First Esquire wiring...volume knob?

romo · May 13th, 2008, 09:51 PM

So I posted about breaking my twisted tele pickup from my Baja. While I try to get over my complete idiocy from breaking it I decided I would wire my guitar to an Esquire so it is usable while I send the pickup off to get rewound. I used the simple wiring diagram seen here: http://www.tdpri.com/wiringESQUIRE.htm the one with 2 caps and no resistor. It works and sounds great but the volume knob doesn't roll the volume all the way off...just a little bit. Is this normal? Honestly it may be useful because its pretty much perfect for turning it off all the way and leaving a cleaner tone for rhythm...instead of trying to guess in the middle of a song when you need to back off after a solo or something. But maybe it was designed this way I don't know

It makes swells a little tough though!

Mark Davis · May 13th, 2008, 10:13 PM

Did you rip out all the Baja wiring and pots and replace everything?

My guess is if you left the Baja parts in there something with that wacky S1 knob might be messing with ya.

romo · May 13th, 2008, 10:18 PM

Mark...I still have all the Baja wiring intact, but it is now sitting on my shelf until I need it again. I used another pair of pots and a 3 way switch and another jack I had lying around. The pots and caps I used aren't really the highest quality things but they should be functional.

Jim.Collins · May 14th, 2008, 10:01 AM

Is the low lug of the volume pot bent over and soldered to the volume pot casing? (The low lug is the one on the right, as they are facing you, and the shaft is pointed to the floor.)

romo · May 14th, 2008, 10:07 AM

No Jim it is not. Should it be?

pengipete · May 14th, 2008, 10:10 AM

You can download the official Esquire wiring diagram from Fender.

romo · May 14th, 2008, 10:19 AM

Thanks Pete. It looks like grounding that lug of the volume pot is what I need to do.

Jim.Collins · May 14th, 2008, 10:40 AM

That lug must be grounded. When you turn the volume down all the way off, the fact that there is no sound is not because the volume is at zero, it is because that lug is connected to ground, and the wiper contacts that lug, at zero volume. When the wiper contacts ground, all sound goes away.

romo · May 14th, 2008, 11:15 AM

Thanks Jim!

surfoverb · May 14th, 2008, 11:25 AM

I've got the same set-up...Just stick the caps leg through the lug and then solder it on the lug and onto the back of the pot like it's shown in the diagram without bending it back(the blue lines point to where to solder)

romo · May 14th, 2008, 09:32 PM

surfoverb, thanks for the clarification! I've got my guitar working correctly now. In your diagram it shows a 0.022 cap instead of two 0.05's...how does that affect the tone?

May 13th, 2008, 09:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
romo Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 136	First Esquire wiring...volume knob? So I posted about breaking my twisted tele pickup from my Baja. While I try to get over my complete idiocy from breaking it I decided I would wire my guitar to an Esquire so it is usable while I send the pickup off to get rewound. I used the simple wiring diagram seen here: http://www.tdpri.com/wiringESQUIRE.htm the one with 2 caps and no resistor. It works and sounds great but the volume knob doesn't roll the volume all the way off...just a little bit. Is this normal? Honestly it may be useful because its pretty much perfect for turning it off all the way and leaving a cleaner tone for rhythm...instead of trying to guess in the middle of a song when you need to back off after a solo or something. But maybe it was designed this way I don't know It makes swells a little tough though!

May 13th, 2008, 10:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
Mark Davis Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bakersfield Ca. Age: 57 Posts: 11,812	Did you rip out all the Baja wiring and pots and replace everything? My guess is if you left the Baja parts in there something with that wacky S1 knob might be messing with ya. __________________ I'm so blind my seeing eye dog needs glasses.

May 13th, 2008, 10:18 PM	#3 (permalink)
romo Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 136	Mark...I still have all the Baja wiring intact, but it is now sitting on my shelf until I need it again. I used another pair of pots and a 3 way switch and another jack I had lying around. The pots and caps I used aren't really the highest quality things but they should be functional.

May 14th, 2008, 10:01 AM	#4 (permalink)
Jim.Collins Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Pleasanton, CA Age: 53 Posts: 429	Is the low lug of the volume pot bent over and soldered to the volume pot casing? (The low lug is the one on the right, as they are facing you, and the shaft is pointed to the floor.)

May 14th, 2008, 10:07 AM	#5 (permalink)
romo Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 136	No Jim it is not. Should it be?

May 14th, 2008, 10:10 AM	#6 (permalink)
pengipete Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gloucester U.K. Age: 47 Posts: 909	You can download the official Esquire wiring diagram from Fender.

May 14th, 2008, 10:19 AM	#7 (permalink)
romo Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 136	Thanks Pete. It looks like grounding that lug of the volume pot is what I need to do.

May 14th, 2008, 10:40 AM	#8 (permalink)
Jim.Collins Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Pleasanton, CA Age: 53 Posts: 429	That lug must be grounded. When you turn the volume down all the way off, the fact that there is no sound is not because the volume is at zero, it is because that lug is connected to ground, and the wiper contacts that lug, at zero volume. When the wiper contacts ground, all sound goes away.

May 14th, 2008, 11:15 AM	#9 (permalink)
romo Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 136	Thanks Jim!

May 14th, 2008, 11:25 AM	#10 (permalink)
surfoverb Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 1,375	I've got the same set-up...Just stick the caps leg through the lug and then solder it on the lug and onto the back of the pot like it's shown in the diagram without bending it back(the blue lines point to where to solder)

May 14th, 2008, 09:32 PM	#11 (permalink)
romo Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 136	surfoverb, thanks for the clarification! I've got my guitar working correctly now. In your diagram it shows a 0.022 cap instead of two 0.05's...how does that affect the tone?