The Invisible Battle: Pickups vs. Strings
You know that strange, chorus-like wobble in a Strat? The one that isn’t your strings, your amp, or your playing.
It’s Stratitis: a magnetic mismatch, not a mechanical defect.
What Players Rattle On About
“Notes beating against themselves.”
“Sustain that dies early.”
“A throbbing, out-of-tune G string at the 7th fret.”
It sounds like a dud guitar.
But it’s actually your magnets at war with your strings.
Here’s the physics (Yes, there is real physics)
Single‑coil pickups, especially those with strong Alnico V magnets, pull on the strings. If you set them too close (say, 1–2 mm), they distort the string’s vibration mid-note.
The string is literally bent out of tune by the magnet.
What Happens When Magnets Hijack Strings:
Warble, Chorus, Inharmonics
The magnet shifts vibration, altering string tension and throwing harmonics out of whack. You get dissonance instead of clean overtones.
Loss of Sustain
Each vibration cycle the magnet fights the string’s motion, draining energy. The fundamental falls off, while unpredictable overtones linger.
Fret Buzz & Intonation Chaos
Pull causes the string to rattle frets or shift pitch. If your tuner won’t settle, or you get weird intonation, check pickup height.
Partial “String-In-On-Itself” Vibrations
The Kinman page calls it Strat-itis, a U‑shaped vibration pattern where parts of the string travel longer paths, producing overlapping, dissonant frequencies. Think: “a string that’s out of tune with itself.”
Real Players Say…
“It’s called a wolf tone… the string is vibrating in a circular manner rather than side to side… caused by too much magnetic pull.”
“Stratitis is really a thing… usually caused by too strong a magnetic field pulling the string slightly out of tune.”
The Fix Is Shockingly Simple
Lower the pickup.
Because magnetism drops off fast with distance, an increase to ~3 mm (≈ 6/64”) can eliminate the warble while preserving tone.
So Why Do These Debates Still Rage?
Some players crank pickups for max output, and blame the guitar when it warbles.
Others never experience it and call it myth.
Some even like flirting with Stratitis, claiming it compresses their tone.
But here’s the real insight:
Stratitis isn’t a failure. It’s physics and setup.
Pickups closer = louder but unstable…
Pickups lower = clarity with natural sustain.
It’s your tone, your terms, just understand the trade-offs.
Your Setup Checklist
Parting Thought
Your Strat isn’t broken: it’s simply obeying the laws of physics.
Want clarity? Lower your pickups. Want output? dial it carefully, and stay aware of the trade-off.
TL;DR:
Stratitis is real. It’s caused by strong magnets too close to the strings, warping the vibration. The fix? A few millimeters of distance restores clarity, sustain, and harmony.
This isn’t tone snake oil, it’s tone science.
Stay curious.
Save your sound.
