Ever wonder why a Strat that has 3 pickups but yet it only has two tone controls?  What gives?  Well, usually it is the bridge pickup that gives up its tone control, that's standard Fender wiring that's been around since the Strat's inception.  Sure there are few simple modifications to allow two pickups to share a tone control or you can even change which two pickups use the two tone controls, but bottom line is two pickups have to either share a tone control or one goes without...

With this unique pickguard assembly we've also incorporated 4 recessed mini-toggle switches.  By utilizing Seymour Duncan's tapped pickup sets, three of these switches toggle each of the three pickups between a tapped output level (lower output) or full output, each pickup has it's own switch.  This gives you  a wide range of tonal versatility, it's like having two completely different sets of pickups in one guitar.  The fourth switch is for activating the neck pickup in conjunction with the bridge pickup or for activating all 3 pickups at once.  There are a total of 26 different and unique pickup selections to choose from.

Pickup set selection options are from the tapped versions that Seymour Duncan offers; SSL-3, SSL-4/7, SSL-5/6.  You will be able mix and match any of these pickups to your liking to arrive at the complete set of three pickups. The middle pickup will be Rw/Rp (reverse wound, reverse polarity) for hum cancelling when the 5-way selector switch is in positions 2 and 4.  The SSL-5 and SSL-6 pickups are essentially the same pickup but the SSL-6 has flat pole pieces and the SSL-5 has staggered height pole pieces.  Also, the SSL-4 and SSL-7 are essentially the same pickups as well, but the SSL-4 is the flat pole piece version and the SSL-7 is the staggered height pole piece version.  So basically there are three tonally different pickup sets to choose from; SSL-3, SSL-5/6, SSL-4/7.

Each tone control potentiometer has it's own tone capacitor so you can select which value of capacitor you feel is best for each pickup position. Tone capacitors are the Orange Drop variety.

Control knobs can be selected from the standard plastic Fender knobs you find on all Strat's in any of the 4 colors commonly available, or you can select the optional machined aluminum control knobs as depicted in the photographs below.

Potentiometers used in the assembly will be determined based on the type of control knobs you select.  If you select the standard plastic Fender knob set then the potentiometers will be manufactured by CTS and will have the standard splined shaft.  If you select the custom machined aluminum control knob set then the potentiometers will be manufactured by Bourns and will have a 1/4" solid shaft.  Both of these potentiometers have a 17mm case diameter which is required for this particular 4 control design.

If you select the SSL-4 or SSL-7 (Quarter Pound) pickups they will not have plastic pickup covers installed, the pickup only come as depicted in the photographs below and only in black and will have "Seymour Duncan" imprinted on the top.  Due to the larger pole pieces (1/4") plastic pickup covers are not available for the SSL-4 or SSL-7 pickup sets.

Accessory colors are available in White, Parchment, Aged White and Black.  This will consist of the knob set, pickup covers and switch tip.  If you select the SSL-4 or SSL-7 then the pickups will be black as described above.

We offer 26 different pickguards to choose from in either the standard 11 hole or vintage 8 hole mounting pattern.  Below is a chart of all the available pickguard colors and patterns.  Click on any of the small images below to display a representative image of the pickguard and it's edge characteristic (ply or layers).

Complete guitar shown for illustrations purposes only, product availability will be for the complete and fully loaded pickguard assemblies that will be ready to drop into your favorite Strat.

If you have any questions about this pickguard assembly send us an email.

Last update: March 20, 2011 @ 10:54

Pickguard Selection Options

All pickguards are custom ordered from Warmoth Custom Guitar Parts at the time of your purchase, so there is an approximate 7 day lead time from order placement until we receive your pickguard. When your pickguard is received from Warmoth we will begin the customization of the pickguard, manufacture the 4 recessed mini-toggle switch mounting bracket system and start the assembly process.  On average we should be able to realize a 10 day turnaround time from order placement until your order is ready to ship.

Warmoth is able to provide us with custom pickguards that allows us to further customize it for the 4 potentiometer controls and the 4 recessed mini-toggle switch slots for this unique assembly.  Since the pickguards for this project will need 4 holes for the volume and tone potentiometers and all standard pickguards already have three which won't work.  Warmoth is able to omit the middle potentiometer hole which allows us to further customize the pickguard with the two in-between holes for the neck and middle tone potentiometer controls.  All pickguards arrive from Warmoth Guitars with aluminum foil shielding in the control region only, so if you want it fully shielded with a matching customized version of the '62 style aluminum shielding plate you must select this option at the time of purchase.  This customized aluminum shielding plate is 0.014" thick and is installed on the back side of the pickguard, this is the same way Fender does it on all of it's '62 style pickguard assemblies.  Our custom aluminum shielding plate is modified to accommodate the 4 controls, the 4 recessed mini-toggle switches and the modern 11 hole mounting pattern.