Telecaster Guitar Forum - View Single Post - Wiring a humbucker w/4-way switch

Deaf Eddie · June 24th, 2009, 09:17 PM

Hey, what I would do is wire it all up as per the drawing, and LISTEN to it - no one can really describe what something is gonna sound like, some stuff you just have to hear. Then, you can tuck that knowledge away, along with the soldering skills you've exercised, for the NEXT mod. And maybe what I don't like about it you WILL like, and vice-verse. Otherwise, we'd all be playing the SAME axe through the SAME amp...

And, don't get me wrong - that Lil 59er will give you plenty of Tele twang (by my ear) in full humbucker mode. No, it won't sound EXACTLY like a single-coil pup, but it will definitely sound like a Tele bridge pup. They got that part right - and heck, you might really dig it. They DO sell a lot of those pups.

It's my GUESS that where you may find the Lil 59er lacking is if/when you play it in coil-shunt, all by itself. I don't think that you will hear you a solid, single-coil twang that you can use for a solo voice - but it WILL make it a nice mate for other the other pup combos that you will have available. It takes both pups for most of the good stuff in that scheme. And, everything is NOT a solo voice - ya gotta comp behind the singer once in a while!

So, while nothing does EVERYTHING well...

The Lil 59er will probably suit you just fine as an upgraded-from-Squier Tele bridge pickup, and will be a good match in output/volume for the full-sized 59er in the neck (another consideration).

AND, you've got the scheme here to pretty much get the most out of those two pups and the hardware you bought, so, give it a go. Just keep in mind that EVERY tone may not be a slam-dunk-winner - but that's how it is with a lot of axes. I bet there's some killer good stuff in there, too.

Sez I, try it and let us know how you like it. As I said, I may have a few tweaks that can smooth over the deficiencies you find, if the setup comes CLOSE to what you wanted out of that axe.

*****

On the other hand, if you think it just completely sucks, well, that's what we all love about Teles - they're easy to mod, and just as easy to pull the mods back out of. And you never have to throw the parts away - there will be another axe down the road that will just come beggin' for an upgrade or some other crazy scheme...

June 24th, 2009, 09:17 PM	#42 (permalink)
Deaf Eddie Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Sunny San Diego, CA Posts: 1,741 14 Photos	Hey, what I would do is wire it all up as per the drawing, and LISTEN to it - no one can really describe what something is gonna sound like, some stuff you just have to hear. Then, you can tuck that knowledge away, along with the soldering skills you've exercised, for the NEXT mod. And maybe what I don't like about it you WILL like, and vice-verse. Otherwise, we'd all be playing the SAME axe through the SAME amp... And, don't get me wrong - that Lil 59er will give you plenty of Tele twang (by my ear) in full humbucker mode. No, it won't sound EXACTLY like a single-coil pup, but it will definitely sound like a Tele bridge pup. They got that part right - and heck, you might really dig it. They DO sell a lot of those pups. It's my GUESS that where you may find the Lil 59er lacking is if/when you play it in coil-shunt, all by itself. I don't think that you will hear you a solid, single-coil twang that you can use for a solo voice - but it WILL make it a nice mate for other the other pup combos that you will have available. It takes both pups for most of the good stuff in that scheme. And, everything is NOT a solo voice - ya gotta comp behind the singer once in a while! So, while nothing does EVERYTHING well... The Lil 59er will probably suit you just fine as an upgraded-from-Squier Tele bridge pickup, and will be a good match in output/volume for the full-sized 59er in the neck (another consideration). AND, you've got the scheme here to pretty much get the most out of those two pups and the hardware you bought, so, give it a go. Just keep in mind that EVERY tone may not be a slam-dunk-winner - but that's how it is with a lot of axes. I bet there's some killer good stuff in there, too. Sez I, try it and let us know how you like it. As I said, I may have a few tweaks that can smooth over the deficiencies you find, if the setup comes CLOSE to what you wanted out of that axe. ***** On the other hand, if you think it just completely sucks, well, that's what we all love about Teles - they're easy to mod, and just as easy to pull the mods back out of. And you never have to throw the parts away - there will be another axe down the road that will just come beggin' for an upgrade or some other crazy scheme... __________________ YMMV - I been wrong before...