Telecaster wiring. WTF is all this?!

[Wolfshead]

I just bought an old MIK Telecaster from 1989 which has an "expander" pickup. I have no idea what the hell that is, but when I've got the guitar in my hands I was very pleased to discover it's actually a SD Hot Stack that's in the bridge! Probably worth more than the rest of the guitar TBH!
Anyway, I opened up the controls - both pots are push/pull and there's a 9v battery been wired in. Pulling UP on the volume knob seems to split something, as the volume drops. The tone knob is faulty as it just spins round without ever stopping or doing anything. Both pots have weird circuit boards on them so I'm completely stumped about this.
I wanted a tele for a "vintage" style rock tone - Led Zeppelin I kind of thing (I have a Strat with Tex-Mexs, and plenty of Les Pauls etc with humbuckers). So should I remove the Hot Stack, and put something more vintage in there, replace the pots for normal ones, and bin the battery?
What do you guys think?
The action was ridiculously high when I got it and it seems to have hugely thick strings so it's hard to tell what it plays like, I'll need to set it up a bit before I decide if I'll keep it or just sell it on.

 

[Wolfshead]

Also, does anyone know if a regular USA/Mexico 8 hole pickguard will fit one of these old MIK Squiers? It only has a 1 ply white one and it makes the whole thing look even cheaper than it is, I'd like to get a 3 ply white or maybe even mint.

 

[Wolfshead]

EDIT TO ADD (won't let me edit original post, error 503) - I just took out the battery to replace it with a new one and realised a) the old battery was dead b) a new one just makes a weird high-pitched noise come out of the guitar but kills any sound from the pickups. So I'm assuming the whole fancy pots and stuff are dead. I'll replace them later.

 

[Mincer]

The Hot Stack is a great pickup, but it is really far from a traditional Tele tone, so if that's what you are after, I could see replacing that. As far as what you have there, it would be interesting to see some sort of diagram. I don't remember when these came out, so I have no idea what that circuit is actually supposed to do.

 

[Supernautilus]

If it was me I’d rip out all of that mess and rewire it all from scratch as standard Tele wiring. I don’t like wiring that’s too clever for it’s own good.

On a side note, why can’t we edit posts here? I can’t either. Has it always been that way?

 

[eclecticsynergy]

If it was me I’d rip out all of that mess and rewire it all from scratch as standard Tele wiring. I don’t like wiring that’s too clever for it’s own good.

On a side note, why can’t we edit posts here? I can’t either. Has it always been that way?

You can't edit a post that contains a quote or an attachment.
It's a glitch in the software that can't be fixed (so far), although every once in a while it seems to allow editing such posts.

As for the OP's situation, there are a couple of so-called Expander mods; usually they boost the lows and highs.
I doubt this one was original to the guitar, most likely added on later IMO - perhaps to complement the Hot Stack?
I have the EMG expander in one of my Floydcasters. It actually works pretty well. But you lose the conventional tone control.

In this instance I concur with the decision to replace all the electronics and to put something with more classic Tele character at the bridge.

 

[Supernautilus]

You can't edit a post that contains a quote or an attachment.
It's a glitch in the software that can't be fixed (so far), although every once in a while it seems to allow editing such posts.

As for the OP's situation, there are a couple of so-called Expander mods; usually they boost the lows and highs.
I doubt this one was original to the guitar, most likely added on later IMO - perhaps to complement the Hot Stack?
I have the EMG expander in one of my Floydcasters. It actually works pretty well. But you lose the conventional tone control.

In this instance I concur with the decision to replace all the electronics and to put something with more classic Tele character at the bridge.

I see, thank you for the clarification.

 

[Mincer]

Yes, this is a known software bug that has been here for awhile. Just make another post with edits in them.

I am not for ripping out perfectly good wiring if it does something unique that I can use. But you have to figure out what is actually going on, first.

 

[PFDarkside]

Regarding the pickguard, I’d just get the one you want and plan on redrilling any holes that don’t align. It’s not a 1958 Strat, and both the old and new pickguards would cover a new hole if needed.

Also, I’m a sucker for complex wiring, so I’d dig into it all to see what was going on, but if you just want standard Tele tone getting two pickups and a Tele wiring kit seems like a good option.

 

[PFDarkside]

I have the EMG expander in one of my Floydcasters. It actually works pretty well. But you lose the conventional tone control.

Which EMGs do you use it with, and what types of tones do you use it on?

 

[Aceman]

Vintage Tele tone? Hot Stack with Expander wiring and 9v???

Lose all that crap and get a QP with 500k pots.

 

[Wolfshead]

The Hot Stack is a great pickup, but it is really far from a traditional Tele tone, so if that's what you are after, I could see replacing that. As far as what you have there, it would be interesting to see some sort of diagram. I don't remember when these came out, so I have no idea what that circuit is actually supposed to do.

Ha, I already knew your opinion, I'd been Googling during the day and your posts came up on the Gear Page forum! I agree with what you say here, and there, the Hot Stack is just not vintage enough for me.

 

[Wolfshead]

Cheers guys. I opened it all up last night and, since the "expander" pot was broken I just ripped the lot out. Had to replace everything except the switch, cos the jack was like the EMG ones with 3 wires instead of 2, so it was lucky I had everything I needed in my parts box! Alpha pots - 250K audio (A) taper, and a 500k linear (B) taper, input jack, orange drop. Took me a while to figure out the switch as it's a weird one compared to all the diagrams I could find, but I got there in the end and it's sounding great.
Ordered a mint pickguard and a Wilkinson vintage bridge pickup - apparently they sound great. I only paid £120 for the guitar, just wanted to find out what a tele would be like, so it's been a cool experiment!

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Which EMGs do you use it with, and what types of tones do you use it on?

Pretty sure they were the first EMG Strat set. I think these are the same ones that were renamed the Gilmour set a few years later.
I only have two Floydcasters left; John Suhr made this one for me in 1980 when he was working out of Rudy's on 48th St.
It has a 22 fret neck (new and quite exotic at the time) with a soft V profile and ebony fretboard. It's my only active guitar.
Has both the EXG expander and the SPC (called a presence control but actually it's a fat midboost).

The expander works well for adding clarity and a bit of depth, sort of like goosing the outer faders on a graphic
Never used it turned up very high - just a little goes a long way, especially with gain. Nice for cleans too, gives extra sparkle and dimension.
I think the EXG actually boosts treble a bit more than bass, but I don't dial up a whole lot of low end in my amps so that could be part of it.

The SPC mid boost is the real star of the show in this guitar. Fattens beautifully, in a way that works really well with gain downstream.
At higher settings it takes the singlecoil tones to the edge of humbucker territory. Overall, I've found this more useful than the expander.
In '80 I was playing a wide variety of material; very handy to have humbucker-ish sounds on tap without having to switch guitars.

Of course it gives not just hotter output but also a smoother attack and greatly improved sustain high up the neck.
I don't know how similar this is EQ-wise to the Clapton midboost, but it's at least adjustable on the fly rather than just being on/off.
Certainly mid boost and Strats are a match made in heaven. No idea how the SPC might interact with humbuckers - could be honky, could be great.

I bet the EXG would work quite well with hums though, particularly those with pronounced mids.
I'd almost consider it more of an exciter than an expander.

 

[JOLLY]

Vintage Tele tone? Hot Stack with Expander wiring and 9v???

Lose all that crap and get a QP with 500k pots.

A Quarter Pounder with 500k pots is great in a tele, but it's about as far from vintage as his tele is now.

 

[Securb]

Vintage Tele tone? Hot Stack with Expander wiring and 9v???

Lose all that crap and get a QP with 500k pots.

I am with Aceman

 

[PFDarkside]

Pretty sure they were the first EMG Strat set. I think these are the same ones that were renamed the Gilmour set a few years later.
I only have two Floydcasters left; John Suhr made this one for me in 1980 when he was working out of Rudy's on 48th St.
It has a 22 fret neck (new and quite exotic at the time) with a soft V profile and ebony fretboard. It's my only active guitar.
Has both the EXG expander and the SPC (called a presence control but actually it's a fat midboost).

The expander works well for adding clarity and a bit of depth, sort of like goosing the outer faders on a graphic
Never used it turned up very high - just a little goes a long way, especially with gain. Nice for cleans too, gives extra sparkle and dimension.
I think the EXG actually boosts treble a bit more than bass, but I don't dial up a whole lot of low end in my amps so that could be part of it.

The SPC mid boost is the real star of the show in this guitar. Fattens beautifully, in a way that works really well with gain downstream.
At higher settings it takes the singlecoil tones to the edge of humbucker territory. Overall, I've found this more useful than the expander.
In '80 I was playing a wide variety of material; very handy to have humbucker-ish sounds on tap without having to switch guitars.

Of course it gives not just hotter output but also a smoother attack and greatly improved sustain high up the neck.
I don't know how similar this is EQ-wise to the Clapton midboost, but it's at least adjustable on the fly rather than just being on/off.
Certainly mid boost and Strats are a match made in heaven. No idea how the SPC might interact with humbuckers - could be honky, could be great.

I bet the EXG would work quite well with hums though, particularly those with pronounced mids.
I'd almost consider it more of an exciter than an expander.

Oh I see! Literally what was also put in the Gilmour guitar to the T (SA/SA/SA & SPC/EXG) that later became his signature pickguard.

I have a few ideas on how to make an HSS or HSH EMG Floydcaster even more versatile, aiming at a Suhr/Lukather style with more options. Let’s see what happens.

 

[Aceman]

A Quarter Pounder with 500k pots is great in a tele, but it's about as far from vintage as his tele is now.

Sorry - Have to agree there. I saw "Rock" and reflex sent me right to QP....my bad.

 

[jeremy]

i like the spc a lot. i had a fender hrr 50s strat with emg sv/sv/81 a pa2 and spc. the spc worked great with all the pups. the clapton circuit is a little different. there are actually two boosts, an always on preamp boost, and an adjustable midboost. the clapton seems to have more mid boost available and seems to be centered lower than the spc. both cool but a little different

looking forward to your review of the new wilkinson pup

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Oh I see! Literally what was also put in the Gilmour guitar to the T (SA/SA/SA & SPC/EXG) that later became his signature pickguard.

I have a few ideas on how to make an HSS or HSH EMG Floydcaster even more versatile, aiming at a Suhr/Lukather style with more options. Let’s see what happens.

Cool - didn't know Gilmour also used the SPC and EXG. It's a great combination.
I do miss having a traditional tone control though. I used to play with my tone wide open nearly all the time.
Nowadays I work the tone more than I did decades ago. Especially on Strats & Teles.