Why, Fender? Why?

Do you have a Strat with a vintage pole piece stagger? Are your string volume and tone unbalanced? Maybe it's time to take things into your own hands!
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[@stevef4010]

I wish you had played before/after. To hear the difference....good info though. I learned something new.

[@ivanetenete]

I have this issue on my Squier Standard Stratocaster and it's a real problem, since the first string sounds way louder than the second an third even though I have a 7.25" radius, not a 9.5 like Darrell says. It's really annoying since there is no way to correct it moving the pickups up or down and I thought it was my fault due to a poor guitar adjustment. I was considering replacing the 3 pickups until I saw this. I'll give it a try.

[@artwizardsam3238]

@@ivanetenete Did it work?

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

Hope you guys are having a great Week! Would you ever consider a mod like this, or would you prefer just to buy new pickups? Let me know! *For modern plastic bobbin pickups only :)

[@Anchors]

Darrell Braun Guitar Thanks for this invaluable tip! I had no idea this was possible. I just tried adjusting one of my pickups and it's so easy to do. I highly recommend this mod.

[@lrdstrahd1]

Amazing tutorial. This will save people a lot of head aches and money. Thank you for sharing this tech tip.

[@jono4708]

Presumed this was the case and yes I will make this mod to a guitar or two. Including Asian guitars. Will be taking a photo record before to use as a "control" tx for another great vid. Take care of that cold! Does the sun come out at all this time of year in the great white North?

[@nestormendoza2559]

Thanks for another great video, I read about this mod before but I was afraid to screw up the pickups, didn't know it was so easy 👍

[@pavure]

You recommend doing this to cheap or extra pickups but I'll definitely do it to my 62 reissue pickups since it doesn't seem to be that risky as long as you are careful not to damage the coil. What a useful tutorial clip!! Thanks a lot.

[@jltrem]

In my humble opinion, the reason they do it is the "V" word-vintage. Some people think anything labeled "vintage", whether it actually is or not, is automatically better.

[@lassivaatamoinen5468]

You mean the orthodox group of people called "guitarists"?

[@lassivaatamoinen5468]

@k halliday Sure. I was referring to the topic we're hovering on. Plus I maybe should've put "quotes intentional" in the above. I'm always amazed how stuck to the pattern them "guitarists" can be. Given that the best ones have and will be the least conventional. If it's a new design of anything, it's always bad. Or god forbid, if it's not G or F. Or if it's not my G or F of preference, it's all crap.

[@hydeane]

@@lassivaatamoinen5468 Not all guitarists vintage snobs, I love my axe fx just as much as all my amps, and in many cases more, ie recording and everything it has to offer:-)

[@henkehakansson2004]

@@hydeane The thing with all - not most - but all vintage guitar snobs today, is that they do not ever play period perfect music at all. They do not play any kind of music from the 50s or like it sounded in the 50s. In the 50s pickups where made to sound the "best" with 012 set gauge strings FLATWOUND too, and with a wound third on top of all this. And played on those. Today, they think later blues rock from the late 60s and early and rest of 70s where played on "vintage" instruments which where not vintage then. If they try to play music - like rockabilly - from the 50s today, they still string up their instruments with roundwound 10-46 set which gives a whole another sound. They just think that it was supposed to be like this. And when faced with this upfront, they turn silent for a second or two...and then replies "well...hey...but anyway...these ones goes to eleven" or some variation thereof. Another thing they do not think of regarding which strings sounded best to those vintage pickups, where that back in those days PURE NICKEL strings was the only ones around, and all of the spun strings had ROUND CORE too. It was not until the late 60s the strings altered to a) stainless steel b) hex core on the wounds.

[@henkehakansson2004]

So my WHATABOUTISM thing is, why do Fender claim to produce vintage correct pickups, when basically no one plays true vintage correct strings to match those? So yes, why Fender why? :-) I don't know any string manufacturer that makes a) pure nickel b) round cores c) flatwound d) a 012 set with spun third. There are some select boutique that MAY do Pure nickel, and round core, but not flatwound as far as I can tell. fender ought to sell these pickups WITH a set of vintage strings like that, otherwise you don't get that "toanz".

[@fazooleq1523]

old post but just recommended to me now - from an engineering standpoint, poles should not be perfectly radius-ed - the mass of the string moving through the magnetic flux affects the amplitude of the output, so you need to adjust the stagger to account for string mass - it's not just height-based.

[@Tonetwisters]

Well said!! Mass and pitch have a lot to do with how much volume a string will produce.

[@Cymbaline713]

The reason Fender does this I think, is in response to demand from players, who in large part are a bunch of crotchety old curmudgeons who are resistant to any sort of change. This is why you still see Telecasters with barrel saddles and why Les Pauls don't have volutes on their necks.

[@manifestgtr]

And Bingo was his name-o

[@Baghuul]

Not to mention Gibsons dont need that 17 degree headstock angle, its unnecessary!!!

[@mandolinic]

Look, for those of us over 60, never mind the pickups. If we can get through 24 whole hours without peeing on the floor, it's a _good_ day.

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

eh this is why they make Jacksons and Charvel guitars to answer the needs of modern rock and metal players like us!

[@barryeason749]

Mandolinic ...funny absolutely hilarious 👍

[@MegaBrebis]

When you realize what a pickup really is, you understand the huge profit margin Fender and others make!

[@reysaeed8990]

k halliday nothing at all to do with cost that’s the point; inflated value for niche details and the like

[@javiceres]

Emmmm what did you thought it would be? The bobin still takes some time by a person to be done, not that simple AFAIK.

[@morgogs]

@@javiceres They can easily be wound automatically. It's not hard, expensive, or time consuming to make good sounding pickups. Something like IronGears sound great and you can get a set of three for £60. Seymour Duncan charges that for a single pickup!

[@ericov.o.2399]

Its mostly about the engeneering and there isnt much of that either

[@AxemanMessiah]

@@satinrules For sure. Along with the pickups, the rest of it is as well. "Tonewoods" are other marketing to justify paying hundreds for a guitar. In 2020 with modern CNC, pu sprayers, auto-wounding pickup machines, and other enhancements, even with profit will not be over $500-600!

[@michaelzschoche2746]

You help all of us out so much Darrel. Love your channel. Please never quit with your videos.

[@unoaotroa]

Pro-Tip: use a plain .015 gauge G string like Hendrix. Lighter strings on E,A and D also help ease this problem. For the record, Jimi's string gauges were: .010, .013, .015, .026w, .032, .038. They were made from pure nickel, also. Pyramid still makes a set like that. Hope someone founds this useful.

[@svenjansen2134]

I did. Thanks.

[@beccustompickups3579]

One other trick with one-piece bobbins, for those who might not know. You can, if inclined, convert cheap ceramic pickups to alnico by removing the magnet, taking out the steel slugs, and pressing alnico rods of your chosen grade back in.

[@GaryArmstrongmacgh]

It's hard for the average person to wind pickups. We don't have the machinery. And for the one set we might do in a lifetime...it's not worth it. Just buy the set we want.

[@vancelanger7749]

He's suggesting replacing the actual magnetic rods, not winding it

[@LeviBulger]

​@@GaryArmstrongmacghHe's just talking about he slugs on an already wound pickup. Not winding a pickup completely.

[@paxonearth]

QUICK TIP: Looks like Darrel had no issues, but heating up the pole piece a bit with a soldering iron before attempting to adjust the height, especially for wax-potted pole pieces, makes for easy work. The pole piece will move like butter once the wax begins to heat up. Might help some on non-wax pieces as well.

[@stevefitz3802]

I love your videos they really demystify the guitar, plain and simple, perfect. Thanks again

[@steveneastburn1253]

HI Darrell, I really appreciate this video, it has saved me from replacing my Custom Shop 69 pickups which I love the tone of but had a weak sound coming from the b string. Now the pickups sound great with great balance. Thank you.

[@maraviyoso8473]

In other words, you killed the purpose of the CS 69. It'd be better if you buy another pickup. Or get a Telecaster.

[@TomTobin67]

Darrell, thank you so much for this info. I didn't know that I could change the pole piece height of my single coil pickups. You've just rocked my world, brotha.

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+Tom Tobin 😄 Glad to help!

[@Cryo837]

Today's guitar buyers are much more informed thanks to the internet and guys like Darrell. GREAT info!!!

[@ramencurry6672]

True. Back in the old days, guitar stuff was so mysterious. I never even heard of soldering and couldn’t imagine that it could be done at home. So much was a mystery

[@williamolsen20]

I have never even thought about this before thank you for bringing this to light.

[@MitchRossMusician]

Very cool adjustment Darrell. Had no idea you could even do this. Learning something new every day on this channel.

[@Bomber848480015]

Darrell you have the best information no question.

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+Brad Bombardiere Thanks man!

[@rongarza9488]

There are some free cellphone apps for finding out how loud a sound is. With Darrell's tips on moving individual pole pieces, it's possible to set their height to where the output is what the player desires. I usually find my 1st string to be weak, and the phone app proves that it is not just me imagining it.

[@pharmerdavid1432]

Thickness of magnetic string matters, but left out of "stagger" calculation.

[@thebigpicture2455]

I've wanted to adjust the pole pieces for so long. Finally...I'll be able to correct them. Great vid man! Thanks.

[@deangoff4748]

I've been wondering how to adjust them.. finally someone can explain how it freaking works. Thanks!

[@donaldhatcher8179]

Scary and intimidating on first try. I have done this on several pickups over the years and have never broke one. It makes a difference and can smooth out a brash sounding pickup. Thank you for sharing this.

[@JohnRBooth]

THANK YOU - I have struggled with this unbalanced crap for 40 years, now I am fixed ! I've always been afraid to mess with the pickups until now. :)

[@maraviyoso8473]

So you played the wrong guitar for 40 years. Good to know.

[@androtekman6131]

Not wrong guitar, wrong strings. If he could get a new set of vintage strings it would be better. The problem is all new strings are made for new un-staggared pickups. solution: set pole pieces to same level. @@maraviyoso8473

[@noi5emaker]

Super easy, and great advice. Nice job, Darrell! I always enjoy the production quality of your videos.

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+Nick B Thanks Nick!

[@daevasmodeus]

I just wanted to thank you for this Darrell. I tried it out on a cheap squire jazz bass that had obvious low volume issues on the middle 2 strings due to radius and this mod immediately solved the issue, dramatically improving my tone. You've saved me money on new pickups. I've seen other tutorials on youtube that involve heating the wax with a soldering iron and your mod is a lot less dangerous with no real potential for error. Plus it's totally reversible. Like you said, there is probably a good reason for the signature sound you get from the vintage stagger on older strats, and the sparkle and shimmer that strats are typically known for may in part be due to the inconsistency of string volume. I won't be doing this mod on my US strat, but this has definitely opened my eyes to maximizing the tone on my instruments that have poles I had previously assumed were unmovable. Thanks again!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+Derek Lebrun That's great to hear! Glad the video was helpful!

[@Studio_940]

I had the staggered poles on my strat which I really hated. Now they are all set to radius and it sounds so much better. Thanks for the great video Darrell, a much needed fix.

[@kasperknutsen7239]

You should interview fender folks at every NAMM, and ask about this and other weird things fender does

[@markfisher2221]

Great info, i have a 2008 American standard with fat 50's and always wondered why the pole pieces were different heights.. it all makes sense now.. I'll be adjusting mine.. cheers

[@samdennis1675]

I am old, and have been playing strats since before you were born. BUT, you taught me something new today. Thanks!!

[@atalayo3o0o]

Great video for starters.. I believe amps of those days also had to be taken into consideration on why pole pieces arranged like that : Some frequencies (notes) attack, emit, resolve, or heard more than the others. Therefore, if no compressor or drive is used, you hear those notes bite in your ears more than the others. So, you want to even them out. Today's modern tech let us hear every freqs even, so we will not need that kind of pole piece recorrections. But, if you used vintage gear, you may need the pole pieces staggered. Though it still may other notes to be heard less... If you have that kinda guitar, play it with your equipment, then decide.

[@gpsontime4598]

I was wondering . . . so did a Sound Meter check and the A and B strings on my Texas Special Roadhouse are about 10db quieter. Hmmm . . . might just do the pole push and see if I can balance them out. My Piezo setup allows you to not only adjust the pickup height but balance each string volume. Guess should do the same on the Texas Specials.

[@whatsupchicken]

Hi, so did you do this on texas pickups?

[@taylor12elementvb]

Great video. Been playing guitar for many years and did not know about the pickup polepieces and how they relate to the neck radius. Thank you so much. Awesome info!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+taylor12elementvb Glad to help! ☺

[@ghostownaproach]

Great fix! Also to raise one of the shorter pole pieces the other direction from flush on the back I used a BB (from a BB gun) which magnetically sticks to the bottom of the pole piece and allows you to press with the pliers using the spacer on top to move the pole piece higher if you want.

[@ricstormwolf]

I just saw the AT-AT in the background. Awesome 👍

[@josephhein9497]

I was literally looking for a tutorial for this less than 10 minutes ago! WTF?!

Joseph Hein the guitar gods work in mysterious ways...

[@daveladd99]

How important is the strength of the magnet? If you could buy neodymium poles with the right interference fit, what would the stronger field strength do to the sound. Know of anyone that has done that? I also have a 63 Fender Mustang with very poor pickup response. Is it possible that the magnetic fields have weakened over time? Thanks!

[@henkehakansson2004]

@@daveladd99 Yes, magnetism can slowly detoriate. Watch out very carefully for neodymium pickups or magents. The one's I've tried works mostly for bass since it has thick strings. They can be enormous prone to MSP (Magnetic String Pull), that the video above calls "warble" sounding out of tune and "chorus" and impossible to tune in a tuner. The needle does not ever freeze. To use neo on pickups on guitar is hazardous, you have to sink them so low into the body, that there's almost no output anymore, if you want to get rid of warble. On bass it takes a bit more to make those thick bass strings warble. The stronger field may do much to the sound apart from warble though. You don't need to go neo for that. Investigate instead in ceramic designs or other.

[@TheMoushjak]

Great! (not day 😁😁😁) Just swapped 2 string pole with 6 string and slightly adjusted others. Works like a charm.

[@LuisSilva-rk1ye]

Hi Darrell, great tips!!! Have try!!! As usual, great video!!!! Cheers from Portugal!!

[@tonidupont-mora1572]

Great tip! Thank you for the demo

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

Anytime! ☺

[@alexxby6205]

Hi Darrell, I did pretty much as you suggested the adjustment on my CS '54 pickup, and it turns out that the tone changed after the adjustment. The pickups now sound more '69ish rather than '54 what it used to be. I guess the stagger might be one of the reason why specific pickup set has the unique sound and texture. The relative position of string and the hight of pole piece some how affects the each frequency band of signal be picked up. However, I don't regret this mod cuz the imbalanced volume across string bothers me a lot!

[@Renshen1957]

The radius of the neck original was a problem for bending notes. Don Mare uses a modern stagger on his winds for vintage. USA Custom Guitars necks makes a 7 1/4 to 9.5'' compound radius necks to deal with this. Glad to hear this worked for you, I know of one individual who screwed up some one of his (expensive) aftermarket pickups attemping to fix the vintage stagger.

[@tommynoble3428]

This is super helpful. I come to this channel a lot because I think Darrell's a great guy that does great research and presents things really well. More often than not he demos products I wouldn't have any interest in, but this is super helpful to me.

[@captainmilk2691]

Thanks for making this. I used to work with a luthier who convinced me to buy staggered pickups because "that's how they used to make them". They're Seymour Duncan alnico 2's. I've never liked the stagger, and always wished I'd got the flat ones. I've just now adjusted them to a more balanced arch, so thank you. Now I can finally be happy with those pickups. They have a good sound, that was the only thing bothering me

[@thierryschlagdenhauffen9216]

when it comes to fender, especially by the Great Leo's time, the answer ti WHY is always the same: money, money money. For the record, it is widely accepted that electric guitars became popular thanks to Leo and his taylorism (no joke about the brand intended) approach, and cost-conscious design. So the idea was : increase the quality/cost ratio by lowering the denominator. Nothing wrong there as the Strat was, and still is a legendary guitar, still by today's standard. Same as a Hobie 16 or a '76 Stingray.

[@sadfvsdavn]

Still the highest quality guitar channel on KZbin. Darell really deserves more attention. Keep on going! My Fender Classic Player (Mexico) has a 12“ Radius and even came with staggered CS 69. I won‘t touch them but I‘ll get a SSL-1 set and do this. Thanks for the video!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+Zergio96 Thanks man! I appreciate the kind words

[@cBodhi]

"Still the highest quality guitar channel on KZbin" agreed

[@mattlehde588]

If you want a vintage sound, I can tell you that the Fender Original '57/'62 sounds great, they are cheap and you can change the pole pieces without causing damage (at least I did). I'm not sure that you want to assume that the SSL set won't be damaged by moving the poles.

[@sadfvsdavn]

Tyler Hampton thanks for the advise! I think i‘ll rather get the SSL-2

[@57ebartley]

Thanks Darrell. My number one Strat is an American 57 reissue from 86 If I remember right. I also have a MIM that I dropped in a loaded pick guard from a 97 American strat. The pole pieces are flat from the 97.They don’t even protrude above the pickup cover. I have a tendency to push down the low E when Im playing lead with the meaty part of my palm. On my 57 reissue, this causes a lot of noise when the string touches the pole piece of the middle pickup plus I think the one ply pick guard plays into that. Think I’m going to adjust the pole pieces on the middle pup on the 57 reissue. I play that guitar, I’m not saving it for anybody. I already refretted it with Jumbo frets to make it easier to play. Great information for a Strat Player. Thank you

[@jordanaldrich]

Great video. I learned something new! If the pole piece is flush with the plastic cover under the b string I can guess it probably has vintage pickups! That's awesome!

[@kirusmagnus317]

If you look at the traditional fender amplifier tone stack it has heavily scooped mids and suits the pole piece stagger quite well.

[@johneck4639]

I've heard the vintage stagger described as "wrong, but it's what we like". There's a certain tonal character, especially when playing chords.

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+John Eck I think that's about right. 👍 It produces the "classic" strat tone we all know, but is a little limited when a person wants a more modern / versatile sound. I'm not holding my breath, but I would love an adjustable pole piece pickup from Fender in their modern Strats.

[@uknownguitarist4829]

good video explains a lot about the issues with pickups on strat style guitars

[@darkinertia2]

Ive been wondering this same thing, theres vids on how to push the polepieceup but it seems risky and not possible on ceramics, flat polepieces is just objectively better for al modern guitars

[@samratbose443]

Your greetings of every video Made my whole day charming As I'm from India and by the time I watch your videos it's morning here!!!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+Crooked TV Hi! And good morning! ☺

[@samratbose443]

Darrell Braun Guitar 😃😃😃😃

[@murphmurph2124]

Good morning to you have a wonderful day, come on over to the U.S we got exactly 1 centillion more guitars than any other country. Lol Lol Lol

[@jcblackhat]

Hey, Darrell! Thanks for such a useful video!!! Your production quality and advice are top notch. Quick question - is the wax that is dislodged the same wax that's referred to in "waxed/potted" pickups? I don't know a lot about the subject, but I've read that wax is important to avoid microphonic issues with pickups...is there any sense to this? Might this mod generate issues with that? Thanks again for the killer content!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+Juan Carlos & Black Hat Hi! I'm not sure, I have a feeling it's just used to keep the pole pieces from moving (locking them in place as the wax dries) but I can't say for certain ☺

[@electricurinal]

I believe "wax potted" refers to the entire pickup being submerged in melted paraffin so that it soaks into the windings... so they don't vibrate and become microphonic. Same can be said for the pole pieces... but as long as they fit tight enough, they shouldn't vibrate in their sleeves.

[@jcblackhat]

Thanks so much, Darrell! I'm looking forward to trying this out - I'll report back if I notice anything! :D

[@jcblackhat]

Hey, @ElectricUrinal! Ah, that makes a lot of sense...thanks for the answer - learned a new thing from you today! Cheers!

[@perihelion7798]

WOW! This is the type of video that I really love. Excellent information, and a demonstration of a simple fix. This is the video that made me a subscriber. Thank you very much!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+Perihelion77 Glad to help! Welcome aboard ☺

[@GuusEikens]

Amazingly simple! Thanks Darrell !

[@davidflint12]

This vid was interesting and informative.

[@MonkeyCage1990]

Hey Darrell! Just windering where you got those radius metal bars to check the balance of the poles? I need one for my vintage styled Fender. I LOVE your videos btw, you are always so in depth and clear and I just love what you do man!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+GaminN00b Thanks! I bought a set of radius guages off of Amazon ☺

[@blues61]

One great source of guitar tools and parts is Stewart-MacDonald - www.stewmac.com/

[@brunoCondor]

Yes, if you want to spend more money of course. It stays metal, maybee a bit less quality, but it's not meant to hammer with. Ebay is full of those for less than 4 € or 5 $;

[@manfromatlantis2551]

I did this mod to my fender amercan standard pickups 3 years ago and it turned out ok. Fixed the stratitis. Nice video bro

[@javiceres]

I’ve been wondering this for a decade (when I got my 1st electric), I bet the answer is they don’t want to go through the hassle of balancing, because the same PU might end up coping with a variety of radius (7’25 to 12), but are mainly intended to be in a certain one.

[@erickleefeld4883]

I learned to play guitar on a Strat, and in those days (the late '90s) they shipped with flat pole pieces. And I always got the feeling something was missing from that sound! I eventually upgraded to Fender's Vintage Noiseless set, which despite the "vintage" name actually use a modernized stagger: It's almost like a vintage pattern, but the G string's magnet poles on all three pickups are lowered down for a plain 3rd string. And now I totally love these!

[@steffenla4]

The biggest issue is not the difference in radius, but the fact that vintage staggered pole pieces is designed for a wound "G" and most people today use a plain one. Plain strings have a much greater output than wound ones, making the "G" string much, much louder. The fix suggested is not a bad one, but usually you want to press down the "G" magnet as far as you can and leave the "D" magnet alone, since that's the thinnest wound string and therefore the one with the least output. Either way, the fix is not perfect since the "G" magnet is still much longer than the "B" one, making it more powerful and louder.

[@franx82]

Totally correct, staggering has more to do with string to string balance than fingerboard radius.

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

This was just an example ☺ That's the beauty of adjusting pole pieces - you can do it to taste.

[@franx82]

Of course Darrell, I really appreciated the video. It reminded me of when I used to do the opposite of what you did; I staggered the pole pieces on my mid-90's Am. Std Strat to make it look "vintage". :D

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+Francesco Ippoliti 😄 Nice!

[@laughingdaffodils5450]

But some of us still use wound thirds ;) to *precisely* set this you would need to do it on the guitar with an amplitude gauge on it, and redo it every time you change strings. It just goes to show that pole adjustments and fine-tweaking in general is unnecessary and/or more about the player than the instrument. Because actually setting them 'correctly' is so intricate, most people don't try, and most people that try miss something and get it wrong. Yet, despite that, guitars still sound good. A few millimeters difference in the placement of the pole typically doesn't actually make enough difference for anyone but the player to notice.

[@JimmyWatfordGuitar]

Wow. You did an exceptional job explaining and demonstrating this. Thank you. I dont feel as though your channel is focused on a lot of guitar repair. But it would be super helpful for me to see you explain how to properly float the Mexican strat tremolo or block it off. I've looked around in other channels and still feel a little confused about it. Thank you for the great video.

[@davemackellar6189]

Good one. Always appreciate learning new guitar stuff

[@AdamFaulkner375]

I deliberately ordered a staggered middle pickup for my strat to make it my go to pickup for character. I will usually lower my third pole a bit though as the G can get quite unruly.

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+Adam Faulkner That's clever! 👍

[@j_freed]

Adam Faulkner that makes sense because unwound G is far louder than the wound G they used to use, this restores balance to the Force .

[@KountryCuz1]

I have 3 Strats and 2 of them Stagger and one is Straight The Sound The Same to me Just Saying Do love the Strats Sounds with Front 2 Pickups on ! Thanks for the Info 🎸🎸

[@seamanjive]

Worked just fine, all strings now balanced....great tip thx

[@videonut28]

Great information, Darrell! Thank you!

[@jaden8243]

Show us all your guitars

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+Jaden It's definitely on my list of videos to upload 👍

[@JoeKyser]

2 years later and it looks like that's exactly what people want.

[@jahmosaxenamp6797]

Helpful demonstration. Thanks dude 🤘🎸

[@robertlee6781]

Great information! Thank you for the explanation.

[@gonzaga8064]

Great video! But i'm not that adventorous ,so i won't even try doing this 😂

[@Tobajjass]

Mark Foley (from MF guitar products) recently wrote this on his facebook page; ”Leo Fender designed the vintage Strat stagger which went with the 7 1/4” radius fretboard not because of the radius BUT TO BALANCE OUT THE STRING FREQUENCYS, and also remember then the G string was wound in that era. If you build a pickup stagger to match a fretboard radius it will be totally unbalanced...... So today with a plain G string greater than 15 gauge it rings loud that is why you often see a shorter G pole or a pushed down pole. Leo’s vintage stagger is still great today with it’s good and bad points. For flatter radius greater than 10” you just need the D/G poles pushed down a little. A stagger that follows the fretboard radius does not work and causes issues...if it worked I would have done it years ago along with many other builders.” It kind of make a lot of sense that many pickup builders would have done it decades ago if the pickup would sound better when matching the fretboard radius. When listening to your modification on the pickup stagger it sounds very unbalanced. Though, if you had a pickup with one string that had higher output than the others, this video is a good ”how to adjut your polepiece” to make it more balanced. But I would not match the fretboard radius. It doesn’t make sense to me.

[@morganghetti]

"While listening to your demo, my expectation bias from reading article made them sound WAY unbalanced " -you

[@dm9151]

This is great news for us left handed guitarists who want to upgrade their Strats pups. 2 years ago I got a set specially wound with the stagger reversed. Now I could get a used righty set adjust the poles, I'm in. Thanks

[@vsmicer]

Done this many times, it's quick and easy to do unless you're a ten-thumbed klutz. Only a small amount of force is necessary, so unless you gi mad you'll be fine. Nice video, Darrell.

[@stkbkr1]

Funny, "Don't screw w/ them." Hey brother great technical info and as always just a great vid. If you haven't already done this type of vid, I would greatly appreciate it if you could inform us about the following: fret board (the neck) radius and how to measure, what is a V and C shape neck and does it all make sense, I am wanting to buy a Tele V neck shape online and was just curious. Any input would be great. Thank you teacher Braun. Rock on!!!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+stkbkr1 👍I'll add it to my list!

[@mattlehde588]

Don't buy that V neck until you get one in your hand. Everyone is different, but for me, after 18 years of playing standard C-shape necks on my strat and also a Hamer SATF and ESP LTD, I found that I didn't not like the feel of the V neck at all when I picked up a sample of one when I was visiting a guitar part manufacturer to pick up my order. Here is a fretboard radius gauge you can print kinman.com/magnet_stagger.php#radius kinman.com/magnet_stagger.php

[@stkbkr1]

Hey Matt, great info thanks. Rock on!!!

[@mattlehde588]

Thanks! You too! To me, the V neck felt like there was a hard spot right in the middle of the neck as a result of the lack of curved wood of constant radius on either side of the "point" of the V. Of course, some people love them- I'm just not one of them!

[@markcheetah4960]

If you have small hands, avoid the V shaped and U shaped necks. They'll cause player fatigue.

[@ArsonComplex]

Great video and i'm not gonna restagger.

[@JammyGit]

It would have been good to hear a before and after clip of the pickups with the stagger and without it. I always wondered what the point of the stagger was but since I don't own a strat or tele single coil pickup it doesn't really affect me. I just like watching your videos 👍 My teles have either TV Jones Classics or wide range humbuckers and my Les Pauls have either humbuckers or P90 sized humbuckers, and my only single coils are the deArmonds in my Gretsch and they have these nifty little screws which look separate to the slugs but must be connected because they raise and lower each pole piece as you turn the screw, and I've already tinkered with the height of them.....you can't beat a tinker, it's surprising how much of a difference you can make to your tone by adjusting your pickup height. There is an optimum position to have your pickups and you can really personalise your sound by doing such an easy mod....it's easy enough to do with humbuckers or single coils.

[@rars0n]

Awesome video, I had no idea you could alter pole pieces like this!

[@jaloquelebeche8082]

Another question 4U, Darrell: Why do the pickups' poles from all Fendewr Strats (even the Elite Series) are so irregularly aligned to the strings, when that's so easy to prevent from the designing desk, once you know the distances between strings in the nut and the bridge? That's something I can't explain from a prestige manufacturer (and from their expensive guitars). Thanx a lot for your great videos.

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

they try to emulate old and incorrect mistakes and label them as "vintage correct" which in essence means "wrong"

[@fredn2735]

Jimi Hendrix did just fine with pick pickups that were backwards or upside down.

[@mayk3lll]

if the pick up pole pieces were uniform along the pickup it wouldn't matter if they were reversed.. however, the closer the pole the higher the output so in this case it does matter and this is a fix. Also in Jimmys day, people appreciated music for what it was along with bad habits etc.. these days everyone is obsessed with perfection.

[@mattlehde588]

He also didn't have a neck with a flatter fretboard radius. I can only wonder how would Hendrix have "not done fine" with his sound? The audience isn't going to say, "Hey, Hendrix, you hack, we can tell that your b string volume is not as high as the others." ;) The point I'm making with that silliness is that all that matters is whether or not the player is happy with the sound. Even with the mildly contoured 9.5"-12" neck I have, the volume imbalances from the staggered poles are extremely noticeable- it is not subtle. So, as the player who didn't like it, I changed it.

[@mayk3lll]

Couldn't agree more! And thats all that matters.. "as long as the player is happy"

[@oldsyphilitic]

If musicians really were obsessed with perfection then the standard of playing would be much higher.

[@mattlehde588]

Which musicians are you referring to? :) Probably not Joe Satriani or John Petrucci?

[@mikibrkovic4377]

Hi Darell, Great video. I am glad u are addrresing this issue. Another point that also affects imbalanced strings is pole spacing vs. string spacing. Most evident on neck pickup with 10.5mm string spacing. High E is way off the center of tke pickup pole which is even more pronounced when high E string is bended hole step. Thus I adjust pole peaces based on relative position of the string and corresponding pole. Once poles are made loise enouh so u can push them with finger, I adjust adjysting height on the guitar by playing each string and balkancing volume. I did this with FAT 50 on guitar with 10.5mm string spacing resulting in completeli different balkanced sound.

[@jdolby513]

Love learning new things like this!

[@kilgoretrout321]

The higher stagger raises the g-string volume relative to the others. Which is actually awesome for standing out in the mix when soloing.

[@MrBossei]

yes! As long as you only solo on the G-string ;-)

[@ArielCardona]

@@MrBossei not really. Ask Eric Clapton or Eric Johnson. I don't think they've had any problems with staggered pickups.

[@charlieharper886]

Watch out, I think there's an AT-AT trying to sneak up behind you.

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+Charlie Harper 😀😀😀

[@Guidojackson1965]

Top vid mate. Keep ‘em coming 👍🎸

[@wiltshirefilms]

Brilliant I have done mine - my Strat sounds far better now thanks for advise

[@MovingToMnPro]

Why not just raise the 2 low ones?

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+davis2022 You can move the pole pieces into whichever configuration you want ☺

[@Dartheomus]

The two low ones are too short. You'd need to replace them with longer ones. (I guess the pole doesn't HAVE to go all the way to the bottom of PUP, but it feels wrong in my head anyway.)

[@CyberChrist]

You might replace the 2nd and 5th string poles with the 1st and 6th ones ^^

[@pallecla]

so, you didn't answer the question... Why does Fender do it?

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

+pallecla It's an open ended question - only Fender knows... They should put them on the AV guitars, and put something more modern on the American Standard (now called American professional).

[@gabrielsilverio1192]

So they can say their pickups are vintage-like and sell a lot of them, maybe? Guitarists tend to love this kind of stuff, sensible or not.

[@pallecla]

True that. "Vintage" sells...

[@mrkite89]

They did it actually, with the "American Series": my 2003 Am. Strat has "modern staggered" poles, then people started complain about those "non-canonical" pickups and started to use "vintage staggered" ones...I like both types for different things, but I like falt poles on a Tele! :)

[@alexfinlay5162]

you didn't make it to 1 min 21 seconds then..?

[@marmadukewinterbotham2599]

Excellent video. I love my Strats and hate not being able to adjust pickups heights, so on some I fitted Kinmans or Seymour Duncan 'Everything Axe' sets. I hadn't realised it was this easy, especially having been put off by a KZbin video showing how to hold a soldering iron on the poles to soften the wax first!

[@patrickfitzgerald2861]

Nice! Thanks Darrell!

[@murphmurph2124]

Well said good video, WHY ? you ask ? It's the bottom line, $$$ they know their marketing

[@guitarplayergeek]

Why, Fender? Why?....Marketing. Put "vintage tone" in the description and cha-ching $$$$.

[@artheen4713]

What Fender makes money on isn't selling guitars, but dreams. Old men can visit their lost youth in their dreams.

[@cruzincondo3395]

In my book, Fender knows their product(s) best......I consider my Cali Strat to be a world class instrument....the last time someone tried to sell me a dream, they offered to sell me the Brooklyn bridge along with it.

[@2triggered2comment55]

@@cruzincondo3395 I second the comment above about Japanese guitars. I still think you'd be hard pressed to find a better guitar then an American Fender.

[@keithclark486]

@@artheen4713 Maybe cause their catterin to the wannabes that wished they had the experience of the older generation. Go over there somewhere and relic your guitar with your phone.

[@paulduke9296]

Thank you so much for this video.... very interesting information. As I have a variation of Strats I'll be giving this tip a try. ;)

[@ryanbennethum914]

Hey DB good video! I’ve got two questions: Are all the slugs the same length on fender branded pickups? (If not, does it matter once they’re adjusted?) Can this safely be done on a new set of Fender Pure Vintage 57/62’s or Custom Shop Fat 50’s?

[@DougHinVA]

Guys who know about how to adjust humbucker slotted head polepieces will accept this. Most guys are so scared they will never even do it on humbuckers. And the A and bass E are the fifth and 6th strings .... not second and first. The guy is smart , but was not thinking.

[@patrickfitzgerald2861]

Indeed Doug, but a whole lot easier to do on the 'bucker, since you don't have to remove anything. I'm going to see if I can do this with the pup still mounted in the pickguard.

[@TheMoushjak]

Just do that! 😁😁😁

[@biologicalstepdad9082]

probably because most people wouldn't want to try to mess with their expensive guitars not knowing what to do.

[@32shumble]

can't all be as brave as you

[@DMSProduktions]

LOL!

[@rsz90182]

The reson Fender is doing this is because nickle winding is not magnetic. Those strings need to be closer to the magnets. Just my own thoughts.

[@TheBaconWizard]

Nickel is magnetic.

[@jayteesgear]

This video is GREAT Darrell! These poles are driving me nuts on ALL the strats Ive bought lol.

[@volvo240maniac]

I have Texas specials,snd vintage stagger,i did lower the 3rd pole, but soon after I put it back up cause you can adjust your dynamics to suit em. Also good tube amp really balance it out.

[@stealthracer]

My advice is, don't muck around with stagger, just lower the pickup. The further the polepieces are from the strings, the less the differences in height will matter. I once bought a Strat that someone had put left-handed pickups on ... didn't need to change a thing, just lowered the pickups.

[@jessebarrera159]

Great video and awesome information.

[@charlesray6812]

I did this mod to my Alexander Pribora pickups. They're wound to vintage spec on fiber bobbins. Obviously, it is very risky, but it can be done. That being said, ONLY adjust the G and D magnets. No other magnets. It doesn't make that perfect arch to match the 9.5", but it does improve the arch.

[@geoffwhitemusic]

I concur. I had a set of Fender Custom Shop 54s. I finally had enough of the loud as heck G-string, and replaced them with Seymour Duncan Vintage Flats. But SD is a bad offender too--you can only get their tone demos on the pages for staggered single coils. And some of their pickups are only available in staggered configuration. I don't get it.