strings dont match the poles on my strat

[kevinWI]

I have a strat question, i have a 2 1/8" vintage bridge installed, a 1 7/16" string spread nut and as you can see in the photo (the neck pup) the string/poles are off. Is this something I did wrong, did i install the wrong nut/pup or bridge? Or is it a common issue I should ignore?
thanks to all for your help. Kevin

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: strings dont match the poles on my strat

That's not a problem at the neck position because the vibrational arc of the string is wider than at the bridge. So at some point during the string travel it's going to be over the poles.

 

[Mincer]

Re: strings dont match the poles on my strat

Nope..no problem. The poles should be strong enough to 'hear' the strings...enjoy!

 

[Chris Pile]

Re: strings dont match the poles on my strat

Looks at some other Strats..... No difference.

 

[Toejam]

Re: strings dont match the poles on my strat

Yep, it's most common on Strat neck pickups, especially the low E. My G&L was like that, and I just had Duncan Quarter Pounds put in where it's a little better, but still slightly off.
.

 

[AlexR]

Re: strings dont match the poles on my strat

Well, vintage strats have the same issue - so all those iconic tones were made with the same type of 'mismatch'. There was only ever 1 pickup made and fitted to all 3 locations - and the poles never really line up with any pickup.

 

[Returned]

Re: strings dont match the poles on my strat

A number of the versions of Fender Noiseless pickups used a narrower spacing for neck/mid pickups. Additionally one sees some generic Asian coils with narrower spacing.

OTOH it has never seemed to impact tone.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: strings dont match the poles on my strat

Ignore, it'a not a problem at all.

 

[Chris Pile]

Re: strings dont match the poles on my strat

Here's what will really twist your Twinkie....
When you bend any strings above the 9th or 10th fret, the string isn't going to be over your polepieces anyway....
And yet - you can still hear them just fine, right?

 

[Mr. B]

Re: strings dont match the poles on my strat

The poles don't line up because Fender updated (narrowed) its string spacing, but not its pickups. If your pickguard lines up perfectly, and you are not too sensitive to string volume imbalance, it may be no problem. I could hear the volume drop-off, especially on the high E. I play a lot of single note shred stuff. It annoyed me so much I ditched a set of Fat 50's, a set of CS 69's and SSL1's. I use David Allen Voodoo 69's now because they sound as good as any of those, and they line up with the dang strings. I understand "vintage specs" and all that crap, but can't Fender, Duncan, and others also offer a set that just works, to those of us who value function over nostalgia?