2008 American Standard Strat PICKUP HEIGHT?

stephan1980 · September 21st, 2009, 04:08 PM

New owner of my first Stratocaster and I am proud to be one.

These guitars are beautiful and I like mine very much.

I do have a question about the pickup heights though.

I went to the Fender site to find out what height I should set my pickups and ti provided some info... but I also noticed that the site seems a little out of date. For instance there is no S/N info past 2005. I am wondering if the heights recommended are suitable for the pickups on my guitar. Reason I am wondering is I remember reading that the Standards made in 2008 had some modifications including new pickups.

Anyone have one of these and care to share their pickup heights or whether they think the suggested ones are good?

fenderkev · September 21st, 2009, 04:28 PM

If you bought the guitar new you should have a booklet with all that info with it. If not here are the specs for USA Standard Strat pups. Bass side : 5/64" (2 mm). Treble side :4/64" (1.6 mm)

I have a 2008 USA Standard Strat myself, and they are fantastic guitars!

stephan1980 · September 21st, 2009, 04:33 PM

yes i bought it new and it did come with that info... maybe my feeler gauge is bad but the heights seem a little close to me... maybe it's just my personal preference though. Thanks for your reply.

fenderkev · September 21st, 2009, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephan1980

yes i bought it new and it did come with that info... maybe my feeler gauge is bad but the heights seem a little close to me... maybe it's just my personal preference though. Thanks for your reply.

I do have the neck and bridge pups at that height, but keep the middle a little lower mostly 'cos I was always hitting my plec again'st it. These are only Fenders recommendations and you should adjust them to what suits you.

Welcome to Strat Talk by the way. I've only been a member for a month myself, and have learnt acres of information. I should warn you, it is addictive.

AllroyPA · September 21st, 2009, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephan1980

yes i bought it new and it did come with that info... maybe my feeler gauge is bad but the heights seem a little close to me... maybe it's just my personal preference though. Thanks for your reply.

The measures are while fretting the highest notes on each string. (21st fret) then fine-adjust to sound preferences

nadzab · September 21st, 2009, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderkev

...These are only Fenders recommendations and you should adjust them to what suits you...

+1

Don't stress over the measurements, just adjust until you get even volume across the pickups and the bass/treble balance is where you want it. All you really need to watch out for are funky (in a bad way) overtones and decreased sustain from excessive magnetic pull...these come from raising the pickups too close to the strings.

fenson · September 21st, 2009, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephan1980

New owner of my first Stratocaster and I am proud to be one.

These guitars are beautiful and I like mine very much.

I do have a question about the pickup heights though.

I went to the Fender site to find out what height I should set my pickups and ti provided some info... but I also noticed that the site seems a little out of date. For instance there is no S/N info past 2005. I am wondering if the heights recommended are suitable for the pickups on my guitar. Reason I am wondering is I remember reading that the Standards made in 2008 had some modifications including new pickups.

Anyone have one of these and care to share their pickup heights or whether they think the suggested ones are good?

They did not change the pickups at all. Go by the height suggested by Fender and fine tune to you personal taste. IMO do not go much if any higher than the Fender spec. cause string pull could start happening.

stephan1980 · September 21st, 2009, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenson

They did not change the pickups at all. Go by the height suggested by Fender and fine tune to you personal taste. IMO do not go much if any higher than the Fender spec. cause string pull could start happening.

I see. Well maybe I'm wrong but I did set the heights to the ones specified for the vintage pickups and it sounds much better to my ears.. 2.4 mm on bass side...and 2mm on the treble side... not a huge difference but enough to smooth out the sound and to my liking.

I am beside myself that my strat sounds like this now

stephan1980 · September 21st, 2009, 08:37 PM

can we post youtube videos on here?

AllroyPA · September 21st, 2009, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephan1980

can we post youtube videos on here?

Yep copy from the address line paste it in your post ...that's it ...

K.E.B. · September 21st, 2009, 11:50 PM

Post away! Let's hear that baby.

sonny wolf · September 22nd, 2009, 08:15 AM

I recommend you experiment to find your sound.The factory settings are a general setting to suit the masses but maybe not exactly your needs.I like to set the treble side of the pickup where it is almost touching the thin e string when fretted at the last fret.I set the pickup lower on the bass side to avoid too much magnetic pull which will the guitar sound weird and out of tune.I do this for each pickup and make sure that they are all even in volume.This suits my needs since I like to have the maximum output form the pickup to drive the amp harder.Lowering the pickups reduces the volume somewhat and the midrange attack which could be a great thing if you want a cleaner output from the guitar at the expense of some ballsiness.Don,t be afraid to experiment...you can always set the pickups back to factory specs.

thaus · September 22nd, 2009, 08:46 AM

You have to remember that those heights are taken when pressing down at the last fret! Don't set them with the strings open........that will make them way too high. I start with Fenders recommendations but than tweak them until they sound good! Trust your ears and not the ruler........

AllroyPA · September 22nd, 2009, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thaus

You have to remember that those heights are taken when pressing down at the last fret! Don't set them with the strings open........that will make them way too high. I start with Fenders recommendations but than tweak them until they sound good! Trust your ears and not the ruler........

I saw some rulers in the vintage store next to the 3-beam scientific scale .... lol

stephan1980 · September 22nd, 2009, 12:29 PM

okay, I've been messing with the height a little bit... finding that what sounds good through one amp doesn't sound as good through another but I think I can find a sweet spot which minimizes the amount of adjusting I have to do for each one.

When i've got it just where I like it I'll post a couple videos of how it sounds with each of the amps.

I'm not a very good player but I love playing for my own enjoyment.

stephan1980 · September 22nd, 2009, 01:13 PM

Okay, I believe I have these pups right where I want them.

Here are two short vids.. The first one just shows you the guitar and where the pickups are set at and also a shot of the amp I am using (Farm Aid 2007 is playing in the background from HDNet). The second video is the tone. using a Canon PowerShot A2000IS camera to record but the recording is actually pretty decent. Think I got a little lucky with the placement of the camera too.

YouTube - strat vid

YouTube - strat demo

fenderkev · September 22nd, 2009, 04:25 PM

Sounds good to me! But it doesn't matter what I think. As long as you're happy thats what counts. I'll say it again though, those new USA Standards do sound fantastic!

stephan1980 · September 22nd, 2009, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderkev

Sounds good to me! But it doesn't matter what I think. As long as you're happy thats what counts. I'll say it again though, those new USA Standards do sound fantastic!

Stay tuned.. since I made that video this morning I have adjusted the saddle heights and pickup heights again... will make another video probably tomorrow sometime...

I think the B string was too close to the pickups so i raised that a bit..also the a string.... now it seems to ring out much more evenly.

AllroyPA · September 22nd, 2009, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephan1980

Stay tuned.. since I made that video this morning I have adjusted the saddle heights and pickup heights again... will make another video probably tomorrow sometime...

I think the B string was too close to the pickups so i raised that a bit..also the a string.... now it seems to ring out much more evenly.

It's a fine line with some alnico pickups ... it depends on the strength of the magnets in your particular pup. The lower you like your action the lower the pickup will seat on the pickguard ...

stephan1980 · September 22nd, 2009, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllroyPA

It's a fine line with some alnico pickups ... it depends on the strength of the magnets in your particular pup. The lower you like your action the lower the pickup will seat on the pickguard ...

I hadn't considered that possibility. I also have a cheap plastic feeler gauge though... and with measurements this small I should probably be using a better one.

stephan1980 · September 23rd, 2009, 12:16 PM

Okay, have a new video of my strat. This time with some high gain tones and attempting to copy Van Halen tone. I know it's not near exact but it's not bad for having just set up my guitar and plugging straight into amp.

YouTube - Strathighgain