Why do many aftermarket pickups have low poles?

[RoboChrist]

Once the covers are on they become flush and don't look "cool".

 

[line6man]

First off, you're being extremely vague.
What kind of pickups are you talking about?
Jazz? Precision? MusicMan? What?

Second, pickups are not made to "look cool", they are made to convert the vibration of your strings into an electrical signal that can be amplified to produce sound.
I doubt that any pickup manufacturers are setting their pole piece height to "look cool". They are setting them to sound good.

Third, it's quite inconvenient to have pole pieces that protrude above the covers. You bump into them when you play, and if they aren't grounded properly, they will give you a buzzing sound when you touch them.
I have seen people go as far as to lay a strip of electrical tape over their pickups to avoid touching them.

Some people even prefer to cover the pole pieces entirely with blank covers, or even choose pickups with rail style pole pieces, so they will not be visible or exposed.

 

[RoboChrist]

But i want to look cool.

 

[king_biscuit]

They are flush so that when you play over the pickup razor sharp pole pieces don't cut your fingers. OP, you can't be serious about flush pole pieces not looking cool -- I'm sure most people have never given a second thought about that. For the record, since I have been forced to think about it, flush poles look cooler to me.

 

[line6man]

But i want to look cool.

Surely you're kidding me...

Why exactly is it cool looking? I don't see how it should make a difference, especially if you are playing for an audience standing further than 3 feet away from you.

If you are really that desperate to look cool, have someone custom build you a pickup with protruding pole pieces.
Make sure you ground them btw.

 

[line6man]

They are flush so that when you play over the pickup razor sharp pole pieces don't cut your fingers. OP, you can't be serious about flush pole pieces not looking cool -- I'm sure most people have never given a second thought about that. For the record, since I have been forced to think about it, flush poles look cooler to me.

+1...

You are the first person i have ever heard comment on protruding pole pieces unless it was a question on staggering.

I also feel that flush pole pieces look better.

 

[theophilus762]

flush is better, duh

 

[ctmullins]

Troll alert!!

 

[Max L]

Flush pole pieces ruined my life.

All my friends got that staggered stuff, and they left me. My family disowned me because I didn't have staggered magnets. My girlfriend left me, and my dog shot himself.