Is it just me? (middle pickup)

[Nicholasim]

Hi guys,

OBSTRUCTION

Just wanted to ask around, is it just me or does anyone else find the middle pickups on electric guitars annoying in a sense that whenever you are picking you just cant avoid but hit the middle pickup with your pick?

I know when activated (bridge & mid or neck & mid) the tone gets thicker and all but I find it hell of annoying when it keeps obstructing my picking.

Any views?

 

[gelotronic]

its all about preference, so if you find it as an obstruction, then i get another guitar without the middle pup like a Tele, LP, etc...
for me, i just don't feel the need of a middle pickup, and maybe like you, i want a big space under the strings for strumming hehe

 

[CyanideJunkie]

...the middle pickups on electric guitars annoying in a sense that whenever you are picking you just cant avoid but hit the middle pickup with your pick?

Hah that's partly the reason why I never liked 3-pup guitars, well that and I can never find a proper use for the middle pickup.

 

[Nicholasim]

Ok thats good. I'm not the only one with this problem.

What I did was I lowered the middle pickup all the way down. But there is a other problem, when I did that, when ever I switch from neck to bridge pickup, there is a split second where there is no sound. Because the pickup is too low and the sound picked up is very soft. So troublesome...

Maybe I should make the mid pickup a dummy? Then swap my 5 way switch to a 3 way switch like a H-H guitar instead..

 

[cheesedaele]

The mid pickup is sometimes used to cancel noise with reverse winding. Whilst you're rewiring, think about also reversing either of the remaining two to have them opposite relative to the other, so neck+bridge would provide the same benefit... unless you think leaving it as it is sounds better. If so then hey, power to ya.

 

[ShredAddict]

if that's the case just use a guitar that has H/H config. People like malmsteen actually lower the middle pickup flush to the pickguard just to get it out of the way.

 

[jrf]

If you're referring to a Strat, I actually use the middle pickup a lot by itself. Lovely warm tone like the neck pickup, but with a little more upper mids to cut through better. I also need it for the in between positions of course. All 3 of my pickups are set pretty low in the body (but not flush), so I haven't had a problem with hitting them. Perhaps you can consider lowering the middle pickup a little.