fender strat pickup distinction

[joeemy]

I recently bought some fender strat pickups from a USA strat.  They are used and came to me with no indicaiton of which is the neck/middle/bridge.  All have DC resistance of about 5.85K ohms.  how do you tell which is which?

 

 

[lz4005]

 

The middle pickup will have the opposite magnetic polarity (north/south) as the other two.

The bridge pickup will probably have slightly hotter output than the neck.

 

Once you figure out which is the middle one, try the other two in both locations and see which sounds better to you.

[GilmourD]

Can you post pics?

 

And that's very strange that they're all so close in DC resistance. American Series/Standard Strats typically have had a hotter bridge starting in the early '80s with the X-1 bridge pickup, continuing through the DeltaTone system, and on.

[Nine Toes]

There are at least decent odds that all 3 pickups are the same pickup model, wound with the very same formula and intended to be "Strat pickups". A stronger output bridge pickup, while we see the logic in the concept today, is a fairly new idea that began catching on around 1980 and evolved into popularity rather than immediately changing the rules. It is very possible that the "USA Strat" that your pickups came from wasn't factory assembled with a "fatter" or a more powerful pickup placed in the bridge position.

Old 50's and 60's Strats had 3 factory installed "Stratocaster Pickups" that were selected from a bin. There was absolutely no predetermined designation which position any individual pickup would be assembled into. They were wound until the bobbin seemed full enough and they had magnets "from the bin". Pickup output balance was achieved via pickup height adjustment. 

My point is not to be a smartass at all and I apologize if my poiint was taken that way. If they all measure the same output, there is a really good chance that they were all the same pickup part number, and there's nothing wrong with that. The most collectable Strats in the world have 3 "same" pickups. 

Oh, and Iz4005's post about middle pickup opposite magnetic polarity is a 100% valid point... sometimes. *if* you have a pickup which is reversed polarity from the other two, that one goes in the middle for sure. However, there is a possibility that you do not have a reverse polarity pickup. Reverse Wind/Reverse Polarity pickups is also a somewhat recent norm for single pickup guitars and not all single coil guitars employ that wiring design.

[onelife]

They could be older pickups.

If they are used the leads should be different lengths and that will help you determine which position they were in.

Do the pole pieces have a stagger? If so, is it a modern stagger? Do the magnets sit under the pole pieces or are they the pole pieces themselves?

[lz4005]

 

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Nine Toes wrote:

 

Oh, and Iz4005's post about middle pickup opposite magnetic polarity is a 100% valid point... sometimes. *if* you have a pickup which is reversed polarity from the other two, that one goes in the middle for sure. However, there is a possibility that you do not have a reverse polarity pickup.

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If they're all the same they're over 35 years old. The RWRP middle pickup has been standard on strats since 1977, when they went to the 5 way switch.

 

But seriously, calling it a USA Strat made me think it was made since Fender moved the majority of their production out of the country.