pick up polarity

I want to change the pickups of my stratocaster, I´ve heard that the middle pickup has a inverted polarity ,How will I know what is the correct polarity of this pickup???

Thank You

this is what I want to say:

On newer Strats (shipped since the mid-'80s -- except maybe some "vintage" reissues), the middle pickup has reverse magnetic polarity from the neck and bridge coils which is why selecting the second or fourth position is much quieter -- in essence the two coils work the way a humbucker does. Note that you can not simply reverse the leads of the middle pickup on older Strats (with north-north-north pickups) because, while the noise signal will cancel, so will the string generated signal! It is also important to know this bit of trivia when you are replacing pickups because both north-south-north and south-north-south Strats have been shipped. If you replace only one or two pickups, and replace them with ones having the "wrong" polarity, your axe is suddenly going to sound crummy!

If the three pickups are all mixed in an envelope....how will I know the correct polarity???

It is very easy. Usually, the pickup that is RWRP has a different color hot lead. The RWRP pickup may have yellow and black leads, as opposed to white and black. But even if they all come with the same color leads, telling them apart is a piece of cake.

Take two pickups, and put them together, face to face. If they repel each other, they have the same polarity, so the pickup you did not select is the one that has reverse magnetic polarity.

If the two pickups attract each other, one is north, and one is south. Put one pickup aside, and try the same test with the other two pickups. If they repel each other, the pickup you put aside has reverse magnetic polarity. If they attract, the pickup you are still holding from the first test has reverse magnetic polarity.

THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH¡¡¡




P.S: when you say that I have to put them face to face, I assume that this is the face that is oriented towards the strings...the face that you could see normally in the pickups isn´t it??'

THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH¡¡¡




P.S: when you say that I have to put them face to face, I assume that this is the face that is oriented towards the strings...the face that you could see normally in the pickups isn´t it??'

Yes.