A magnetic write head provides a significant write field and minimal adjacent track erasure, and lends itself to improved manufacturability. The write head includes a pedestal throat height that defines a bottom pole, P1, and that is substantially recessed from the air bearing surface. The write head further includes a top pole, P2, that defines a nose that is closer to the air bearing surface than the pedestal zero throat. This design achieves a relatively high ratio of the off-track to on-track field. As an example, a 1:4 ratio could be achieved to significantly mitigate the erasure problem of the adjacent tracks resulting from magnetic flux saturation.