Pickup spacing

impmann

So what we are effectively saying here is the string spread on the Wudtone bridge shown above is incorrect?

OilCityPickups

impmann said:

So what we are effectively saying here is the string spread on the Wudtone bridge shown above is incorrect?

Well, assuming that the bridge pickup shown is not a bizarre custom one or a cheap Far Eastern one which occasionally turn up in 50mm ... and allowing for photographs to be a bit difficult to judge from ... I can't see any other explanation.

jaymenon said:

Ash - I've sometimes wondered, if the spacing is 52 or 52.5mm - only because axesrus do covers at both 52 and 52.5mm

Oh ... some Far Eastern companies, and at least one US one make Strat pickups that don't have the standard 52mm Fender spacing, and I assume that those covers are intended for those ... Fender however have always used 52mm on Strats. 

jaymenon

Hi Impmann

The string spread on the Wudtone bridge is vintage correct at exactly 2-7/32" or 56.4mm.

The pole spacing on the pickup (made for WudTone by Mojo Pickups) is vintage correct at 52.4mm

The bridge pickup is of course obliquely positioned, which further reduces its 'effective' length.

Hope this helps.

impmann

jaymenon said:

Hi Impmann

The string spread on the Wudtone bridge is vintage correct at exactly 2-7/32" or 56.4mm.

The pole spacing on the pickup (made for WudTone by Mojo Pickups) is vintage correct at 52.4mm

The bridge pickup is of course obliquely positioned, which further reduces its 'effective' length.

Hope this helps.

I have the same pickups in my Jap Strat - narrower string spacing, IIRC, but no issues whatsoever with alignment.

The reason I ask, is I had the same problem with a Wudtone trem (actually it was worse because the E strings ran too close to the edge of the board too) - I gave up on it in the end, and sold the partcaster back on for parts, assuming it was a compatibility issue so was keen to understand what might be the issue.

OilCityPickups

jaymenon said:

Hi Impmann

The string spread on the Wudtone bridge is vintage correct at exactly 2-7/32" or 56.4mm.

The pole spacing on the pickup (made for WudTone by Mojo Pickups) is vintage correct at 52.4mm

The bridge pickup is of course obliquely positioned, which further reduces its 'effective' length.

Hope this helps.

0.4mm spread over six strings would make the pickup 0.2 of a mm wider on top and bottom strings than 'nominal 52mm' (which is a rounded figure converted from the actual imperial measurement that Fender use) about the thickness of a sheet of writing paper ... not enough to be visually noticeable. 
Still think it's a bridge issue. 

jaymenon

 I don’t have the bridge anymore (having swapped it with Jeff (Normula1) on this forum for a 54mm spaced Holy Grail bridge). 

Jeff, are you around? Would you please be able to measure the string spacing on the Holy Grail bridge I sent you? 

normula1

Will do. The strings are relatively close to the edge of the fingerboard. I've got humbuckers on that particular guitar, but I've another partscaster which has standard single coils and holy grail.

normula1

Pretty much bang on 56mm on both of them. The strings just about go over the outside two bridge pickup single coil polepieces.

DPC

thomasross20 said:

So I'm thinking about putting new pups into a guitar (maybe... it's that or sell to get a boutique amp or up-to-date workstation) and I noticed there are several options: F-spacing, 50mm, 53mm.... I measured the distance between 1st and last string on my PRS and it's ~53mm but I've read others saying they measured 49.2mm (sounds precise) and have preferred to use F-spaced pups. 

Anybody?

The general rule of thumb for bridge pickups is F-spaced for guitars with trems, standard spaced for stop-tails. 

jaymenon

Just noticed...
My DiMarzio Area Strat pickups: 2.01" (51mm) spacing 
Mojo Stratocaster pickups: 2-1/16" (52.4mm) spacing
I agree - pole spacing is indeed an unstandardised business...

Kinmans
Bridge: 52.5mm
Middle: 51mm
Neck: 49.5mm

Looks nice, but then you're committed to buying covers from them. Rather expensive - and they charge a premium for covers without their logo. I had an old set of covers and I managed to remove their logo effectively (that felt nice)
[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/0zW6vC0.jpg)

Interestingly DiMarzio Humbuckers:
F-Spaced: 51mm
Regular spaced: 48mm
So a set of 36th Anniversary humbuckers worked perfectly on my Les Paul Access:
[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/pJDUwAi.jpg)

Cheap Far Eastern Alnico pickups which cost like £17 (incl delivery)
Bridge: 52mm
Middle: 50mm
Neck: 48mm
They line up perfectly if you have a Far Eastern Bridge (52.5mm string spacing)
Quite honestly they sound rather nice too...
[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/JSBjQjI.jpg)