Pickup Question

Ozzy

Elo all, i have a mexican fender standard stratocaster. a problem that i have, and have seen in all the mexicans that i saw, is that the Upper E string doesn't pass over it's respective coil/magnet resulting in a very week sound. So;

first question, does anybody have this problem or knows about it, and knows a solution for it?

second question, are there any pickups that could solve this problem? as in capture the sound through all of their surface for example?

Thanks for the help in advance.

ACWild

Is it a bad alignment due to saddle placement?
You can try some Bill Lawrence blade pickups. There's a bunch of companies that make magnetic blades instead of pole pieces.

philflood

The blade pickups are a good choice. The are several available. Some of the old Kramers are real good. But, the string doesn't need to be perfectly centered over the pole toget good response. Try adjusting the pickup height before you give up on the pickups. Generally, if you can get the pickup closer to the string you will increase the perceived volume. There is a point, however, where the string being too close to the pickup will result in reduced sustain due to the force of the magnet preventing the string from vibrating freely.

LuredMaul

your main problem is probably a neck out of alignment( major strat issue) look to see if the low E and high E have the same space from the string to the outer end of the fret....if not.....jerk the neck slightly and see if it pops back into shape then retighten the neck screws to hold it there....if it slips alot....a piece of sanding screen btween the body and neck in the bottom of the neck joint will hold this alil better than nothing..... if the pole piece is just alil off it's not a big deal really. if it's off ALOT blade pick-ups will fix things alright.

Ozzy

Elo all,

Thanks all for the replies. they're quite useful. i guess the best solution in my situation would be Blade Pickups. check this out;

http://members.aol.com/guitarlessons/FAQguitarpickups.htm

ciao all.

Manitou

These Mexican guitars are just slapped together. Most need some adjustments or improvements to be brought up to snuff. Neck alignment is a common complaint with Mex Strats. With some it is also the bridge is out a little. These are easy enough to fix.

The tone or volume shouldn't be affected too much by this slight alignment. Case in point...when you bend your notes...you are wangin' it way past that 2/64th little alignment problem. Raise the pole slightly to increase the gain.

Once you make some adjustments, you will be happy. Don't give up on those pups...I hear they are nice. DiMarzio makes a nice Strat pup too.

ACWild

Actually, when you go away from the poles on bends, that's what sometimes gives a nice out-of-phase tone that's vocal-like. It almost sounds like a wah is being used. I love when that happens.

LuredMaul

Is it possible to SEE the offending guitar???? and close-up of the mis-alignment

Ozzy

oh, hehe if by See you mean With your own eyes, the answer is No. I'm not in the united states. but thanks for the help.

it's interesting this problem doesn't exist in the bridge pickup!

i'm satisfied with the guitar, i had already done some tweaking, and had the action lowered. actually, a friend of mine has a japanese made ritchie blackmore signature strat. i like my strat's sound better! it sounded more fender. i guess upgrading and getting better pickups would be great. if i really get frustrated and i really want to play on a really great guitar, i'll borrow my father's Gibson ES-345TD!

Ciao.

LuredMaul

Imeant a picture ,but, it's all good