what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

[XSSIVE]

Ok so i just put in a brand new F spaced breed in my strat and look at the pole to string alignment...

i know it's f spaced b/c it was A) in a sealed box with a big F spaced sticker on it and B) it lines up with my f spaced tone zone i had sitting around. i don't get why the strings/poles don't line up.

any ideas why it's doing this with an f-spaced PU? if it was regular spaced i know it would do it, but why with the F? is the string spread on my strat just abnormal...lol.

it still sounds great though!!! maybe i'll just stick a solid chrome no poles showing cover on it and call it a day hehe. but i'd still like to know what's up with my freak strat lol.

-Mike

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

On DiMarzios, F stands for F'ed! hahahaha

It looks like they put the wrong pickup in the box, because that's a regular spaced pickup. If it doesn't line up with your strings on that bridge, there's no way it could match up with the poles on a Duncan F spaced pickup.....which stands for Floyd or Fender, by the way.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

Doesn't look F spaced.
Whether that will make a difference is debatable.

 

[YJM_Rocks]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

I have no clue, maybe they put it in the wrong box.

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

haha f'd lol.

man i don't get it...i also just laid a duncan designed hb104 over the breed that i had sitting around which came out of my string through body schecter...and...the freaking poles line up perfect with the strings and are wider than the poles on the breed. but, the hb102 shouldn't be an f-spaced or trem spaced (whatever you want to call it) PU since it's out of a string through T-O-M guitar. also i tried laying a fender atomic neck PU over it and the poles line up with the dimarzio and not the strings...WTF is going on lol i have all messed up PUs...ok, time to call the dealer and tell him there was a mixup...grrrrrr.

-Mike

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

Doesn't look F spaced.
Whether that will make a difference is debatable.

Seconded. A year after I had the Pearly Gates put in my Strat, I realized I should have bought the trembucker version. I haven't bothered replacing it - it sounds exactly like what I want, so what's the point?

Can anyone confirm or deny that trembucker/F spaced pickups are tangibly better on a Strat?

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

next question should i bother returning it for the f-spaced or just throw a silid no poles showing cover on this one and call it a day?

-Mike

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

I'd exchange the pickup. The fact that it lined up with a Fender Atomic neck pickup tells you it's regular spaced.

As for the tangible difference between F and reg. spacing, it depends. I've got a couple Fender type guitars with reg Duncans in them, and there's no problem because the outer halves of the E poles are still under the strings. On yours, the poles aren't even under the string. You'll lose some magnetic energy for sure.

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

yeah, very true about the string pull...but the odd thing is...this thing sounds great...i hope the correct spaced one sounds as good or better lol.

-Mike

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

ok another odd twist...i checkd dimarzio's site and it says f spaced has a pole spread of 51mm and regular of 48mm. i measured this breed and it's dead on 51mm....so it is dimarzio f spaced...now why is it so far off?

-Mike

 

[TattooedCarrot]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

Kinda how Gibsons are spread for trembuckers, weird.

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

ok, i talked to the dealer and a new one is soon on the way that he is making sure is f-spaced lol. but it's still odd that dimarzio's site says f spaced is 51mm when this is 51mm and it doesnt come close to lining up...oh well...no big deal just a bit of a PITA.


and why is mh hb102 out of my schecter f/trem spaced? that's also a bit odd since i replaced it with a regular spaced JBJ and it lines up fine??? yet the poles on the hb102 line up perfectly on this strat....odd.

-Mike

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

As for the tangible difference between F and reg. spacing, it depends. I've got a couple Fender type guitars with reg Duncans in them, and there's no problem because the outer halves of the E poles are still under the strings. On yours, the poles aren't even under the string. You'll lose some magnetic energy for sure.

Good point. On my Strat, the poles just barely come under the E strings. It probably depends on your bridge.

If you're sure this is the F spaced pup, and you are getting a good sound from your E strings, then keep it in. In an argument between your eyes and your ears, you should always let your ears win.

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

well this was sorted out fast and i have to give a big thank you to Mike at www.mikes-music-shop.com (duncan, dimarzio and emg dealer) who was amazing to deal with and is shipping out a replacement 1-2-3 and said i can keep this one 'til the new one gets here and is throwing in extra free swag (he throws free stuff in with each order). great guy to deal with for pickups that our forum brothers may not carry or have in stock! he also has many random color dimarzios and duncans in stock!

ok enough of the sales plug hehehe...i'm just glad this is all sorted out...stupid dimarzio...if the thing didn't sound so damn good i'd drive to staten island and throw it through their window hehe.

-Mike

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

and the plot thickens...i got an e-mail from Mike saying try scraping off some wax on the baseplate of the breed b/c the F (for f spaced) could be buried in wax....ok so i scrape it off...and there it is, a litte F that was hidden in wax on the black baseplate. so this is an F spaced dimarzio and the poles measure 51mm (just checked with a ruler) which is a typical dimarzio f space...now why is it sill so far off?

oh well, it sounds good, i'll deal with it...it's still odd though.

-Mike

 

[pac112]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

hey mike,

both you and me know that the simpler solution to these problems has a name. its called Les Paul. heheheh.

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

not necessarily

i bet if you took the cover off a LP pup the magnets wouldn't be perfectly aligned

honestly i've never seen a guitar where they WERE perfectly aligned

 

[pac112]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

was just pulling Mike's leg.

 

[rinse_master]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

i bet if you took the cover off a LP pup the magnets wouldn't be perfectly aligned

You're right, My LP is a little closer to Trembucker than it is to normal, but either would be wrong, I have a normal spaced JB and it still sounds fine.

I think it is only the newer Gibsons that are like that though, not sure.

 

[Jag513]

Re: what's wrong with my strat...very odd...

ok, i talked to the dealer and a new one is soon on the way that he is making sure is f-spaced lol. but it's still odd that dimarzio's site says f spaced is 51mm when this is 51mm and it doesnt come close to lining up...oh well...no big deal just a bit of a PITA.


and why is mh hb102 out of my schecter f/trem spaced? that's also a bit odd since i replaced it with a regular spaced JBJ and it lines up fine??? yet the poles on the hb102 line up perfectly on this strat....odd.

-Mike

The Duncan Designed humbuckers are all trem-spaced in the bridge. The weird thing about them, though (at least about my HB-103 that came stock in my Schecter)...the pole pieces are the spacing of a trembucker, but the physical dimensions of the bobbins are that of normal humbuckers. Very odd.