Looking for help from a P-Rails / Triple Shot guru!

[helikyler]

Hey all.

I built a custom telecaster with P-Rails and Triple Shots but I’m having trouble with them. I’m pretty sure they are wired incorrectly. I took the guitar to a Fender Gold Level factory tech luthier local to me and he said he followed the wiring diagram, but only one or two of the switch combinations on each of the rings works (and it sounds amazing!). On the rest of them, the signal is cut like 90% and unless boosted with overdrive is basically nothing. When I picked up the guitar he said he thought “one of the positions on the rings is like an off switch” which I know isn’t right. It’s supposed to have like 8 or more combinations on each pickup, not including changing the pickup selector.

Is there anybody that upon seeing/hearing a video of me playing and going through the switch configurations would be able to have a pretty good idea what may have happened with the wiring? It’s a hollow body with Les Paul style routing to knobs and switches so it’s kind of hard to tear everything out. I think ultimately I will be able to get him to open it up and fix it but I need some backing to get him to believe it’s not a fault with the pickups (they’re new old stock, never installed til this week). It’s also happening to both pickups so I think it’s an installation issue.

 

[Mincer]

It will be easier to diagnose if you get under there and take pics. Do you have a meter? We gotta figure out which connections are working.

 

[GuitarDoc]

The wiring diagrams that come with the Triple Shots are pretty easy to follow. You should end up with 4 modes for each pickup: when both switches are together you get both coils in series; with both switches apart you get both coils in parallel; with both switches pointed one way you get split to one coil; when both switches are pointed the other way you get split to the other coil (I use the alternate wiring listed in the wiring instructions so when both switches are pointed toward the P-90 it is split to that coil, and when they're pointed toward the rail coil it is split to that coil). You should be getting full output in each of the positions. No, there is no off position.

I would take it back to the "Fender Gold Level factory tech luthier"(?), and take the instructions that came with the Triple Shot and tell him to make sure he follows them this time.

 

[piblock]

Wiring Triple Shots can be tedious, but it's also extremely straightforward. Red to red (R), green to green (G), etc etc. The tech did something wrong.