Steeltronics pickups are available in multiple pole spacings to give the best fit to your particular installation. The options are available in the drop down menus for each pickup, but how is this measured exactly?
The pic below below shows an example of how to measure and choose the best spacing for your steel. The measurement is taken with the rule or tape measure sitting on top of the strings at the centerline of the pickup, and you simply get the spacing measurement from the highest to the lowest string. In the pic I have the rule sitting with the 20 mm mark at the highest string and the lowest string is at the 95 mm mark, so the actual string spacing is 95 - 20 mm which equals 75 mm.
This picture also demonstrates why the ruler must be sitting directly on the strings and not below it on the pickup itself. As viewed in the photo the pole spacing does not seem to match up with the string spacing, however I can assure you it actually does in real life on this steel. This is due to what is called parallax error , which occurs when viewing a measurement from different angles. The combination of the camera being at a slight angle above the strings and the depth from the strings down to the pickup produces what looks like a difference in the photo. With the rule on the strings the depth difference is almost zero so the error is very small even at a much larger camera angle.
If your spacing does not closely match up with one of the pulldowm menu choices, contact us and we can discuss a custom spacing. We have built many customs including wider spacing, 11 string pickups, etc.