Graduated Polepiece Spacing & Stagger on Stratocaster Pickups

jaymenon

I really like the pole spacing on Kinman pickups, makes the pole pieces line up rather nicely with the strings...

52.2mm Bridge

51.0mm Middle

49.5mm Neck

I recently however, encountered a Strat with 'proper' single coil pickups - and it sounds really amazing. 

I don't know the relative contributions of body, neck, bridge and pickups to that tone, but I'd certainly like to try out a set of good strat single coil pickups.

Many Strat pickups however, come with the standard 52.5mm spacing on all three pickups - and it looks fine if you're using a traditional 56mm string spacing at the bridge, they do align rather reasonably. But mine has the slightly more narrow 54mm bridge spacing.

Would someone please advise me as to Strat pickup manufacturers who incorporate different pole spacings for their pickups please?

ICBM

It really makes no difference other than visually. The E strings being 1mm further in at the bridge and 3/4mm at the neck won’t make the slightest difference to the tone or output.

If the strings needed to align with the polepieces then whenever you bent a note the response would drop off when the string wasn’t over the polepieces. The only place it can make some difference is if the E strings are substantially outside the end polepieces, but having narrower string spacing will actually help with that.

jaymenon

Thanks John - by extension therefore, is the pole piece 'stagger' inconsequential too...?

From my understanding, the vintage stagger (G and D pole pieces raised, was done to compensate for the intrinsically lower volume of the wound 3rd string, and also since the tighter fingerboard radius of 7.25" raised the 3rd and 4th strings further away from the pickups

With a plain 3rd string and a flatter radius, I always believed that that vintage stagger is now obsolete in that it makes the 3rd string too  loud...

ICBM

No, the stagger isn’t inconsequential because it does affect the sensitivity at each pole - the distance from the strings is more important. It’s still not a very abrupt change as you move the string sideways, but you can hear it.

I agree completely about the ‘vintage’ stagger - I have no idea why some people still like it, with a plain G string. I’ve always preferred flat polepieces, and not just because I always break my fingernails on the raised ones!

Many pickups are now made with a ‘modern’ stagger with a lower G pole though, if you prefer that.

jaymenon

Thanks John -  and coming back to the question about different pole piece spacings on  bridge, middle and neck pick ups…? 

ICBM

jaymenon said:

Thanks John -  and coming back to the question about different pole piece spacings on  bridge, middle and neck pick ups…? 

No idea, sorry - I wasn't even aware there was such a thing, other than 'F' spacing for humbuckers in the bridge position where the E strings can run just outside the poles on a standard Gibson-spaced pickup, with Fender string spacing.

jaymenon

Here are some pics John

[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/OO5BaIS.gif)

On My Strat:
[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/0zW6vC0.jpg)

ICBM

What's really funny about that is that I've just had a look at the Bill Lawrence Keystones in my Aria Strat copy, and they also have 'matched' spacing!

I had honestly never noticed before .

Funkfingers

One of my old Ibanez Roadster II guitars has a single humbucker, mounted at a slanted angle à la Edward Van Halen. This causes all of the strings to pass between the polepieces. The two E strings pass over a single polepiece each. Still seems to sound right on every string.

ICBM

I also realised my Aria has 52mm string spacing. All the strings still pass over all the polepieces.

jaymenon

Coming back to stagger, obviously smaller radii have the strings in a tighter arc, and larger radii have the strings in a flatter arc.

if one one lowers the pickups away from the strings, then does it follow that the effects of any mismatched stagger would be minimised?

TA22GT

I find that with a vintage radius and flat pole-piece pickups you can sometimes loose a bit of the D string if you curve the string saddles to exactly match the radius of the neck.

I don't have my pickups too high so to get a good balance I tend to just slightly lower the G and D string saddles a bit. It only takes a tiny bit but I can hear it, especially on Tele bridges.

It doesn't effect playability.

richardhomer

Bearing in mind that every time you bend a string, it shifts across the pole pieces with no change in volume, I really think spacing is of no consequence.

Even though I often play a Strat through a ‘very’ clean amp, vintage pole piece staggers have never posed me any problems either - even on a couple of guitars I’ve owned with very flat boards.

Zoolooter

I'm also interested in the stagger vs flat as I'm about to get some custom built. So, on a strat with a 9.5 radius is it better to ask for a slight stagger or just flat? I want to emphasise the clean, clear chime, slightly mid scooped I guess.

jaymenon

I think that on 7.25” and 9.5” boards, you are okay with a normal ‘stagger’. The raised G Pole is a bad idea though...

Flatter poles are perhaps more relevant to 12” and flatter ‘boards

TA22GT

Zoolooter said:

I'm also interested in the stagger vs flat as I'm about to get some custom built. So, on a strat with a 9.5 radius is it better to ask for a slight stagger or just flat? I want to emphasise the clean, clear chime, slightly mid scooped I guess.

If you are wanting it slightly mid scooped I would go for a set that is almost flat but I would ask for the D string to be raised a little. I find a raised G string polepiece is too dominant and hard to dial out.  Easy to do if they are custom made.

I have just had a Tele made with 9.5 radius and it has a flat bridge pickup. I find I can dial it in to give a very balanced sound from string to string.
 
String preference plays a big part in it too. I use Pyramid round core pure nickel and the wound strings have slightly less output than regular strings so I always hear the D string as being a bit quiet. Actually, I always hear the D string as being a bit quiet regardless of brand of string!

When you dial the pickups in make sure you really listen, don't do it passively and twist away with the screwdriver. Every guitar and every make of pickup has a sweet spot in that guitar and it often has nothing to do with "manufacturers recommendations" at all. 
Good luck and enjoy the tone journey.

OilCityPickups

richardhomer said:

Bearing in mind that every time you bend a string, it shifts across the pole pieces with no change in volume, I really think spacing is of no consequence.

Exactly this.

Zoolooter

@TA22GT that's great info. Thanks very much.