Prewired Strat Assembly (S-S-S)

Rothstein Guitars is an AUTHORIZED DEALER for all these manufacturers listed on this page which means any pickups you purchase purchase from us carries the full manufacturer's warranty.

• LINDY FRALIN PICKUPS- These are abulous pickups. We have installed these pickups in countless guitars and what is rather amazing is how consistently good they sound. They are wound by hand by Lindy and his staff in Richmond, VA. We stock 4 configurations: Vintage Hots w/Base Plate on Bridge pickup, Vintage Hots w/SP43 Bridge Pickup, Blues Specials w/Base Plate on Bridge Pickup and Blues Specials w/SP43 Bridge Pickup.
  
  
• CURTIS NOVAK PICKUPS- If you're looking for the highest quality truly hand-wound "boutique" pickups then check out Curtis Novak. What do they sound like? Check out the following sound samples. I recorded these as a stereo signal into Pro Tools - one channel using my early 1970's Marshall Super Lead (100 watt), and the other channel a direct signal using Amplitube plug-in:

  Stevie Ray Pride & Joy type lick using neck/middle position - clean with slight edge

  Hendrix Voodo Chile lick using bridge position blending in some neck pickup via a blender pot - dirty with amp distortion

  Wind Cries Mary using neck/middle position - clean sound

  Rhythm Changes (jazz)- this has 2 guitar parts both with the tone knob rolled down about 1/2 way. The rhythm guitar is using the neck/middle position, and the lead part is using the neck position.

  Curt has been hand winding pickups for 20 years and has studied the methods of the masters. He is quite adept at "scatterwinding" which many feel is one of the secrets to great tone. You will see some very unique options on his site. You may one of 3 different models when ordering: Vintage (these are the real deal old school sound), Vintage w/Hot Bridge (this is a custom setup Curtis winds for Rothstein Guitars which has a vintage neck/middle with a slightly overwound bridge pickup which sounds beefier), and the 3rd option is Custom, meaning you will specify what you are after and we will request that Curtis custom wind this to your specs.

• SUHR PICKUPS- Awesome Strat pickups by John Suhr, master builder of Suhr guitars. All Suhr Strat sets have a RWRP middle pickup for hum-canceling in the 2 and 4 positions. We stock 2 configurations: V60 and ML Standards. With V60, a hand winding technique is reproduced on a computerized winder for consistent hand wound tone of the early '60s, using heavy Formvar wire. These are constructed with Alnico 5 magnets, with a typical DC resistance ranging from 6.4K (neck) to 7.3K (bridge). FYI, John Suhr has sourced his Alnico magnet rods from the same vendor that Fender used in the '50s and '60s. MLs sound big and full while retaining the detailed high-end sparkle and the big tight lows of the best vintage pickups.
  
  

Voodoo Tone - Have you ever asked the question: "why do I really need two tone pots to control different pickups on a Strat?" I've wondered the same thing myself which is whyI love this mod. Both tone controls function as master tone controls. One tone pot is a standard tone control that cuts highs. The other tone pot is a passive midrange control that enhances mids from 5 to 10 for a thicker sound, and scoops mids from 5 to 0 for a glassy almost acoustic like tone. Read more about the passive midrange mod here. This is totally passive and requires NO batteries and NO body routing at all.

Voodoo Tone Plus - Same as the Voodoo Tone wiring above only this comes with a trick "neck-on" switch. The neck-on switch mounted on the tone control has a push-pull pot which is used to engage the neck pickup at any time, regardless of which position you have selected using the 5 way switch. This allows you to get the two missing sounds from a strat namely neck/bridge (think Tele like tone) and all three pickups on at the same time.

Voodoo Tone Monster - This is our most popular Strat assembly and it is unique to Rothstein Guitars. It is exactly the same as the Voodoo Tone Plus (above) only this includes 3PDT (3 pole double throw) mini switch to engage the bridge and middle pickups together in SERIES mode for a louder sound with more bottom. Most people use DPDT (double pole double throw) switches for series/parallel switching but the problem we have found with this approach is that when the series link is active, several positions of the 5 way switch produce no sound at all. Our solution is to use the extra pole provided by the 3PDT switch to simply bypass the 5 way. Think of it as a kind of "blow" switch. You can read more about this mod here. Note: This pickguard has an extra hole drilled to accommodate the 3PDT switch.

Fralin Blender - A blender pot replaces one of a Strat's tone controls, and allows you to combine the neck and bridge pickups together. Blenders are "no-load" pots modified to eliminate bleed-through when turned fully clockwise. When the blender pot is fully clockwise it is completely removed from the circuit and does not load the guitar's circuit in anyway shape or form. Turning the pot counter-clockwise will blend in either the neck or bridge pickup, whichever is not engaged by the 5-way switch.

Fralin Blender Plus - Very cool and unique to Rothstein Guitars!!! It is exactly the same as the Fralin Blender (above), only the tone control is replaced by one of our "Mid-Scoop/Tone Switches" mounted on a push-pull pot. When the switch is down this functions as a standard tone control. When the switch is up it scoops mid for a glassy, almost "acoustic" like quality.

Jimmie Vaughn - This is basically stock strat wiring but some feel this is a more useful way of employing two tone controls. The first tone control affects positions 4 and 5 of the selector switch only (neck and neck/mid) and the second tone control affects positions 1 and 2 only (bridge and bridge/mid). The only position without a tone control is position 3.

Stock - Basic 60's stock strat wiring where the first tone control affects positions 4 and 5 of the selector switch while the 2nd tone control affects positions 2,3 and 4.

SBE Orange Drop capacitors will be used by default at no extra charge, or for an upcharge you may select between Sozo NextGen Blue Molded, and VH Audio's V-CAP TONE series ultra high-end Paper in Oil. The price will vary depending upon which capacitor you select. Read about our capacitor choices here. NOTE: The capacitor upgrade doesn't apply the RG500D passive midrange control, which will use Orange Drops only.

A volume kit (also know as a "treble retention circuit" or "high-pass filter") is used to prevent the loss of highs associated with lowering the volume on your guitar. We use a 1000 pf Mallory 150 Series Metalized Polyester Tubular capacitor in parallel with a 150K resistor.

Installation is pretty easy as you only have 3 solder connections to make. To make it even easier, we can wire your assembly with pin and socket connectors, thus eliminating the need for soldering. We'll send you a new claw and output jack with pin connectors attached to match up to corresponding socket connectors in the prewired harness. The pins and sockets are color-coded, so all you will need to do is match the colors and connect corresponding male and female connectors. In total, your assembly will include 3 pin/socket pairs, 2 pairs for the output jack and 1 additional pair for the trem claw. Note: When you remove your existing trem claw you will need to re-setup your guitar. If you are not familiar with how to properly setup a Strat style guitar with a floating tremolo, then you should NOT opt for the solderless option.

We are the only company offering pre-wired harnesses with very high quality, noise canceling, THICK copper shielding as opposed to the flimsy aluminum foil that others will use. Read more about our shields here.

Since these are custom ordered, you can choose from a wide array of pickguard colors. By default, all are .09 thick with 11 perimeter holes but we can handle any requirements. We can also special order additional colors by request. We get our pickguards from both Warmoth and WD Music Products, both of who produce very high quality pickguards.

* IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT CELLULOID PICKUARDSWarmoth's and WD Music's Tortoise pickguards are both made of genuine celluloid like you will see on vintage Fender guitars. This is the GENUINE stuff. Please be aware that celluloid is very flammable, so please keep it away from flames. Celluloid is a solvent based plastic and it tends to shrink over the years. Many vintage Fender guitars are plagued with this phenomenon. Very often the material cups slightly, so that when placed on a flat surface its edges may be raised 1/4" to 1/2" above the surface. Even if they're cupped when they come out of the package, they can easily be screwed flat onto the guitar.

This option refers to the color of the knobs and pickup covers, and available with a matching spring plate as well (marked "full kit"). Choose between black, white and parchment. The price for the knob/pickup cover only combination is $7 in any color, and the "full kit" runs $20.

The copper shield will be embossed with our logo as a method of branding and authenticating our wiring.