Strat middle pickups, WTF?

[badgermark]

Hi, I like Strats.

My current #1 is a MIM strat with a Holydiver (when I get it back from Tim anyway, something died when installing it :()in the bridge and a Slowhand neck, and the stock neck pickup in the middle. Now when I got this Strat I loved the feel and tone, but the middle pickup confused me. What's it for? I can understand a HSH setup, having a nice single coil makes sense. My pondering have lead me to think it's half way between the bridge and neck, which is redundant for me, as the neck and bridge are good enough as they are.

So Strat people, what do you use your middle pickup for? And is there anything interesting I can do in this position? (Spoke to Tom a while ago about his P90 sized single, piqued my interest slightly)

[Twinfan]

SRV (and others) used the middle pickup a lot for rhythm tones.  Chugging away with a thicker tone than the bridge, but bitier than the neck.  Then he flicked to the neck for solos of rlal that chewy goodness  :)

[gingataff]

A middle sc has a nice lead tone, quite full but still with some bite, its also great mixed with bridge and neck pickups. I have an Irish Tour in my Charvel and it's lovely, it a Strat it would be even lovelier.

[_tom_]

So Strat people, what do you use your middle pickup for? And is there anything interesting I can do in this position? (Spoke to Tom a while ago about his P90 sized single, piqued my interest slightly)

Bugger, I forgot about that P90 sized singlecoil  :oops: Are you still interested in it?

Twinfan summed it up really, its a bit thicker than the bridge but still has a bit of bite. Also, theres position 4 (neck+middle) on the switch which makes a great cheesy clean especially with some chorus :)

[badgermark]

So Strat people, what do you use your middle pickup for? And is there anything interesting I can do in this position? (Spoke to Tom a while ago about his P90 sized single, piqued my interest slightly)

Bugger, I forgot about that P90 sized singlecoil  :oops: Are you still interested in it?

Twinfan summed it up really, its a bit thicker than the bridge but still has a bit of bite. Also, theres position 4 (neck+middle) on the switch which makes a great cheesy clean especially with some chorus :)

Hmm interesting. Something I never bothered with before, shall experiment when Rhonda is up and running (yes I named my strat Rhonda, wanna fight about it?)

And Tom I'm still interested, PM me if you wanna send it up  :D

[Elliot]

Why do people bother playing strats at all?  That thin, woody slightly hollow tone exemplified by the middle pickup is just so uncool, so yesterday's rock.
 
Even A&R men tell young bands to play telecasters or Les Pauls instead.  Listen to Jimi Hendrix on Hey Joe or George Harrison or Richard Thompson - why would anyone want to play with that type of clean tone when they could sound like Opeth or Busted instead - strats just can't do that sort of sound, so should be discontinued.

The only good thing for strat single coils is to put a humbucker in the bridge and turn the tone controls off on the middle and neck pickups so you can get that wah like Voodoo Child effect when you flick the switch back and forth fast: otherwise its all pointless grandad tone.

[Elliot]

:D

[badgermark]

Very funny :P I was speaking to the misses today about me wanting another strat- vintage white with a red tortoiseshell pickguard and a white Shlowhand set. The humbucker is for my hard rocking band, single just don't cut it.

So weird right now, my playing at home is so different from when I'm with my band. At home I love my tele and a warm tone, clean all the way baby. But when playing with the band my 'clean' tone is crunchy and boosted with distortion- hence the humbuckers. Ah the duality of guitaring... I love both sounds too. Schizophrenic or what?

[Pierre]

I NEVER use the bridge pickup by itself on a Strat. I could be happy with just middle and neck. But I NEED the middle pickup. Though again I rarely use it by itself, but I combine it with the neck and bridge. That's where my favorite Strat tones come from.

I SOMETIMES use the middle as a subsitute bridge pickup.

Ideally a Strat's 5 way is wired so that the rearmost position is bridge + middle for me :D

It's also good for funk, a lot of tight rythm tones and you can get a pretty lead out of it too if you know how to pick.

 I'd normally play a strumming rythm on the neck or neck+mid, a lead on middle or middle + bridge, and funk on either middle or mid+bridge. It depnds on the strat, amp and pickups of course but that's how I feel about it.

[38thBeatle]

I must admit that I tend to use my middle pups in conjunction with one of the others but for many years I used to use it for rhythm also.I actually like the sound a lot but I do realise that it is not cool to do so.

[froglord]

You need the middle pickup to get the quack in positions 2 and 4.

[Roho]

We have Hendrix to thank for positions 2 and 4, as he's the one who, while constantly pushing his guitars to find all tones, used these positions often. So often, Fender switched from a 3 way toggle to the 5 way. Watch any Hendrix videos and you will see him placing the toggle in those positions. Had to be tough in a live setting.


I used to think that SRV used the neck pickup often, but after having Texas Specials in my Strat, learning his music, and watching his videos, a lot of his solos are the bridge and middle pickup together. Often, I felt guilty playing this guitar because with the bridge and middle position it sounds so much like SRV. I have this Strat for sale now in favor of my two Teles. I put Tele Texas Specials in one, and the Tele version sounds a lot different than its Strat brother. I find they're bigger in the Tele.

[Elliot]

Fender strat literature from the 50s said that bridge was for lead, middle for rhythm and neck for 'soft' ryhthm - the Strat was invented for Western Swing (which is what Bill Carson played - the guitarist whom Leo Fender designed the Strat for) so maybe it makes sense in that genre.  

I thought it was Dick Dale who started the 5 way switch craze and his influence at Fender was why they made the switch (boom boom) - in fact Hendrix loved Dick Dale and would often drop in on him before he was famous - When DD had cancer in 1967 Hendrix went to see him to learn his guitar secrets as everyone thought DD was going to die ('You'll never hear the sound of surf guitar again' as Jimi says on Third Stone from the Sun)

If you look at most videos of Hendrix's switching position (i'm sad enough to freeze frame) - he mainly uses bridge, neck or middle not position 4 and 2.  From my rough study of videos and You Tube clips:
On Hey Joe he uses middle or neck,  
Little Wing or Wind Cries Mary - mainly middle position.
Voodoo Child - bridge but with the wah type switching effect
Harder stuff like fire - Bridge

I personally use the middle almost all the time - the bridge is too rock and roll for me - I sometimes flick to it for soloy bits.  I like the neck, but again I use it for more oomph from the bridge.

[Roho]

I don't know enough about Dick Dale to state otherwise except I learned recently that Hendrix was a fan while reading his biography. I thought it was Hendrix who popularized it, but I'm probably wrong.

[Elliot]

You may be correct about JH making the 5 way a world wide thing - but DD was a friend of Leo Fender and he was certainly among the first to use a 5 way.  Leo Fender used the young guitarists of the day for R&D (rather like Ibanez and the shred generation) and Dale made it known to Fender that the 5 way was the mod of choice of the early 60s generation - after all the 5 way was available in the Switchcraft catalogue along side the 3 way.

I personally prefer a three way switch - I like feel of wedging the switch between the in-between positions better.