Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

[Bowtomecha]

Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

I was just wondering why single coil slug magnets tend to be staggered but humbucker slug polepieces are never staggered. Humbucker ones are all the same height. I’m sure they could be staggered just as well as long as they maintain contact with the bar magnet.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

Re: Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

So that they fit under the cover. You can stagger the screws if you want better string to string balance or to alter the tone, so you don't really need to stagger the slugs.

 

[Golem]

Re: Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

Re: Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

Other than what the first response said you don’t really need stagger all that much for wider radius necks and an unwound G.


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[Edgecrusher]

Re: Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

Re: Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

The original PAF didn't have adjustable pole pieces as the designer Seth lover felt that stagger and adjustability were not needed. Also keep in mind the magnetic field generated by a horizontal bar mag under the coils using pole pieces to direct the field is very different from individual rod magnets like are used in strat pups.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

Re: Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

Yeah, the prototype Seth lover humbucker had a plain cover with no screws. Of course Ted McCarty made the production versions with adjustable screws as it matched the aesthetic of the p90 a bit closer than the original design did.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

Re: Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

The stagger on the 1st single coils was done to get a more even string response with the tight fretboard radius and the string sets with a wound 3 they were using at the time. IMO they are not needed with today's flatter board radius and the strings we all use. I prefer flat pole single coils in most of my guitars. There are some exceptions but think the flats give a more even string response than the staggered does.

 

[freefrog]

Re: Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

Re: Why aren’t humbucker slugs staggered like strat single coil pickups

Compared to Gibson style HB's, Fender style single coil poles are way more gaussed and their resonant peak has a way higher Q factor. These parms make the height of pole screws under the strings theoretically more important in single coils than in HB's. IOW: with a diffuse magnetic field and a flatter bandwidth like those of typical HB's, there's no theoretical justification for staggering (which doesn't mean that rising screw poles has no effect, of course).