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

Curtis Novak Pickups returns — this time with the Strat-V Cojones in the bridge, paired with Strat-V High Wind in the neck and middle. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Curtis Novak Strat-V Cojones Bridge + Strat-V High Wind (Neck + Middle) take center stage — installed in the Fender Custom Shop 1960 Journeyman Relic Stratocaster with Emerson Custom S5B Blender 5-Way Wiring Kit and Treble Bleed, into the Benson Amps Monarch 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. R2R Electric Rangemaster OC44, Origin Effects Revival Drive Compact, and Effectrode Tube Vibe all feature.

Get the Strat-V Cojones bridge: https://www.curtisnovak.com/shop/strat-v/ Get the Strat-V High Wind neck and middle: https://www.curtisnovak.com/shop/strat-v/

The Strat-V family covers three wind levels: Vintage Low, Vintage High, and Cojones — each available in any position, though the Cojones is designed specifically for the bridge. The Strat-V Vintage High Wind has been the bridge pickup in the Journeyman across previous demos on the channel. The Cojones steps above it in output — same vintage-voiced Strat-V character, same dynamic response and chimey vintage quality, but with more power to push an amp at lower volume settings and more body in the bridge position where single coils are naturally thinnest.

This is the third distinct bridge pickup configuration on the Journeyman Strat across this pickup demo series: the Strat-V High Wind (previous demo), the Strat-TB Telecaster-style bridge (previous demo), and now the Strat-V Cojones — all with the same Strat-V High Wind neck and middle. The Cojones sits between the Strat-V High Wind and the Strat-TB tonally: more thickness and output than the High Wind, but with the Strat-V's vintage single coil character rather than the Strat-TB's Telecaster-influenced midrange push.

The Emerson Custom Blender wiring is explored from 03:53 and 09:02 — blending the Cojones bridge into neck and bridge/middle combinations not available on a standard 5-way. The Rangemaster into cranked Monarch from 12:31 is where the Cojones output makes the biggest difference over the High Wind, with a fatter, more authoritative cleanup sweep and more signal available to drive the boost.

Get the Emerson Custom Strat Blender Kit: https://emersoncustom.com/products/s5b-blender-5-way-strat-prewired-kit?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG Treble Bleed: https://emersoncustom.com/products/2017-treble-bleed-circuit-volume-mod?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG

🎸 Curtis Novak Pickups: https://www.curtisnovak.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-V Cojones (Bridge) | Emerson Custom S5B Blender + Treble Bleed 🎛️ R2R Electric Rangemaster OC44 | Origin Effects Revival Drive Compact | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Benson Amps Monarch 2x12" | Boss Waza TAE

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