Question for Strat Players

Quick question for the Strat players here...

was is the difference between staggered pole pieces and flat pole pieces?

How do each effect tone?

Originally Posted by: chris_m_bellwas is the difference between staggered pole pieces and flat pole pieces?[/quote]

Staggered is a leftover design from earlier Strats. The stagger was there to compensate for smaller radius necks, wound G strings & clean, loud amps without modern gain structure or pedals, effects, etc.

Actually the earliest Strats & Teles had flat magnets! The stagger was an "upgrade". :)

Since modern guitar players mostly use unwound G strings, pedals, effects & gain structured amps with much more compression, the flat magnet setup came more into common use.

[quote=chris_m_bell]How do each effect tone?

Since staggered results in more of a traditional Strat "bell-like" timbre or tone this means that some people still like & use it. The result is a slightly uneven volume between each string. Whereas flat is more balanced.

There are a bunch of websites, videos & discussions about this topic on the web. But, of course, ultimately it's personal preference! Hope this helps!

After replying I remembered that there is a 3rd option! The rail pickup design! :)[br][br]I have a couple of guitars with Dimarzio Fast Track pickups. They also have a slightly different sound. It's more balanced, but it also follows the curve of the strings on the Strat radius.

This guy does a good job of showing a rail or blade design, but he's referring to the Hot Rails by Semour Duncan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzMFVVEx_kE

Hey Chris,

Thanks for the info.

The only Strats I've ever played have flat pole pieces and I was curious about the difference between the two.