Keystones - a few dumb questions

Today I received a set of Keystones for my Tele, and I have to say that I'm very impressed with the quality. The service was great too.

But, I have a few questions that I could find answers to with the search function.


Does it matter which way round the bridge pup is fitted?
What pot & cap values do you guys like with these?
Do any of you know what size screws are used to mount the bridge, as I want to replace them with slot headed screws (I hate Philips screws!)


I was a bit concerned how I was going to mount the neck pickup (as my Tele uses body mounting), but I found here that I can just pop out the threaded insert.

So far they sound dark & compressed, and I guess I have wired them up wrong (which is normal for me for some reason :roll:) I have 250K pots and a .022 cap.

1. It should fit only one way. Try rotating it 180 degrees and see what I mean.

2. I used 250K; it's what I had in the guitar, and what I typically use for Fender-ish single coils. Maybe someone else has a different idea?

3. You could take the pickup to the hardware store and try different bolts until you find the ones that fit.

gosh, I'm really not having a good day, I meant the neck pickup

If you look at the back of the pickup, the two wires protrude, not from the middle, but all the way at one side. I wired mine in with the wires on the right, when looking at the face of the guitar. Probably not coincidentally, the "Made in USA" sticker was right side up.

That should put everything in phase, as long as you keep your hot and ground wires consistent with the bridge pickup.

As Pseudocat said, the wires from the neck pup should be coming out of the pickup end closest to the control plate. I use 500k pots with my Keystones, but that is primarily because I put a chrome cover on my neck pickup and the 500k pots compensate a bit for the effect of the cover (I'm a slave to the chrome look). 250k should be fine, however. My Keystones are not dark at all and are very articulate and hi-fi sounding. If yours sound dark or muffled, I suspect something is not wired up quite right.

Cool, I had the pup in correct. Thanks for that, I have now got 'em working nicely on a 3-way switch. And the bridge is REALLY nice. The neck needs more adjusting, but it's looking very good so far :lol:

I'll order up a 4-way and try that too when it arrives.

BTW, the suggestion about the hardware store is a good one, but I reckon there is a good chance they'll be imperial threads... Not so common here in Europe.

I know that when I cross threaded one of the bridge mount screws, I did some looking but Bruce and Becky came to the rescue and I got a half handful of the screws and inserts in the mail. So these are not common size even in the states.
Slotted heads? I dunno.

For what it is worth, sometimes the USA stick-on is upside down, but yeah, the neck pup wires come out of the "right" side, right is right. Rechts ist richtig.

> "I'll order up a 4-way and try that too when it arrives."

Heck, go for a 5-way and follow Bill's diagram for wiring it in on his website. That's what I use on my Tele, and love the tones.

Heck, go for a 5-way and follow Bill's diagram for wiring it in on his website. That's what I use on my Tele, and love the tones.

That may well be a good idea. But, I like Teles for simplicity... Maybe that is a step too far for me.

BTW, does a 5-way switch take a standard Tele switch tip?

So, the Keystones are dialed in a bit better now and I have a big problem...

My current favourite amp (Matamp C7) doesn't work so well with these pickups, they seem to reveal the darker nature of the amp more than I have heard before. Yet my cheap, old Sessionette sounds really good (with a Blackstone pedal added for the overdriven tones).

And wow these pickups sound really big!!

It doesn't matter which way ya physically orient the coil in a Keystone Tele neck pup - or any Keystone Strat pick, for that matter. It has nothing to do with phasing. This is also true of ANY Tele neck or Strat pickup. What WILL matter with any single coil pickup is the shape of the bobbin base with respect to the pup cavity rout, or if the pole pieces are staggered - in each instance, the pup must go down into the hole in only one direction.

It doesn't matter which way ya physically orient the coil in a Keystone Tele neck pup - or any Keystone Strat pick, for that matter. It has nothing to do with phasing. This is also true of ANY Tele neck or Strat pickup. What WILL matter with any single coil pickup is the shape of the bobbin base with respect to the pup cavity rout, or if the pole pieces are staggered - in each instance, the pup must go down into the hole in only one direction.

edit: wow... I've been operating under some false assumptions since the mid-70's on this one. And I've had some weird coincidences that have kept the false assumptions up. Oh, well, better late than never.

So, the Keystones are dialed in a bit better now and I have a big problem...

My current favourite amp (Matamp C7) doesn't work so well with these pickups, they seem to reveal the darker nature of the amp more than I have heard before. Yet my cheap, old Sessionette sounds really good (with a Blackstone pedal added for the overdriven tones).

From what many posters have said about Keystones, they're quite responsive to height adjustment, and though I've only had mine in my tele for a couple of days, I can certainly vouch for that. You may need to fiddle with them a while until you get your sound dialed in.

That may well be a good idea. But, I like Teles for simplicity... Maybe that is a step too far for me.

BTW, does a 5-way switch take a standard Tele switch tip?

Just wanted to say that I have a 5-way in my homemade Tele, with Keystones. I've used the JD wiring, and the results are totally awesome!

I don't think it kills the simplicity; it gets a little getting used to, but not much.

I have a "special" control plate which has a bit more distance between the switch and the volume pot and I use a standard Fender "superswitch" with Tele tip.

Just wanted to say that I have a 5-way in my homemade Tele, with Keystones. I've used the JD wiring, and the results are totally awesome!

I don't think it kills the simplicity; it gets a little getting used to, but not much.

I have a "special" control plate which has a bit more distance between the switch and the volume pot and I use a standard Fender "superswitch" with Tele tip.

You wouldn't happen to have have a diagram for that by any chance ?

You wouldn't happen to have have a diagram for that by any chance ?

This is the one I used:

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/showphoto.php/photo/5627/cat/538

:wink: :grin:

Dont forget Keystones are VERY hight sensitive .it made a huge difference when I raised or lowered them .

This is the one I used:

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/showphoto.php/photo/5627/cat/538

:wink: :grin:

Thankyou Abraxis, much appreciated. now, where do I get "that" switch ?

Thankyou Abraxis, much appreciated. now, where do I get "that" switch ?

Iirc Fender used a Yamaha 4P5T switch -- I'm pretty sure Stew-Mac has offered it, not sure if they still do. It's electrically the same as Fender's aftermarket "Superswitch" for Strats, but it's small enough to fit into a standard Tele control cavity.

I couldn't find the Yamaha switch so I used a Fender SS. The wiring is the same, it's just a little bit more difficult to solder.

Keep in mind that you may have to slightly enlarge the bottom of the control cavity, where the switch sits. I avoided doing this but just barely.... If I was to do it again today, I would definitely enlarge it to avoid accidental unsoldering of the wires or short-circuits.