Well, here I am again, trying to maximize the tone and efficiency of my Telecaster. Here's what I have.
• Hwy 1 Tele with -
• Bridge - STK-T3b (Vintage Stack)
• Middle - STK-S1n (Classic Stack for Strat)
• Neck - Gibson minihumbucker
The mini in the neck is kind of cool; but I do miss the hollowness of a good single coil neck pickup. The bridge pickup will stay. I love the tone and ham-canceling. The middle pickup? Well, it has been getting in the way... I find that I do use the 2 and 4 positions on the switch but I also found that when I had my 52RI, that I didn’t miss what I didn't have...
I really do like the look of the middle pickup in there. I also like the look of a classic old Telecaster with the chrome neck pickup and no middle pickup. There are a number of things I'm thinking of doing. All involve removing the middle pickup…
1.Joe Wilson wiring – Now, I can’t a try Joe Wilson wiring scheme because that scheme uses a STL-2b in the bridge; plus I believe I would have to use a 4-pole 5-way switch.
Quote from Duncan site – “This wiring was designed for one of our sales reps in the Southeast, Joe Wilson, who wanted to add some extra versatility to his Tele®, while retaining the stock look. For this scheme, we use our "tapped" Hot Lead (STL-2T) and a Vintage Rhythm (STR-1) pickups. We used a special 4-pole 5-way switch in place of the standard 3-way switch. In position 1, you'll get a hotter Tele lead sound. Position 2 will give a traditional Tele lead sound. Position 3 gives you both the rhythm and "traditional" lead sound in "parallel" (the typical Tele wiring). Position 4 gives the rhythm and "traditional" lead sound in "series," a warmer and fuller sound for smooth jazz runs. Position 5 gives you the rhythm pickup by itself. We also put in a push-pull pot on the tone control that reverses the phase of the neck pickup. This gives a nice, chiming, James Burton-esque sound in positions 3 and 4. Make sure that you cut the short bare wire between the cover and the black wire on the rhythm pickup. You must then run an additional wire from the cover to ground, so that the cover still shields the rhythm pickup. The 5-way switch we show here is Yamaha's 4-pole 5-way switch. The value of the push-pull pot should be 250k. Take your time wiring this one, and always take your guitar to your local technician if you are not comfortable wiring your own instrument.” I can, however, try something close like –
2.Power Boost wiring – This would be using a standard 3-way switch and a push-pull pot getting these settings –
a. Pos. 1 - Bridge pickup normal
b. Pos. 2 – Bridge and neck pickups in parallel
c. Pos. 3 – Neck pickup normal
d. Volume pot up – Bridge in Power Boost mode
e. Tone pot up – Neck pickup in Power Boost mode
3.5-Way Custom wiring – This would be where I would the standard 5way switch with these settings –
a. Pos. 1 – Bridge pickup normal
b. Pos. 2 – bridge and neck pickups in series
c. Pos. 3 – Bridge and neck pickups in parallel
d. Pos. 4 – Bridge and neck pickups out of phase/parallel
e. Pos. 5 – Neck pickup normal
4.4-Way wiring – This is when the setting of both pickups in series can be used.
a. Pos. 1 – Bridge pickup normal
b. Pos. 2 – Both pickups in parallel
c. Pos. 3 – Both pickups in series
d. Pos. 4 – Neck pickup normal
Again, this whole thing is based on me wanting the most out of my Tele while going back to the stock look. Yes, the middle pickup looks cool but all in all, when it’s used in the 2 & 4 positions, like a Strat, it really doesn’t sound that great…
Please give me some thoughts here; especially if you have an idea that I haven’t thought of…
Cheers,
• Hwy 1 Tele with -
• Bridge - STK-T3b (Vintage Stack)
• Middle - STK-S1n (Classic Stack for Strat)
• Neck - Gibson minihumbucker
The mini in the neck is kind of cool; but I do miss the hollowness of a good single coil neck pickup. The bridge pickup will stay. I love the tone and ham-canceling. The middle pickup? Well, it has been getting in the way... I find that I do use the 2 and 4 positions on the switch but I also found that when I had my 52RI, that I didn’t miss what I didn't have...
I really do like the look of the middle pickup in there. I also like the look of a classic old Telecaster with the chrome neck pickup and no middle pickup. There are a number of things I'm thinking of doing. All involve removing the middle pickup…
1.Joe Wilson wiring – Now, I can’t a try Joe Wilson wiring scheme because that scheme uses a STL-2b in the bridge; plus I believe I would have to use a 4-pole 5-way switch.
Quote from Duncan site – “This wiring was designed for one of our sales reps in the Southeast, Joe Wilson, who wanted to add some extra versatility to his Tele®, while retaining the stock look. For this scheme, we use our "tapped" Hot Lead (STL-2T) and a Vintage Rhythm (STR-1) pickups. We used a special 4-pole 5-way switch in place of the standard 3-way switch. In position 1, you'll get a hotter Tele lead sound. Position 2 will give a traditional Tele lead sound. Position 3 gives you both the rhythm and "traditional" lead sound in "parallel" (the typical Tele wiring). Position 4 gives the rhythm and "traditional" lead sound in "series," a warmer and fuller sound for smooth jazz runs. Position 5 gives you the rhythm pickup by itself. We also put in a push-pull pot on the tone control that reverses the phase of the neck pickup. This gives a nice, chiming, James Burton-esque sound in positions 3 and 4. Make sure that you cut the short bare wire between the cover and the black wire on the rhythm pickup. You must then run an additional wire from the cover to ground, so that the cover still shields the rhythm pickup. The 5-way switch we show here is Yamaha's 4-pole 5-way switch. The value of the push-pull pot should be 250k. Take your time wiring this one, and always take your guitar to your local technician if you are not comfortable wiring your own instrument.” I can, however, try something close like –
2.Power Boost wiring – This would be using a standard 3-way switch and a push-pull pot getting these settings –
a. Pos. 1 - Bridge pickup normal
b. Pos. 2 – Bridge and neck pickups in parallel
c. Pos. 3 – Neck pickup normal
d. Volume pot up – Bridge in Power Boost mode
e. Tone pot up – Neck pickup in Power Boost mode
3.5-Way Custom wiring – This would be where I would the standard 5way switch with these settings –
a. Pos. 1 – Bridge pickup normal
b. Pos. 2 – bridge and neck pickups in series
c. Pos. 3 – Bridge and neck pickups in parallel
d. Pos. 4 – Bridge and neck pickups out of phase/parallel
e. Pos. 5 – Neck pickup normal
4.4-Way wiring – This is when the setting of both pickups in series can be used.
a. Pos. 1 – Bridge pickup normal
b. Pos. 2 – Both pickups in parallel
c. Pos. 3 – Both pickups in series
d. Pos. 4 – Neck pickup normal
Again, this whole thing is based on me wanting the most out of my Tele while going back to the stock look. Yes, the middle pickup looks cool but all in all, when it’s used in the 2 & 4 positions, like a Strat, it really doesn’t sound that great…
Please give me some thoughts here; especially if you have an idea that I haven’t thought of…
Cheers,
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