Q: I’ve inherited an early 1960s Fender Stratocaster. It plays like a dream but for some reason, no matter what I do, the middle pickup just isn’t as loud as the bridge and neck pickups. I’ve raised it as high as it will go, but it’s still much lower in volume. Do I need a new pickup or what?
A: Our first guess is that the windings on the middle pickup have been compromised. There may possibly be a break in the coil wire. This could be caused by corrosion or at some point, a foreign object (like a screwdriver) may have struck the windings. Because they are so fine, it’s often difficult to see a small break in the wiring of a single-coil pickup. Our best advice is to have a qualified guitar tech inspect the pickup. If there’s a minor break in an outer winding, you’d be surprised at just how much wire can be removed without compromising the sound quality. A tech can carefully remove some windings and then resolder the connection and all is well. Corrosion is a much nastier problem that may require the pickup to be rewound/rewired.
Because it’s an early ’60s Strat, you’ll want to protect your instrument’s value. The best way to do this is to have a qualified technician tackle the problem at its source. Replacing the pickup with a reissue is something you’ll want to avoid if you want to maintain the guitar’s value.
Note: Raising a Fender-style single-coil pickup too high can actually prevent your strings from freely resonating. For best sustain, intonation, and response, the pickup should probably be lowered into its original position.