Nick's custom Telecaster Deluxe!
This was the first job on the bench after a brief summer break with the family last month, Nick’s lovely Telecaster Deluxe. It came in for a setup, rewire, installation of new pickguard and to smooth the back of the neck. Nick asked me to rewire it for two reasons, resolve some niggling faults but also make it more suitable for his playing preferences. After going over some options we decided to move the toggle switch out of the way of the strumming area down to the pots instead. He complained of accidentally knocking the toggle switch in it's standard position, and wanted to take that hassle out of his gigging! He plays long sets in bands as well as his own solo wedding work so his guitars need to be reliable. So in moving the toggle out of the way and down to the main pots area, we needed to change to a master tone whilst still keeping the two volume pots. This way you can still do the cool Tele Deluxe kill switch effect by rolling one off etc.
As the new anodised pickguard has the standard holes, I’ll be finishing by just popping a blanking plug in the usual toggle place for now. That way should it want to go back to standard config it’ll be easily done. The guitar had a brass nut fitted prior so I just gave that a polish up and refined the slot depths.
For the neck smoothing we opted to just try the wire wool method first to see if that is suitable before going the whole way and sanding it right back and oiling. Already a huge improvement from the particularly sticky gloss it was prior, feels ace!
A lovely, resonant, unique looking and great playing Tele Deluxe, pleasure to work on, setup in Eb on Elixir Strings Optiwebs from my stock. A nice way to get back into the swing of things.
As the new anodised pickguard has the standard holes, I’ll be finishing by just popping a blanking plug in the usual toggle place for now. That way should it want to go back to standard config it’ll be easily done. The guitar had a brass nut fitted prior so I just gave that a polish up and refined the slot depths.
For the neck smoothing we opted to just try the wire wool method first to see if that is suitable before going the whole way and sanding it right back and oiling. Already a huge improvement from the particularly sticky gloss it was prior, feels ace!
A lovely, resonant, unique looking and great playing Tele Deluxe, pleasure to work on, setup in Eb on Elixir Strings Optiwebs from my stock. A nice way to get back into the swing of things.
Comments
Clive Woodman said:
Would love a wiring diagram for this mod, upgrading my 72 Custom into Futoshi Abe setup.
Like this, can’t seem to find specs, parts list or wiring pics anywhere. Probably as I don’t speak Japanese.
https://topshelfinstruments.com.au/products/fender-japan-futoshi-abe-telecaster-custom-tc72ts-black-2005
James Gascoigne said:
Hiya Clive, Thanks for the comment and checking out the blog. Sure thing, this wiring is essentially identical to ‘58 Flying V style wiring, thanks to it’s 3 way toggle (Switchcraft spec), 2 volumes and a master tone. Here’s a diagram for the Flying V, but the same methods apply to wiring a Tele Custom or Deluxe in this same way – https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1117/5838/files/Flying_V_58_RH.pdf?v=1609601446
Hope this helps,
James
Clive Woodman said:
Thanks – but bear in mind my ’72 Custom is one single coil, one WRHP, not two WRHP. Is this a big deal? Tele 3-way switch has five tabs, diagram has four.
James Gascoigne said:
Hiya Clive, Not at all, not a big deal :) What the pickups are doesn’t affect the wiring really, hot and ground signals from the pickup, regardless of whether a humbucker or a single coil for example would be wired the same way effectively. You could use that Flying V example and attach single coils to the circuit exactly as you would attach a humbucker to it.
The Switchcraft toggle switch featured on the diagram has 5 tabs, not 4; 2 common output, one ground, and two outer lugs. Hope that helps.
James
James Gascoigne said:
Forgot to add, what I mean by noting that the pickups don’t affect the wiring, is that the actual schematic; how pickups can be connected to the circuit; won’t alter.
The way you would attach a single coil to that schematic, would be the same as you would attach a WRHB. The hot and ground signal wires would attach in the same places as the diagram shows.
What pot and cap specs you choose however may slightly differ, depending on what sounds you like from the single coil and the humbucker. That comes down to personal taste really, but generally speaking players tend to prefer 500k or 1MEG with a traditional WRHB, whereas the single coil will be more suited to a 250k pot.
Cheers