by admin
Strat Nut Slot Height
more... Mod Garage • Gear • How-Tos • DIY • Guitar & Bass Mods • Guitars • Pickups & Accessories • S-Style • Singlecoil • June 2011
1) The distance we’re measuringis from the bottom of the string(pressed against the last fret) tothe top of the pickup magnet. 2) The tools: a screwdriver anda measuring device—which canbe a precision ruler, like thisStewMac String Action Gauge,or sized blocks cut from squarerods of the correct height. 3) Using the String Action Gaugeto measure pickup height. 4) Measuring with a precisionmetal ruler. 5) Using a brass block to quickly andaccurately set the pickup height.
Over the years at our shop,we’ve received countless Stratswith descriptions like “it doesn’tsound Stratty enough” or “there’ssomething wrong with the pickups.”Most of the owners werelooking for a set of replacementpickups to solve the problem.There are good reasons to replacea Strat’s pickups—such as gettingan ultra-hot output to drive youramp into crazy saturation. But ifyou feel something is missing inyour tone, play around with theheight-adjustment screws beforebuying a set of new pickups. Inmost cases, our customers weremore than happy with their stockguitars once we “sweet-spotted”the pickups.
Many players think their Stratscome from the factory with perfectlyadjusted pickup heights andare afraid to change them. Thegoal of this column is to encourageyou to pick up a screwdriverand play around with the adjustmentscrews. Before we start, takesome low-adhesive masking tapeand stick it on both sides of thepickup covers. With a sharp pencil,mark the current height of thepickup where it emerges from thepickguard. As long as you leavethe tape on the covers, you canalways return to the old adjustmentswithin seconds.
To start, put a towel, a pieceof foam, or a blanket on a tableor your workbench, tune yourStrat, and then place it on thework surface. You can use anyprecision ruler to measure thepickup height. The folks atstewmac.comhave developeda tool called the String ActionGauge—part #0670 (inch) and#0670-M (metric)—that I useand recommend for this work.Besides measuring pickup heightwith this tool, you can also measurestring height, saddle height,nut height, saddle-slot depth,and more—it’s very versatile.
I built myself another littlehelper for measuring Strat pickupheight. I found some precisionsquare brass rods in exactlythe heights I needed. I cut off asmall piece for each height, andI place the bar on top of thepickup magnets, following themeasurements detailed below.Then all I have to do is raise thepickup until the bar touches thestring. Better yet, if you can findsquare rods made out of a magneticmaterial, the pickup magnetwill hold the bar in place.
Finally, you need a screwdriverthat matches the head type andsize on your pickup-adjustmentscrews. Get the right kind—flat-headscrewdrivers are not madefor Phillips screws and vice versa!
Okay, here are the specs I useto set the heights for each Stratpickup. These measurementsmake a very good starting pointfor any Strat with standard Stratsingle-coils:
There are no factory specs,and if you talk to 10 differentguitar techs, you’ll hear12 different opinions aboutit. These specs are based onmy experiences and data I’vecollected over the years workingon countless Stratocasters.Surprisingly, these heights seemto work every time.
If you have very powerfulsingle-coils such as Fender’s TexasSpecials, you should lower thepickup height a tad to avoidhaving the magnets pull on thestrings and interfere with vibration.This causes tuning problemsand robs sustain. If you have veryweak, vintage-flavored single-coils,you can place them a tadcloser to the strings to boost theoutput a bit. Adjust humbuckersa tad lower than powerful single-coils,as a starting point.
Once you’ve adjusted all threepickups using the specs in thiscolumn, play your guitar for awhile with the same amp settingsas before to get a first impressionof your Strat’s new tone. Ifyou’re completely satisfied, great.Leave the new settings alone andyou’re done. If you feel that yourStrat sounds better than before,but you still miss that certainsomething, it’s time for somesweet-spotting fun. More aboutthis next month.
Dirk Wackerlives inGermany and is fascinatedby anything related to oldFender guitars and amps.He plays country, rockabilly,and surf music in twobands, works regularly as asession musician for a local studio, and writesfor several guitar mags. He’s also a hardcoreguitar and amp DIY-er who runs an extensivewebsite—singlecoil.com—on the subject.more... Mod Garage • Gear • How-Tos • DIY • Guitar & Bass Mods • Guitars • Pickups & Accessories • S-Style • Singlecoil • June 2011
1) The distance we’re measuringis from the bottom of the string(pressed against the last fret) tothe top of the pickup magnet. 2) The tools: a screwdriver anda measuring device—which canbe a precision ruler, like thisStewMac String Action Gauge,or sized blocks cut from squarerods of the correct height. 3) Using the String Action Gaugeto measure pickup height. 4) Measuring with a precisionmetal ruler. 5) Using a brass block to quickly andaccurately set the pickup height.
One of my all-time favoriteStratocaster mods is alsothe cheapest and most effectivemod you’ll ever perform: adjustingthe height of your pickups.All you need is a screwdriver, asmall ruler, and your ears.
Over the years at our shop,we’ve received countless Stratswith descriptions like “it doesn’tsound Stratty enough” or “there’ssomething wrong with the pickups.”Most of the owners werelooking for a set of replacementpickups to solve the problem.There are good reasons to replacea Strat’s pickups—such as gettingan ultra-hot output to drive youramp into crazy saturation. But ifyou feel something is missing inyour tone, play around with theheight-adjustment screws beforebuying a set of new pickups. Inmost cases, our customers weremore than happy with their stockguitars once we “sweet-spotted”the pickups.
Many players think their Stratscome from the factory with perfectlyadjusted pickup heights andare afraid to change them. Thegoal of this column is to encourageyou to pick up a screwdriverand play around with the adjustmentscrews. Before we start, takesome low-adhesive masking tapeand stick it on both sides of thepickup covers. With a sharp pencil,mark the current height of thepickup where it emerges from thepickguard. As long as you leavethe tape on the covers, you canalways return to the old adjustmentswithin seconds.
To start, put a towel, a pieceof foam, or a blanket on a tableor your workbench, tune yourStrat, and then place it on thework surface. You can use anyprecision ruler to measure thepickup height. The folks atstewmac.comhave developeda tool called the String ActionGauge—part #0670 (inch) and#0670-M (metric)—that I useand recommend for this work.Besides measuring pickup heightwith this tool, you can also measurestring height, saddle height,nut height, saddle-slot depth,and more—it’s very versatile.
I built myself another littlehelper for measuring Strat pickupheight. I found some precisionsquare brass rods in exactlythe heights I needed. I cut off asmall piece for each height, andI place the bar on top of thepickup magnets, following themeasurements detailed below.Then all I have to do is raise thepickup until the bar touches thestring. Better yet, if you can findsquare rods made out of a magneticmaterial, the pickup magnetwill hold the bar in place.
Finally, you need a screwdriverthat matches the head type andsize on your pickup-adjustmentscrews. Get the right kind—flat-headscrewdrivers are not madefor Phillips screws and vice versa!
Okay, here are the specs I useto set the heights for each Stratpickup. These measurementsmake a very good starting pointfor any Strat with standard Stratsingle-coils:
There are no factory specs,and if you talk to 10 differentguitar techs, you’ll hear12 different opinions aboutit. These specs are based onmy experiences and data I’vecollected over the years workingon countless Stratocasters.Surprisingly, these heights seemto work every time.
If you have very powerfulsingle-coils such as Fender’s TexasSpecials, you should lower thepickup height a tad to avoidhaving the magnets pull on thestrings and interfere with vibration.This causes tuning problemsand robs sustain. If you have veryweak, vintage-flavored single-coils,you can place them a tadcloser to the strings to boost theoutput a bit. Adjust humbuckersa tad lower than powerful single-coils,as a starting point.
Once you’ve adjusted all threepickups using the specs in thiscolumn, play your guitar for awhile with the same amp settingsas before to get a first impressionof your Strat’s new tone. Ifyou’re completely satisfied, great.Leave the new settings alone andyou’re done. If you feel that yourStrat sounds better than before,but you still miss that certainsomething, it’s time for somesweet-spotting fun. More aboutthis next month.
Dirk Wackerlives inGermany and is fascinatedby anything related to oldFender guitars and amps.He plays country, rockabilly,and surf music in twobands, works regularly as asession musician for a local studio, and writesfor several guitar mags. He’s also a hardcoreguitar and amp DIY-er who runs an extensivewebsite—singlecoil.com
1) The distance we’re measuringis from the bottom of the string(pressed against the last fret) tothe top of the pickup magnet. 2) The tools: a screwdriver anda measuring device—which canbe a precision ruler, like thisStewMac String Action Gauge,or sized blocks cut from squarerods of the correct height. 3) Using the String Action Gaugeto measure pickup height. 4) Measuring with a precisionmetal ruler. 5) Using a brass block to quickly andaccurately set the pickup height.
The first thing you want to do is take your feeler gauge and check the distance between the string of the first fret and the fret itself. If your string reaches the feeler gauge (.018 inches is the best gauge to use for optimal nut action height) you are all set. If it doesn’t, you need to file down the nut. Rough in the nut height and shape The top of the nut is shaped to follow the radius of the fretboard, and the string slots also follow this curve. To allow the strings to clear the top of the first fret, the bottoms of the slots should be.030' higher than the fret height. I created this video with the YouTube Video Editor (https://www.youtube.com/editor). Either the nut has to be replaced or the whole nut must be raised by inserting a piece of paper or wood below the nut. Raising or lowering the bridge saddles is much easier. The strategy is the same here, lower them much as possible without getting any fret buzz when you are playing licks high up on the neck and bending the strings a whole note. However the nut height is sky high - the low E string has just over.026' clearance above the first fret (0.65mm). The G&L manual says 0.016' to 0.018' is the correct measurement. I don't feel confident lowering this nut myself, but would prefer not to take this to the luthier if I don't need to.
One of my all-time favoriteStratocaster mods is alsothe cheapest and most effectivemod you’ll ever perform: adjustingthe height of your pickups.All you need is a screwdriver, asmall ruler, and your ears.Over the years at our shop,we’ve received countless Stratswith descriptions like “it doesn’tsound Stratty enough” or “there’ssomething wrong with the pickups.”Most of the owners werelooking for a set of replacementpickups to solve the problem.There are good reasons to replacea Strat’s pickups—such as gettingan ultra-hot output to drive youramp into crazy saturation. But ifyou feel something is missing inyour tone, play around with theheight-adjustment screws beforebuying a set of new pickups. Inmost cases, our customers weremore than happy with their stockguitars once we “sweet-spotted”the pickups.
Many players think their Stratscome from the factory with perfectlyadjusted pickup heights andare afraid to change them. Thegoal of this column is to encourageyou to pick up a screwdriverand play around with the adjustmentscrews. Before we start, takesome low-adhesive masking tapeand stick it on both sides of thepickup covers. With a sharp pencil,mark the current height of thepickup where it emerges from thepickguard. As long as you leavethe tape on the covers, you canalways return to the old adjustmentswithin seconds.
To start, put a towel, a pieceof foam, or a blanket on a tableor your workbench, tune yourStrat, and then place it on thework surface. You can use anyprecision ruler to measure thepickup height. The folks atstewmac.comhave developeda tool called the String ActionGauge—part #0670 (inch) and#0670-M (metric)—that I useand recommend for this work.Besides measuring pickup heightwith this tool, you can also measurestring height, saddle height,nut height, saddle-slot depth,and more—it’s very versatile.
I built myself another littlehelper for measuring Strat pickupheight. I found some precisionsquare brass rods in exactlythe heights I needed. I cut off asmall piece for each height, andI place the bar on top of thepickup magnets, following themeasurements detailed below.Then all I have to do is raise thepickup until the bar touches thestring. Better yet, if you can findsquare rods made out of a magneticmaterial, the pickup magnetwill hold the bar in place.
Finally, you need a screwdriverthat matches the head type andsize on your pickup-adjustmentscrews. Get the right kind—flat-headscrewdrivers are not madefor Phillips screws and vice versa!
Okay, here are the specs I useto set the heights for each Stratpickup. These measurementsmake a very good starting pointfor any Strat with standard Stratsingle-coils:
Bridge pickupChances are that theseheights will work for you rightfrom the start, but it’s importantto realize these specificationsaren’t set in stone. Yourperfect pickup height dependson the pickups themselves, yourstrings, and, of course, yourplaying style, your amp(s) andoutboard gear, and personaltaste. Some players like thetone of the pickups close to thestrings, while others don’t.
• Low-E string:2.5 mm/0.0984'
• High-E string:2.0 mm/0.0787'
Middle pickup
• Low-E string:3.0 mm/0.1181'
• High-E string:2.5 mm/0.0984'
Neck pickup
• Low-E string:3.5 mm/0.1378'
• High-E string:3.0 mm/0.1181'
There are no factory specs,and if you talk to 10 differentguitar techs, you’ll hear12 different opinions aboutit. These specs are based onmy experiences and data I’vecollected over the years workingon countless Stratocasters.Surprisingly, these heights seemto work every time.
If you have very powerfulsingle-coils such as Fender’s TexasSpecials, you should lower thepickup height a tad to avoidhaving the magnets pull on thestrings and interfere with vibration.This causes tuning problemsand robs sustain. If you have veryweak, vintage-flavored single-coils,you can place them a tadcloser to the strings to boost theoutput a bit. Adjust humbuckersa tad lower than powerful single-coils,as a starting point.
Once you’ve adjusted all threepickups using the specs in thiscolumn, play your guitar for awhile with the same amp settingsas before to get a first impressionof your Strat’s new tone. Ifyou’re completely satisfied, great.Leave the new settings alone andyou’re done. If you feel that yourStrat sounds better than before,but you still miss that certainsomething, it’s time for somesweet-spotting fun. More aboutthis next month.
Dirk Wackerlives inGermany and is fascinatedby anything related to oldFender guitars and amps.He plays country, rockabilly,and surf music in twobands, works regularly as asession musician for a local studio, and writesfor several guitar mags. He’s also a hardcoreguitar and amp DIY-er who runs an extensivewebsite—singlecoil.com—on the subject.more... Mod Garage • Gear • How-Tos • DIY • Guitar & Bass Mods • Guitars • Pickups & Accessories • S-Style • Singlecoil • June 2011
1) The distance we’re measuringis from the bottom of the string(pressed against the last fret) tothe top of the pickup magnet. 2) The tools: a screwdriver anda measuring device—which canbe a precision ruler, like thisStewMac String Action Gauge,or sized blocks cut from squarerods of the correct height. 3) Using the String Action Gaugeto measure pickup height. 4) Measuring with a precisionmetal ruler. 5) Using a brass block to quickly andaccurately set the pickup height.
One of my all-time favoriteStratocaster mods is alsothe cheapest and most effectivemod you’ll ever perform: adjustingthe height of your pickups.All you need is a screwdriver, asmall ruler, and your ears.
Over the years at our shop,we’ve received countless Stratswith descriptions like “it doesn’tsound Stratty enough” or “there’ssomething wrong with the pickups.”Most of the owners werelooking for a set of replacementpickups to solve the problem.There are good reasons to replacea Strat’s pickups—such as gettingan ultra-hot output to drive youramp into crazy saturation. But ifyou feel something is missing inyour tone, play around with theheight-adjustment screws beforebuying a set of new pickups. Inmost cases, our customers weremore than happy with their stockguitars once we “sweet-spotted”the pickups.
Many players think their Stratscome from the factory with perfectlyadjusted pickup heights andare afraid to change them. Thegoal of this column is to encourageyou to pick up a screwdriverand play around with the adjustmentscrews. Before we start, takesome low-adhesive masking tapeand stick it on both sides of thepickup covers. With a sharp pencil,mark the current height of thepickup where it emerges from thepickguard. As long as you leavethe tape on the covers, you canalways return to the old adjustmentswithin seconds.
To start, put a towel, a pieceof foam, or a blanket on a tableor your workbench, tune yourStrat, and then place it on thework surface. You can use anyprecision ruler to measure thepickup height. The folks atstewmac.comhave developeda tool called the String ActionGauge—part #0670 (inch) and#0670-M (metric)—that I useand recommend for this work.Besides measuring pickup heightwith this tool, you can also measurestring height, saddle height,nut height, saddle-slot depth,and more—it’s very versatile.
I built myself another littlehelper for measuring Strat pickupheight. I found some precisionsquare brass rods in exactlythe heights I needed. I cut off asmall piece for each height, andI place the bar on top of thepickup magnets, following themeasurements detailed below.Then all I have to do is raise thepickup until the bar touches thestring. Better yet, if you can findsquare rods made out of a magneticmaterial, the pickup magnetwill hold the bar in place.
Finally, you need a screwdriverthat matches the head type andsize on your pickup-adjustmentscrews. Get the right kind—flat-headscrewdrivers are not madefor Phillips screws and vice versa!
Okay, here are the specs I useto set the heights for each Stratpickup. These measurementsmake a very good starting pointfor any Strat with standard Stratsingle-coils:
Bridge pickupChances are that theseheights will work for you rightfrom the start, but it’s importantto realize these specificationsaren’t set in stone. Yourperfect pickup height dependson the pickups themselves, yourstrings, and, of course, yourplaying style, your amp(s) andoutboard gear, and personaltaste. Some players like thetone of the pickups close to thestrings, while others don’t.
• Low-E string:2.5 mm/0.0984'
• High-E string:2.0 mm/0.0787'
Middle pickup
• Low-E string:3.0 mm/0.1181'
• High-E string:2.5 mm/0.0984'
Neck pickup
• Low-E string:3.5 mm/0.1378'
• High-E string:3.0 mm/0.1181'
There are no factory specs,and if you talk to 10 differentguitar techs, you’ll hear12 different opinions aboutit. These specs are based onmy experiences and data I’vecollected over the years workingon countless Stratocasters.Surprisingly, these heights seemto work every time.
If you have very powerfulsingle-coils such as Fender’s TexasSpecials, you should lower thepickup height a tad to avoidhaving the magnets pull on thestrings and interfere with vibration.This causes tuning problemsand robs sustain. If you have veryweak, vintage-flavored single-coils,you can place them a tadcloser to the strings to boost theoutput a bit. Adjust humbuckersa tad lower than powerful single-coils,as a starting point.
Once you’ve adjusted all threepickups using the specs in thiscolumn, play your guitar for awhile with the same amp settingsas before to get a first impressionof your Strat’s new tone. Ifyou’re completely satisfied, great.Leave the new settings alone andyou’re done. If you feel that yourStrat sounds better than before,but you still miss that certainsomething, it’s time for somesweet-spotting fun. More aboutthis next month.
Dirk Wackerlives inGermany and is fascinatedby anything related to oldFender guitars and amps.He plays country, rockabilly,and surf music in twobands, works regularly as asession musician for a local studio, and writesfor several guitar mags. He’s also a hardcoreguitar and amp DIY-er who runs an extensivewebsite—singlecoil.com