Pro Wiring for Your Strat® – 1954 Vintage 3-Way Stratocaster Wiring
Just the way they used to make ’em. The first Strats only used a 3 way pickup switch disallowing the “in between tones”. Neck or Middle or Bridge only! Players used to have to jam pieces of card in the switch to achieve extra tones from the pickups, you can too! This is one for the purists…
Using top grade electronic components found in high end guitars, our Classic Strat® wiring harness uses expertly soldered vintage cloth wire to boot guaranteeing the best true-tone of your pickups
The 54 Vintage Strat® wiring harness consists of:
- 3 x CTS USA pots
- Prewired Switchcraft® USA 1/4” jack socket
- 3 way pickup selector switch
- Your choice of polypropylene audiophile grade Tone Capacitor value
- Strat wiring diagram to connect your pickups and jack/ground
- Solderless installation option
We offer some tweakable options for you as well as a no-solder-installation version! Or select “stock” for the true classic circuit
Choosing a Custom Tone Capacitor Choosing Custom Pots
Made by Real Guitar Techs in Manchester
1954 Vintage 3-Way Stratocaster Wiring
Functions
- Volume
- Tone (Neck Pickup)
- Tone (Middle + Bridge Pickup*)
- 3 Way Pickup switch (original to 1954 Strats)
- Neck
- Middle
- Bridge
CTS USA Pots
Featuring Vintage spec CTS pots, our prewired Strat kit is the ultimate upgrade to stock electronics in any guitar. Our pots have a classic audio taper designed to give a smooth roll off without suddenly jumping in volume
Vintage Cloth Wire
Only the best #22AWG Gavitt wire is used in our circuits for true vintage tone and look
*Bridge Pickup Tone Control Option
Want to tame your bridge pickup? Our Strat harness comes with the bridge pickup connected to the last tone control. If you’d rather avoid this, please let us know 🙂
Choice of Tone capacitor
You can tune the way your circuit sounds by tweaking the tone capacitor. Here’s a helpful guide to choosing capacitors
Choice of Pot Resistance
Customise your circuit, are humbuckers or singlecoils going to be used here? You can choose the resistance value of the pots we’ll use to make your harness. Helpful guide on choosing pot values
Installation
Simply screw in the prewired Strat® kit into your pickguard and reconnect your pickups, the jack socket and the ground running from the bridge or tremolo claw. Follow our easy to understand wiring diagram provided. This kit comes with a prewired jack socket and just needs attaching to the volume control.
Solderless Installation Option
When a Solderless version is bought, you have a super easy job as you only need to screw in the connections – no soldering iron required! Follow our easy to understand wiring diagram provided. This kit comes with a prewired jack socket and just needs attaching to the volume control.
Right or Left Handed
Select whether you wish to have your wiring made right or left handed, lefties turn fully anticlockwise for full volume. We’ll use a top quality C Curve CTS pot so that the volume and tones turn down evenly and smoothly
Will this fit my guitar?
This Stratocaster® wiring harness will fit any Strat style guitar. You may be required to drill the holes on your pickguard to 10mm diameter to accommodate the larger USA CTS pots. The pot body is 24mm
If installing into an imported model or Strat® copy, you may need new control knobs and switch tip to fit the US made CTS pots and Pickup Switch.
Need a loaded pickguard ? We can load in this wiring into your Custom Pickguard order no stress!
Why Choose Tiny Tone?
The wiring put together by Jack is none other than expert. He’s been repairing guitars as the owner of Jack’s Instrument Services, Guitar repair workshop in Manchester since 2009; modifying, restoring and upgrading all types of guitars and basses. The wiring you see for sale here is a result of years of expertise, technique, road testing and refinement. Each pickguard, pedal and wiring solution is grounded in what works in the real world using parts and skills that we proudly stand behind!
