the triangle shaped flatwork.

I’ve never reversed any staggers. I’ll be interested to see what you find.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Reversing middle strat pickup

Is your Strat routed for vintage style pickups or a bigger style rout?

Swimming pool. I can fit whatever I want in there

I was gonna wait for some feedback, but I'm gonna grab a screwdriver and try it now.

EDIT-

The pickup is now reversed. It's certainly not a night and day difference. Had someone done it without telling me, I might have sensed something was a little off from normal, but it would've taken me a long time to figure it out.

To my ears, the low E and A are a little cleaner than before, while the high E and B are a little warmer. So, depending on your tastes, possibly quite a good thing. The 2 & 4 positions seem a little different as well... still funky and clucky as hell, but just a little warmer on top.

I've played this guitar almost exclusively for about 3 years, with the only mods ever being moving the tone control to the bridge pickup and the TBX tone to the neck. Same TS pickups as when I bought it, the only changes have been various string gauges and I sanded the glossy nastiness off the neck. Point being, I know this thing really well. If it was a guitar I didn't know inside and out, I'm not sure I would hear much difference with the reversed pickup. This one is definitely a very slight tweak, but if you're curious, I'd recommend trying it. It's worth five minutes of screwdriver time, and subtle enough that I can't imagine anyone instantly hating and needing to swap back immediately.

Ultimately, I love Oz Noy, and will probably leave it that way simply because he does

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Reversing middle strat pickup

I reversed all my pickups' stagger. I like it! It makes the treble strings fuller and snappier and the bass less boomy from the low pole. This works perfectly for me since I use 10-52s.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Reversing middle strat pickup

I reversed all my pickups' stagger. I like it! It makes the treble strings fuller and snappier and the bass less boomy from the low pole. This works perfectly for me since I use 10-52s.

When I was playing it I did think about how well it would work for light top/heavy bottom sets. It seems to be one of those rare just enough but not too much mods.