Blender system for Strats
The blender system is quite simply the finest enhancement ever made for the Stratocaster. It turns the instrument into the soulful angel of expression you've always dreamed of by unleashing all the nuances of the instrument.
Strat Blender Harness
Pots are fairly inexpensive, mounting harness is really cool, but I did have a few sound issues after wiring and ended up replacing the blender pot itself because it was making an odd noise and felt like the shaft was flimsy. I took my pickguard to a tech for final inspection and he agreed with my findings. Wiring diagram was very simple to follow, shipping was reliable, and customer service is great.
Vintage 5 Way with Blender for Strat
Where do I begin? First of all, a very nifty and novel solution to an age-old problem, and one that works elegantly. Installed very simply, works as it should, top-shelf components.
Sounds fantastic. Really lets the voice of my Fender Pure Vintage '64 pickups through, and the blend knob gives a great kick when needed. Best of all, it sounds different enough from my late '50's style Strat that I can justify keeping both.
Fantastic Product Through and Through!
Excellent craftsmanship from packaging to product, exceptional ease of use and of course what matters most, phenomenal sound. Keep up the good work Obsidianwire team, you've gained a lifelong customer!
Custom Blender is the "real deal".
I love the tones I now get from my Strat after installing the Custom Blender plug n play!
Strat Blender
Wow this works so well
Easy to install
Truly brings out the tone choices.
Great product
Tele 4way
Works great in my Bootlegger Single Barrel with custom Harmonic Design pickups.
Perfect fit and super easy to wire up.
Great upgrade!
I put this blender into my lone star (HSS) strat and am very happy with the build quality of the parts and the resulting tone. The instructions were generally clear and helpful, although it did take me some time and extra research to figure out how to wire in the bridge humbucker (i.e., connect the series wires together). Not a huge deal, as the blender seems intended for SSS strats, but might be helpful for future users to have this addressed in the Instructions.
Quality, Simplicity and Tonality
While I know the Obsidian tone blender for my '97 Amer Std Strat (3 single coils) is no substitute for a Tele, it gets me closer and for a lot less money. Before I purchased it, I knew my guitar strings needed replacing, so I kept cleaning them with Hoppes #9 gun cleaning solvent to retain some tone until making the decision to purchase the model STB-250.
When it arrived a month later early in the week, I decided to wait until Friday evening where I would have a few uninterrupted hours to do everything at one time: remove the old strings, clean the fretboard, remove the pick guard and see what I was in for, decide if I should install the STB-250 or not and install the new strings.
I discovered wires and more wires, but after having viewed a number of videos on YouTube, I got to work. As I snipped the bridge's ground wire, I discovered, as did another reviewer who posted, "... I must say that Fender did not leave me with extra wire. I trimmed off the extra length from the output jack for extension." I resolved that issue in the very same way and then proceeded to install each wire into the connector. I also installed the new jack provided in the kit. I did use my original switch screws as I like their look a finish,
I used a multimeter (no video recommended doing this) to test each switch position and pickup to ensure continuity but something didn't seem quite right so I Googled which wires on my single coils were hot and which were ground: I had them backwards! So, quickly enough I was able to reverse them!
Oh, the joy of NO SOLDERING! I put the pick guard on and headed to my guitar room to test it out. It worked the first time! Nice.
I like the tonal options of the Obsidian, in that I can get the new ones and also the old ones. There is something about the original switch positions that still sounds good to my ear (is that 23 years of hearing the same thing?), but I also like the optional blending of pickups in Obsidian mode. My guitar is now a much more versatile instrument.
I highly recommend this product. If I can do it, you can do it too!
An added bonus are the two Obsidian .80mm picks. They are a bit thick for my liking but they offer a warmer sound than my thin Dunlop .46 and .60. One cannot have too many picks, right?
Wish I knew of Obsidian sooner
Im about a year into playing guitar and was already 3 pickup changes in trying to find a better sound for my strat. Obviously all those changes add up in soldering which i paid a tech to do, and so Obsidian has been a god send. Its simple to install (i never soldered or worked on electronics before) and attach your pickups and wiring. In my opinion it even made the pickups I decided to keep sound better. Im a customer for life and will put them in all my future guitars.
Good but needs improvement
Pickup Insert /receptor holes are not conducive to small wires like those found In most pickups. This system will only engage hard wire. I ended up having to still solder hard wire with soft wire to allow for proper locking.
Sound wise, excellent!
Please improve on the most crucial part, that is to save us from having to solder In the first place.
Custom 6-way Blender for Strat Review
The 6-way blender upgrade for my Fender Squier works beautifully. Installation was a breeze. The solderless connector was great and easy. I had to modify my pickguard only slightly to fit the unit into place. The blender sounds great and gives you more option for sound. I would recommend this for anyone who wants an easy way to upgrade your guitar electronics.
Perfect
Purchased the strat set up for my warmoth build. I'm horrible at installing or working on anything with wires. Let me tell you, I installed this thing in about 1 minute and 10 seconds. Everything worked like a charm with my new Mojotone 58 quiet coils. Whether novice player making mods or pros modding or repairing, I highly recommend. Fit perfect in strat routing hole. Dropped right in with 100% no soldering.
Great product
Fantastic product, very well made, supereasy to install, works perfectly.
Obsidian Wire Blender
This is a well made product and does what it says.. The only down side is that if it gets sent from the USA you have to pay import duty on it. Apart from that it works very well and is very easy to install.. Mine is controlling a set of Iron Pig pickups and for recording the whole set up is extremely quiet so absolutely no problem recommending Obsidian Wire products.
Blender Obsidian wire for fender stratocaster
My Obsidian wire arrived very quickly and I was very pleased with the packaging.
The unit fit my fender pickguard perfectly.
Incredibly easy to follow instruction booklet and there was a very helpful video on youtube .I would give this product more than 5 five stars .
Just get it; you won't be disappointed!
I purchased the Blender kit for my own "Frankenstrat" upgrade. While I'm fully capable of doing my own wiring, I wanted something that I didn't have to fuss with and would just work. I was also really pleased to see that there was a version with 500K pots - my 80s Duncan Custom (bridge) and MojoTone QuietCoils (middle and neck) need 500K pots to do their thing properly. The update in clarity and chime over the original wiring is just amazing. There is just more "there" there... and I dig it. The build quality and ease of installation make this a no-brainer.
Strat obsidian wire
Excellent craftsmanship and quality. Doesn’t take long to install. Works good. Thanks
Soc
Amazing Product!!
The Blender kit has breathed new life into my 57 reissue Strat. It is brilliant. After installing the kit, I heard an instant and SIGNIFICANT difference in tone quality, clarity, noise reduction and sustain. I have wanted to replace the old wiring in this for many years and was dreading re-soldering the massive knot of existing components. After using this thing for just one day, I can't imagine why anyone would go back to traditional wiring setups.
The only suggestion I can make to make this product even easier to assemble and to use is to widen the spaces between the wire connection sockets. My single coil pickups have thicker, vintage cloth wiring and it was difficult at first to feed the wires into the sockets.
Upgraded an '83 American Std Strat
I have an '83 Am Std which I've owned since '92. It had the old TBX tone control I replaced the crackling pots and switch over 10 years ago, gigged with it and played at home. The pots needed replacing again and I thought I'd give the Obsidian Wire upgrade a go. Slap me six ways 'til Sunday! Really brought my old lady to life. I'm in love again. So many great tones and the quality of the pots under the fingers is noticeable. Even the middle pick up sounds sexy. Easy fit, especially not having to solder anything, but it's the tones that really make this for me. Thanks guys, great product.
great
easy to install, sounds great, and makes swapping pickups a breeze
Stratocaster Custom Blender
I just finished putting in my 8th Obsidian Wire custom blender. Every Stratocaster I buy gets one of these. The blend feature is invaluable. The sound is pristine and these are brilliantly and well made. I have Obsidian Wire harnesses in my Jazz Basses. My P-Basses. My Telecasters. My Stratocasters and my Les Paul's. Yes they make that much of a difference.. Between all my instruments I have 14 Obsidian Wire harnesses all told.. I cannot praise this company enough. Well done you!
Worthwhile upgrade, very easy to install
I purchased this product for a Fender Squier strat that I wanted to upgrade - locking tuners, Wiggins Texas-wound pickups, new trem block, etc...it's no longer a Squier with all the upgrades! The Obsidian blender in combination with the new pickups really made the most substantial difference as far as tone and sound quality. The components within the Obisidian are top quality - the capacitors, pots, and the switch are much, much nicer. It's very easy to follow the instructions...once the wires are clipped in (no soldering necessary) it's really easy to neaten up all the wiring inside. If I decide to swap pickups in the future, it'll take only a few minutes to do so. Outstanding product and probably the most worthwhile upgrade you can buy for your Strat!
Custom Blender for Strat
This is simply awesome! Love it!
The way it's supposed to be.
I don't know why this isn't, and hasn't always been standard Stratocaster wiring. I don't usually use tone knobs, but now I do. Sounds amazing. I'm very happy with my choice.
The no solder thing is so nice. The instructions clear. I had a question and got a prompt reply.
Amazing
I have no experience with electric guitars, or any electronics for that matter, yet I was able to install the kit in under 2 minutes and it sounds amazing.
Blender wiring harness
Easy install , high quality parts and the tones available by using blender are wonderful
Amazing difference
I recently upgraded my Squier Strat and I can’t say enough about your kit. The installation was a breeze and the difference in sound and tone is amazing. I’ve recommended your kits to everyone I know.
Stratocaster Custom Blender
I have 5 Stratocasters, 2 Les Paul's, One SG, .2 Jazz basses and 3 P-Basses. All of them have Obsidian Wire harnesses. If you think changing pickups is going to do it all for you think again. The wiring harness is the second part to that change. Obsidian makes it so very easy. They use absolute best quality parts, they sound amazing and are trouble free. Once you have one of these you can change pickups to you hearts content and it will be a breeze. These are simply the best in every way. I do not have a guitar or bass without an Obsidian Wire harness in them for a reason. Nothings sounds better!.
This is an amazing kit!
I installed the Blender on my Fender American Strat with CS-54 pickups. Bought it on Christmas Eve and it arrived a week later! So, I had time to fiddle with it. Obsidian Wire did not disappoint at every level. I did not lose my tone and now have new tones from blender and 0.047uf cap. My volume knob need not be “stuck on 10” with the treble bleed. The sound is clearer and seems louder. However, I must say that Fender did not leave me with extra wire. I trimmed off the extra length from the output jack for extension. Otherwise, installation is relatively easy. What prompted me to write this is the tone and the excellent service. Thank you.
SIMPLY THE BEST!
To date I have four Fender basses. two Gibson guitars and 3 Fender guitars.. All of them have Obsidian Wire controls. Every one of the Obsidian Wire harnesses works flawlessly. They are so well made compared to other harnesses I have had and of course much easier to install. and If I find myself wanting to try out other types of pickups in any of my instruments it is a snap. The components used in these are top notch and the craftsmanship is perfection. I will never use anything else in any of my instruments. Why mess with perfection!
Incredible easy to install - Mega Quality
My guitar tech was really pleased with the quality of the Custom Blender for Strat.
I've picked up the guitar last night, e couldn't wait to get home and start to play. I liked and probably gonna buy the kit for my les paul too.
Top job friends. Cheers from Brazil.
Worth the price
Been using it for about half a year now and it still works falwlessly, really useful and so good that I can get a telecasteresc sound. Installation was super easy, nothing went wrong. I'm using Noiseless Fender pickups and I had no problems. Really recommend it if you want to upgrade your electronics, because you also get great bonuses with this one and it's so good that you don't have to solder. It's also a great choice if you frequently swap pickups.
Great bit of kit
This makes putting new pickups in so easy. But the best thing is the sound. Treble bleed is perfect, the blend option is a great feature, I can get even more sounds out of my strat now than ever. The alignment was slightly off on my one but had no issues making adjustments.I also purchased your tele 5 way switch from eBay not long ago, I don't think you make them any more, but that was awesome also, perfect fit. Great product, great price will recommend to anyone, not just because there is no soldering, but because they sound awesome.
Love my strat now.
I bought an American standard strat a few years, the playability was great but the tone was missing something. I replaced the neck pickup but still had something missing. Just installed the custom blend and WOW. It really sounds amazing. I love my strat now. The custom blend provides a lot of tonal diversity. Thanks obsidian, this is really something special. If you own a strat and your not happy with tone I really recomend you try it. To be honest not all the settings sound amazing but... it was money well spent. I went from a guitar that usually sits on the stand to one I will play often. Thanks obsidian, great product.
Custom build blender mod
Excellent product. The ease of installation is phenomenal as are the tones it produces. To say that it is an upgrade sells it short. It completely overhauls the sound and brings out the best in the irongear pickups installed. Clarity plus tonal variation are now in abundance. I will be purchasing the vintage version to install as a "drop in" loaded pickguard as a result and look forward to new innovations.
Strat Blender
I wish I would have found this sooner. Such easy installation. Fast shipping. Product actually arrived two days early. I already had the guitar apart in preparation, and it took me less than 15 min to install the new pickups and restring it. It's the perfect item if you're chasing tones and experimenting with pickups. Very solid electronics. You can tell quality parts are installed on the unit.
Great Procuct
Great!!! Easy to install, sounds amazing, has exceeded all my expectations.and will be installed in all of my guitars from here on out.
Strat Blender
Fantastic. Everything is extremely well put together, fits well (I had to slightly enlarge the holes on my pickguard for the volume/tone/blender pots - it's a '91 Peavey Predator), and sounds great! My only complaint is that the company is in New Zealand, so odds are I won't get to visit ;)
Custom Blending for SSS Great.
Bridge selector and blender full on SSS produces rich full sound rhat is not possible without the custom blender. A great high quality setup for my Strat.
A+
Absolute excellence. No soldering headache. Incredibly simple installation. Was live in less than 30 minutes. I'll be ordering more for the others in my collection.
Audiophile Quality
Easy to install and sounds amazing!
Impressed.
Just wanted to tell you how impressed I am with the Blender.
Aside from the tonal possibilities- being able to very quickly swap new pickups and and out with just a few screws and no soldering is a total breakthrough. I'll never own another guitar without the Blender.
Excellent product and execution!
excellent
works great, excellent tone,
Strat blender
Just beautifully put together. Quality components, superb packaging, great communication. I've wired it with Seymour Duncan 'Everything Axe pups' Fantastic - would highly recommend.
blender for strat review
Good quality product. I've installed this device on my americ. standard strat and I notice a good tones improvement. The tones are Just a little darker than the original ones. It seem to me a warmer and round sound with the same old pickups. Easy installation. I suggest this device to the people that don't want to solder anything.
sss blender
I have a custom gold metal flake strat which I refinished
I also reshaped a strat neck from Tom Top and installed stainless steel frets
Initially installed texas special pups which sound wonderful but I was not happy with the tone controls. After installing the blend circuit from obsidian I have a more versatile masterpiece. It is now a tone monster. THANKS OBSIDIAN
Fit and sounds great but I had issues with the solderless connectors
I put this in an American Strat build I assembled. Fit great, Clean, Sounds great and the blender opens up many possibilities. The only issue I ran into was the solderless connector wouldn't take the doubled up grounds from the Fender v4 Noiseless pups I had chosen to install. I ended up soldering those together with a single ground running to the connector. I much prefer the screw tightened solderless connectors to the spring tightened ones on this board.
Custom blender strat
This product added a ton of versatility to my stratocaster. The blender adds amazing new tones for all genres of playing. This is an amazing product that I definitely recommend
Strat blender wireing
Very good
Blender Is amazing
I have this in my MIM strat with Pure Vintage 59's and it really made me get much better control and tones out of the vintage pickups. The wiring was so easy I was done in about 20 minutes. I will definitely buy again when I get another strat because of the sweet tones you can mix up my blending in the bridge with neck. Amazing tones with this kit.
Blender for Strat
Amazing, I installed it on my Squire Stratocaster, that I was updating with 1962 Fender pickups and a properly shielded pick guard. Initially, the Squire arrived with obvious shielding problems. The original pick guard was only shielded in a limited area and, the pickup well has no shielding. The only grounding wire was to the tremolo unit. There was an immediate change to the shielding after I installed everything, also, the variations available with the blender make this Squire a completely different guitar. Thank you for developing and selling a much needed product. I very much enjoy the results.
It's absolutely brilliant.
Just wanted to get back with a thank you note. I received the kit last week and installed it in my Stratocaster with Texas Special p'ups.
It's absolutely brilliant. Not only is the Blend control a superb new addition to the tonal options, but the pots also feel so sturdy and smooth. Feels like I have some custom build now. Just amazing, thank you!
In addition, the treble bleed mod is the icing on the cake. I’m no longer afraid to roll down the volume knob.
Strat blender
Fantastic bit of kit , a work of art .Very easy to install ,fitted mine to a signature model fender ,only downside had to extend pick up wires to reach the connection block , a real bargain even though H M Customs charged £17 import .
Custom Blender for Strat
I actually bought this back in June. I used the blender harness combined with some relatively inexpensive aftermarket pickups to convert a MIM HSS Strat to a SSS Strat, and am very pleased with the result. I play classic rock, pop, and country and love the blender feature to get more of a "Tele" sound when needed. It took me about 30 minutes to install the blender harness. It's helped improved the tone and versatility of my guitar. I would definitely buy another product from ObsidianWire.
So good
Well worth the money!
Easy to install
Sounds awesome
Stratocaster Blender
I got this in the mail today. I was going to wait until the weekend, but I had a bit of free time so I went for it. First, I attached the harness to my new pickguard. Got everything tight, then removed my current pickguard. ClI swapped out my current pickups with a pair of Five Twos and an SsL-5 in the bridge. Got all the wires hooked up, routed everything nice and neat, screwed down the guard and plugged in. Sounds fantastic, and what an incredible amount of sounds you can get out of this harness. Took about an hour from start to playing. Fun too, if you're into this kind of stuff like I am.
Strat Blender
I ordered the Tele with blender which is amazing! I decided to try the Strat Blender. Again, unbelievable! Easy to install and great sound with quality parts! I'm now a life long customer. Next on the list is the Les Paul kit. Thank you Obsidian for opening a new door for me in my musical endeavors!! You truly are a Rock Star Company.
Strat blender
I was able to install this in about 30min with no issues at all. I like the new sounds I can now get on my MIM strat without losing the original sounds! Well worth the money!
Almost perfect
Last year, I had a guitar tech install a "Gilmour" mod on my Highway US strat with noiseless pickups. For some reason (wrong caps or pots maybe), the sound was now pretty dull.
When I found out about this Obsidian Wire kit, I immediately got one because:
1- I'm really bad at soldering
2- I really wanted the blender feature
3- It was the same price as the guitar tech
The installation was pretty easy. Having noiseless pickups meant I had 2 ground wires per pickup. I managed to install them without soldering. It's not recommended but they seem to hold strongly. If they move, I'll use a soldering iron. That's the only issue I had.
For the rest, the blender mode is much better than just on/off addition of the neck pickup. The tone control available for the bridge pickup is also welcome.
The pots are really smooth, not too fast but not too slow either. And the treble bleed means no more dullness even at slow volume.
I highly recommend it.
These Are Fantastic
Years ago, I installed some Lace Sensor Hot Gold pickups in a Mexican Stratocaster. I used the original wiring harness. Big mistake. I think they are only good for one soldering. My volume knob worked more like a master tone than a volume knob. Some 10+ years later, I decided to do something about it. I decided to upgrade my strat with the Blender Wiring kit by Obsidian. I was pleasantly surprised. I have another Stratocaster with Kinman Woodstocks installed. It has the exact same problem, so I am going to order another one of these fantastic harnesses. Might try the more traditional one, but am not certain yet. It really is nice to be able to blend the neck and bridge together. One master tone knob works really nicely too. Easy to install as well. Thank you Obsidian.
A MUST HAVE!
This is my 2nd order from Obsidian Wire. I previously ordered a tele wiring kit and after using that I decided to upgrade my strat with the Blender Wiring kit. The kit is super easy to install and the quality of the components is top notch. The blender wiring provides a lot of great options for tones. Matt provides great customer service and answered all my questions before I bought it to make sure I was getting the right kit for my needs. Highly recommend!
Fantastico
Oltre ogni aspettativa. L'ho installato sulla mia american standard del 2001 e é perfetto. La possibilità di miscelare ponte e manico é fantastica ed é come avere una telecaster in un giro di manopola. Abbassando il volume non perdo nessuna frequenza. Ha un costo davvero ridicolo e ne vale assolutamente la pena averlo tra le mani. Installarlo é davvero alla portata di tutti e provare pick-up ora é estremamente facile e non si rischia mai di sbagliare o far danni o rovinare qualcosa a furia di saldature. Sono felice di aver scoperto ed investito un prezzo ridicolo per un prodotto di valore immenso...
Easy installation, great product
I've bought the ObsidianWire Custom Blender Harness as an upgrade for my Fender MIM Strat.
After ordering it took 14 days to get to The Netherlands. Installing was very easy. It works great in my strat with triple shot prails.
Easy Installation, Excellent Quality Product!
I've been having problems with my Mex Deluxe's electronics for ages and was really interested in the blender harness to open up some tonal options (round out the bridge or brighten up the neck when needed).
My initial order didn't go through as Paypal wasn't playing ball but I was contacted promptly by Matt from Obsidian who was really friendly and helpful and managed to take payment. The item arrived about 8 days after ordering (I live in the UK) and only took about 20-30 minutes to install. The second you remove the harness from the packaging the build quality is clear; it's VERY well constructed (you can literally feel the quality from the moment you open the box). Better than that, it's improved the use-ability of my strat 100% - I'll definitely be recommending this product to my friends.
The written instructions and diagram that came in the box were great and very easy to follow but maybe a quick youtube video demonstrating the installation step by step could be helpful too! As the other reviews have said, it's really a doddle to install for those of us that are quite visual a quick video would be really helpful.
I love it already!
I just got the obsidian wire blender harness for my 1996 Korean made Squier Strat, from my wife for Christmas. And the difference it makes is incredible! Coupled with some Lollar pickups my guitar has been transformed. It now has tones that equally match, if not surpass the quality you'd expect from an american made Fender. Although I did need to route the holes for the pots so that it would fit my model, it was extremely straight forward to fit and the ease that I can now change pickups is going to open up a whole world of tonal opportunity for the future! I can guarantee that any guitars I have in the future with be gifted with this incredible upgrade! My only regret is not getting one sooner!
Quality Product
My first impressions even before installation was that this was a quality well made product. I'm one of the least practical people I know and, although I messed it up initially, even I managed to successfully fit this, so it must be a piece of cake. I installed it in my Standard strat and was going to replace all the original pickups (Fat 50's) as I didn't get on with them. I actually ended up using the Fat 50 in the bridge, which was my least favourite and now it's great, with a couple of Bare Knuckles in the middle and neck. The tone control is perfect for me and the blend pot makes for some interesting and extremely useable sounds. In short, I like it and I'm going to get another for my Ash strat, would love a mid boost Mathew?????
Strat Upgrade
I have just upgraded my black 50's road worn strat. I wanted to shield the electrical area and add a set of Lindy Fralin vintage hots. I assembled a complete replacement "module" around a new pick guard, the new controls being provided by the Obsidian Wire harness. I cannot praise the system highly enough: Connecting the pickups was easy and attaching the competed module to my guitar was straightforward. There was even an extra ground terminal that I was able to use to Earth the shielding that I'd added to the back of the the pick guard. I now have a noise free strat with better tone. It really doesn't get better than this. When I think of how badly all this could have gone, to get that first plug and play without any hassles, I'm a very happy man and a highly satisfied customer.
OUTSTANDING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Mathew,
Thanks a million for the amazing service and the "outstanding" ObsidianWire kits you have supplied. So easy to install and pickup change outs are a breeze. If I need another harness I will not be installing anything apart from one of these beauties.
These is a no brainer. Impossible to botch any install. Like Philippe I two have two left hands.
Again thanks a million
Premium Quality Harness! /,,/
Im blown away at how easy this was to install! I literally had the new pickups and harness installed within 25 minutes, and that's with new strings, its just too easy! The harness has all high end parts with clean professional soldering and it sounds fantastic. Well done ObsidianWire, easy and quick to install, quality parts, what more could you want. Thumbs up!
Awesome
Picked up my Strat from the guitar shop today after they fitted the blender kit and haven't put it down since. Awesome, I loved this guitar before, but now I LOVE this guitar!!!!
Fabulous quality
I'm still waiting on my local guitar tech to fit the blender, but me and all the music shop staff are knocked out by the attention to detail and quality of the solder less kit. Can't wait for them to fit it and hear how it sounds.
Thanks a lot :-)
Hi Mathew,
Just finished installing the thing......works great!!! a real improvement in tone and flexibility....!!
... and installing it was a real piece of cake....even for someone who has two left hands like me.
Thanks a lot :-)
Philippe
