String Alignment Over Pole Pieces for Vintage Strat Bridge String Spacing

[Gerry Hayes Haze Guitars]

Hey Ben

My feeling is that there are many millions of Strats out there with strings that don’t sit nicely over the poles pieces and, most of the time, it’s not an issue. It’s one of those things that might look wrong but probably sounds just fine. Have a listen and use that information to determine if there’s something to worry about.

If it really is a problem, you can get different pickups. There’s already a blade pickup installed so maybe the owner is willing to go with one in the bridge position too. Some makers offer different string spacing for Strat pickups (Kinman, for instance). These aren’t all that common but you might find some that work.

Personally, I wouldn’t file/notch Strat saddles to try change the string spacing. If it’s really an issue, it might be worth seeing if you can find a new bridge with a tighter spacing although that comes with playability considerations.

Short version: There’s a pretty good chance it’s not a problem aurally but if it is, the owner might have to compromise pickup or bridge choices.

[Ben Schmaus Bench Zen]

Thanks @gerryhayes

Appreciate you sharing that. Aesthetics notwithstanding, the guitar plays well and sounds fine to me. So I’m going to go with it as is and keep the recommendation for a blade pickup in the bridge in mind.

[Daniel Rohr Minnesota Guitar Repair]

Hi Ben, I’m curious about the neck alignment to the body.

[Ben Schmaus Bench Zen]

Hey Daniel.

Here are a couple more photos. The neck alignment looks unremarkable (i.e., fine) to me. I have the string height set right around .04″ straight across from bass to treble and it plays smoothly up and down the neck. (The neck is a Warmoth boatneck profile with a 10-16″ compound radius.)