I messed up, but how about this?

[333]

I am looking for opinions/suggestions and a diagram for this type of set up, it is based around the fact that in the eyes of many tele players the stock wired selector switch does nothing much but create mud and the story is much the same with the stock tone control.

Working around the obviously useful volume control, this setup provides a solution that actually alters the existing tone in a thinned OR thickened spanky desirable tele way rather than have what is essentially a switch and knob that both create mud which is opposite of what the tele tone is all about, the bassy neck pickup is also still available should one find themselves at a jazz night etc.

The whole point of the mod is to not use specialized pots or super switches but rather to create a simple rewire with the stock tele parts to create a mod that anyone can do to improve their tele.. regardless unless anyone has any suggestions for improvement I could pay $29.95 for a diagram or providing there are some people here who like the idea we could work it out below and I am opting for the later! (blade switches still confuse me and ruin my wiring confidence)

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

The switch doesn't affect the tone. The switch doesn't do anything that makes mud. When Leo dropped the dark circuit, the blade switch was no longer necessary, but he kept it anyway. A simple DP3T on-on-on does the same thing as a stock-wired Tele 3-way blade, but neither affects the sound.

Spank comes from lower wind pickups. IME you won't get that through wiring changes.

The neck pickup is useful for much more than Jazz. Do you currently own a Tele? What model/version do you have?

The most useful mod I've experienced on a Tele is an Esquire switch which can bypass the tone control.

My rate is $70 an hour. Whether it's an improvement depends on if someone was actually having trouble making music on a Tele as is.

(Spoiler: The rate is sarcasm. The rest of it is my legit opinion.)

 

[KNUCKLHEAD]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

Pickup and Cap choices are All I need to Build as Awesome a TeleBlaster as I need ( the rest is just a Good Amp + Ass kickin' chops

just wanted to keep my input short : )

 

[333]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

Well we should still try it as it's not like it costs parts, I can't wire blade switches so if no one else wants to help with the wiring I will either work it out myself or just pay for the diagram.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

For the blade, just look at a Fender 4-way scheme. If you eliminate the bridge-only position, you'll have to attach the bridge hot to the two lugs that are positions 2 and 4 on a 4-way, and will become positions 1 and 3 for you on your scheme.

Picto cum gratis

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

By "mud", are you referring to the neck pickup? Or to the old style 50's wiring?

My Teles are both wired modern.

I wire my Tele so that the tone control is connected directly to the bridge pickup at the terminal where the bridge pickup is soldered to the 3 way switch.

That way the neck pickup has no tone control when used alone, but it doesn't need one.

When the pickups are combined in the middle setting the tone control does affect both pickups.

You can also remove the metal cover from the neck pickup to expose the polepieces. That helps too.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

For the blade, just look at a Fender 4-way scheme. If you eliminate the bridge-only position, you'll have to attach the bridge hot to the two lugs that are positions 2 and 4 on a 4-way, and will become positions 1 and 3 for you on your scheme.

Picto cum gratis

From what he says, he doesn't want a beefier sound (as in position 4). Sounds like he needs different pups (at least a neck pup).

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

From what he says, he doesn't want a beefier sound (as in position 4). Sounds like he needs different pups (at least a neck pup).

He's wiring the PUPs out of phase, so series won't be beefy.

 

[333]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

By "mud", are you referring to the neck pickup? Or to the old style 50's wiring?

My Teles are both wired modern.

I wire my Tele so that the tone control is connected directly to the bridge pickup at the terminal where the bridge pickup is soldered to the 3 way switch.

That way the neck pickup has no tone control when used alone, but it doesn't need one.

When the pickups are combined in the middle setting the tone control does affect both pickups.

You can also remove the metal cover from the neck pickup to expose the polepieces. That helps too.

The neck pickup. it's not mud to everyone, I know it has uses but when it comes down to who I am and what I do.. let's face it, it isn't that useful.


This is why the master (bridge) volume is set aside down the bottom of the plate and the neck only has a blend, ignoring the blend it's just a volume (kind of like a shred esque setup) which suits my desired area of tonality, in saying that, if I did want to use the existing neck pickup it will only ever be blended in so it will only hold the maximum darkness of a "stock" middle position that is also out of phase which won't actually be dark, both the blend in series and parallel would provide two useful flavours of various alternate tones which in no way create darkness, of course if one wanted the all out full on neck pickup alone it is still availiable for that special purpose, which varies to many but to myself is jazz.

Just for the record I play crystal clean loud fingerstyle guitar and/or thumbpick, so the guitar controls make a huge difference to my sound.

I tried to wire it earlier, I was going alright until I got to the switching between series and parallel, that just confused me.. I believe magic along with science are one and the same however I'm no magician, I understand how the switch works too, it's just the cross wiring on the switch and where you connect the grounds which make it complicated to me, I guess to many it's a very abstract way to wire, unique though.

Who knows I might try it and want to tweak or change something down the track, that's easy once you have the basic wiring plan down.

 

[333]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

I'm actually thinking of changing it to..

>In phase/series

>Out of phase/series


Thoughts?

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

I'm actually thinking of changing it to..

>In phase/series

>Out of phase/series


Thoughts?

You may be hitting an impossibility if all you have is a 3-way blade. You're starting to need to swap too many leads for the available lugs. But I haven't looked at this in detail, perhaps there's a way.

 

[AlexR]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

If you can't use your neck pickup as its too dark/muddy, thats as much an amp setup issue as anything else.
This is obviously discounting the vintage dark Tele tone which will actually do that.

 

[333]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

You may be hitting an impossibility if all you have is a 3-way blade. You're starting to need to swap too many leads for the available lugs. But I haven't looked at this in detail, perhaps there's a way.

Maybe you misunderstood, what I meant was that the guitar is wired in series only, from there the selector switches out of phase/in phase or the neck pickup alone, that's it.

If you can't use your neck pickup as its too dark/muddy, thats as much an amp setup issue as anything else.
This is obviously discounting the vintage dark Tele tone which will actually do that.

Well most common teles have the dark neck, it's a guitar known for treble yet its neck pickup is dark as all hell, Brad Paisley a famous tele player has been quoted to say "Jazz is just country on the neck pickup" the neck pickup has it's uses so I will stop bashing it however the point of this mod is to provide something to myself and even others that is a useful alternative wiring (without aftermarket parts preferably) I have been talking to a fellow who says he's going to give it a shot tommorow..

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

Have you tried flipping the phase on the neck just to hear it? Put the switch on the bridge position, take a couple alligator clip wires and hook the neck hot to the ground lug on the jack and the neck ground to the positive lug on the jack and play it a bit.

I think in phase series will give you more mud than you have now, but that's IME.

 

[333]

Re: I messed up, but how about this?

Yeah well the other option was in phase parallel (boo) or out of phase parallel (boo even more) so I thought the humbucker style in phase series wiring was the best alternative, it would be like a thin/thick switch in a way then..

However as a matter of fact if I could find a two way blade I'd probably do it differently, don't know of any 2 way blade switches do you?