Strat Quack Sound???

[CsaRvoX]

is it true that middle pickup should be way low in order to achive the most quack in the 4th position where middle & bridge is combined?(Also for the 2nd pos)And should bridge be also low as middle or should it be higher than middle?
I've newly adjusted my pickups for my personal taste...before they were adjusted according to the fender factory specs and were too high...now I've adjusted them way lower and I think the tone is better now...the lowest is the neck pickup with treble side a little bit higher than the bass side...bridge is also low but not as the neck...I've recently learnt that bridge is wired hotter so I would lower it a bit I think...bridge treble side is also a bit higher than bass side but not as much as in the neck...because when its too high bridge treble seems to kill my ears...the middle one I couldn't make a decision...I like it lower but how low...should it be lower than both neck & bridge or only higher than neck?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Strat Quack Sound???

I do tend to adjust the middle pickup a little further away, but not to enhance the #2 and #4 5-way switch tones.

I do it because the polepieces in Strat pickups suck on the strings and pull them out of tune when I play above the 12th fret.

This magnetic effect is cumulative...all three add up.

I adjust the middle pickup away and then adjust the neck and bridge as close as I get them before they start to pull the strings out of tune.

Then I bring up the middle pickup until it starts to pull the strings out of tune...then I back it off a little until it doesn't.

Lew

 

[Robert S.]

Re: Strat Quack Sound???

The biggest danger with Strats is getting the pickups too close to the strings, which can cause intonation problems.

Most people like Strat mid pickups lower than the neck and bridge but there is no real set rule. Usually every pickup has a sweet spot where it will sound best to the players ear. Find those points with the neck and bridge pickups and then adjust the mid pickup accordingly. The notched positions quack is a result of two pickups phase cancelling part of the signal and excessive lowering of the mid pickup can reduce that effect somewhat. Go with what sounds best.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Strat Quack Sound???

The biggest danger with Strats is getting the pickups too close to the strings, which can cause intonation problems.

Most people like Strat mid pickups lower than the neck and bridge but there is no real set rule. Usually every pickup has a sweet spot where it will sound best to the players ear. Find those points with the neck and bridge pickups and then adjust the mid pickup accordingly. The notched positions quack is a result of two pickups phase cancelling part of the signal and excessive lowering of the mid pickup can reduce that effect somewhat. Go with what sounds best.

Exactly!

Some guys, like Yngwie, just never use the middle pickup. So he adjusts it out of the way...maybe so it doesn't interfere with his picking or maybe because that allows him to adjust the other pickups closer. I dunno!

Experianced Tele players have long known that a single pickup Esquire sounds and sustains a little better than a two pickup Tele tho.

Again, it's because two pickups pull on the strings more than one.

Seymour keeps a hot Esquire around the shop that has legendary tone...just a single bridge pickup.

Lew

 

[Kent S.]

Re: Strat Quack Sound???

Well said gentlemen, one thing I'd like to throw out there for CRX is that the bridge pups are wound a bit hotter and bassier because that position needs that to balance with the other positions ... hence the bridge needs a bit more bass to keep from sounding thin, and more volume because the strings do not vibrate in as large of an excursion as they do over the neck and middle, hence those pups would be come out being louder per the same distance from the pup. So don't feel that because the bridge pup is louder you must lower it to achieve a more balanced output, in fact the opposite may occur.
Ideally all three pups should be wound different, in fact Lindy Fralin had/has a few sets like that; however most people find that they can achieve good results with just the bridge being wound different, and it truely makes the most difference. I've have always felt that the middle pup just doesn't have enough of it's own personality, having it wound different helps to give it a bit more distinction and it's own voice. Slightly off topic, but I thought I'd shoot that out there anyway.