Squier Strat Pickup height

[PeterU]

Can anyone tell me what the best height is for standard pickups on a squier strat. I'm playing fairly low action and using Ernie Ball 10 gauge strings. Trying to hit the sweet spot if I can and have never tried to adjust before so hoping to benefit from others expertise here! 😊

Sent from my SM-G930F using JustinGuitar Community mobile app

[Majik]

There's no such thing as the perfect string height. It's always a compromise. Most manufacturers will recommend a string height for setup, but this isn't written in stone and is, to a large degree, a personal thing. Some players prefer quite a high action.

For Strats, the recommended string height depends on the neck radius. I think most Squier Strats are 9.5" neck radius so, from the website I linked above, that means:

Neck relief: .010" (0.25 mm)
String Height (Bass/treble sides): 4/64" (1.6 mm)

Most electric guitars tend to be set up with low-ish string height, but too low and you'll get a lot of fret buzz.

Note that *some* fret buzz is expected and "normal" especially on heavily picked/strummed strings, but this shouldn't be so much that it can be heard through the amp, or that it starts to impact sustain.

Cheers,

Keith

[joueur de guitare]

There's no such thing as the perfect string height

The OP is asking about pickup height, not string height. The answer is still the same though.

It depends on the Strat too, or at least what pickups it's loaded with.

[Majik]

Ah, yes, sorry... misread.

But, as you say, the link (and sentiment) is still correct. From the pickups section:

Bass Side   Treble Side
Texas Specials   8/64" (3.2 mm)   6/64" (2.4 mm)
Vintage style   6/64" (2.4 mm)   5/64" (2 mm)
Noiseless™ Series   8/64" (3.2 mm)   6/64" (2.4 mm)
Standard Single-Coil   5/64" (2 mm)   4/64" (1.6 mm)
Humbuckers   4/64" (1.6 mm)   4/64" (1.6 mm)
Lace Sensors   As close as desired (allowing for string vibration)

Cheers,

Keith

[PeterU]

Thanks all. I'll try this out and see what difference adjusting the pick ups makes. I've changed the action too recently as it was a bit too low as I'm just starting to learn power chords and it was way too buzzy.

Sent from my SM-G930F using JustinGuitar Community mobile app