Pickup issues

Bernie Fitz

Blues Junior
I have a 1998 American Strat I bought a little while back. I like the feel of playing it and really like the sound of it unplugged and/or playing clean. The problem is with some gain in the tone I get some phantom sounds (artifacts?) which mainly seem to come from the G string. The pickups are not original and I was told when I bought it that they were Wolf pickups. The have staggered poles and the G string does stick out prominently. I came across some info saying that the staggered poles are something of a vintage holdout from an era of different amps. I don't know if there's anything to that but it seems to make sense to me.
Is there any way lower individual poles on pickups or should I be looking to replace the pickups altogether? Of course that would be another whole thread I guess but if replacement was the way to go I would want beefier strat pickups.

Thanks, Bernie
 

JohnHurley

Rock and Roll
Yikes so first i would try lowering the offending pickup a bit ( then a bit more ) and make sure its level/straight. Could be needs some kind of resister or wiring tweak?

Do you have any good luthiers aka guitar gods available might take it into someone good and just demo to them your concerns see what they think?
 

PapaRaptor

Father Vyvian O'Blivion
Staff member
Before you replace pickups or (shudder) start moving pole pieces around, check your string-to-pickup clearance. Stratitis is really a thing and is usually caused by too strong a magnetic field pulling the string slightly out of tune. It almost sounds as though the string is playing two notes extremely close to each other, which is exactly what is happening.

For most pickups, the general rule of thumb is to use 4/64" (1/8") distance from the top of the pole piece to the bottom of the string. This is measured with the string pressed down at the highest fret. This recommended distance will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and even among different pickups from the same manufacturer. Since you're not quite sure what kind of pickups they are, I would start with that as your minimum clearance and work from there.

You aren't going to hurt anything by raising or lowering pickups. You can even use this to tune the tone of your guitar as well. Bringing the pickups closer to the strings will increase output, but usually causes a loss of definition. Increasing the string to pickup distance will lower the output, but usually causes the definition to improve. If you're primarily playing the blues, most people want a good level of articulation and setting your pickups further away from the strings will usually give you a cleaner "clean" sound.

One other thing, the pickups don't have to be level, so unless you deal with OCD and need them to be perfectly level to the pickguard, you have that option to make the high end a bit brighter or make the low end less boomy.
 

cowboy

Blues, Booze & BBQ
good advice so far...I've not had that same problem but adjusting the pickups had done wonders for getting a better "strat" sound...I'm not a fan of hot pickups...great for rocking but hard for me to clean up for a more traditional strat sound...just my .02...I'd play with the pickup height first...later.

cowboy
 

Elio

Student Of The Blues
I have a 1998 American Strat I bought a little while back. I like the feel of playing it and really like the sound of it unplugged and/or playing clean. The problem is with some gain in the tone I get some phantom sounds (artifacts?) which mainly seem to come from the G string. The pickups are not original and I was told when I bought it that they were Wolf pickups. The have staggered poles and the G string does stick out prominently. I came across some info saying that the staggered poles are something of a vintage holdout from an era of different amps. I don't know if there's anything to that but it seems to make sense to me.
Is there any way lower individual poles on pickups or should I be looking to replace the pickups altogether? Of course that would be another whole thread I guess but if replacement was the way to go I would want beefier strat pickups.

Thanks, Bernie

Stratitis! I have had that experience with my Strat as well, both with Fender 57/62 pickups and Klein Epic 57's -- both of which are vintage design with staggered pole pieces. The advice here pretty much right on. It's a balancing act of lowering the pickups and raising the action just enough for the magnetic field not to affect the G-string. I have seen at least one video in which a guy shows how to heat up the wax potting on the pickup and then gently tap down the pole piece. That seems a little bit invasive, especially on a set of premium pickups, so it isn't anything that I have tried. But once I found and began to maintain the right clearance on mine, the problem has never returned.

As an aside, the Klein pickups have definitely got some oomph to them! ...but they also have the staggered pole pieces, like yours.
 

JPsuff

Blackstar Artist
I have just one Strat and I experienced what I later learned was "Stratitis" thanks to information gleaned here (thanks Lloyd!).

When I bought my Strat I had it set up with 10's and full-floating trem. I later decided that I really didn't care for the trem and so I decked it, changed from 10's to 9's and lowered the action a bit.
All of this made it more playable but it sounded horrible when plugged in.

Apparently all of my re-configuring brought the strings (now lighter than before) closer to the pickups which caused the problem with the sound. So after consulting the guru's here, I followed the advice about lowering the pickups and Voila! No more alien noises!

You learn something new every day!

Oh, and I also have the old-style pups with the staggered pole pieces and I left them as they were and the guitar sounds great.
 

Rick23

Blues Newbie
Had similar issue with my MIM strat. After many tweaks, I happened across a link to Stringjoy strings where they had a questionaire to describe the issue and they would make a recommendation. Got an email the next day with a couple more questions, then a recommendation for a set of strings with a heavier wound G string than the standard, and the diameters of the other strings slightly different to maintain balanced tension across the neck. Ordered a set, put them on, and the guitar played better than it ever had, I was actually happy to pick it up instead passing over it to my LP. They are pricy compared to other brands, but now I buy Stringjoys for all my guitars, even the standard sets. The assistance and solution to my problem make it worth it to me to spend a few extra dollars a few times a year. YMMV.
 

Bernie Fitz

Blues Junior
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I have played around with the pickup heights some but maybe not enough. I'll have to try this some more. One problem I've had with that is the offending string being right in the center. Someone mentioned Wolftone pickups. I'm not sure but I think that's what these are? There is a Wolf pickup but supposedly not so great and I don't know why anyone would change stock pickups for something of lesser quality. I'll try bringing them all the way down to see if that gets rid of the noise and raise them a bit at a time. Let's see how that does.
Thanks again.
 

JohnHurley

Rock and Roll
There is a Wolf pickup but supposedly not so great and I don't know why anyone would change stock pickups for something of lesser quality.

Yeah i mean i dont know wolf from wolfetone etc but different people like different sounds in pickups sometimes/often.

What is beautiful and unique to some may sound horrible to others its very subjective.
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
The best advice I'd give is to take it to a guitar shop and have them look at it and listen to the issue that you are talking about. It could be a high fret, a neck adjustment, or a high pickup or single pole piece.

I can't speak to the Wolf pickups, but as simple answer is yes. I've been able to just push one pole down a little.
Be careful when you do it because I think they are waxed in place and once you break the wax, they move more easily and you might push it down farther than you wanted to.
 

Elio

Student Of The Blues
I found the YouTube video I had been thinking of which describes how to lower the pole piece. The way this guy does it is actually pretty easy. He just heats up the one pole with a soldering iron to soften the wax, then nudges it down to match the adjacent poles. If it goes too far down, it can be moved back up again from underneath.

He does it by leaving the pickup cover in place, which seems as though it may get in a way a little, but I'm assuming he does that to protect the windings from damage.

 

Norfolk Bill

norfolk uk, just knoodling along
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I have played around with the pickup heights some but maybe not enough. I'll have to try this some more. One problem I've had with that is the offending string being right in the center. Someone mentioned Wolftone pickups. I'm not sure but I think that's what these are? There is a Wolf pickup but supposedly not so great and I don't know why anyone would change stock pickups for something of lesser quality. I'll try bringing them all the way down to see if that gets rid of the noise and raise them a bit at a time. Let's see how that does.
Thanks again.
easy enough to check when you remove the finger guard wolfetones are well marked,,,they are not cheap lol
 

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
I found the YouTube video I had been thinking of which describes how to lower the pole piece. The way this guy does it is actually pretty easy. He just heats up the one pole with a soldering iron to soften the wax, then nudges it down to match the adjacent poles. If it goes too far down, it can be moved back up again from underneath.

He does it by leaving the pickup cover in place, which seems as though it may get in a way a little, but I'm assuming he does that to protect the windings from damage.

Heh. This is the video I linked further up. Great minds, and all that. :Beer:
 

TexBill

Blues in Texas
@Elio You have a G&L like mine save for color differences. Do your pups have individually adjustable poles (hex screws)? That is what came on mine and I have had very good results adjusting magnet height and individual string height like @PapaRaptor described.

I do not know the brand (offhore made guitar) of parts used, however, the ease of adjusting is great. I also have an American Strat (Fender INC 60th anniversity) and never have had any "Stratitis" issues with that one. The G string from days of old having been wound and now is not wound is the most logical explanation for what is causing the issue.

Lest I forget, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.
 

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
On the off chance you decide that new pickups are called for, and don't already have a model in mind, I'd like to put in a plug for the ones I ended up with, from "Wilde" Bill Lawrence's shop (still run by his widow and daughter).

https://www.wildepickups.com/products/l45s

Being a twin rail design there are no poles to worry about, and his pickup designs have been renowned for, well, decades.

Here's how the L45S model looks installed:


wilde bill pickups.png
 

Elio

Student Of The Blues
@Elio You have a G&L like mine save for color differences. Do your pups have individually adjustable poles (hex screws)? That is what came on mine and I have had very good results adjusting magnet height and individual string height like @PapaRaptor described.

I do not know the brand (offhore made guitar) of parts used, however, the ease of adjusting is great. I also have an American Strat (Fender INC 60th anniversity) and never have had any "Stratitis" issues with that one. The G string from days of old having been wound and now is not wound is the most logical explanation for what is causing the issue.

Lest I forget, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.

I think you're referring to my ASAT Deluxe Carved Top, which still has the original Paul Gagon humbuckers. Yes, those have adjustable pole pieces, although I've never really messed with them. I hadn't played that for some time until recently. I normally like the sound of those pickups, but I was actually thinking that I need to experiment with lowering them a bit to see if I can get a little sweeter tone out of it.

BTW, the nice thing about the G&L Tribute series is that even though the guitars are made overseas, much of the hardware and electronics are the same as the American made series. On the ASAT Deluxe, the bridge is probably one of the best features and is used on both series of guitars. The bridge is massive and the studs go deep, resulting in tons of sustain.
 
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