I need some help with wiring and pickups

I purchased a new Fender limited Edition 52 telecaster with a full size humbucker in the neck and a broadcaster tele pickup in the bridge.

I am going to replace the pickups and I want to change the tone cap as well.
The crap pickups that came stock with the guitar have to go, Thanks Fender.

Since I am used to 250k pots, I don't know what I have yet.......I will have to see what type of pots I have in there. I want to wire in a replacement humbucker in the neck position with a 22 cap and for the single coil bridge pickup I want to use a 47 cap.

Can this be done considering it just has a 3 way switch, one volume, and one tone pot?

Posted a picture of the new guitar for you.

Not a master guitar electrician, but my first answer is one cap per pot...with your wiring setup, you'll have to choose one cap...

Not a master guitar electrician, but my first answer is one cap per pot...with your wiring setup, you'll have to choose one cap...

I see, what about the 1953 tele wiring, that used two caps didn't it?

One was on the switch for the neck "dark circuit".


To get what you want, you could wire a push/pull pot to activate either cap.

But really all the cap is doing is determining how many highs will be dumped to ground ( darkening the tone) as you turn the pot. The cap really doesn't do jack until about 6-5 anyway, so having two when wide open on the tone control won't mean jack either.

One was on the switch for the neck "dark circuit".


To get what you want, you could wire a push/pull pot to activate either cap.

But really all the cap is doing is determining how many highs will be dumped to ground ( darkening the tone) as you turn the pot. The cap really doesn't do jack until about 6-5 anyway, so having two when wide open on the tone control won't mean jack either.

I guess I will have to just go with a 47 cap for both then.

On my setup, I followed essentially the '52 Hot Rod scheme - 333k (or 300k) pots with a .033 cap. Its the middle ground between 500k/.022 Humbucker & 250k/.047 single coil. Works for me.

I guess I will have to just go with a 47 cap for both then.

As suggested above you might want to just split the difference and go with a .033 cap. I actually prefer that to a .047 on my Tele's.

Those guys are right. I have a firebird neck pup and a single coil bridge pup. I used a .033 cap, but I also used a 375k pot for the volume and 250k for tone. I went 375k to brighten the neck without making the bridge too icepicky. Works great!!

Thanks to all who offered up help. I ordered a 375 pot, I already have an orange drop cap (sprague) in the .033 value just laying around with a bunch of other tone caps that I have collected.

Once that part come in, I will be installing it and hope all goes well with it.

Thanks to all who offered up help. I ordered a 375 pot, I already have an orange drop cap (sprague) in the .033 value just laying around with a bunch of other tone caps that I have collected.

Once that part come in, I will be installing it and hope all goes well with it.

Where'd ya get the 375? I'm thinking about a GFS dream 90 neck with an sc tele bridge and a 4 way switch.

And time fly's folks. Today I pulled the old cap out of the tele and put in an orange drop cap. A 22 cap to give the humbucker a little more life and take it from being an extremely dark horse to a useable pickup.

Woo Hoo, it worked I can use the neck pickup and just dial back the bridge with the tone control to keep her from getting too bright. All in all, I am happy with this set up now, more then with any other set up in the past.