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Old 08-30-2019, 09:17 AM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Minneapolis, MN
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Yes, you're not the only one. Even happens on two-pickup guitars. One solution has been mentioned, lowering the middle pickup and accepting that it's solo'ed sound/volume will not match the others. Some Strat players make little use of the middle pickup alone, so for them it's not a sacrifice.

Another solution is lower all the pickups on your Strat. Having pickups too close can effect sustain and even cause out-of-tuneness as the magnets in the poles interact with the strings, so one needs to keep them far enough away to prevent that. But you don't have to stop there. Some guitars and some setups work better even lower than that. Yes, volume goes down, but you do have an amp with a volume knob! Yes there's a timbral change, but it's not necessarily a bad one, and if you use gain or other effects they can compensate even for a change you want to counter there.

If you make a measurement of your current string to pickup pole height and write it down before making changes, there's no reason not to try that.

Yes, in an ideal world, your pick only needs to catch the string at about midpoint in it's diameter and not any further, such as below it. Those who want the upmost in speed and clarity aim for that. On the other hand (or in yours or my hand) one is not always so accurate in the heat of battle.
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Guitars: 20th Century Seagull S6-12, S6 Folk, Seagull M6; '00 Guild JF30-12, '01 Martin 00-15, '16 Martin 000-17, '07 Parkwood PW510, Epiphone Biscuit resonator, Merlin Dulcimer, and various electric guitars, basses....
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