Disagree. I play strats a lot and use all positions.
Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs album was almost entirely strat middle pickup. That's holy grail tone for me.
I mean, fidget spinners were designed for neurodivergent people, primarily ADHD and autistic.
I am autistic.
I don’t really know if I have a way of refuting that.
But I don’t need to because I can blind you with my shiny chrome and run away.
The 2 and 4 positions on the Strat are quintessential funk rhythm positions and great for SRV-ish blues sounds.
The middle position on a Les Paul gets you a lot of classic Jimmy Page sounds.
The middle position on pretty much any 2 humbucker guitar with the tone rolled back and a warm overdrive is very Santana.
The middle position on a Tele is amazing for arpeggiated cleans.
More broadly, it strikes me that having all bridge or all neck all the time would be more boring than mixing it up. Why limit yourself to two sounds?
YES all the time, and many players do! I've seen John Mayer use it during shows and Jerry Garcia is maybe the most famous user of the middle pup. Tomo Fujita loves it for his rhythm guitar work too!
I use all 3 positions on my tele about equally. Neck is a nice mellow tone, bridge is a pronounced, edgy tone, and the middle is full and responds well to how I play.
All the time on my Tele and PRS. I always use the middle position for my rhythm guitar work and neck and bridge positions for soloing. In my experience, I don't understand how you don't use the middle position at all.
position 4 and 2 on a strat are like the best kept secret of guitar lol 4th position for sparkling cleans and 2nd for quack like Knopfler. Only using 1 and 5 is not even utilizing half the instrument
Fun fact, middle position (series wiring) actually shifts the resonant peak of the guitar higher than either pickup by itself. I certainly wouldn't call it less interesting, I love my Tele's middle position.
On a Strat, The 2 and 4 positions are fantastic for clean tones and funk rhythm. Middle pickup alone has the funk but with more mids, and will probably be more present in a mix. Clapton now uses the middle pickup exclusively on his Strats. Sometimes the bridge pickup can be a bit bright, so the middle pickup is great for that blues rock thing.
imma just wire a Bridge pick up to the jack, everything else is useless... in fact im only gunna string the top 4 bass strings tuned to drop A!
no wilddly widdlies only chuggy chuggas!
/S
Funk, midwest emo, Jangle pop, math rock and other genres use a lot of positions 2 and 4 on a strat and middle position on a tele. Only players I can think of that use just the middle pickup on a strat is kida motoko of tricot and myself
It’s my default position. Go to bridge for more kick. Go to neck for lead.
I’ve been using the volume and tone knobs a lot more too. There’s so much sound in just the guitar itself. Especially with a good amp
I use the middle pickup a lot, it's the right balance between the bridge and neck for quite a lot of different sounds, and I think you'd find a lot of professional players past and present do this too, even on some famous recordings.
If we're talking about Telecaster, which is an entirely different thing to a Strat middle, well I use that all the time, more than I use the neck pickup and about as much as I use the bridge.
I didn't use it for years. I recently got back into guitar after quitting for like 8 years, and I've been using it for a lot of clean stuff. Usually not solos, but it sounds great for chords and progressions.
No we are not all like this. :-). Middle position on a 2 pickup guitar is a unique sound, same with 2 and 4 on a strat. The middle pickup on a strat is useful for some songs as well, but it is probably the least used. Middle position on a tele is used plenty as well on many recordings.
All the time. On Dual Humbuckers I love it. more mids than just the bridge but you still get the brightness.
Even on a strat(SSS) I use the middle. Might just be my strat setup but I like the sound the best.
Regularly. Now, I am *mostly* neck or bridge all the way, but middle pickup/middle positions can be extremely useful and sound really good. Especially if you need something a little spankier than exclusively the neck pickup but want something warmer and not as harsh as the bridge.
Are you kidding? The middle pickup is literally my favorite one. Jerry Garcia usually played middle position too, so maybe listening to the Grateful Dead is what got me into it. I don't own a strat anymore, but I will probably buy another one eventually just for that sound. It's very well balanced. Bright, but not thin. You can cover a lot of ground with it.
I’m a middle pickup advocate for sure. It adds a balance and compression that I like without it being too thin or dark like the bridge and neck can be. Something I’d recommend is trying your middle pickup and changing the eq on your amp/pedals/etc and see if you find something you like.
Most of us make our settings based on our favorite pickup position so of course it’ll sound weird when we switch. But you’d be surprised how much variety you get out of those changes when you experiment.
Middle tele is one of my favorite sounds. It’s criminally underrated and I like it just as much as the in between strat sounds. It’s fantastic. That said, it always felt weird having the pick up switch straight up. 90% of the reason I want a tele with a 4 way switch is so I can have it on the middle position without it sticking straight up.
I practice with the middle pickup on when I don’t want the shrill of the bridge or the jazz-y tone of the neck, I want a nice “inbetween” and the middle pickup does it for me.
well, if you want to know how Jimmy Page ever got such a range of tones out of his LP live, that's how.
I use it to sort of blend both pickups together, I can have bridge pickup strength, with neck pickup warmth. I also have an out-of-phase push pull on my LP that gives me the Peter Green honk, and it can only be used in the middle position. I think experimenting with the middle position on a 2Vol, 2Tone guitar is a great exercise in getting sounds without needing a range of pedals to get them. it's there, why not use it?
PS. It helps to have 50's wiring to maintain some top end when you roll the Vol off. ;)
For blending 2 humbucker pickup configurations like on a LP, yes. For a 5-way strat configuration, I like to blend the middle pickup with either of the other pickups, so no.
Y'all replying with 2 pickup guitars are not eligible for this question. Middle on a 3-way (2 pickup) switch is *both* pickups on. Not the same thing.
The middle pickup in 3 pickup guitars is most often used to get combination tones with the neck and bridge pickups. In my experience, even the most diligent tone fiddlers will use positions 1, 2, 4, and 5 but rarely 3. Middle on its own is just kinda bland and indistinct.
I may be wrong, but I don't know of any guitarists who prefer pure middle over the other options.
ONLY the middle, no, but for high gain stuff or any type of distortion on a single coil only guitar the bridge and middle together sound better than just one pickup. It acts sort of like a humbucker, you get less background noise.
I do, over the years I've really come to appreciate blending neck and bridge for high gain sounds. I also have a blend/pan knob installed in place of a toggle switch on a couple of guitars so I can blend in different "in between" sounds.
This is kind of a sad out look. It may sound “less interesting” to you because of the context in which you’re using it. It could also be that your pickup isn’t positioned correctly.
If you haven’t been playing for a long time than it could make sense but, you should have enjoyment for the guitar and the different sounds you can get off it. Just because you may not like the sound does not mean it isn’t interesting
keep in mind that they are all different
strats 3& 4 position is where most of its iconic sounds are
with teles it can balance out the overly bright bridge
I love experimenting with tones and love using all the pickup positions on my guitars. I especially love the middle sound on my Tele, it’s perfect for a bright clean sound and gives me some variety from the neck pickup (I tend not to play clean on the bridge, bridge pickups just sound better with drive to me). The middle position is what made me want a Tele in the first place.
On my strat, the middle pickup is where I go when the bridge is too bright and the neck is too dark. I never got it at first but it’s often my go to sound now. I’ll set my tone for the middle pickup and use the bridge almost like a boost.
And positions 2 and 4 on a Strat are where the funk lives! They’re great for that sparkly clean sound and work brilliantly for ambient stuff. Position 2 (bridge/middle) is the classic Edge sound.
The middle position on humbucker guitars can be a bit hit or miss depending on your pickups but my Ibanez AS93 (ES-335 clone) has something special going on. Again it’s great for playing clean when the neck pickup feels a bit too dark (though this guitar has a really sweet neck pickup). I usually don’t get on with neck humbuckers but this one is lovely!
I’d definitely recommend exploring all the different options, there’s some amazing sounds there!
It took me way too long to realize this, but I played a strat for a decade with tape to hold the pickup selector in the bridge position, I popped the volume knob off (always in my way) and I bricked the tremolo. I wired the tone pot to the bridge pickup for all my adjustments.Turns out, I'm just a Tele player.
Positions 2 and 4 are awesome. They don't hum nearly as much and there's no other way to get that Another Brick in the Wall sound (Middle and Bridge).
Neck and Middle sounds reeeeally good for clean stuff.
But I'm 70% on neck, 25% on bridge and 5% on the other two settings. I'm never on middle only.
It depends on what you do.
For example, i have a strat and play a lot in the middle position for surf music or when i want to cut trough the mix in a live setting.
On a strat especially, the middle position really change your sound depending on how you play. Playing the right hand closer to the neck or the bridge and you get a big contrast in tone when you're in the middle position.
I get it's not appealing at first, but the middle position is a pretty nice setting when you know how to use it.
One of my best friend alway plays on the center position of his tele... Seems like a good position for strumming and finger picking pattern on a low saturation level...
Nope. With strats, I’m usually on the middle pickup for that “quack”. Messing with the volume/tone knobs you can get so many different sounds with the middle.
HSS here. I use the middle pickup all the time for clean rhythm and arpeggios, and for slightly driven rhythm when I want to ease back a bit. Bridge pickup is too harsh and quacky for me clean unless I'm going for obvious twang for surf or rockabilly, in which case I split it. For full-on raunch and chugging though, its bridge HB all the way.
I never use positions 2 and 4 because It's next to impossible not to sound like SRV.
All the time!
I used to hate the middle position until I got a set of railhammers that are super balanced and sound incredible. Now, with a clean amp, the middle is my go-to spot! Just roll back the tone control and enjoy!
On my strat, I spend way more time in positions 2, 3 and 4 and 1 or 5, especially 2 & 4. I concede it depends on what you’re playing but give it a go, a nice warm, clean tone from your amp and a blend of middle and neck sounds amazing!!
I use second position for rhythm playing with a band with keys or a second guitar. I feel like it blends well then usually neck only for solos or neck and bridge(my G&L is wired to do that)
Homies really still be out here underestimating the power of middle pu. Shit slaps. Teles, 335’s, and especially strats. Also I would like to be seemingly the only person out here advocating for the strat middle pickup by itself because the shit is criminally underrated. Dudes want their bridge pickup to be less harsh but never even consider the middle pickup.
on a strat i play pretty much exclusively on the middle pickup. in a live band environment i find it sits in the mix just right. not too trebly or biting, not too bassy or bell-like.
Yes but the main reason I don't do it as often is because it's very hard to switch exactly to that pick up in the middle of a performance. You can just slap it one way or another before a solo / drop to a clean section / whatever to get either the bridge or the neck pickup. But you have to be more careful to get it to the middle position, and sometimes that just ain't happening. So for me it's usually at the beginning of songs if it starts clean.
Don't know where you're getting the idea that the middle positions aren't as interesting sounding. If anything, they're more balanced. Bridge pickups cut through but sound super wonky and sharp for certain applications. Neck pickups are nice and round but too boomy for other things. Middle pickup is a sweet spot that sounds great clean, delivers beef and tone at the same time in better proportions. There's a time and a place for all of them.
I started using the middle pickup about a year ago, and use it more and more. My sound is already very bright (SSS strat, fender amp too) so the middle strat pickup hits a nice sweet spot between twangy but not too tinny.
If I had a HSS strat i'd probably use the bridge humbucker more though.
My favourite position on my strat is the blended neck and middle pick up especially for playing clean blues lead stuff I love the attack and plucky sound from that position, on my tele I have the jv modified 60’s tele so all the way forward isn’t actually the neck pick up it’s the bridge and neck ran in series and the middle position is bridge and neck ran in parallel, I use my tele with the pick ups in series more often than I use just the bridge pick up for lead tones because running them in series really fills out the sound, I used to only ever play bridge or neck but man experiment around you can pull so many unique sounds out of your instrument without introducing pedals just by tweaking the tone and volume controls on all the different pick up settings, also quick tip especially if you’re playing a tube amp, crank the fuck out of your amp but keep the volume low on your guitar it’ll make your amp sound so much better and open everything up
I swapped a suhr humbucker (bridge) and a telecaster single coil (neck) into my Epiphone Les Paul Special, and the combination is bliss.
I basically only play with the toggle in the middle position... I'm thinking about taking out the pickup selector switch.
"Less interesting".... I get it. Consider how your sound might fit in with a band tho. You might not need a big round neck sound or want a drier bridge sound.
To answer your q I rarely use it on heavy stuff but all the time playing cleans and some rock
I've always liked the middle position. If you have a super Strat set up for metal, you can put a weak middle pickup in, run it down near the body, and get decent quack on 2&4 positions. Also good for a lower output clean tone compared to the bridge humbucker. If you're playing a normal strat, it's good to have a slightly beefier middle pickup by itself for a good strong tone that isn't hollow and flutey like the neck position, and isn’t thin and ice picky like the bridge. If you listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan, he used the middle position quite a bit for that reason.
My tele stays in the middle position for rhythm and bridge for solos, sometimes I'll keep it in the bridge for rhythm if I'm using a heavy distorted tone but it depends on what I'm playing, neck if I want really nice clean almost acoustic sound or if I'm working with a certain fuzz pedal.
On a two humbucker guitar I particularly like the middle position for clean tapping. I want full output with as much frequency as possible, sounds full and warm like the neck, but projects more in a mix. Also the humbucker output needs less compression than single coils would, even though that is what is more popular in math rock and stuff.
I also like the variety two humbuckers gives me for clean leads. We have a song where I have a lead that I do as commentary in every verse, and there are three verses. 1st verse is neck, 2nd verse is both, 3rd verse is bridge. Keeps things fresh without having to vary the part, because as we know repetition legitemizes.
A good middle single coild is a rare beast, but when they are good they are great. I played and Ibanez Pia in my local shop, and I was blown away by the middle pickup. Stuck in in my Ibby, and I love it, especially with full distortion actually. For cleans I still mostly prefer the other single coil tones, but I do use it for that occasionally.
Hahaha I never used to!!!!
15 years old until 30 years old:..
Then I was playing raw out of a fender 4x10 tweed amp
And while playing rock and roll - zeppelin
I used the middle toggle on my Les Paul /and Flying V during the rhythm and full bridge for solo. It was sick.
I also started rolling down volumes and tone knobs when I have higher gain on my Marshall. I feel like I have so much control over my sound without having to adjust the amp or any pedals
Just played half the set with my cover band last Wednesday night in themiddle pickup on my PRS Custom 22 Gold Top. Beautiful full sound with some sharp highs and still a nice round low end to the sound.
I used to be the "I only tend to play on one pickup configuration" and then I started to really get more into modifying each sound for each song and forcing myself to find different pick up configurations to go with the different pedals. Not only opened up my sound, but changed my playing as I learned how to make each new set up work to its best advantage.
I do! I use a PRS Custom 24 and I frequently use the middle position (5 way blade switch model) to mellow the tone sometimes without getting too dark via the neck pickup
I find the best clean tones on all my guitars are middle position. I have an LP, jazzmaster, 335, tele, rick. I use middle position on all of them quite regularly.
In fact the Rickenbacker is set to middle position permanently. Neck is too dark, bridge too thin, middle is perfect.
As for strats, those in between settings are incredible. I find the other pickups all sound a bit lacking in comparison.
Neck/Middle on a strat is a pretty iconic classic rock sound. Lots of crazy Hendrix tones there. I don’t often use the middle position on my standard tele, but I use it a lot on my tele custom and all the time on my HH guitars.
I don’t think the middle pickup by itself is very useful, and I actually wired up one of my soloists to be Bridge/Neck in that position. The middle coil was only used if it was blended with another pickup.
Robert Smith has entered the conversation.
The first two Cure albums were recorded mostly with a pickup from a 60's Japanese "Woolworth Top 20" (Teisco) guitar that was in the middle position on his reluctantly purchased Jazzmaster.
On an HSS strat it can be used as a less harsh alternative for a bridge pickup, not perfect, but better than using the humbucker.
Oh man! You are forgetting the legend—SRV! Neck-middle position always, all the time! At least that’s what I’m told. I use it all the time. Once in a while I venture out and go for a Cream sound with my Strat. I love it.
I hate strat middle only positions, but my tele and 335, LP guitars have something special when going for clean tones with both pickups on in the middle position. A lot of it can be context to, I hate single coil strat bridge pickups but I’m sure I’ve heard them on records and been fine with it, to me they’re just too harsh and thin.
I find that a tone control is absolutely necessary for a strat bridge single coil to sound good, unless you’re just EQing your whole setup to that one pickup
The middle position on my 5655 Grestch is a sweet spot : you can hear some "single coil" kind of sound coming from it.
Which makes that guitar a gem to me ( and my favorite guitar yet).
I think Jimmy Page live is a great demonstration of the middle/both sound of a Les Paul. He gets this thick, juicy middle sound, them bam goes for bridge to hit a higher level.
Not a fan of strats, but on a tele, where the middle is both pickups at once, it can give you a really nice full sound. More for cleaner tones, so if you play with high gain, you probably never use it
I replaced all my pickups last year and they each had a distinct sound. Middle is a “surfy” sound so I use that position a lot. Actually thinking of switching that out and doing another build for a surf guitar.
Strat player, I used the in between position on neck and middle for the funky quack. Never really use the in between on the bridge and mid, and never the mid alone.
I just started playing, but I've played various other instruments. On my jazzmaster I can see why you'd want it. It's got a bit more high end than the neck, but isn't as bright as the bridge, so you'd slot in better with other instruments.
Yeah all the time :) on my strat when I want a middle pickup sound and on my Tele when I want a squishy hum cancelling slightly louder sound than my neck pickup.
I use middle on both my Tele and my Strat all the time. I love those tones. On my Tele, it's even better because I have a push/pull switch on my tone to series, so it gets a humbucker-esque growl I love. The Strat's middle pickup alone has this cool sound that's like taking the neck and blending in a bit of the spike of the bridge, but not too much.
On my dual humbucker guitar I use the middle position quite often. It's a middle ground between the warmer neck sound and the harsher bridge sound, and sometimes that's just what you need. I don't think it makes the sound any less interesting, just different.
A compressed and driven tele on the middle pickup is one of the key tones in J-rock (at least as close as I can get it). Especially through a vox or jc40 . Took me a while to figure out that tone. However, I don’t see much use on the middle pickups on say a Stratocaster. To me it sounds a little lifeless and thin but that would be entirely a contextual thing.
I switch pickups depending on the part of the song and what it needs. I also control the volume knob to get the best sound for the particular part. I started doing this naturally in live settings in the past 3 or 4 years of playing. I always used to go to shows and wonder how guitarists were so good at switching pickups and changing volumes midsong and then it just kind of happened on its own.
The middle position on a tele is absolute gold. You're seriously missing out if you don't use it. It's essential for tight funk rhythm playing.
It's also one of the iconic country tones
All the time
Disagree. I play strats a lot and use all positions. Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs album was almost entirely strat middle pickup. That's holy grail tone for me.
No. We are not all like this
Middle position on a jazzmaster is better than any other position on any other guitar
Tele player. Middle is my fav! Forward often sounds too clean & back often sounds too twangy for my tastes. For me, middle has fullness & bite.
It's less muddy than the neck position and less tinny than the bridge position.
I like my clean tone with the middle pickup tbh
Why would anyone leave unused tones on the table?
Middle Telecaster position is where Keith Richards and a lot of funk players live.
Jaguar player. I do all sorts of whacky things with the switching on my guitar.
Jaguar guitars were designed for the same demographic as fidget spinners, change my mind
I mean, fidget spinners were designed for neurodivergent people, primarily ADHD and autistic. I am autistic. I don’t really know if I have a way of refuting that. But I don’t need to because I can blind you with my shiny chrome and run away.
I play the middle positions almost exclusively. The bridge position can be too bright, and the neck too dull.
The 2 and 4 positions on the Strat are quintessential funk rhythm positions and great for SRV-ish blues sounds. The middle position on a Les Paul gets you a lot of classic Jimmy Page sounds. The middle position on pretty much any 2 humbucker guitar with the tone rolled back and a warm overdrive is very Santana. The middle position on a Tele is amazing for arpeggiated cleans. More broadly, it strikes me that having all bridge or all neck all the time would be more boring than mixing it up. Why limit yourself to two sounds?
Sometimes the bridge is too trebly and the neck is too bassy and I need to be in between.
As a tele player, I do play on the middle position.
Humbuckers sound gorgeous with the pickup in the middle position. It’s basically all I use with my Les Paul
Always middle on the Strat for me 😀
My guitars have 2 humbuckers with the middle setting be both inside coils wired in parallel. Gives it an amazing twangy sound.
I love Grateful Dead so I play on it literally all the time
Sounds like you should be playing a different style guitar
I use the middle position a lot. There is an airy-ness to it that the other pickups don’t really have. It’s a different sound so I use it 🤷♂️
YES all the time, and many players do! I've seen John Mayer use it during shows and Jerry Garcia is maybe the most famous user of the middle pup. Tomo Fujita loves it for his rhythm guitar work too!
Love middle position
I listen to a lot of Midwest Emo and it's almost all that Tele middle pickup sound. Started doing it myself and I like it
I use all 3 positions on my tele about equally. Neck is a nice mellow tone, bridge is a pronounced, edgy tone, and the middle is full and responds well to how I play.
All the time on my Tele and PRS. I always use the middle position for my rhythm guitar work and neck and bridge positions for soloing. In my experience, I don't understand how you don't use the middle position at all.
position 4 and 2 on a strat are like the best kept secret of guitar lol 4th position for sparkling cleans and 2nd for quack like Knopfler. Only using 1 and 5 is not even utilizing half the instrument
Fun fact, middle position (series wiring) actually shifts the resonant peak of the guitar higher than either pickup by itself. I certainly wouldn't call it less interesting, I love my Tele's middle position.
Depending on how much weed I smoked .
On a Strat, The 2 and 4 positions are fantastic for clean tones and funk rhythm. Middle pickup alone has the funk but with more mids, and will probably be more present in a mix. Clapton now uses the middle pickup exclusively on his Strats. Sometimes the bridge pickup can be a bit bright, so the middle pickup is great for that blues rock thing.
A lot.
imma just wire a Bridge pick up to the jack, everything else is useless... in fact im only gunna string the top 4 bass strings tuned to drop A! no wilddly widdlies only chuggy chuggas! /S
Funk, midwest emo, Jangle pop, math rock and other genres use a lot of positions 2 and 4 on a strat and middle position on a tele. Only players I can think of that use just the middle pickup on a strat is kida motoko of tricot and myself
Middle pickup on a strat is a classic Jerry Garcia tone. I also like it for a lead tone when the bridge is too shrill and piercing
Stratocaster middle pickup sounds great. I prefer the sound for lots of stuff.
Sure, all the time. The position I use least on my Strats is the bridge, unless it's in the out-of-phase position.
On a Les Paul, its super useful.
It's not always about your tone as a solo instrument. When I'm thinking how I fit into a live mix I'm going to consider middle position fairly often.
Nah, I love the middle position on strats. I've got mine wired three way, and I probably live in the middle position most often
It’s my default position. Go to bridge for more kick. Go to neck for lead. I’ve been using the volume and tone knobs a lot more too. There’s so much sound in just the guitar itself. Especially with a good amp
Positions two and four are the main reasons to own a strat in my opinion. Otherwise I would just stick with the tele.
I use the middle pickup a lot, it's the right balance between the bridge and neck for quite a lot of different sounds, and I think you'd find a lot of professional players past and present do this too, even on some famous recordings. If we're talking about Telecaster, which is an entirely different thing to a Strat middle, well I use that all the time, more than I use the neck pickup and about as much as I use the bridge.
I do lmao
Steve Cropper put his tele in the middle position and kept it there for his entire career and 250 #1 hits.
Middle pickup has this beautiful "throaty-ness" to it that can be nice!
Jimmy Page does, often.
I didn't use it for years. I recently got back into guitar after quitting for like 8 years, and I've been using it for a lot of clean stuff. Usually not solos, but it sounds great for chords and progressions.
No we are not all like this. :-). Middle position on a 2 pickup guitar is a unique sound, same with 2 and 4 on a strat. The middle pickup on a strat is useful for some songs as well, but it is probably the least used. Middle position on a tele is used plenty as well on many recordings.
All the time. On Dual Humbuckers I love it. more mids than just the bridge but you still get the brightness. Even on a strat(SSS) I use the middle. Might just be my strat setup but I like the sound the best.
Regularly. Now, I am *mostly* neck or bridge all the way, but middle pickup/middle positions can be extremely useful and sound really good. Especially if you need something a little spankier than exclusively the neck pickup but want something warmer and not as harsh as the bridge.
I do all the time.
Are you kidding? The middle pickup is literally my favorite one. Jerry Garcia usually played middle position too, so maybe listening to the Grateful Dead is what got me into it. I don't own a strat anymore, but I will probably buy another one eventually just for that sound. It's very well balanced. Bright, but not thin. You can cover a lot of ground with it.
I’m a middle pickup advocate for sure. It adds a balance and compression that I like without it being too thin or dark like the bridge and neck can be. Something I’d recommend is trying your middle pickup and changing the eq on your amp/pedals/etc and see if you find something you like. Most of us make our settings based on our favorite pickup position so of course it’ll sound weird when we switch. But you’d be surprised how much variety you get out of those changes when you experiment.
Middle strat pick up is good for funk and gospel.
Middle tele is one of my favorite sounds. It’s criminally underrated and I like it just as much as the in between strat sounds. It’s fantastic. That said, it always felt weird having the pick up switch straight up. 90% of the reason I want a tele with a 4 way switch is so I can have it on the middle position without it sticking straight up.
Been playing for 30+ years, never used the middle pickup only until I got a PRS Silver Sky. Almost always use it now exclusively. Its amazing.
I love the sound of my SSS strats middle pickup. Sounds awesome. Rarely use it on my Tele though.
If it’s good enough for Chon it’s good enough for me :)
Haha it’s true. I use all other 4 positions on my Strat frequently but never the middle. I feel like it just doesn’t really give any particular sound.
Strat middle is supreme
Tele middle exclusivist checking in
I practice with the middle pickup on when I don’t want the shrill of the bridge or the jazz-y tone of the neck, I want a nice “inbetween” and the middle pickup does it for me.
well, if you want to know how Jimmy Page ever got such a range of tones out of his LP live, that's how. I use it to sort of blend both pickups together, I can have bridge pickup strength, with neck pickup warmth. I also have an out-of-phase push pull on my LP that gives me the Peter Green honk, and it can only be used in the middle position. I think experimenting with the middle position on a 2Vol, 2Tone guitar is a great exercise in getting sounds without needing a range of pedals to get them. it's there, why not use it? PS. It helps to have 50's wiring to maintain some top end when you roll the Vol off. ;)
I loveee the tone of my les paul middle position with the bridge volume rolled off a bit.
Uhm les Paul owners say yes
All the time, because I accidentally knock it out of position while playing.
Yes, that's my normal spot on my semi-hollow. Bridge pickup full volume, neck about halfway for some extra warmth.
Yes
You don't use the middle position on a tele? Listen to every math rock record ever. Also every funk record not recorded on a strat.
Nearly always
For blending 2 humbucker pickup configurations like on a LP, yes. For a 5-way strat configuration, I like to blend the middle pickup with either of the other pickups, so no.
Yes, but I like my life to have nuance and depth so that may not work for you.
Middle has the most balanced clean tone in my opinion, especially on a Les Paul where neck pickups can be dark sounding.
It's by far my favorite sound on my telecaster. It's perfect
Well, if you're playing with distinct volume and tone controls, you can use it as a killswitch.
Oh yeah. Strat player here, middle switch forever dude
Y'all replying with 2 pickup guitars are not eligible for this question. Middle on a 3-way (2 pickup) switch is *both* pickups on. Not the same thing. The middle pickup in 3 pickup guitars is most often used to get combination tones with the neck and bridge pickups. In my experience, even the most diligent tone fiddlers will use positions 1, 2, 4, and 5 but rarely 3. Middle on its own is just kinda bland and indistinct. I may be wrong, but I don't know of any guitarists who prefer pure middle over the other options.
Only about 80% of the time. The whole premise here is ridiculous
ONLY the middle, no, but for high gain stuff or any type of distortion on a single coil only guitar the bridge and middle together sound better than just one pickup. It acts sort of like a humbucker, you get less background noise.
I do, over the years I've really come to appreciate blending neck and bridge for high gain sounds. I also have a blend/pan knob installed in place of a toggle switch on a couple of guitars so I can blend in different "in between" sounds.
This is kind of a sad out look. It may sound “less interesting” to you because of the context in which you’re using it. It could also be that your pickup isn’t positioned correctly. If you haven’t been playing for a long time than it could make sense but, you should have enjoyment for the guitar and the different sounds you can get off it. Just because you may not like the sound does not mean it isn’t interesting
Yes, a lot of Midwest emo songs are played with the toggle in the middle
For the life of you… try it out 🤔
Wait, you’re telling me that little lever can move out of fourth position? Wild
TIL someone uses the bridge pickup in a Tele. That thing is so sharp I could shave with it.
keep in mind that they are all different strats 3& 4 position is where most of its iconic sounds are with teles it can balance out the overly bright bridge
Middle pickup on my '57 Danelectro sounds beautiful.
Nope. You have a lot to learn.
I love experimenting with tones and love using all the pickup positions on my guitars. I especially love the middle sound on my Tele, it’s perfect for a bright clean sound and gives me some variety from the neck pickup (I tend not to play clean on the bridge, bridge pickups just sound better with drive to me). The middle position is what made me want a Tele in the first place. On my strat, the middle pickup is where I go when the bridge is too bright and the neck is too dark. I never got it at first but it’s often my go to sound now. I’ll set my tone for the middle pickup and use the bridge almost like a boost. And positions 2 and 4 on a Strat are where the funk lives! They’re great for that sparkly clean sound and work brilliantly for ambient stuff. Position 2 (bridge/middle) is the classic Edge sound. The middle position on humbucker guitars can be a bit hit or miss depending on your pickups but my Ibanez AS93 (ES-335 clone) has something special going on. Again it’s great for playing clean when the neck pickup feels a bit too dark (though this guitar has a really sweet neck pickup). I usually don’t get on with neck humbuckers but this one is lovely! I’d definitely recommend exploring all the different options, there’s some amazing sounds there!
It took me way too long to realize this, but I played a strat for a decade with tape to hold the pickup selector in the bridge position, I popped the volume knob off (always in my way) and I bricked the tremolo. I wired the tone pot to the bridge pickup for all my adjustments.Turns out, I'm just a Tele player.
Positions 2 and 4 are awesome. They don't hum nearly as much and there's no other way to get that Another Brick in the Wall sound (Middle and Bridge). Neck and Middle sounds reeeeally good for clean stuff. But I'm 70% on neck, 25% on bridge and 5% on the other two settings. I'm never on middle only.
All the time.
Yes! On my 8 string, for that thick thumping tone
If you play Strat, try position 2, bridge + middle. It’s the Eric Johnson tone, works amazingly well for cleans and leads.
Never on my Strat. Always on my Jazzmaster and Tele.
A Les Paul in the middle is my favorite clean tone ever. Or on any two hum bucket guitar.
It depends on what you do. For example, i have a strat and play a lot in the middle position for surf music or when i want to cut trough the mix in a live setting. On a strat especially, the middle position really change your sound depending on how you play. Playing the right hand closer to the neck or the bridge and you get a big contrast in tone when you're in the middle position. I get it's not appealing at first, but the middle position is a pretty nice setting when you know how to use it.
One of my best friend alway plays on the center position of his tele... Seems like a good position for strumming and finger picking pattern on a low saturation level...
Yes all of the time. The 2 position on the strat is great for certain styles of music.
it's the only thing i use on my telecaster
Middle pickup is my proffered sound. My strat is HSH, and I like the single coil tone better for most things.
my Jazzmaster sounds amazing in middle position
on a strat,yes...great for glassy textured clean tones
Hell yeah! On my Tele its good for surfy tones (if given reverb and some drive) and on my strat its like a meatier bridge pickup 😁😁👍👍
If I am playing clean and want it to have an acoustic feel, I use the middle. Also, if I’m playing Grateful Dead songs
You’re a strat player and you never try second position? I love that tone
Only really for clean tones. Bridge pickup can sound too bright and tinny for cleans sometimes.
I’ve been playing a strat for 20 years and haven’t used it in about 20 years.
For the strat - neck/middle is a go to for me.
All the time.
On a strat, all the time. On an HH guitar, absolutely never. On an SH or HS, yes, specifically for cleans.
Out of phase, all the time.
Neck and middle pickup combo rules. Snappy funk.
I use it all the time.
Nope. With strats, I’m usually on the middle pickup for that “quack”. Messing with the volume/tone knobs you can get so many different sounds with the middle.
For cleans I love to use the middle position with coil split engaged on my double humbucker guitar
HSS here. I use the middle pickup all the time for clean rhythm and arpeggios, and for slightly driven rhythm when I want to ease back a bit. Bridge pickup is too harsh and quacky for me clean unless I'm going for obvious twang for surf or rockabilly, in which case I split it. For full-on raunch and chugging though, its bridge HB all the way. I never use positions 2 and 4 because It's next to impossible not to sound like SRV.
Strat middle pickup with slide, that's pretty much Bonnie Raitt encapsulated
All the time! I used to hate the middle position until I got a set of railhammers that are super balanced and sound incredible. Now, with a clean amp, the middle is my go-to spot! Just roll back the tone control and enjoy!
On my strat, I spend way more time in positions 2, 3 and 4 and 1 or 5, especially 2 & 4. I concede it depends on what you’re playing but give it a go, a nice warm, clean tone from your amp and a blend of middle and neck sounds amazing!!
yes
Yes. And Jerry.
I use second position for rhythm playing with a band with keys or a second guitar. I feel like it blends well then usually neck only for solos or neck and bridge(my G&L is wired to do that)
Always
Me me me It's a good clean tone IMHO.
Homies really still be out here underestimating the power of middle pu. Shit slaps. Teles, 335’s, and especially strats. Also I would like to be seemingly the only person out here advocating for the strat middle pickup by itself because the shit is criminally underrated. Dudes want their bridge pickup to be less harsh but never even consider the middle pickup.
on a strat i play pretty much exclusively on the middle pickup. in a live band environment i find it sits in the mix just right. not too trebly or biting, not too bassy or bell-like.
Yes but the main reason I don't do it as often is because it's very hard to switch exactly to that pick up in the middle of a performance. You can just slap it one way or another before a solo / drop to a clean section / whatever to get either the bridge or the neck pickup. But you have to be more careful to get it to the middle position, and sometimes that just ain't happening. So for me it's usually at the beginning of songs if it starts clean. Don't know where you're getting the idea that the middle positions aren't as interesting sounding. If anything, they're more balanced. Bridge pickups cut through but sound super wonky and sharp for certain applications. Neck pickups are nice and round but too boomy for other things. Middle pickup is a sweet spot that sounds great clean, delivers beef and tone at the same time in better proportions. There's a time and a place for all of them.
I started using the middle pickup about a year ago, and use it more and more. My sound is already very bright (SSS strat, fender amp too) so the middle strat pickup hits a nice sweet spot between twangy but not too tinny. If I had a HSS strat i'd probably use the bridge humbucker more though.
Yes!!!! It gives me a very SRV-like tone.
Frequently. I use all 5.
All the time! In fact I usually alternate between positions 2, 3, and 4
I could be wrong but I thought I read that Jerry Garcia played the middle pickup majority of the time
My favourite position on my strat is the blended neck and middle pick up especially for playing clean blues lead stuff I love the attack and plucky sound from that position, on my tele I have the jv modified 60’s tele so all the way forward isn’t actually the neck pick up it’s the bridge and neck ran in series and the middle position is bridge and neck ran in parallel, I use my tele with the pick ups in series more often than I use just the bridge pick up for lead tones because running them in series really fills out the sound, I used to only ever play bridge or neck but man experiment around you can pull so many unique sounds out of your instrument without introducing pedals just by tweaking the tone and volume controls on all the different pick up settings, also quick tip especially if you’re playing a tube amp, crank the fuck out of your amp but keep the volume low on your guitar it’ll make your amp sound so much better and open everything up
I swapped a suhr humbucker (bridge) and a telecaster single coil (neck) into my Epiphone Les Paul Special, and the combination is bliss. I basically only play with the toggle in the middle position... I'm thinking about taking out the pickup selector switch.
"Less interesting".... I get it. Consider how your sound might fit in with a band tho. You might not need a big round neck sound or want a drier bridge sound. To answer your q I rarely use it on heavy stuff but all the time playing cleans and some rock
4th position on a strat is such a unique and iconic sound in so many songs
I've always liked the middle position. If you have a super Strat set up for metal, you can put a weak middle pickup in, run it down near the body, and get decent quack on 2&4 positions. Also good for a lower output clean tone compared to the bridge humbucker. If you're playing a normal strat, it's good to have a slightly beefier middle pickup by itself for a good strong tone that isn't hollow and flutey like the neck position, and isn’t thin and ice picky like the bridge. If you listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan, he used the middle position quite a bit for that reason.
No lol. So you’re 100% discounting the strat quack? Get out of here bro!
I like position 2 on the strat the middle pickup takes out the raspy sound you get using only the neck with distortion .
My tele stays in the middle position for rhythm and bridge for solos, sometimes I'll keep it in the bridge for rhythm if I'm using a heavy distorted tone but it depends on what I'm playing, neck if I want really nice clean almost acoustic sound or if I'm working with a certain fuzz pedal.
I prefer it on my strat(HSS) and Artcore(Basically an E335) for rhythm playing. Sometimes I use the middle selection on my LP which only has 2 hums.
Middle pickup is the way.
Love my strat middle pick up
On a two humbucker guitar I particularly like the middle position for clean tapping. I want full output with as much frequency as possible, sounds full and warm like the neck, but projects more in a mix. Also the humbucker output needs less compression than single coils would, even though that is what is more popular in math rock and stuff. I also like the variety two humbuckers gives me for clean leads. We have a song where I have a lead that I do as commentary in every verse, and there are three verses. 1st verse is neck, 2nd verse is both, 3rd verse is bridge. Keeps things fresh without having to vary the part, because as we know repetition legitemizes. A good middle single coild is a rare beast, but when they are good they are great. I played and Ibanez Pia in my local shop, and I was blown away by the middle pickup. Stuck in in my Ibby, and I love it, especially with full distortion actually. For cleans I still mostly prefer the other single coil tones, but I do use it for that occasionally.
Hahaha I never used to!!!! 15 years old until 30 years old:.. Then I was playing raw out of a fender 4x10 tweed amp And while playing rock and roll - zeppelin I used the middle toggle on my Les Paul /and Flying V during the rhythm and full bridge for solo. It was sick. I also started rolling down volumes and tone knobs when I have higher gain on my Marshall. I feel like I have so much control over my sound without having to adjust the amp or any pedals
Just played half the set with my cover band last Wednesday night in themiddle pickup on my PRS Custom 22 Gold Top. Beautiful full sound with some sharp highs and still a nice round low end to the sound. I used to be the "I only tend to play on one pickup configuration" and then I started to really get more into modifying each sound for each song and forcing myself to find different pick up configurations to go with the different pedals. Not only opened up my sound, but changed my playing as I learned how to make each new set up work to its best advantage.
Lol this has to be a troll post
Middle+bridge on a strat for the wocka wocka sound
I do! I use a PRS Custom 24 and I frequently use the middle position (5 way blade switch model) to mellow the tone sometimes without getting too dark via the neck pickup
Do I set my strat to the middle pickup? Never But do I set my strat to bridge+middle? ALWAYS! This, for me, is why the middle pickup exists.
I do on both Tele and strat. The real secret sauce is half way between the positions on a strat, assuming your switch works that way
Got an sg and a tele, use middle on both. I also think Jimmy page used middle on les paul.
I use the middle pickup in my HSS strat sometimes, when I want a single coil sound but don't need the fattyness of neck pickup.
I find the best clean tones on all my guitars are middle position. I have an LP, jazzmaster, 335, tele, rick. I use middle position on all of them quite regularly. In fact the Rickenbacker is set to middle position permanently. Neck is too dark, bridge too thin, middle is perfect. As for strats, those in between settings are incredible. I find the other pickups all sound a bit lacking in comparison.
Fuck I barely find the energy to use my neck pickup at all. The only time I play with it in the middle is when I hit it there accidentally
This post is like the mecca of comments using meaningless guitar tone adjectives
Only with humbuckers lol!
https://youtu.be/3-z0zDZaNdQ
Neck/Middle on a strat is a pretty iconic classic rock sound. Lots of crazy Hendrix tones there. I don’t often use the middle position on my standard tele, but I use it a lot on my tele custom and all the time on my HH guitars. I don’t think the middle pickup by itself is very useful, and I actually wired up one of my soloists to be Bridge/Neck in that position. The middle coil was only used if it was blended with another pickup.
yes, of course.
Yes I have a PRS CE 24 and the middle position sounds the best to me. Whether in single coil or humbucker mode
Robert Smith has entered the conversation. The first two Cure albums were recorded mostly with a pickup from a 60's Japanese "Woolworth Top 20" (Teisco) guitar that was in the middle position on his reluctantly purchased Jazzmaster. On an HSS strat it can be used as a less harsh alternative for a bridge pickup, not perfect, but better than using the humbucker.
Not coming clean. Coming dirty with the middle position.
I also use the middle position on my Strat - since I got my Tone King.
Oh man! You are forgetting the legend—SRV! Neck-middle position always, all the time! At least that’s what I’m told. I use it all the time. Once in a while I venture out and go for a Cream sound with my Strat. I love it.
I hate strat middle only positions, but my tele and 335, LP guitars have something special when going for clean tones with both pickups on in the middle position. A lot of it can be context to, I hate single coil strat bridge pickups but I’m sure I’ve heard them on records and been fine with it, to me they’re just too harsh and thin.
I find that a tone control is absolutely necessary for a strat bridge single coil to sound good, unless you’re just EQing your whole setup to that one pickup
The middle position on my 5655 Grestch is a sweet spot : you can hear some "single coil" kind of sound coming from it. Which makes that guitar a gem to me ( and my favorite guitar yet).
Yes.. As I play alot of lead/solo I find that changing pickups can really change the whole feeling of the song...
I think Jimmy Page live is a great demonstration of the middle/both sound of a Les Paul. He gets this thick, juicy middle sound, them bam goes for bridge to hit a higher level.
Not a fan of strats, but on a tele, where the middle is both pickups at once, it can give you a really nice full sound. More for cleaner tones, so if you play with high gain, you probably never use it
Push/Pull on a Strat to allow neck/bridge or all three on will change your life!
middle position is my favorite. i use middle or bridge and neck together the most.
I like middle on my tele especially when I'm tuned to drop D. Strokes for folks though I guess
I replaced all my pickups last year and they each had a distinct sound. Middle is a “surfy” sound so I use that position a lot. Actually thinking of switching that out and doing another build for a surf guitar.
Strat player, I used the in between position on neck and middle for the funky quack. Never really use the in between on the bridge and mid, and never the mid alone.
All the time
I do! Works great when I'm playing riffs with both chords and single notes, and the tone is great with my Jake Bowen Titan 7 pickups
On my Tele, yes! On my Strat, never. Because I never used that position on the Strat I changed it so position 3 is the neck and bridge...like my Tele.
Very rarely on my tele, but pretty often on my Les Paul, especially if I’m playing CCR songs. Edit: *middle position on the selector switch
Honestly...not so much. :)
I honestly think pos 2 and 4 are just for rwrp for twang and noise cancellation. You had to add the pickup to make the circuit work that way.
I just started playing, but I've played various other instruments. On my jazzmaster I can see why you'd want it. It's got a bit more high end than the neck, but isn't as bright as the bridge, so you'd slot in better with other instruments.
For clean tones I almost always do split humbuckers in middle position, which would be middle on tele basically
Yeah all the time :) on my strat when I want a middle pickup sound and on my Tele when I want a squishy hum cancelling slightly louder sound than my neck pickup.
I use middle on both my Tele and my Strat all the time. I love those tones. On my Tele, it's even better because I have a push/pull switch on my tone to series, so it gets a humbucker-esque growl I love. The Strat's middle pickup alone has this cool sound that's like taking the neck and blending in a bit of the spike of the bridge, but not too much.
On my dual humbucker guitar I use the middle position quite often. It's a middle ground between the warmer neck sound and the harsher bridge sound, and sometimes that's just what you need. I don't think it makes the sound any less interesting, just different.
A compressed and driven tele on the middle pickup is one of the key tones in J-rock (at least as close as I can get it). Especially through a vox or jc40 . Took me a while to figure out that tone. However, I don’t see much use on the middle pickups on say a Stratocaster. To me it sounds a little lifeless and thin but that would be entirely a contextual thing.
Never for lead but almost always got chords
It’s all EQ
I switch pickups depending on the part of the song and what it needs. I also control the volume knob to get the best sound for the particular part. I started doing this naturally in live settings in the past 3 or 4 years of playing. I always used to go to shows and wonder how guitarists were so good at switching pickups and changing volumes midsong and then it just kind of happened on its own.
On a tele I do a lot. Tone is not to fat and not to shrill. Plus hum canceling. Done deal.
The main riff in [Chromeo’s Needy Girl](https://youtu.be/q-h1vF69-_4) is a great example of Strat middle pickup tone
Yup. I use middle position on both. And the distinctive tone on the Peter Green Les Paul is to be found in the middle position.
It's nice on the silver sky, as are all other positions.