Fender Custom Shop Fat ’50s Pre-Wired Strat Pickguard

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The Fender Custom Shop Fat ’50s Pre-Wired Strat Pickguard is designed for players who like the feel and playability of their Stratocaster but want to change what comes out of the amplifier.

Instead of replacing three pickups individually, rewiring the controls and rebuilding the electronics from separate parts, Fender mounts the complete pickup and control assembly onto a Strat pickguard ready for installation.

At the heart of it are three Custom Shop Fat ’50s single-coil pickups, built around Alnico 5 magnets and Formvar-coated magnet wire. Fender voices the set to retain the clear, open character associated with a Strat while adding a little more fullness in the low end. 

Why a pre-wired pickguard makes sense

Changing pickups can completely alter the character of an electric guitar, but fitting a complete three-pickup Strat set is more involved than simply removing a few screws.

There are pickups to mount and set to the correct height, potentiometers to wire, the selector switch to connect and a collection of small joints that all need to be made correctly.

With this assembly, Fender has already done most of that work.

The three pickups, five-way selector, master volume control and two tone controls are already mounted and wired to the pickguard. The specification includes CTS 250K potentiometers, cloth-covered wiring and traditional fibre pickup bobbins. 

That makes it especially attractive if the existing electronics in a Strat are due for an upgrade as well as the pickups.

Rather than fitting expensive pickups while retaining worn pots or an unreliable switch, you replace most of the working electronics at the same time.

What the Fat ’50s pickups are designed to do

The name gives a fairly good indication of the idea.

These pickups are intended to retain the familiar clarity and dynamic response of a traditional Stratocaster while providing more body at the lower end.

Fender describes the separate Fat ’50s set as producing enhanced bass response without harsh mids, with moderate output rather than the aggressive output of a modern high-gain pickup. 

That distinction matters.

This is not a pickup set designed to turn a Strat into something resembling a humbucker-equipped rock guitar.

The familiar single-coil qualities remain: clear note separation, a responsive top end and the ability to hear changes in picking strength.

The difference is that the sound has a little more weight beneath it.

For clean playing, that can give chords more substance without losing the definition that makes a Strat useful for rhythm work.

Add some overdrive and the extra fullness can help lead notes sound less thin while still maintaining the attack of a single coil.

Three pickups with traditional Strat switching

The controls remain immediately familiar to a Strat player.

There is a five-position blade switch, master volume, one tone control for the neck pickup and a second tone control covering the bridge and middle pickups. 

Position 1 selects the bridge pickup.

Position 2 combines bridge and middle.

Position 3 gives the middle pickup alone.

Position 4 combines middle and neck.

Position 5 selects the neck pickup.

There is nothing complicated to learn after installation.

You simply gain a different set of voices from the same familiar control arrangement.

The bridge pickup supplies the brightest and most direct sound, useful where a part needs bite and definition.

Moving to the neck produces the rounder, warmer side of the set.

The middle pickup sits between those two characters and is also an important part of the classic Strat sounds found in switch positions 2 and 4.

Quieter sounds in positions 2 and 4

The middle pickup is reverse wound and reverse polarity.

When it is combined with the bridge or neck pickup in positions 2 and 4, the arrangement provides hum cancelling while retaining the characteristic two-pickup Strat sound. 

That is useful because conventional single-coil pickups naturally pick up a degree of electrical hum.

You should not expect the entire guitar to become noiseless in every switch position.

The bridge, middle and neck pickups used individually remain true single coils.

But the two combined positions give you quieter alternatives, which can be particularly welcome around overdrive pedals, stage lighting and electrically noisy rooms.

Alnico 5 magnets and staggered pole pieces

Fender uses Alnico 5 magnets with staggered, hand-bevelled pole pieces.

The stagger is intended to balance the response across the strings, while Alnico 5 provides the lively dynamic character associated with many traditional Fender-style pickups. 

In practical terms, this is the type of pickup where the way you attack the strings matters.

Pick lightly and the sound remains relatively clean and delicate.

Dig in harder and the attack becomes more pronounced.

That responsiveness is one of the reasons vintage-style single coils continue to appeal even when far more powerful pickups are available.

A pickup does not necessarily need extreme output to make a guitar feel expressive.

Sometimes leaving more dynamics intact gives the amplifier and pedals more to work with.

Formvar wire and period-style construction

Fender uses Formvar-coated magnet wire, cloth-covered lead wire and fibre bobbins in the Fat ’50s design. 

Those are traditional construction details rather than cosmetic additions.

Formvar was widely associated with early Fender-style pickup construction, and the cloth-covered leads fit the vintage-inspired approach.

This does not mean fitting the pickguard somehow turns a modern Strat into a genuine 1950s instrument.

The guitar body, neck, bridge, amplifier and player all contribute to the final sound.

But Fender is clearly aiming to reproduce many of the materials and design choices associated with its earlier single-coil pickups while giving the set a slightly fuller voice.

What it feels like after the upgrade

A pickup upgrade does not alter the physical playability of a guitar.

It will not change the neck shape, fret height, action or string tension.

That is worth stating because the older version of this article suggested otherwise.

What changes is the way the guitar responds electrically.

If you already like the way your Strat feels in your hands, changing the pickups can let you keep that familiarity while giving the instrument a different voice.

A neck that has been played for years still feels exactly the same.

The bridge remains where your picking hand expects it.

The controls are still laid out like a Strat.

What you hear through the amplifier is the part that changes.

This is one of the reasons pickup upgrades make so much sense on a guitar that already fits you well.

You are improving the part you want to change without giving up the parts you already enjoy.

Installation is easier — but it still involves soldering

The phrase pre-wired can easily create the impression that the pickguard simply plugs into the guitar.

That is not quite the case.

Fender states that installation involves removing the existing guard, then soldering the output-jack and ground wiresbefore screwing the new assembly into place. 

So most of the complicated internal wiring is already completed, but some soldering is still required.

For somebody comfortable with a soldering iron, that is a relatively small job compared with building the complete circuit from individual components.

If you have never soldered guitar electronics before, however, there is nothing wrong with asking a guitar technician to install it.

A good pickup set deserves good solder joints.

Poor connections can introduce noise, intermittent output or grounding problems, and overheating a component through inexperience can create a problem that did not exist before the upgrade.

Compatibility needs checking first

The current Fender assembly uses an 11-hole modern mounting pattern and is intended for a right-handed Stratocaster-style installation. 

That means it is important to look at your existing guitar before ordering.

Not every guitar with a Strat-style body uses exactly the same pickguard screw pattern.

Older instruments, some reissues and non-Fender Strat-style guitars can differ.

Pickup and control cavities beneath the guard also vary between manufacturers.

The easiest situation is a compatible Fender Strat already using the same modern 11-hole arrangement.

With anything else, measure and compare carefully rather than assuming that because the body resembles a Strat, every hole will line up perfectly.

The controls are already part of the upgrade

One thing I particularly like about a complete assembly is that you are not paying attention only to the pickups.

Fender includes CTS 250K potentiometers, the selector switch and the rest of the controls as part of the pre-wired system. 

If your existing Strat is several years old, this can be useful.

Pots eventually become scratchy.

Selector switches can become unreliable.

Old solder joints may have been repaired several times.

Changing the entire loaded pickguard means a large proportion of that electrical system is renewed at once.

It also makes the original assembly easier to preserve.

If you ever decide to return the guitar to its previous specification, the old pickguard can potentially be kept complete rather than dismantled for parts.

Where the sound works best

The Fat ’50s set is versatile, but its personality is still recognisably Stratocaster.

Clean rhythm playing makes good use of the clarity and string definition.

Blues players should appreciate the fuller neck sound and dynamic response.

Classic rock and lighter overdrive work naturally with the bridge and middle positions.

The in-between sounds remain useful for funk, soul and cleaner rhythm parts where articulation matters.

Pedals can take the pickups much further.

A good overdrive can add sustain without completely flattening the natural response of the single coils, while delay, modulation and reverb all benefit from having a clear signal feeding them.

What the Fat ’50s are less interested in doing is replacing the character of a Strat entirely.

If your goal is an extremely compressed, high-output sound for heavy modern gain, there are pickup designs aimed much more directly at that job.

The drawbacks

The first drawback is simple: these are still single-coil pickups.

The reverse-wound/reverse-polarity middle pickup helps cancel hum in positions 2 and 4, but the individual pickup positions are not noiseless. 

If you regularly play with very high gain or work in electrically noisy venues, traditional single-coil hum may still be noticeable.

Players who need absolute quiet from every selector position may be better served by a purpose-designed noiseless set.

The second consideration is output.

Fat ’50s pickups are designed around vintage-style character and Fender describes the separate set as moderate output. 

That is part of their appeal, but it also means they may not suit somebody specifically looking for extremely hot pickups to drive an amplifier as hard as possible.

They respond more like a traditional Strat set with added fullness than a modern high-output conversion.

Compatibility also deserves careful attention.

The pickguard uses an 11-hole modern pattern, so buying it for an older Strat, reissue or non-Fender guitar without checking screw placement could result in holes that do not line up. 

That is not a defect in the product.

It is simply the reality that the term “Strat-style” covers a huge number of instruments with small dimensional differences.

The assembly is also for right-handed guitars.

Left-handed players need to make sure they are buying hardware designed for the orientation of their instrument.

Installation, although simplified, is not completely tool-free.

You still need to remove the existing strings or loosen them sufficiently, remove the old pickguard, make the required solder connections and reassemble the guitar.

The output jack and ground wires must still be soldered. 

Anyone uncomfortable with that work needs to factor in professional installation.

Pickup height also needs setting after installation.

Even a good pickup can sound disappointing if it sits far too low or excessively close to the strings.

Too low and the output may feel weak.

Too high and magnetic pull can begin to affect the strings.

Taking a little time to balance the three pickups by ear is part of getting the best from the upgrade.

The traditional staggered pole pieces will not suit every possible guitar setup equally either.

They originate from vintage Fender thinking, while modern Strat players use many different fingerboard radii and string gauges.

For most compatible instruments this will not be a problem, but somebody with an unusual setup should not assume that a vintage-style stagger is automatically ideal for every string configuration.

Another limitation is that a pickup upgrade cannot repair a guitar that has more fundamental problems.

If the neck is uncomfortable, the frets are badly worn, the tremolo will not stay in tune or the instrument simply does not inspire you to pick it up, fitting better pickups may not solve the real issue.

This upgrade makes the most sense when you already like the guitar mechanically and want to improve or change its amplified voice.

Appearance matters too.

The current pre-wired pickguards are available in specific Fender finishes, with aged-white controls and covers. 

That may look excellent on one Strat and less convincing on another.

Because a pickguard occupies such a large area of the front of the guitar, changing it has a much bigger visual effect than replacing pickups alone.

Finally, the Fat ’50s have a particular tonal direction.

If you already love the pickups in your Strat, changing them simply because this set has the Custom Shop name may not improve anything for you.

A pickup upgrade should solve a real problem or move the guitar towards a sound you actually want.

If your present Strat sounds exactly right, leaving it alone is a perfectly sensible decision.

Who it suits best

The Fender Custom Shop Fat ’50s Pre-Wired Strat Pickguard makes most sense for somebody who already owns a compatible Strat that feels good to play but wants a fuller, more vintage-inspired single-coil sound.

It is particularly attractive if the existing electronics are basic, worn or due for replacement because the upgrade includes far more than just three loose pickups.

Blues, classic rock, soul, funk and clean-to-moderately-driven players should find plenty to work with.

It also suits someone who wants traditional Strat character rather than a radical transformation into a high-output modern instrument.

And because most of the wiring is already completed, it is considerably less daunting than buying three separate pickups, pots, switch and wiring components and constructing everything from scratch.

Is it worth the guitar space?

In this case, the product does not take up any additional space at all.

It replaces equipment already inside the guitar.

That is part of what makes a good pickup upgrade appealing.

The Strat remains the same instrument in your hands, but the electrical heart of it changes.

With three Custom Shop Fat ’50s single coils, Alnico 5 magnets, Formvar wire, CTS 250K pots, traditional five-way switching and a hum-cancelling middle pickup arrangement in positions 2 and 4, the assembly gives a compatible Strat a substantial electronics upgrade in one package. 

There are still things to consider: traditional single-coil hum, compatibility, installation soldering and whether the Fat ’50s voicing actually suits the music you play.

But if you already own a Strat you enjoy and feel that its pickups are the part holding it back, this is a far more sensible approach than replacing a perfectly good guitar simply to chase a different sound.

Explore more guitar upgrades and useful accessories in our Accessories section.

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