Curtis Novak Pickups Strat-TB Bridge & Strat-V High Wind Pickup Set — Fender Stratocaster Upgrade

Curtis Novak Pickups returns to the channel — this time with an unconventional Stratocaster pickup configuration that I think might be the answer to the bridge pickup problem. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Curtis Novak Strat-V High Wind Neck and Middle pickups pair with the Curtis Novak Strat-TB Telecaster-style bridge pickup — all installed in the Fender Custom Shop 1960 Journeyman Relic Stratocaster with Emerson Custom S5B Blender 5-Way wiring, into the Benson Amps Monarch via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. Origin Effects Revival Drive Compact, R2R Electric Rangemaster OC44, and Effectrode Tube Vibe feature in the second half.

Get the Curtis Novak Strat-TB bridge: https://www.curtisnovak.com/shop/strat-tb/
Get the Curtis Novak Strat-V High Wind: https://www.curtisnovak.com/shop/strat-v/

The Strat-V High Wind pickups in the neck and middle positions are Curtis Novak's vintage-specification Stratocaster single coil — voiced for the warm, chimey, bloom-heavy character of a classic '60s Strat. High wind for extra warmth and output. The middle is reverse-wound/reverse-polarity for hum cancellation in the middle/neck and middle/bridge positions.

The bridge position is where this configuration becomes genuinely interesting. The Strat-TB is a Telecaster-style bridge pickup installed in a Stratocaster bridge position. The Telecaster bridge pickup's tonal character is fundamentally different from a Stratocaster bridge pickup: thicker, more midrange-forward, substantially less of the brittle, glassy top end that makes Strat bridge pickups difficult to use at higher amp volumes. The coil geometry and magnets of a Tele bridge pickup produce a tone that works with humbuckers and single coils alike without requiring significant tonal compensation from the amp. The bridge/middle position (05:01, 10:47) is where this becomes most compelling — the Strat-V Middle's vintage chimey character with the Strat-TB's thickness underneath is a combination a standard Strat 5-way can't produce.

The Emerson Custom Blender wiring also allows blending the neck and bridge pickups together (explored from 13:21), giving a parallel Tele-style neck+bridge combined voice — another tone unavailable on standard Strat wiring.

🎸 Curtis Novak Pickups: https://www.curtisnovak.com
🎛️ Emerson Custom: https://emersoncustom.com
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

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🎸 Fender Custom Shop '60 Journeyman Relic Strat | Curtis Novak Strat-V High Wind (Neck + Middle) + Strat-TB (Bridge) | Emerson Custom S5B Blender Wiring
🎛️ Origin Effects Revival Drive Compact | R2R Electric Rangemaster OC44 | Effectrode Tube Vibe
🔊 Benson Amps Monarch | Boss Waza TAE

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 12