So.... I inherited a Fender Squire Affinity Telecaster that someone attempted to mod and failed. I'm thinking it won't be too much of a challenge ot get up and running BUT..
I have seen SEVERAL wiring diagrams online and they all seem to differ in small ways.
Can anyone point me to or provide me with a link to a known good wiring diagram to make sure all will turn out good?
TIA ;D
The sun out Duncan website had a lot. Fenders website a lot as well.
That's where I got mine.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
What's the switch, 3, 4 or 5 way?
Quote from: davent on February 12, 2021, 05:12:12 PM
What's the switch, 3, 4 or 5 way?
Haha. Dunno right now. The guy tried to make mods himself (replace pots, switch and pups) and gave up. He did include all the original hardware and electronics along with the post-mod attempt stuff. I haven't cracked it open yet. Just trying to get some 'up front' info before I delve into it.
Quote from: jimilee on February 12, 2021, 05:01:50 PM
The sun out Duncan website had a lot. Fenders website a lot as well.
That's where I got mine.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks Jimi. I saw a lot of those but, quite a lot of them differ in wiring, cap positions, switch positions, etc.
Was just hoping for a good recommendation where someone says "This one HERE is what I used and it worked fine."
There is a lot of good options. If you get a four way switch you can add an option for putting the pickups in series (the other three settings being neck only, bridge only and both in parallel). Sounds great to my ears, makes a tele the only guitar you need for most tones.
As far as a diagram, I've seen several different setups for tele switches so you kind of need to look at what you've got and go from there. I think some of those affinity ones had really cheap switches that don't work at all like normal tele switches. I've got one in a cheap guitar that has the connections on a PCB, which is odd.
(https://www.tdpri.com/attachments/upload_2017-6-17_20-54-32-png.433668/)
This is my go to. You can use a push pull pot in the place of the push push pot.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: Matmosphere on February 12, 2021, 05:29:55 PM
There is a lot of good options. If you get a four way switch you can add an option for putting the pickups in series (the other three settings being neck only, bridge only and both in parallel). Sounds great to my ears, makes a tele the only guitar you need for most tones.
As far as a diagram, I've seen several different setups for tele switches so you kind of need to look at what you've got and go from there. I think some of those affinity ones had really cheap switches that don't work at all like normal tele switches. I've got one in a cheap guitar that has the connections on a PCB, which is odd.
Thanks for the input and advice Matt! When I get a chance to open it up and take a look, I will report back.
All I know is that the guy tried to mod the pots, switch, and pups (to Texas Specials) and couldn't get it to function correctly.
The Bill Lawrence 5-way switching Tele is one of my favorite setups. You get the standard Tele settings, a Strat-ish kind of sound, and a neck setting with some bass roll off to cut through in a band setting.
https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/22967-mod-garage-the-bill-lawrence-5-way-telecaster-circuit (https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/22967-mod-garage-the-bill-lawrence-5-way-telecaster-circuit)
This is a post of my build with it, and there's a demo of it down the post.
https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=27552.0 (https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=27552.0)
Back with some info...
I definitely see some areas where the previous attempt failed. Loose/missing grounds, bas connections between shielded pup holes, etc.
Looks like this one has a 4-way switch. Also put in CTS pots...
So... anyone recommend a good 4-way switch electrical diagram I can use? Something that is proven ;D
I guess the question is, what kind of sounds do you want out of that fourth position (assuming you want standard Tele setup for the other three)?
FWIW I tried every setup I could find and ended up going back to the stock (Seymour Duncan) 3 way switch setup. Hate to say it but there's something perfect about standard ho-hum teles.
If you DO use the 4 way don't forget to isolate the neck pickup cover.
Quote from: gordo on February 13, 2021, 02:07:53 AM
FWIW I tried every setup I could find and ended up going back to the stock (Seymour Duncan) 3 way switch setup. Hate to say it but there's something perfect about standard ho-hum teles.
If you DO use the 4 way don't forget to isolate the neck pickup cover.
I have the 5way Bill Lawrence wiring on a two single coil guitar, not a Tele, and i pretty much stick to either or pickup, very vanilla tastes.
dave
(https://www.premierguitar.com/ext/resources/images/content/2013_7/Features/Sep13_PG_FEAT_Power-Play-4-Mods_tele_4way_WEB.jpg)
The yellow wire goes to the neck pickup cover. You have to clip the cover ground from the pickup ground and ground it separately. This is the 4 way switch diagram I use. I have too many Teles I think. I stumbled on this article a while back and just bookmarked it.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This reminds me... I need to change the pickups in my good tele (not the cabronita, the other one.) It currently has a S/H setup with a PAF-alike in the neck.
Well, I got the pups wired in and they are working just splendid. On to the next THING.....
The frets are awfully SHARP on the edges. There are no 'local' shops that can do the work so, I figure I will just dive in and try to fix the issue.
Got a quick list off the top of my head. Can anyone recommend anything else?
- Fret rounding file
- Fret leveling/sanding block
- Fret guards
- Fret crowning file
- Sanding pads (various grits)
Lots of YouTube videos.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If you're just doing sharp fret edges, the leveling block and one of these will do the trick: https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/types-of-tools/files/fret-end-dressing-file.html
I like masking tape better than fret guards for doing fret polishing.
Question....
On this Tele, the neck pickup is NOT screwed into the pickguard to make height adjustments. It is actually screwed into the body in the pickup cavity. I looked online and see that this is normal BUT... how does one perform pickup height adjustments when the strings are on? Do I have to slide the pickguard out from under the strings and then re-install it when done? Seems odd that they didn't attach the neck pickup to the pickguard for this.
Thoughts??
It's a dopey setup but yes, that's correct. I've almost never seen anyone change this around unless the pickup type gets changed to something other than the stock setup.
Potential benefits are direct mount to body I suppose. Or maybe the change from the Esquire to Telecaster was such an afterthought in terms of hardware that nobody has questioned it?
Yeah, I read somewhere that it's because it makes adjustment of a truss rod easier when the adjustment screw is at the heel of the neck. That way you can pop off the pick guard and leave the strings on. I get it because my Jazzmaster has an adjustment at the heel of the neck and I have to just take the neck off to adjust it. Just popping off the pick guard does sound easier.
My tele has it mounted to the pick guard and the truss adjustment at the headstock, it all makes way more sense to me. I would almost say just remount it to the pick guard, but how often do you need to adjust the height anyway. Just pop the guard off set it once and you probably won't have to mess with it for a few decades.
Quote from: Matmosphere on March 29, 2021, 02:23:24 PM
Yeah, I read somewhere that it's because it makes adjustment of a truss rod easier when the adjustment screw is at the heel of the neck. That way you can pop off the pick guard and leave the strings on. I get it because my Jazzmaster has an adjustment at the heel of the neck and I have to just take the neck off to adjust it. Just popping off the pick guard does sound easier.
My tele has it mounted to the pick guard and the truss adjustment at the headstock, it all makes way more sense to me. I would almost say just remount it to the pick guard, but how often do you need to adjust the height anyway. Just pop the guard off set it once and you probably won't have to mess with it for a few decades.
Hmmm....
This Tele has the truss rod adjustment on the headstock ???
Seems it would be 10x easier to adjust the neck pickup height when it is mounted to the pickguard instead of having to totally remove the pickguard to access the adjustment screws.
Once it's set how often does a pickup height get adjusted, the one time?
dave
Quote from: davent on March 29, 2021, 03:33:08 PM
Once it's set how often does a pickup height get adjusted, the one time?
dave
I agree but, this is an initial setup of new pups. Also, I would suppose any time the pups are changed, string height is adjusted, neck is replaced or adjusted, etc.