I'm finally going to fix up my tele

[chrisjedijane]

right, I've decided that I'm gonna fix up my '72 tele in the next couple of months. There's a lot of problems with the electronics - the neck pickup needs rewound and both the pickups need rewound, the pots need replacing etc.

What I was thinking is that i could completely take the electronics out, keep them, and replace the whole thing with new stuff - basically, it's not really a functional guitar ATM, so I don't mind replacing the stuff.

I thought I'd ask you guys for ideas for replacement parts?

-which pickups?
-which pots?
-what value capacitor do i need for the volume and tone pots?

I'm not really interested in keeping it 100% vintage accurate (i am on a budget) but it helps.

thanks guys, any info is appreciated.

//chris

[fullerplast]

For one thing, I personally would go with 250K pots. I know Fender changed the Tele to 1 Meg pots sometime in the early 70s. Some people dispute this, and try to tell you that only the deluxe used 1 meg... but I disgree. I've had about 6 Teles from '72 - '78 and except for the '72, they ALL had 1 meg pots and appeared to be original. I think that's one reason why the 70s Tele just don't sound the same as the previous ones. I mean, they sound good, but not the same.

I've tried Texas Special Teles pickups and didn't like them. To me, they did not sound like a classic Tele, and were very dark and muddy. I've also tried the AV62 set and the AV'52 set. Both of them sound good, but I liked the '52 set better. I haven't ever tried the '51 Nocaster set, but would like to.

All that said, I would go with AV'52 (or '51 Nocaster) and a set of CTS 250K pots, and use the post-'66 wiring schematic with the two capacitors (I forget the values offhand but they're in the S-D schematic on their website).

Just MO....

Edited to add:  I only have a '74/'75 left ('74 body and neck with 7509 pots). It was already routed for a Pat # HB when I got it, so I'm going with a WRHB and the original bridge pickup. I've been milking this project for two years now... all it currently lacks is a blonde refin, which I am up to the grain fill and sealed stage.

[pullover]

All that said, I would go with AV'52 (or '51 Nocaster) and a set of CTS 250K pots, and use the post-'66 wiring schematic with the two capacitors (I forget the values offhand but they're in the S-D schematic on their website).

I agree, the Nocasters sound great, and I would get some Orange Drops for the Caps. I think small bear is the cheapest on the orange drops.
Is this the schematic? I don't see a post 66 with 2 caps.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/sc ... 6tele.html
the 53 has 2 caps though.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/sc ... _tele.html

[chrisjedijane]

I like the first schematic better. would I be right in saying that the 53 schematic means that when the switch is in the "neck" position, it sounds as if the tone is fully rolled off?

I have pretty much zero knowledge of electronics, BTW.

GPR are selling a vintage wiring kit that i like the look of: http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/elec ... tstele.htm

[fullerplast]

Yeah, that '66 schematic is the one I meant. Where I got confused is that the 70s models have an additonal tiny cap on the volume pot between the bottom and middle lugs (as viewed in that drawing), the rest of the wiring is exactly like that '66 diagram. I don't know if the extra small cap came in with the 1 meg pots or not... but either way, it could be omitted (ie. wired like the diagram).

That's what I would go with. Good suggestion on the orange drop.

[fullerplast]

Oh, and there's also a series mod that uses a 4-way switch and looks stock.  I personally didn't like it, but lots of people do. The switch is an actual Fender part. Maybe part of the reason I didn't like it is I used the Texas Specials with it... and as I said before, I wasn't pleased at all with the sound. The series position seemed to accentuate what I already didn't like when it doubled the output. When I changed the pups, I also went back to the 3 way switch. It may be a good alternative with some different pups (or different ears).

Just something to consider...

[chrisjedijane]

yeah, i thought about the 4-way series mod, but I decided that it'd be too awkward for me to use on stage - I need to be able to switch between neck and bridge pickups really quickly (i pretty much only use them in isolation) and a 4th stop on the switch would probably make me mess things up on stage - it looks like a really good mod, though.

[pullover]

Your right Chrisjedijane, with the 53 schematic in the first position the tone is rolled off on the neck pup, in the middle is the neck pup with tone control, and the 3rd position is the bridge pup with tone control. It's actually pretty cool. The 52 tele from fender is wired like that, but with a .1mfd cap between the switch and the volume knob. It rolls off all the treble so it has a real bassy sound, and was meant to be played like a bass guitar, back before there were bass guitars. If you were going to do that I would get the wiring kit with the 4 way switch and then you would still have all the options. With the 4 position switch you could wire it, position 1 Bass, 2 neck, 3 both, 4 bridge.

Yeah, that '66 schematic is the one I meant. Where I got confused is that the 70s models have an additonal tiny cap on the volume pot between the bottom and middle lugs (as viewed in that drawing), the rest of the wiring is exactly like that '66 diagram. I don't know if the extra small cap came in with the 1 meg pots or not... but either way, it could be omitted (ie. wired like the diagram).

That's what I would go with. Good suggestion on the orange drop.

That's a treble bleed cap so that when you turn the volume down you don't lose all your highs.

[fullerplast]

yeah, i thought about the 4-way series mod, but I decided that it'd be too awkward for me to use on stage - I need to be able to switch between neck and bridge pickups really quickly (i pretty much only use them in isolation) and a 4th stop on the switch would probably make me mess things up on stage - it looks like a really good mod, though.

It IS awkward... Not long after I did the mod/pickups, I was playing on the sidewalk for a grand opening of this small wine store (in the historic section of Melbourne, FL) and twice I bumped the switch into the "series" position during songs. It got loud and muddy all of a sudden (both at very inopportune times) and was embarassing as hell. I don't play in public very often to begin with, so it was extra flustering. I took those pups and the 4 way out shortly after that.

That's a treble bleed cap so that when you turn the volume down you don't lose all your highs.

Oh, OK. Thanks...

[chrisjedijane]

that's exactly why I didn't want it - I have enough trouble accidentally knocking my JM into the middle position when I want to select the neck or whatever.

I think I'll go for the treble bleed cap though - one thing that I don't like so much about my AVRI is the treble loss when you turn the volume down. I'll change it on my JM while I'm working on the tele, too.

[Maggieo]

IMO, you can't beat the Lollar vintage Tele pickups.  They're breathtakingly good.  They've got that combination of bite and woody roundness that old Tele pickups seem to have.  I've heard that the Duncan antiquities are right up there, too.

[FireAarro]

yeah, i thought about the 4-way series mod, but I decided that it'd be too awkward for me to use on stage - I need to be able to switch between neck and bridge pickups really quickly (i pretty much only use them in isolation) and a 4th stop on the switch would probably make me mess things up on stage - it looks like a really good mod, though.

You could wire the middle position as series instead of parallel if you think it'll be a more usable sound?