ThroBak Stratocaster Pickups - Free Shipping Worldwide

ThroBak Stratocaster pickups reproduce every detail of the the most sought after vintage Strat Pickups from Fender's Golden Era. We applied that same Maximum Vintage approach that made ThroBak the premium P.A.F. pickup repro maker to create the best vintage Stratocaster replacement pickups possible.

All ThroBak MXV Strat pickups are 100% made in the USA. Our exclusive USA cast Alnico 5, vintage clone magnets and vintage Nylon Stratocaster pickup cover reproductions and vulcanized fiberboard flatwork nail the construction, tone and look of the best Stratocaster Pickups of the Fullerton era. Treat yourself and your guitar to tones that do justice to the legacy of this classic design.
Made in USA.

ThroBak MXV Strat Pickup Vintage Repro Alnico Magnet Specs.:

ThroBak A5 Rod Magnets

Stratocaster pickups are a marriage of both elegance and simplicity in design. The small number of components in a Stratocaster pickups mean the choice of Alnico rod magnet has a huge impact on the final tone of the pickup. In order to accurately reproduce the tone of our reference vintage Strat pickups, ThroBak uses custom made USA cast Alnico magnets. ThroBak USA cast magnets are cast, ground and cut right here in the USA, start to finish. Our formulations are derived from vintage sample magnets that ThroBak sent to our Indiana based, magnet maker for chemical analysis. The cost for USA cast Alnico magnets is dramatically higher than overseas cast Alnico magnets. However, USA cast ThroBak magnets assure the specifications are exactly what is needed for ThroBak to duplicate the tone and inductance profile of the best vintage Stratocaster pickups. ThroBak Alnico rod magnets are 100% USA made.

Available in Vintage Stagger poles or flat poles.

Strat Pickup Covers: ThroBak Vintage Accurate Nylon Covers

Top to Bottom: Aged White, Parchment, Heavily Aged White

Vintage accurate look from ThroBak's hand polished Strat cover mold.

The icing on the cake of ThroBak Reproduction Strat pickups are our Maximum Vintage Nylon covers that are included with every set of Stratocaster pickups. These covers are molded with our own tooling to duplicate the vintage look of 60's era Nylon Stratocaster covers. Rather than the hyper-glossy wet look of mass produced Stratocaster covers, ThroBak covers show the same hand polishing marks, tooling shadows and occasional flow marks of vintage Stratocaster pickup covers. As with ThroBak P.A.F. bobbin repros we feel reproducing the cosmetic imperfections of vintage pickups is part of what makes a great reproduction look and feel right to the player. ThroBak Repro Strat pickup covers, choose: Parchment, Aged White and Heavily Aged White when you order your ThroBak MXV Stratocaster pickup repros. Made in the USA.

'63/'64 Strat Pickup Coils: Vintage Wound, Fullerton Accurate

ThroBak's Vintage ME-481A pickup winder.

The ThroBak Maximum Vintage philosophy is simple, to reproduce a classic pickup you must duplicate the processes and materials used decades ago in the construction of the vintage pickup. And no other process is more important to pickup tone than the coil winding. To accurately reproduce the coils of vintage '63 and '64 Stratocaster pickups, ThroBak tracked down the same vintage model Meteor ME-481A pickup winder that Fender used to wind Stratocaster pickups in the '60s. The '63/'64 period represents a transition to exclusively machine wound coils by Fender and the proper winding machine, wire guides and tension method are key to the tonal quality of pickups from this era. Our vintage ME-481A winding machine is complete with original wire guides allowing ThroBak to reproduce every nuance of the original vintage coils. This machine is exclusively set up to wind Fender style pickups so ThroBak can give guitar players the most vintage accurate tone possible with every set of Strat pickups we make.

Strat Pickup Coil Wire: Plain Enamel and Heavy Formvar

To make sure ThroBak Strat pickup reproductions are as accurate to vintage as possible we use 42 AWG heavy Formvar magnet wire or 42 AWG Plain Enamel wires specific to the era of pickup we are reproducing. As with ThroBak P.A.F. pickup reproductions, we hand sort the wire for ohms per foot and an outside diameter within the 42 AWG tolerance so we can duplicate the same vintage variation in tolerance that was present in the 50's and 60's. Made in USA.

42 AWG Plain Enamel Wire and Heavy Formvar Wire

Vintage Wax Potting Method

ThroBak Wax Potted Stratocaster Pickup Photo

The best vintage Stratocaster pickups are alive with overtones and acoustic qualities making for an extremely expressive pickup. An important part of duplicating these qualities is using the vintage era wax potting method. By carefully controlling time, temperature and agitation of the pickup while in wax, we can nail the "sweet spot" of vintage Fender pickup wax potting that both preserves the tonal nuance of the pickup and protects the coil. When compared to vintage potting methods, modern vacuum wax potted coils sound dull and lifeless. ThroBak Stratocaster pickups are treated with vintage method of wax potting so the player can experience the best possible tone.

Strat Pickup Hookup wire: Vintage Correct Stranded Wire

ThroBak Stratocaster pickup reproductions use the same individually stranded cloth hookup wire that was used for vintage Fender pickups. The vast majority of Fender style pickups on the market today, including the current Fender production pickups, use stranded wire that has been fused together with solder along it's entire length. Vintage Fender pickups did not use this style of wire. At ThroBak we think that the smallest of details can add up to an important tonal impact in the finished assembled pickup. For this reason ThroBak special orders cloth covered hookup wire made the vintage correct way, with individual core strands that are not fused together with solder. We use this custom made wire in all ThroBak Strat pickup reproductions. Made in USA.