I never use the middle pickup... any ideas?

[weelie]

I have a Rob DIStefano Squier with noiseless pickups. I use the neck or bridge position, or neck+bridge (it has a master tone, neck blender), and also use the tone control quite often.

...but never the middle pickup or the neck+middle or bridge+middle. These Guitar Fetish pickups don't have any "quack" anyway. If had a set of pickups that was really low output, I might use the notch positions, but I doubt that'll happen.

So did any of you put a humbucker in the middle... or something? Or would a low output middle pickup add something here?

I think my pickups are these: http://store.guitarfetish.com/nenofvifatbr.html

[Michaell]

try it

great for blues

[Old Cane]

If you don't like it don't use it. But remember, any changes you make will affect the sound. You may like it bettter, you may not or you may not even be able to tell but it will affect it to some degree.

[Roli]

You can also try the Ritchie Blackmore config., where the middle pickup is a dummy coil.

[metropolis74]

Have you tried lowering the middle pickup way down? That might give you the sound you are looking for.

[leonard d rock]

Originally Posted by Roli

You can also try the Ritchie Blackmore config., where the middle pickup is a dummy coil.

what is a dummy coil? does it work or there is nothing inside it? i read somewhere ritchie's is just the pup cover, no electronics?

for me i lowered the middle pup and use to to approx acoustic sounds

ldr

[BB]

Like you, I never had much use for the middle pup on my strat. Wired up a set of Tonerider Pure Vintage pups and that all changed. Sounds crazy, I know...but now I actually LIKE and USE the middle pickup by itself....crazy!

[weelie]

Thanks for the replies. I will try to screw it way down, but being these fanfangled noiseless thingies, I bet it won't give me what I want. But I will try mess around with it.

Yes, I used to have 50s MIJ tele that had low output pickups that gave me the "Knopfler"/"Robert Cray" tone in the notch positions, and I think I played in middle-bridge a lot. But I don't hear any of it on my current strat (rw board, noiseless pups).

But yes, putting a real good vintage style middle pickup in there might work too.

[Roli]

Originally Posted by leonard d rock

what is a dummy coil? does it work or there is nothing inside it? i read somewhere ritchie's is just the pup cover, no electronics?

for me i lowered the middle pup and use to to approx acoustic sounds

ldr

It is a coil (actually a pickup without the magnet slugs), wound to the same specs as the pickups, wired series or parallel with the pickups. It's reverse wound so it cancels hum without affecting the tone as much as a real pickup would.

Here's a long discussion about them.

Another article here.


And sorry weelie, I missed the fact that your pickups are already noiseless, lol.

[thunderbyrd]

one extremely simple mod i've done with strats is to lower the bass side of the middle pick-up way down, leave the treble side way up. then when you go to the notch positions, you've got a fairly radically different sound.

but you don't use those positions, so i guess this suggestion is of no use. but somebody else might use it.

[Scotland]

I use the middle pickup a lot. Sometimes when the place I am playing is very trebly, I will use the middle instead of the bridge for solos and it sounds great.
There are numerous songs I use the middle for rhythym too.

[DaBender]

I was a neck pickup guy for years. Some might argue that it's a result of high frequency hearing loss (I don't think so), but I now find myself using the middle a whole lot more. The bridge is still a pretty rare event, unless I'm playing my SG.

[bek]

I use Deaf-Eddie's stuff. The Fat-O-Caster leaves me with the ability to select the middle pickup when I want to (sometimes it's cool), but it also allows me to select neck and bridge (Tele-style) and neck & middle & bridge all together, and in various in-series combos, too. The best, dirt cheap and easy to reverse.

[Del Pickup]

I seldom used the middle pickup on my 2 strats for years and then I moved the tone control onto the bridge pup on my MIM strat and since then I've found that the middle pup is used just as much as the other 2 and the in between positions.

I also use the middle pup on my Clapton strat as much as I use the other two.

[mijstrat72]

I never used mine either up until a few weeks ago when I read another Ritchie Blackmore thread, then I decided to give it a try during band practice. It was alright for real clean sounding stuff.

At that time I was using a three way switch as well since I didn't care for the 2-4 position sounds, but have recently started using a 5 way switch, and and trying to let it grow on me, even though I prefer a 3 way since it's harder to knock out of position when I am playing.

I also gave up the master tone/ blender pot stuff, and switched to tone for the neck, no tone on the middle and tone for the bridge.

I'd say put the GFS neovins in the drawer for now and look at a nice set of CS 69's or even another set of GFS Vintage Premium Alnico Staggers. I have both of these and enjoy them both equally. The GFS's have a bit more swamp...almost like Texas Specials, and the 69's give you that real vintage tone.

I guess this is why I love strats so much...they will anything you want.

[voided3]

I use it all the time. It has the bridge pickup bite but the neck pickup bottom, and it really shines for slide playing. I know Clapton uses his all the time nowadays, especially during the Cream reunion concert.

[tombm3]

Originally Posted by Del Pickup

I seldom used the middle pickup on my 2 strats for years and then I moved the tone control onto the bridge pup on my MIM strat and since then I've found that the middle pup is used just as much as the other 2 and the in between positions.

That's how my JV strat comes wired. I like it enough that I'm thinking about doing this to all of my strats.

[weelie]

Yeah, thanks for the replies again. I was messing with the pickup heights on my strat on Wed, and well, the idea of having the middle pickup high on treble side, low on bass side was kinda interesting... but messing around (through headphones) I tried checking all pickups positions... and I really liked the middle pickup alone as it was, and don't want to change it after all. The notch positions I still found just to be muted (due to the noiseless pickups, I bet), not really useful.

So I now wonder why i never play the middle pickup alone. :D And where did I have the pickups before as the height was good, but now I experimented until I don't know where I started with. Should just leave it be and play. :D

Actually the reason I don't play middle pickup alone is that it's just simpler, for me. If I want piercing, I go for bridge pickup, and adjust (master) tone or the neck pickup blender to make it less so. If I want to go from smooth to sharp in the same song, it's easier to just go from one end position (5) of the switch to the other (1). I actually don't like the switch position, as I sometimes move it unintentionally while playing.

Keep on picking and grinning!

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by thunderbyrd

one extremely simple mod i've done with strats is to lower the bass side of the middle pick-up way down, leave the treble side way up. then when you go to the notch positions, you've got a fairly radically different sound.

but you don't use those positions, so i guess this suggestion is of no use. but somebody else might use it.

I might try this on one Strat. Sounds intriguing; I've never been one for heavily canting the pickups but I like this idea.


+++

Yeah, I've got the Jimmie Vaughan wiring on almost all my Strats at his point.

Except for the white hardtail with the Bill and Becky Wilde L200s (Noiseless) - it is a different beast no doubt - that fact that the SCs are Jimmie-fied might make the transition back and forth, SC to Noiseless a little easier.

[peskypesky]

i NEVER use the middle PU....and rarely use the bridge either.

[andrewr]

I don't go for a very extreme slope on the pickups, but I do seem to do the opposite of thunderbyrd's suggestion - the middle pickup is almost level, and the bridge and neck have a slight down on the bass side.

I tend to set the height of the bridge first for "tone" and then balance the other two pickups for level (testing positions 1, 3, and 5 only). I do use all pickups when I play, and I especially want a good sounding middle, but balancing for level can mean a compromise on the best tone for each pickup. You might ask why don't you start with the middle then - but my twisted logic is that I find it hardest to get a bridge tone I like, so lets try that first!

Anyway, if I've got 1, 3 and 5 done, it's time to look at the "quack" for 2 and 4. It's usually pretty close if th pickups are balanced, but I "tweak" it by lowering the bridge or neck, not the middle. So if I'm sorting out 2, I move the bridge. Then sorting out 4 I move the neck - and it doesn't mess up what I've done for 2 already...

[claudel]

I wired mine with the neck and the bridge pickup on a Tele style 4 way switch that gives both series and parallel combinations or individuals

The middle is on a blender pot that lets me add it to any combo of neck & bridge.

One tone pot to rule them all.

Thanks again to Deaf Eddie for helping me figure it out...

[boris bubbanov]

That's a cool idea, Claudel! Thanks for a great post!

I take it you put the RWRP middle pup into the neck slot, the old neck pickup into the middle slot, so that positions #1 and #3 would be 60 cycle noise canceling?

This is also a cool idea on an existing Tele with existing RWRP neck and bridge pups, where a rout for a Nashville ( strat ) middle pickup is present and a different version of the Brent Mason theme is sought. All you gotta do is find a location for the blender.

[Doug 54]

I love the mid pup !


It's my "I Fought the Law" tone 4 sure !!!!!!!


/

[claudel]

No RWRP because I use the BPSSC...

[promagnum]

I used to have a Strat (Harmony), now it's parts. I never liked the middle pickup at all. It got in my way because that's my 'comfort zone'. I tried to lower it all the way down flesh with the pickguard, but the staggered poles didn't help too much.


It was all tore to hell anyway. The neck was cracked, the frets looked like they were peeling after a bad sunburn, the tuners were all bent (could be replaced I know). The pots were all scratchy, and there was a lot of weird white stuff under the pickguard, like flour or chalk dust. Just didn't think it would be worth saving so I parted it out.

[Troy T. Blues]

Originally Posted by voided3

I use it all the time. It has the bridge pickup bite but the neck pickup bottom, and it really shines for slide playing. I know Clapton uses his all the time nowadays, especially during the Cream reunion concert.

BINGO!

In fact, it was the Cream reunion concert that made me rediscover it. Before that, I used it from time to time, but now I use it quite often....it's great.

[bluesjuke]

Originally Posted by metropolis74

Have you tried lowering the middle pickup way down? That might give you the sound you are looking for.

I use the middle quite a bit.
Today I adjusted my pickups more after leaving them as I originally set them.

I went way down on all of them, lower than I have ever put any Strat pickups.

Almost down to the pickguard and a lot more level than ever too.
I love it.

[CLAZ]

some of the best strat tones of all time was on the middle pickup...

Robin Trower (with tone pot )

Jimmie Vaughan ( with no tone pot)

[smsuryan]

didnt buddy holly exclusively use the middle pup? maybe im just dreaming that...

[h2ocreeker]

Robbie Robertson of the band simply removed it all together.

[Stratotwanger]

Sell the thing, buy a Tele and sell the strat to someone who will use it.

[Hackguitarist]

Originally Posted by weelie

These Guitar Fetish pickups don't have any "quack" anyway. If had a set of pickups that was really low output, I might use the notch positions, but I doubt that'll happen.

Did you try reversing the leads on the middle PUP?

[stevieboy]

Anson Funderburgh uses the middle by itself a lot.

I think it's overlooked by a lot of strat players, including myself for a long time, but I use it now, and like it a lot.

[tjalla]

Originally Posted by stevieboy

Anson Funderburgh uses the middle by itself a lot.

I think it's overlooked by a lot of strat players, including myself for a long time, but I use it now, and like it a lot.

+1 on Anson.
+1 on use for slide (Bonnie Raitt)
+1 on Jimmie Vaughan

I use it often. Its great for old school blues...

[E5RSY]

Originally Posted by CLAZ

Jimmie Vaughan ( with no tone pot)

Is that verifiable? Jut wondering because I was thinking about switching the middle tone over to the bridge p'up and running the middle p'up without.

Is that how the JLV signature model is set up?

Thanks,
Scott

[tjalla]

Originally Posted by E5RSY

Is that verifiable? Jut wondering because I was thinking about switching the middle tone over to the bridge p'up and running the middle p'up without.

Is that how the JLV signature model is set up?

Thanks,
Scott

Not just verifiable, but verified! JLV has stated this setup in several interviews, and yes, its how the sig model comes. Plus if you watch enough DVDs/youtube you can see Jimmie occasionally fiddle with that bottom knob when the selectors in the bridge position. Its a good mod, I've used it on more than one strat.

Heck, you're from Austin! You should be telling us!

[E5RSY]

Originally Posted by tjalla

Heck, you're from Austin! You should be telling us!

Yeah, I know. He actually pulled up next to me at a stoplight a couple months ago. I guess I should've asked him.

Scott

[bo]

I wired mine with a blender pot so I have a master vol., master tone, and the bottom pot will fade in either the neck pickup or bridge pickup depending on which ever pickup is selected by the switch. That way I can have a neck/bridge combo. I then sank the middle pickup as low as it goes into the guard so it A: doesn't mess with my hybrid or finger picking and B: can be used as a lower output setting for strumming rhythm guitar.

[fadingcaptain]

Try a GFS Lil Killer rails pup. I have one in the neck of a strat and it sounds great. Very thick and middy.