Basically, what the last guy said... In more detail... strings vibrate at a higher frequency the closer they are to their point of contact (the bridge)... along with that, the higher gauge of string... the larger the eliptical pattern of the vibration... this is the science behind bass tones and treble tones. What Fender has done is angled the pickup to get the most bass and the most treble that the possibly could by making the pickup point farther from the bridge on the bass strings (top 3) and closer to the bridge on the treble strings(bottom 3). Same concept goes for split coil humbuckers and slpit coil bass pickups...