software

Is the middle pickup completely in the way for you as well? It's in just the right spot to get me aggravated

i HATE middle pickups on strats! 3 out of 4 of my strats have no middle pickup and the one that does have it, i lowered the pickup flush with the guard so it's like it's not there anyway lol. i also got sick of the standard volume knob placement and had custom guards made for two of my strats with only two knobs that sit roughly right b/t the normal 3 knobs....MUCH BETTER!! now i love my strats again!!

-Mike


Originally Posted by XSSIVEi also got sick of the standard volume knob placement and had custom guards made for two of my strats with only two knobs that sit roughly right b/t the normal 3 knobs....MUCH BETTER!! now i love my strats again!!

-Mike

Yeah, I just ripped out one of the tone knobs and made my strat master vol and tone, so there's a hole where the volume knob used to reside. I've dug a hole in my frgging pinky from that stupid pot there! lol

i never had trouble with the middle pick up but the volume knob has always give me trouble. i end up turning it down when i play. instead of removing it, i used some strechy medical tape and wrapped it around the post so it would have enough resistance that it would not turn so freely.

It has to be there in order to get the nice notch positions (2 amp; 4). I'll admit I don't use it alone too much for some reason, though. The best way to deal with it for picking is to have it lowered just to the point where your pick doesn't clip it......also, staggered pole pickups are much better when the poles are beveled around their edges. There's two reasons why good single coils have beveled edges.......one reason is that the pick doesn't snag on the sharp edge of the pole, and the other reason is that when assembling the pickup, the rounded edge is easier to push into the bobbin.

i usually only play my strats in 2amp;4 so i need it


Originally Posted by XSSIVE
-Mike

Totally off-topic, your name is pronounced quot;excessive,quot; right? Anyways, cleaning up my table I realized the Squier's strapped with 500k pots, seems odd to me.

I love my middle pickup, never was in my way.
Then again I never use my pick that low


Originally Posted by William WalstraTotally off-topic, your name is pronounced quot;excessive,quot; right? yup, it's my short version of excessive... it's also the plate on my car. i couldn't fit the whole thing and words that start with an X are always cooler lol.

-Mike

Yeah like my name

oh but about the question...my middle pickup is rad. I have it like my neck is bassy-chimey-clean, 2 is balanced, middle is way trebley for good ska and annoying spanky leads, 4 is ugly and weird-sounding, and 5 is hi-gain hot rail meanness...diverse enough for me anyway.

-X

I totally have this problem, but I'm addicted to the notch quack so I live with it....

I dont use it alone, but i like position 2 and 4. Gotta have it!

But I do have a problem with the placement of the volume knob. So I have removed both of my tone knobs as I dont use them on a strat anyway, and I have drilled a new hole for the volume. Problem solved.

I too find it getting in the way, but also useful for quot;knowingquot; where you are (as a marker for pinched harmonics and such) I too find myself rolling off volume accidentally. Maybe a stiffer turn in the answer.

Sonically, the middle pup is essential to me...


Originally Posted by Empty PocketsYeah like my name

how abt MT pockets? thats kinda cool too..


Originally Posted by William WalstraIs the middle pickup completely in the way for you as well?

never found that problem, I've played strats as long as I have played guitar

I love the middle pickup. I have a new setup when i play with my band-

I set the treble on my amp at a painful level. (so position two sounds pleasing and is capable of cutting deep into the mix)

I play chords and other riffs in songs using position two, neck tone at around 5, volume at 6, middle tone dimed.

When i need to step up volume or throw down a clean lead, instead of stepping on my TS, i switch to neck single coil (already has tone down so it's not painful with the amps treble so high). If i need even more boost, i use my pinky to dime my volume knob.

The middle pickup cuts nicely like a bridge pickup, yet it retains more warmth. If you play in a band and need to cut through for distorted chords, the middle pickup is the ticket in my case.

I love everything about the strat except for the bridge single coil by itself... I just can't work with it. It has always been too weak, too thin and with no sustain.

With that said, I love my Grosh Bent Top Custom. I was just playing it again (after taking a break for a while) and I realized just how much I missed the neck and middle notch position. Between that and the neck single coil alone, it's the perfect blues tone. A great middle single coil will do great clean rhythm by itself (the WCR SR is perfect for that application).

So yeah, strats are the s**t

Middle pickup has never really gotten in the way of my picking, I only use the tip of my pick so it never sticks down enough to hit the pickup. As for the volume knob, my solution was just to not use the typical strat quot;top hatquot; style knobs. Works perfectly.
I've played a Strat for 11 years, and have never had a problem with the middle pickup or the volume knob. I also really dig the tone of the middle position: mellow without being too bassy. I've got a Texas Special in there though, so maybe that's why

Used to have a problem with the middle pickup, but I changed how I picked slightly and now I don't have a problem and I can dig in for those pinched harmonics better.