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Tele wiring help


Rabs

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Hello...

 

So on Monday im going to be wiring my first Tele type hardware guitar... and as with all wiring theres many options to choose from... Anyone got much experience with it?

 

These are the two I found that seem ok to me

standard_tele_zps71664696.jpg

 

telewiring-alpha-3-way-8-inline-lugs-3way-vintage-import-sw-v1-jpg_zps34430127.jpg

 

One of these types of three way switches..

DSC_0543_zps40b08738.jpg

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Ha ha, no, sorry. The .001 cap can be used no matter what version you choose and it's VERY important to the tone of a Tele, at least in my world. Normally when you roll off the volume (on most any guitar), you lose some of the highs. With the .001 cap in place, when you roll off the volume the tone gets thinner and more glassy. It's wonderful. Most of the time I play my Tele with the volume backed off some, that way I get a super clear transparent tone but if I want to fatten it up all I have to do is roll the volume up some.

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Ha ha, no, sorry. The .001 cap can be used no matter what version you choose and it's VERY important to the tone of a Tele, at least in my world. Normally when you roll off the volume (on most any guitar), you lose some of the highs. With the .001 cap in place, when you roll off the volume the tone gets thinner and more glassy. It's wonderful. Most of the time I play my Tele with the volume backed off some, that way I get a super clear transparent tone but if I want to fatten it up all I have to do is roll the volume up some.

Ok, that makes more sense.. I will look into that..

 

Thanks [thumbup]

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One thing I would personally do...flip that control plate around. Puts the volume control right below your picking hand...but just far enough away that you don't knock it. One of the first things I do with any Tele I buy....

 

-Ryan

 

Edit: What I mean is, swap the positions of the volume and tone pots (so volume on one end, tone in the middle, switch at the other end) then rotate the plate 180 degrees from where you have it now.

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One thing I would personally do...flip that control plate around. Puts the volume control right below your picking hand...but just far enough away that you don't knock it. One of the first things I do with any Tele I buy....

 

-Ryan

 

Edit: What I mean is, swap the positions of the volume and tone pots (so volume on one end, tone in the middle, switch at the other end) then rotate the plate 180 degrees from where you have it now.

 

Heretic.

 

rct

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Wiring a Tele has to be bout the easiest out there? I have a hum in the neck of mine and installed a switch to make it a single (for true Tele tones) or a hum.

Its mainly the issue of which sort of wiring do I go for... theres so many different ways to do it...

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Kinda depends on what you want the switch to do, Rabs. The first one you posted is the only one that allows you to get both pickups in the middle position.

 

The .001 cap KS mentions is just a treble bleed - but it is really useful in all guitars.

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Don't forget the most important part. The .001 cap.

 

volumecontrolextratwo.jpg

Ha ha, no, sorry. The .001 cap can be used no matter what version you choose and it's VERY important to the tone of a Tele, at least in my world. Normally when you roll off the volume (on most any guitar), you lose some of the highs. With the .001 cap in place, when you roll off the volume the tone gets thinner and more glassy. It's wonderful. Most of the time I play my Tele with the volume backed off some, that way I get a super clear transparent tone but if I want to fatten it up all I have to do is roll the volume up some.

This treble bleeder cap can be added to any volume pot in any guitar if desired, but became popular and famous in particular with Telecasters. When using 180...270pF, it will compensate the treble loss through the guitar cable in first order. Significantly higher values like .001µF will make tone very bright when turning down the volume pot.

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Kinda depends on what you want the switch to do, Rabs. The first one you posted is the only one that allows you to get both pickups in the middle position.

 

The .001 cap KS mentions is just a treble bleed - but it is really useful in all guitars.

Well im not 100% sure that's why I was asking on here :)

 

I quite like the idea of having a blend setting.... That seems like a good idea to me so you can control the output coming from each pup... (which is how I assume it works.

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Well im not 100% sure that's why I was asking on here :)

 

I quite like the idea of having a blend setting.... That seems like a good idea to me so you can control the output coming from each pup... (which is how I assume it works.

 

The last one allows for that - Broadcaster with blend. But you would lose the tone control - which I find pretty crucial on the Tele due to its brightness.

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The last one allows for that - Broadcaster with blend. But you would lose the tone control - which I find pretty crucial on the Tele due to its brightness.

Hmm, yeah true... This is the info im after..

 

So what is the usual middle position like on a Tele? I find I never use it on any of my LPs... But maybe its more useful on a Tele?

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Well im not 100% sure that's why I was asking on here :)

 

I quite like the idea of having a blend setting.... That seems like a good idea to me so you can control the output coming from each pup... (which is how I assume it works.

What about using a Fender tandem pot for 2 x volume? Those are part of Nashville Power Telecasters, albeit for magnetic pickups' volume and tone here since the other pot position is occupied by the Fishman Power Pot circuit and piezo volume control. They have solid shafts and screw-mounted knobs. Due to being "normal" 250 kOhms audio taper pots without switches or the like, both of the pots can be used for volume or tone application. Using two of these would allow for creating a two volume/two tone circuit on a Telecaster control plate.

 

Sadly I can't provide a link, couldn't find them offered through web research. I'm sure though they are available as spare part as well as the tandem knobs.

 

Here's how it looks like on and inside a Nashville Power Telecaster:

 

NPT_Ctrl_Plate_zpsaf27182f.jpg

 

NPT_Ctrls_zpsce845626.jpg

 

NPT_Tandem_Pot_zps9b97aae0.jpg

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What about using a Fender tandem pot for 2 x volume? Those are part of Nashville Power Telecaster, albeit for magnetic pickups' volume and tone here since the other position is occupied buy the piezo volume control. They have solid shafts and screw-mounted knobs. Due to being "normal" 250 kOhms audio taper pots without switches or the like, both of the pots can be used for volume or tone application. Using two of these would allow for creating a two volume/two tone circuit on a Telecaster control plate.

 

Sadly I can't provide a link, couldn't find them offered through web research. I'm sure though they are available as spare part as well as the tandem knobs.

 

Here's how it looks like on and inside a Nashville Power Telecaster

 

Thanks man.. I hadn't thought about that.. I have seen those pots and knobs before..

 

I will have a think about that.. Cheers :) (even though it will mean buying more stuff which im not sure I want too at this stage)...

 

But good info though.. Cheers [thumbup]

 

This place has them for sale

http://www.axesrus.co.uk/CTS-Wide-Range-Tone-Pot-p/widerangepot.htm

http://www.axesrus.co.uk/Set-of-Grub-Screw-Concentric-knobs-Small-Bore-p/hc003-sb.htm

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Thanks man.. I hadn't thought about that.. I have seen those pots and knobs before..

 

I will have a think about that.. Cheers :) (even though it will mean buying more stuff which im not sure I want too at this stage)...

 

But good info though.. Cheers [thumbup]

 

This place has them for sale

http://www.axesrus.co.uk/CTS-Wide-Range-Tone-Pot-p/widerangepot.htm

http://www.axesrus.co.uk/Set-of-Grub-Screw-Concentric-knobs-Small-Bore-p/hc003-sb.htm

Sorry, I just checked the links and found the first one is offering a twin pot with different specs and operated in common by only one shaft. This one would be of no use, it has to be a twin-shaft pot.

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Sorry, I just checked the links and found the first one is offering a twin pot with different specs and operated in common by only one shaft. This one would be of no use, it has to be a twin-shaft pot.

Sorry for my bad English, Rabs. [blush] I had written "split-shaft" but meant twin- or double-shaft. I meanwhile think they also are not called tandem but concentric pots.

 

Please apologize me for causing this confusion.

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Sorry for my bad English, Rabs. [blush] I had written "split-shaft" but meant twin- or double-shaft. I meanwhile think they also are not called tandem but concentric pots.

 

Please apologize me for causing this confusion.

Lol... not a problem at all.. Your English is better than my non existent German :) (well maybe one or two words)... Anyone who can speak more than one language is doing better than me [thumbup] and I never really notice any issues with your language.. but then im not even that good at English :unsure: :)

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Researching for a retailer in UK, I found these 250k/500K concentric pots:

 

http://www.guitarrepairshop.co.uk/product/fender-solid-shaft-dual-concentric-250k500k-potentiometer/

Thanks man...

 

I think im gonna leave it for this time around and keep things simple.. But maybe for the future..

 

Plus I haven't seen that shop before so I now have somewhere else to look for parts.. so cheers :)

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I just opened up the Power Tele again to make sure by measurements that they used 250k/250k concentric pots, and they are indeed just that. However, when using two 250k/500k pots, one for each pickup, it should work, too, or even better since 500k for tone will load down the signal less when cranked up. [thumbup]

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