2016 Fender Telecaster Elite : a warning for potential buyers !

[freefrog]

Yesterday, a friend came to show me his nice brand new (and expensive) Telecaster Elite, fitted with a 3 positions switch, two noiseless N4 pickups and a S1 switch allowing to put the pickups in series.

As I had his Twin in maintenance here, we plugged the new guitar in it.

He played the 4 sounds available and started to complain: the 2d position was weak sounding.

Through the output jacks, the readings obtained were...

Bridge PU: 3,38H, 10,11k
Neck PU: 2,23H, 10,08k

All looked normal at first glance... Except the 2d position with or without the S1 switch.

WTF?

I’ve unscrewed the control plate, looked the wiring, searched online a few pics of the pickups. On this basis, I’ve swapped the wires coming from the bridge transducer. Now the red and green ones go to ground, and the black one goes to the selector.

I’ve put back the plate control.

Once plugged, the guitar has exhibited the same LRC specs than above but also a normal tone, with the sound expected from a Tele in 2d position.

Despite the various docs mentioning a triple quality control, the pickups of this brand new and expensive guitar had been wired OUT OF PHASE by the FENDER FACTORY.

I had already solved a similar problem with a Squier Tele… Unless we have been unlucky, people @ Fender should check their guitar wiring more attentively.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: 2016 Fender Telecaster Elite : a warning for potential buyers !

Why??
It interferences with the dollars coming in!

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: 2016 Fender Telecaster Elite : a warning for potential buyers !

funny you mention this particular guitar.
I was doing a setup for a friend two days ago on a more or less brand new elite tele with the s1 switching etc.
Some genius had put red loctite (the strong stuff) into the threads on the saddle height adjusters on the low strings, making some of them completely immovable.
Not sure if it was done at the fender factory or in the retailer, but either way it is a pretty crappy thing to do. Im guessing it was done because perhaps they could not get the screws to hold. New guitar setup fail. I felt bad for the owner, but at least he's happy to buy some nice gotoh brass saddles to replace them...still he should not have to.
Idiots.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: 2016 Fender Telecaster Elite : a warning for potential buyers !

On my CS Tele they had not bothered drilling the holes correctly for the tuners.
Nor cut the nut all that well either.

The CTS pots rattled, the pickups where wired out of phase while they where at it....
Well today I love it.
But I do not think that I'll go buy one of those again....