Out of the way middle pickup for Stratocaster

Funkfingers

Some players cannot tolerate the middle position pickup of a Stratocaster, complaining that it *gets in the way* of their strumming/picking technique. Rather than correct their precious playing technique, these customers correct the issue by adjusting the middle pickup downwards - to the extent that it ****s up the sounds of selector switch positions 2 and 4. (Fine, if your name is Yngwie. Dumb, if you are anyone else.)

Is there a middle pickup that is sufficiently powerful that it can be adjusted really low and still produce the normal sounds of a Stratocaster middle pickup?

I am aware of the Fender experiments with hidden pickups on the Custom Shop Stealth Esquire and the aborted Marauder guitar of the Sixties. In both cases, concealing the pickups beneath the pickguard was taking things too far. Instead, what I have in mind would be setting the middle pickup more or less flush with the top surface of the pickguard. Its polepieces would protrude roughly the same distance as the height adjustment screws.

I am also aware the easiest solution to this question is to instruct Stratocaster users who object to the middle pickup to fornicate elsewhere.

sweepy

I seem to remember that the ARTEC blade pickup had something silly like 11k output, that might help

Alegree

I'm one of these people. Adore the sound, but good god is playing a Strat annoying.

I reckon the solution would be an active preamp to make the middle pickup really loud to compensate, never have gotten around to trying it though. The issue, though, being that it'd amplify the hum a whole lot too. I guess it'd have to be stacked.

NPP

I find that I have both the neck and middle PU flush with the pickguard (on the bass side, a little raised on the treble side), and they balance nicely. I run the saddles very low and have no neck shim though, so the distance from string to PU isn't all that great. 

CasperCaster

Erm, so after ridiculing players with less than perfect technique, you now want my their advice? Good luck!

Funkfingers

CasperCaster said:

after ridiculing players with less than perfect technique, you now want my their advice?

I was hoping to find a solution to a specific pilot error. 

Alegree said:

I'm one of these people. Adore the sound, but good god is playing a Strat annoying.

I hoped that this forum's resident pickup makers would chime in. 

NPP said:

I find that I have both the neck and middle PU flush with the pickguard (on the bass side, a little raised on the treble side), and they balance nicely.

Well, being at similar height adjustments to each other, they should produce a balanced output. My question is about balancing an abnormally low middle pickup with normally adjusted neck and bridge single coils.

sweepy said:

I seem to remember that the ARTEC blade pickup had something silly like 11k output, that might help

I suspect that, by itself, a coil of high d.c. resistance might not do the trick. The magnetic field is my chief concern.

Alegree said:

I reckon the solution would be an active preamp to make the middle pickup really loud to compensate, never have gotten around to trying it though. The issue, though, being that it'd amplify the hum a whole lot too. I guess it'd have to be stacked.

As I suspected. Any practical solution to the volume issue will detract from the proper Stratocaster sound.

ICBM

Funkfingers said:

Rather than correct their precious playing technique, these customers correct the issue by adjusting the middle pickup downwards - to the extent that it ****s up the sounds of selector switch positions 2 and 4. (Fine, if your name is Ritchie Blackmore and you don't use the 2 and 4 positions.)

FTFY .

For me, it isn't the height of the pickup that's the problem, it's the polepieces. I catch and break my fingernails on them, because I don't use a pick. But I like the sound of the middle pickup, so removing it entirely like Mr. Blackmore isn't an option.

A pickup with *flush* polepieces - not simply non-staggered, but actually smoothly level with the top of the cover - solves the problem, and can be adjusted to the normal height. This type of pickup isn't common, but Bill Lawrence Keystones are some... which I have in my Aria 'Strat'.

I did once build a Stealth Esquire using a Duncan Hot Strat pickup under the pickguard, but even with the back of the guard shaved to make it as thin as possible, the sound was both still too quiet compared to the bridge pickup and too muddy.

Funkfingers

ICBM said:
Ritchie Blackmore ... don't use the 2 and 4 positions. FTFY .

Fixed that for Yngwie? I wonder where he got the idea?

impmann

The middle pickup is rarely used on my Strat - and even less used than the dreadful positions 2 & 4.

It has nothing to do with playing technique and more to do with sounds that are pleasing to my ears.

But back to the middle pickup - as ICBM suggests, some pickups with flush polepieces may be a better option. Or even some EMGs (or similar - such as the 1980s handwound Kent Armstrong units).

paulnb57

Stick a smooth topped Lace Sensor in the middle position?....

sweepy

Now and again i hook my little finger under the middle pickup, tbh its never been an issue for me, maybe its people with untidy right hand technique that have issues

ICBM

sweepy said:

Now and again i hook my little finger under the middle pickup, tbh its never been an issue for me, maybe its people with untidy right hand technique that have issues

Definitely, although my untidy right hand technique is more responsible for constantly bashing the volume control and the selector switch . The problem with the pickup is when I'm playing more gently and picking directly over it with my fingers.

Funkfingers

thermionic

Funkfingers said:

Is there a middle pickup that is sufficiently powerful that it can be adjusted really low and still produce the normal sounds of a Stratocaster middle pickup?

Maybe one of these?

https://youtu.be/dC8gsW9J-n0

Octafish

Funkfingers said:

Some players cannot tolerate the middle position pickup of a Stratocaster, complaining that it *gets in the way* of their strumming/picking technique. Rather than correct their precious playing technique, these customers correct the issue by adjusting the middle pickup downwards - to the extent that it ****s up the sounds of selector switch positions 2 and 4. (Fine, if your name is Yngwie. Dumb, if you are anyone else.)

Is there a middle pickup that is sufficiently powerful that it can be adjusted really low and still produce the normal sounds of a Stratocaster middle pickup?

I am aware of the Fender experiments with hidden pickups on the Custom Shop Stealth Esquire and the aborted Marauder guitar of the Sixties. In both cases, concealing the pickups beneath the pickguard was taking things too far. Instead, what I have in mind would be setting the middle pickup more or less flush with the top surface of the pickguard. Its polepieces would protrude roughly the same distance as the height adjustment screws.

I am also aware the easiest solution to this question is to instruct Stratocaster users who object to the middle pickup to fornicate elsewhere.

I'm afraid the 2 & 4 positions will sound shit no matter what height you have the middle pickup

ICBM

Octafish said:

I'm afraid the 2 & 4 positions will sound shit no matter what height you have the middle pickup

Actually they do sound better with the pickup lower. The 'quack' that some people love (not me either usually) is very dependent on the pickups being well-matched both for windings and output volume, or you don't get as much harmonic cancellation. That's one reason why I like a hotter bridge pickup, it moderates the clicky/quacky sound to enough of an extent that I can use it if I need to.

The problem with lowering it is that it spoils the best sound on the guitar... the middle pickup .

Funkfingers

ICBM said:

The problem with lowering it is that it spoils the best sound on the guitar... the middle pickup .

Ry Cooder would certainly agree with you about that.

axisus

I can't understand the problem? My technique doesn't involve my hand going under the strings.

olafgarten

axisus said:

I can't understand the problem? My technique doesn't involve my hand going under the strings.

axisus said:

I can't understand the problem? My technique doesn't involve my hand going under the strings.

I agree, even when using my fingers, only the very top of my fingers protrude under the strings. And there are 2 perfectly good gaps between the pickups of it is really a problem.

Another option would be to use a P90, that can be set a bit lower.

Rocker

Positions 2 and 4 are very useful when backing a singer, a singer singing country and folk songs. 

sweepy

Iirc Hendrix using the middle pickup quite a lot but obviously he’s not an influential Strat player