How to line up bridge on strat? / And have a issue

[BrianColeman]

Hello guys!! Hoping you guys can help me a little bit. Im been looking all over the internet on how to line up to drill holes for my strat bridge. But come up short.. I have put on top and bottom E string,  just see if i can line it up. I can get the low E string inline center of the poles on pickups, Then my high E string will not be in the center of the poles. Really dont understand that... Can anybody give me any info? I have got

1. Stat body and neck ( Warmoth )
2. Fender 62 reissue vintage bridge
3. Fender Hot N3 noiseless Pickups
4.  Vintage Tuning Heads

O and another question, I did get the nut put in on the neck from warmoth. Do i have to do any nut filing on it? Seems to me that the string isnt setting in the groove enough. Sorry for all the info i need, But my first build. Really want to do it right. And guys thanks for any Info

 

[Cagey]

Strings rarely line up directly centered over pickup pole pieces, especially on Strats. The E to e width of the strings at the nut is usually much narrower at the nut than at the bridge, so there's a spread to them. That means anywhere along their length, you'll have a unique width. Pickups, on the other hand, are generally a constant width. So, there might be one place where pole spacing matches string spacing, but any other places will not line up. There are some pickups that are built to have "F spacing" vs. "Standard", but those are the only two out there and won't solve your problem.

Fortunately, it's not a problem. As long as the strings cross the poles, there won't be any difference in sound if it's not directly over the center of the pole. You want to center up as best you can on the D/G strings, then let the others fall where they will. It'll be as balanced as it can get and sound fine.

As for the nut, Warmoth cuts them for 10s and they cut them shallow. 10s because they're most popular, and shallow because they don't know what kind of action you want as a player. That means to get them cut to your ideal, you need a set of nut slot files and the knowledge of how to cut the slots. So, it's a setup thing. Nut files and experience are expensive, so it's often left to techs to do. Or, some folks just live with what they're given, not knowing any better.

 

[BrianColeman]

Strings rarely line up directly centered over pickup pole pieces, especially on Strats. The E to e width of the strings at the nut is usually much narrower at the nut than at the bridge, so there's a spread to them. That means anywhere along their length, you'll have a unique width. Pickups, on the other hand, are generally a constant width. So, there might be one place where pole spacing matches string spacing, but any other places will not line up. There are some pickups that are built to have "F spacing" vs. "Standard", but those are the only two out there and won't solve your problem.

Fortunately, it's not a problem. As long as the strings cross the poles, there won't be any difference in sound if it's not directly over the center of the pole. You want to center up as best you can on the D/G strings, then let the others fall where they will. It'll be as balanced as it can get and sound fine.

As for the nut, Warmoth cuts them for 10s and they cut them shallow. 10s because they're most popular, and shallow because they don't know what kind of action you want as a player. That means to get them cut to your ideal, you need a set of nut slot files and the knowledge of how to cut the slots. So, it's a setup thing. Nut files and experience are expensive, so it's often left to techs to do. Or, some folks just live with what they're given, not knowing any better.

When i  line up my low e string with the neck. seems like the high e string is running off a little at the bottom of neck. not quit straight. Think the vintage bridge is a little wider? Or do i need to be concerned about this issue? Is it going to cause me any issues down the road. I just want to drill the holes for the bridge one time only. And thanks for info

 

[BrianColeman]

And o by the way great taste in forums. I have worked with smf forums for about 2 years. With my website. Great forums

 

[pabloman]

The string spread is generally wider on a vintage trem. I'd get a narrow spaced bridge if I were in your shoes.

 

[Cagey]

Vintage bridge string spacing is a tad wider (2 7/32") than that of modern bridges (2 1/16"), so you can end up with string spacing issues on the neck. The standard Fender neck (which is what Warmoth builds) is 2 3/16" wide at the heel. 7/32 is 1/32 wider than 3/16, so you can see how that could be an issue. You'll run out of fretboard for the high E about halfway up the neck.

The solution is almost always to use the proper bridge, unless you have a bridge that will let you adjust string spacing. Variable spacing bridges are pretty rare, though.

 

[rapfohl09]

Also, just a quick note, I wouldn't line up your bridge according to your pole pieces. Like Cagey said, having them centered vs. not centered is a non issue. You need to be setting your bridge based on string spread on your neck.

 

[BrianColeman]

Yes thank you guys for ALL  the info.