worst sounding neck pickup HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

[storge123]

Any suggestions on why my 52 reissue neck pickup sounds so TERRIBLE, it's unbelievable the tone pot BARELY changes the sound of it and it has NO characteristic of listenable tone to it. It's just bassy and muddy that's the best I can explain it, something has to be wrong, right? Thanks, I appreciate your opinions on this.

[Colin Johnston]

Sounds like you have the vintage wiring still in place & you've the switch all the way forward. On a stock US 52ri you get the neck pickup when the switch is in the middle position.

[JimiBryant]

hey Storge, welcome.

it's probably the old style wiring where ya get bridge-only, a blend with no tone control
for the two pickups, and then a pre-set "bass" or "rhythm" setting that sounds pretty
much as you described and thus hardly anybody uses it.

many have their guitars re-wired to modern specs or even go for a 4-way
switch which allows more tonal variety to the player.

[tlsmack]

I think old tele's were wired like that because there were no electric bass guitars yet. The reissues come with "vintage" wiring installed and a modern wiring kit to give you a middle position and a more usable neck pu sound. If you don't have the kit, just check out schematics under Telecaster Resources.( Top Left of TDPRI Home Page)

I'm sure plenty of people on this site have done the mod. Just start a thread about ""52 Re-issue Vintage to Modern Mod", and you will get all the info you need.

These are great guitars, and most people do the mod (or have it done). Good luck and welcome to the TDPRI.

[yegbert]

Welcome to the TDPRI, storge123!

Fender has wiring diagrams and other technical information for Teles here.

The diagram that shows how your Tele was wired from the factory, described by the other posters above, is listed under the American Vintage '52 Tele®. Here's the link to that diagram. Fender used that wiring/switching scheme from 1953 to 1967.

Fender provides another diagram listed under American Vintage '52 Tele® Special here, that will give you bridge, bridg/neck combined, and neck in the 3 switch positions. The tone control will be effective in all three positions. That's the "modern" wiring/switching scheme that Fender started using in late 1967, and many Teles come wired that way from the factory now.

If you're handy with soldering you can use that second diagram to rewire yours.

[TG]

Tlsmack is right...that wiring is from around 1953 when there were few electric bass guitars (Fender only invented them in 1951). The whole 'electric guitar in a band' thing was pretty new and there were different notions then of what was needed. Many old 'rhythm' tones sound pretty woolly to modern ears. The amps of the time often weren't that great as well, which is why they tried to get as much treble out of the bridge pickup as they could for lead playing. The amps weren't great for treble much of the time.
If you listen to recordings from the late '40s/early '50s you can hear what sort of tones people seemed to be aiming for in the music of the time.

The 52RI comes with the original wiring but, as people have said, it's very easy to 'modernise' it.

[storge123]

Thanks everyone for the great info that's why I'm here I had no idea about any of that looks like I'll be rewiring.

[Colin Johnston]

Originally Posted by storge123

...looks like I'll be rewiring.

Just FYI, I've had my 52 reissue for 11 years & haven't bothered rewiring. All the trad Tele tones are there if not quite as easily accessable as usual.

All the way back is bridge, all the way forward is the bassy sound, the middle position is the neck pickup by itself. You can get both pickups together by balancing the switch bitween the bridge & middle positions - tricky when the switch is new, but becomes easier over time.

[lolotte]

Thanks very much for your help.

It's been impossible for me to find the correct wiring scheme for my Fender telecaster 52 RI before I read your advise.

Now my guitar is correctly wired with the two pickups combined in the middle selector position.

Thanks again

Lolotte from France

[boris bubbanov]

Glad lolotte accomplished what he wanted.

For those of you who have the traditional setup and either can or cannot get the selector to stay in the 1.5 position (neck and bridge combined, noise canceling), I'd say this: I've got 5 of these AV52 type things, all with stock switching thus far. Some (3) are happy to go into and stay in that inbetween position, others (2) are not, even though the switches all have the same part number.

Has anyone substituted a 5 way switch that will provide a detent for the '1.5' position, or do most of ya'll feel that kinda defeats the authenticity thing?

Much obliged for any reply.

[tompson]

I have two '52 tele's, '82 & '05. They are great guitars! They are both set up with the modern wire diagram and a '50's blend circuit instead of a tone knob. To me, the tone knob seems to sound kind of muddy. The blender gives the bridge pickup a nice belly tone when blended and it also works in the neck position to blend in the bridge into the neck. So there is a broad spectrum of sounds from the middle position to either pickup. There is a position between the bridge and middle position that does sound smoother than the middle position. It takes some time getting used to using it. There are no capasitors, just strait wiring. I have tried many different wire diagrams, but to me this seems to be the most usable. As a mater of fact, my '68 Strat, Jay Turser Custom Tele with DiMarzio Area T Pickup (great pickup), and Agile Les Paul are all wired with the blender setup. There's just a lot of different sounds with that wiring. I'm left handed also. Just make sure the pots are wired to get the right swell, mainly the volume. My knobs turn clockwise - off to on. Good luck with a great guitar. I've tried the other tele's, but to me the '52 is the best.

[TexGoneNW]

I've always preferred modern wiring and a tone control over the blend option.

I also have a four-position switch I've never wired in.