NGD with questions

[Gibson Artist]

2000 Mim Strat got in a trade. What is odd is i kept typing in the serial and it kept saying invalid number, there were like 3 or 4 zeros that could have been the letter o or d. Finally, i looked up on fender website that MZ0 that preceeded the other numbers indicates it is a 2000 model, even if i couldnt match up a direct serial. The stranger thing is the pickups are pushed in almost flat flush against the pickguard, no idea why they would be so deep into the guitar, if they came like that or someone did it themselves later? Also, the guitar is mint, kind of odd someone would keep a strat that long and never put a scratch on it? The seller was an older gentleman than i, id say late 50s early 60s so i guess its not totally out of wack that he didnt play it much, he also had 6 other gits for sale on CL.

 

You dont think this is a fake do you? It sounds pretty good. Did fender ever sell strats with the pickups deep into the guitar like that?

[ksdaddy]

The adjustment of Strat pickups is all a matter of personal choice and experimentation. There is no right or wrong. If they are sitting very low, the output will be slightly weaker but very clean and pure sounding. As they are raised towards the strings, the output will be louder, much like stepping in close to a microphone, but you can reach a point where it's distorted to some degree. Some people prefer that. It's all subjective.

 

Stevie Ray Vaughn had (at least) his neck pickup sitting very low. Again, personal choice.

 

I set the front pickup quite low, then the middle a little closer, then the bridge very high. Depending on the Strat, I may have the bass side of the neck and middle pickups slightly lower than the treble side.

 

I can tell you from first hand experience, if the bass sides of the pickups are too close to the strings, there is a phenomenon some of us call "Stratitis" where some notes on the low E and A strings are just pure hell to hear...weird overtones and distortion....it's awful. Easy fix, just back the things off a little.

 

And yes, MZ0 is Mexico 2000. Not much else can be told from the number, no secret codes, etc.

[stein]

You know the drill: better pics.

 

I am almost certain it isn't "fake", but from what I can see, a pic of the front of the headstock, the bridge, and maybe the tuners would be all one needs to see.

 

Although, I'm 90% sure you are right.

 

Gotta say, I LOVE the burst shading on this one.

 

Pups? I'll tell you the truth: I think MOST folks put the pups too high. On many of my Strats, the pups wouldn't be flush, but definitely closer to the PG than the strings. I could get into it and elaborate if you want.

[Gibson Artist]

The adjustment of Strat pickups is all a matter of personal choice and experimentation. There is no right or wrong. If they are sitting very low, the output will be slightly weaker but very clean and pure sounding. As they are raised towards the strings, the output will be louder, much like stepping in close to a microphone, but you can reach a point where it's distorted to some degree. Some people prefer that. It's all subjective.

 

Stevie Ray Vaughn had (at least) his neck pickup sitting very low. Again, personal choice.

 

I set the front pickup quite low, then the middle a little closer, then the bridge very high. Depending on the Strat, I may have the bass side of the neck and middle pickups slightly lower than the treble side.

 

I can tell you from first hand experience, if the bass sides of the pickups are too close to the strings, there is a phenomenon some of us call "Stratitis" where some notes on the low E and A strings are just pure hell to hear...weird overtones and distortion....it's awful. Easy fix, just back the things off a little.

 

And yes, MZ0 is Mexico 2000. Not much else can be told from the number, no secret codes, etc.

Thank you so much! A great, detailed explanation. I would probably like to raise mine a lil, flush flat just sounds a little weak to my ears.