wound G string for Strat with staggered pickup poles

Joined: Jul 13, 2012
Posts: 490
San Diego CA
United States

Posted on May 22 2021 02:49 PM

hi folks
I have 2 strats that I just dont play much ..both have vintage type A3 pickups with staggered poles ..Im thinking part of the reason my ears arent getting along with them is the #18 plain G string Ive been using on all my guitars . I want to try swapping a wound G in hopes of relearning to love my Strats
Is there any rule of thumb swap ratio in gauge or do I just use a #18 wound?
Ive never used wound Gs in many years of playing . I buy strings in bulk so I will buy a bag of wound Gs ...my usual gauges are 11.5 14 18 30 40 52

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duncanjames

Joined: Dec 20, 2011
Posts: 156

Posted on May 22 2021 03:28 PM

A set of D'Addario 11s with a wound G run 11-14-21-28-38-49, so I'd think either a 21 or a 22 would work well for you. A 24 would be what you'd find on most sets of 12s with a wound G.

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cirecc

Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 311
seattle, wa
1 News Pin

Posted on May 22 2021 05:00 PM

Yeah, I’d lean 22-24 on the wound G. I’d pay more attention to what would match up with the other wound strings more than what is close to the plain G that you have now.

I think you’ll appreciate the difference in string balance after the switch.

—

-Eric

New music!
https://thedesolatecoast.bandcamp.com/releases
Spotify

Also:
https://theverb.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/theverbseattle/

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ArabSpringReverb

Joined: Jul 13, 2012
Posts: 490
San Diego CA
United States

Posted on May 22 2021 10:54 PM

thanks for the tips , #22 it is then

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Gilette

Joined: May 04, 2014
Posts: 734
Montserrat

Posted on May 23 2021 06:29 AM

-

Last edited: Mar 03, 2022 04:41:40

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duncanjames

Joined: Dec 20, 2011
Posts: 156

Posted on May 25 2021 03:08 AM

Gilette wrote:

I dropped the poles on the G string of my strat. That works. You just push them in.

While that does work and is relatively safe on "modern" strat bobbins made of molded plastic, you'll have to get very lucky on a vintage style bobbin. The wire is wrapped directly on the magnets, and pushing a magnet down can very likely sever the internal windings and kill the pickup.

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andare

Joined: Jul 11, 2018
Posts: 93

Posted on May 30 2021 03:17 AM

My Classic Series 60s Strat has the same staggered poles and I had the same problem with a plain G.

I play D'Addario flats 10-48 with a 20 wound G. Even volume, easy vibrato and no problem bending a full step, though I don't bend much.

Ernie Ball makes an 18 wound string, D'Addario has a 19 - these are roundwounds.

To me, plain strings need to be thin to sound good, I had a 20 plain on a Tele and it was pretty bad, now I won't go above an 18.

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ArabSpringReverb

Joined: Jul 13, 2012
Posts: 490
San Diego CA
United States

Posted on May 30 2021 12:00 PM

thanks Andare I had a similar issue with larger plain stringds ..at one point I tried a 19 plain and it was awful ..really just too much ,I was going the wrong direction there but then again too small of a G string wasnt working well with the rest of the set either . My .22 wound strings came in the mail yesterday I'll try them tomorrow and see how it goes .

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cirecc

Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 311
seattle, wa
1 News Pin

Posted on May 30 2021 04:22 PM

Yeah, I never liked the sound of larger plain g’s. There’s a reason why they go to wound strings at that point. I used to make/wind strings as part of my day job. There are different factors that all affect tensile strength which plays a role in the tone. That is to say that there is often a sweet spot (a range really) that you want to be in for when the string is tuned to pitch. Often times, the large plain g doesn’t really fall into the tone we often want for that tension, making the string sound off compared to the rest. Some people obviously have had good results with the same strings, so it’s also a matter of taste.

In my experience, a wound g often shouldn’t be the same gauge as the plain g it replaces if you’re just swapping the one string. You are now trying to balance it la with the other wound strings instead of the plain b that follows.

—

-Eric

New music!
https://thedesolatecoast.bandcamp.com/releases
Spotify

Also:
https://theverb.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/theverbseattle/

Last edited: May 30, 2021 16:23:57

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Squid

Joined: Aug 22, 2010
Posts: 1019
Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers
18 News Pins

Posted on May 30 2021 06:50 PM

duncanjames wrote:

Gilette wrote:

I dropped the poles on the G string of my strat. That works. You just push them in.

While that does work and is relatively safe on "modern" strat bobbins made of molded plastic, you'll have to get very lucky on a vintage style bobbin. The wire is wrapped directly on the magnets, and pushing a magnet down can very likely sever the internal windings and kill the pickup.

Feeling desperate to lower staggered pickup poles without breaking anything, I applied a hot soldering iron to the poles. This let me easily press the poles down to be flush with the plastic top, where I wanted them. These were GFS "Texas" alnico stagger pickups, "individually vacuum impregnated with genuine Paraffin wax, vintage style." The paraffin mention gave me the notion that heating the poles would let me move the poles. I don't know how risky this is but it worked for me.

—

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

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andare

Joined: Jul 11, 2018
Posts: 93

Posted on May 31 2021 01:35 AM

I forgot to point out that my Strat has the vintage 7.25" fretboard radius so the vintage stagger makes sense. The string volume imbalance will obviously be worse with a flatter radius.

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ArabSpringReverb

Joined: Jul 13, 2012
Posts: 490
San Diego CA
United States

Posted on Jun 04 2021 11:29 AM

Ive restrung my Strat plus deluxe with a wound .22 G set and it seems to have made a big difference . Ive only played it unplugged but the shrillness and outsized prominence of a big plain G is gone ; the whole set seems more balanced and in tune with itself . Im going to plug in and give it a thorough workout tonight . I do have vintage stagger pickups and a 9.5 radius neck so Im not expecting miracles but I think Im on the right track .
I can tell right off that my technique is somewhat dependent on big bends on that 3rd string which does not react the same with a wound 3rd ..I'll need to use more than one finger to get the same bends or adjust and go up a fret and bend from there or just figure out something else to play . But so far I like the change .
I had thought I had worked out my taste in string gauges ages ago but I may rethink the whole approach with plain G strings ..anything heavier than a 17 or 18 is too much and I may adjust the remaining string gauges to suit a lighter plain G on my other guitars ;never really thought I would go lighter as Ive been just using heavier and heavier gauges over the past 30 years . When i started playing I would break my D string if it was lighter than .30 and I chose the other strings based on that D . I havent had any breakage issues in many many years probably because I dont bash away like I used to and could probably go lighter all around with no problem .

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cirecc

Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 311
seattle, wa
1 News Pin

Posted on Jun 04 2021 05:35 PM

I think you’ll notice the biggest difference plugged in. Also, wanting to bend on the g is what I believe drove the popularity of the plain g. I don’t bend that often, so it’s not a big deal for me personally. It’s a deal breaker for some though.

The staggered pole pieces are to accommodate the strings more than the radius, so the difference between a 7.25” and 9.5” will be negligible as far as how they sound plugged in. I think you’ll find the sound to be much more even between strings tonight.

—

-Eric

New music!
https://thedesolatecoast.bandcamp.com/releases
Spotify

Also:
https://theverb.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/theverbseattle/

Top

ArabSpringReverb Joined: Jul 13, 2012 Posts: 490 San Diego CA	Posted on May 22 2021 02:49 PM hi folks I have 2 strats that I just dont play much ..both have vintage type A3 pickups with staggered poles ..Im thinking part of the reason my ears arent getting along with them is the #18 plain G string Ive been using on all my guitars . I want to try swapping a wound G in hopes of relearning to love my Strats Is there any rule of thumb swap ratio in gauge or do I just use a #18 wound? Ive never used wound Gs in many years of playing . I buy strings in bulk so I will buy a bag of wound Gs ...my usual gauges are 11.5 14 18 30 40 52 Top
duncanjames Joined: Dec 20, 2011 Posts: 156	Posted on May 22 2021 03:28 PM A set of D'Addario 11s with a wound G run 11-14-21-28-38-49, so I'd think either a 21 or a 22 would work well for you. A 24 would be what you'd find on most sets of 12s with a wound G. Top
cirecc Joined: Mar 06, 2006 Posts: 311 seattle, wa	Posted on May 22 2021 05:00 PM Yeah, I’d lean 22-24 on the wound G. I’d pay more attention to what would match up with the other wound strings more than what is close to the plain G that you have now. I think you’ll appreciate the difference in string balance after the switch. — -Eric New music! https://thedesolatecoast.bandcamp.com/releases Spotify Also: https://theverb.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/theverbseattle/ Top
ArabSpringReverb Joined: Jul 13, 2012 Posts: 490 San Diego CA	Posted on May 22 2021 10:54 PM thanks for the tips , #22 it is then Top
Gilette Joined: May 04, 2014 Posts: 734	Posted on May 23 2021 06:29 AM - Last edited: Mar 03, 2022 04:41:40 Top
duncanjames Joined: Dec 20, 2011 Posts: 156	Posted on May 25 2021 03:08 AM Gilette wrote: I dropped the poles on the G string of my strat. That works. You just push them in. While that does work and is relatively safe on "modern" strat bobbins made of molded plastic, you'll have to get very lucky on a vintage style bobbin. The wire is wrapped directly on the magnets, and pushing a magnet down can very likely sever the internal windings and kill the pickup. Top
andare Joined: Jul 11, 2018 Posts: 93	Posted on May 30 2021 03:17 AM My Classic Series 60s Strat has the same staggered poles and I had the same problem with a plain G. I play D'Addario flats 10-48 with a 20 wound G. Even volume, easy vibrato and no problem bending a full step, though I don't bend much. Ernie Ball makes an 18 wound string, D'Addario has a 19 - these are roundwounds. To me, plain strings need to be thin to sound good, I had a 20 plain on a Tele and it was pretty bad, now I won't go above an 18. Top
ArabSpringReverb Joined: Jul 13, 2012 Posts: 490 San Diego CA	Posted on May 30 2021 12:00 PM thanks Andare I had a similar issue with larger plain stringds ..at one point I tried a 19 plain and it was awful ..really just too much ,I was going the wrong direction there but then again too small of a G string wasnt working well with the rest of the set either . My .22 wound strings came in the mail yesterday I'll try them tomorrow and see how it goes . Top
cirecc Joined: Mar 06, 2006 Posts: 311 seattle, wa	Posted on May 30 2021 04:22 PM Yeah, I never liked the sound of larger plain g’s. There’s a reason why they go to wound strings at that point. I used to make/wind strings as part of my day job. There are different factors that all affect tensile strength which plays a role in the tone. That is to say that there is often a sweet spot (a range really) that you want to be in for when the string is tuned to pitch. Often times, the large plain g doesn’t really fall into the tone we often want for that tension, making the string sound off compared to the rest. Some people obviously have had good results with the same strings, so it’s also a matter of taste. In my experience, a wound g often shouldn’t be the same gauge as the plain g it replaces if you’re just swapping the one string. You are now trying to balance it la with the other wound strings instead of the plain b that follows. — -Eric New music! https://thedesolatecoast.bandcamp.com/releases Spotify Also: https://theverb.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/theverbseattle/ Last edited: May 30, 2021 16:23:57 Top
Squid Joined: Aug 22, 2010 Posts: 1019 Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers	Posted on May 30 2021 06:50 PM duncanjames wrote: Gilette wrote: I dropped the poles on the G string of my strat. That works. You just push them in. While that does work and is relatively safe on "modern" strat bobbins made of molded plastic, you'll have to get very lucky on a vintage style bobbin. The wire is wrapped directly on the magnets, and pushing a magnet down can very likely sever the internal windings and kill the pickup. Feeling desperate to lower staggered pickup poles without breaking anything, I applied a hot soldering iron to the poles. This let me easily press the poles down to be flush with the plastic top, where I wanted them. These were GFS "Texas" alnico stagger pickups, "individually vacuum impregnated with genuine Paraffin wax, vintage style." The paraffin mention gave me the notion that heating the poles would let me move the poles. I don't know how risky this is but it worked for me. — Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com Top
andare Joined: Jul 11, 2018 Posts: 93	Posted on May 31 2021 01:35 AM I forgot to point out that my Strat has the vintage 7.25" fretboard radius so the vintage stagger makes sense. The string volume imbalance will obviously be worse with a flatter radius. Top
ArabSpringReverb Joined: Jul 13, 2012 Posts: 490 San Diego CA	Posted on Jun 04 2021 11:29 AM Ive restrung my Strat plus deluxe with a wound .22 G set and it seems to have made a big difference . Ive only played it unplugged but the shrillness and outsized prominence of a big plain G is gone ; the whole set seems more balanced and in tune with itself . Im going to plug in and give it a thorough workout tonight . I do have vintage stagger pickups and a 9.5 radius neck so Im not expecting miracles but I think Im on the right track . I can tell right off that my technique is somewhat dependent on big bends on that 3rd string which does not react the same with a wound 3rd ..I'll need to use more than one finger to get the same bends or adjust and go up a fret and bend from there or just figure out something else to play . But so far I like the change . I had thought I had worked out my taste in string gauges ages ago but I may rethink the whole approach with plain G strings ..anything heavier than a 17 or 18 is too much and I may adjust the remaining string gauges to suit a lighter plain G on my other guitars ;never really thought I would go lighter as Ive been just using heavier and heavier gauges over the past 30 years . When i started playing I would break my D string if it was lighter than .30 and I chose the other strings based on that D . I havent had any breakage issues in many many years probably because I dont bash away like I used to and could probably go lighter all around with no problem . Top
cirecc Joined: Mar 06, 2006 Posts: 311 seattle, wa	Posted on Jun 04 2021 05:35 PM I think you’ll notice the biggest difference plugged in. Also, wanting to bend on the g is what I believe drove the popularity of the plain g. I don’t bend that often, so it’s not a big deal for me personally. It’s a deal breaker for some though. The staggered pole pieces are to accommodate the strings more than the radius, so the difference between a 7.25” and 9.5” will be negligible as far as how they sound plugged in. I think you’ll find the sound to be much more even between strings tonight. — -Eric New music! https://thedesolatecoast.bandcamp.com/releases Spotify Also: https://theverb.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/theverbseattle/ Top

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wound G string for Strat with staggered pickup poles