Strat Pickups polepiece height and spacing

[pablogilberto]

Hello!

I'd like to ask if you can give me a clearer understanding of this subject.

1. Polepiece height stagger

What kind of stagger will give the best balanced output?
I mean, balanced volume for each string.

Flat, vintage or something like what Kinman pickups did?
kinman.com/magnet_stagger.php

Is there really a noticeable difference with different polepiece height stagger?


2. Similar question regarding polepiece spacing.

Which one will give the best balanced output?
Say for a Strat.
A vintage, 52mm polepiece spacing for Neck, Mid and Bridge OR
something like 48mm for Neck, 50mm for Mid and 52mm for Bridge.


Thank you!

[ourclarioncall]

Hi. I recently had issues with my unwound g string being too loud. As you probably know historically the g was a wound string and this made a difference in tuning stability and volume. Some folks who swap the unwound g back to a wound g report that the string has now gone from being the loudest to the quietest ! So yeah , i was asking myself similar questions on pole stagger etc. 

[ourclarioncall]

I just re-read old photos of info from a forum on this.

i think basically “vintage stagger” was designed to get even balanced volume on a set of 4+2 strings (4 wound and 2 unwound) and also to match the radius of the neck, well mores specifically the radius of the strings which would have been the same or close.

Folks wanted lighter or more bendable strings and the g became unwound, which has an effect on volume and tuning . And also the fingerboard radius of more modern guitar got flatter and flatter. 

I have a strat copy with a 12” radius and have used both staggered and flat pole pickups on it. The flat pole ones are pretty balanced to my ears using an unwound g. I’ve also experimented with wound g’s too.

not sure if that goes a little way towards answering your questions

i had a bit of a mysterious thing happen when I put on a set of D’Addario NYXL balanced tension strings, and the loud g string problem I was having went away !? the unusual thing was that in this pack the g string was slightly heavier and thicker which would create more output with more mass but surprisingly it was quieter and the whole set is nicely balanced I both tension and volume . I could go on and on but these strings are brilliant! A new standard . 

[ziggystardust723]

Yes, that's thrue..
You have to understand than the 7ender Strato was created in '53
(a few of them where sold this year)
So, many Things :
- L.7ender asked to 10 Guitarists what they Need better on an Elec Guitar:
- like a Tremoloe who doesn't Change the Tunning (it takes 1,5 year to create this one, Thrue.. but the Problem doesn't come from the Tremoloe, but from the Tuners/Mechanics, at the Neck..), etc
- but a Mistake with the Neck:25,5''
= L.7ender belevied than All the Necks where the samme: like on a Martin Drednough guitar..
(L.7ender was not 'at his work' & He was not a Guitarist too..)
- So, Shure:it's relly better to have
- Neck 'PS*'= 48 mm
- Middle 'PS'= 50 mm
- Bridge 'PS' = 52 mm
- (Real Strat 'PS'= 52,3875 mm,
> the 0nly one Good, cause Slanted, like the 3 pus where drawned in 1st,like Burns made a Copy..)
- *PS: Polepiece Spread.
(Spread of the Strings ideally)
- If the PS is the same on the 3 Pickups, it's for the 0hms:
> because it's more Simple & Chipper
> like there's only 1Capacitor for the Tone, for 3 pickups..
- Etc etc..
- Also an 0ther thing: in '53, the Gauge for the String was 0.012/0.052,
= not 0.10/0.046 like 'Std we play,
> so like was said before:
= There were 4Bass Strings & 2Trebles
> The G String was the muddest string
= & Needed to be Higher than all others,
- but with 'New' Strings (50y..):
> the G string is Not Wound,
> but the Brands, '7ender' in 1st (but was in reality CBS from January 1965 how Bought 7ender for near 6 millions $..)
= continue to Make near the Same Pickups from their beginning..
(with Cotton wires, Fiber plates..)
> But the Time & the Playing change..
- Ex: with the 0.012/0.052 Strings & the 25,5" Neck scale: it was really hard to play..
> So, many Guys: like J.Hendrix, Richie Blackmore & many many:
> Changed their Tuning,
= to 1/2 Step lower for Each String,
= 1) it was easier to play,
& 2) the Sound was Bigger.!
> Let's Hear some Deep Purple..
- For Answer to your questions, like said before: the Kind of Neck has Chanhed,
- So, like many things been changed:
= maybe the best is to try to play with a Pickup who gets Screws for Rod-Magnets:
= & You try to play & Turn the Screws to Have the Same Volume, for Each place,
> Then: You can Make Pickups with the Same Highs for Rod-Magnets:
- You find 9 diff tales in sell..
(& .185''/.195/ or 'Quater Pound diameters, + Alnino2/3/4/5 or 8..)
= Many ways..
- What's the best.?
> Which you want my dear:
= Try & Try & try..
= I got 5 or 6 Stratos: with diff Pickups & all..
> 1 with a 'Lipstick' in Bridge (but 8,18k, not 4,6k..)
- An other with an Humbucker 'Multisoud':in bridge..
- You can have many Sounds..
> But: if you don't know:
= Let's Try the 1/2 Sep down at every String with a 0.012/0.052 Play..
- Bye, Ziggy.