Does anyone else never use position 3 on a strat?

[Blurillaz]

I've found when I use strats, I'll use all positions except for the middle pickup by itself which to be honest, I don't believe I've ever used in a song. Does anyone else skip using it?

 

[Beng2040]

Yeah, never thought about it, but I never use the middle position. I use all except that one. Weird.

 

[clothwiring]

Rewire it so there's no tone control on it and you'll use it all the time (a la Eric Johnson wiring)

 

[guzman]

Same for me. Actually, I mostly use only position 1 and 5.

 

[lamenlovinit]

I play surf and instro... Spaghetti Western, Spy, that kind of stuff. I use neck and middle more than bridge and "tweeners". In fact, I bet I use middle the most. Never paid that much attention, but if I actually measured, middle would probably be #1 on my strat shaped objects. Bridge without a tone knob can be a bitch with a stand alone reverb unit. Neck can be too mushy. What's left? Middle! The reverb unit adds bite, so bear that in mind. The middle sounds closer to the bridge than it would in a dry signal.

 

[monty]

Now that you mention it, no.
I rarely use #1 alone either.

 

[Powderfinger]

I like it. On my EJ strat it's the best sounding position.

 

[Member 1963]

If you're in a cover band and do any beatles songs or similar, thats where it comes in handly. It sounds more like beatles than any other position on the strat. especially useful for those early/middle era tunes.

 

[Stratofuzz]

Rewire it so there's no tone control on it and you'll use it all the time (a la Eric Johnson wiring)

With reverb.....

 

[strat6866]

Never used to use it until recently. Now I use it alot on some rythm parts.

 

[Drew68]

Use mine all the time on my HWY1. With no tone control, it just has a great sharp attack without the (sometimes too much) brightness that the bridge p/u has.

I've learned over time to really love this position!

 

[Curly]

using all positions is an advanced strat technique

 

[lamenlovinit]

using all positions is an advanced strat technique

Or to paraphrase George Carlan "I paid for all the positions, I'm gonna use all the positions!"

 

[Troubleman]

Blues guitarist Debbie Davies uses it A LOT...
I pretty much use every pickup combination option (my strats are wired such that i can also select bridge/neck or all three pups) and the full travel of volume an both tone knobs, as well as tone-stack bypassed - absolutely every possibility of the tonal palette available....


peace,

jb

 

[daddyo]

Rewire it so there's no tone control on it and you'll use it all the time (a la Eric Johnson wiring)

+1

It has a very fat, spanky funk sound.

 

[mikefair]

I would bet Clapton was using the middle postion on Brownie for Key To The Highway on the Layla album.

 

[Spirit]

Use mine all the time on my HWY1. With no tone control, it just has a great sharp attack without the (sometimes too much) brightness that the bridge p/u has.

I've learned over time to really love this position!

Same here i have a highway 1 and find that the middle position is really very usable, has lots of punch but not the thin tendancies of the bridge.

 

[PatrickE_FenderADV]

I use the middle on my Hwy1 for anything that is supposed to be played on a Ric (Byrds, TP, REM etc)... it's the closest I feel I get get to that sound from a strat.

 

[hipcat]

Never used.

 

[Strat]

Geez...I use it heavily for solos. With the right pickup I love the solid woodiness of the sound and it's NOT one done to death.