60th Anniversary Tele - No Sound in Bridge only Position ??

Gav2000 · June 29th, 2008, 03:44 PM

I picked up a 60th Anniversary Telecaster yesterday (No. 069 of 1000). It is unplayed and even untested it seems.

The problem is that the 3 way switch works fine in the neck only position and middle position but no sound is amplified in the bridge position.

I've had a quick look under the plate at the 3 way switch and can't see a loose connection (by this I mean that all the wires look to be firmly soldered in place). However the connector above the bridge switch position is not wired to anything so my layman's investigation concluded a wire is missing or the switch is mis-wired.

Has anyone else had a similar problem with a 60th Anniversary Tele or any Tele really?? I'm fairly sure it left the factory not working and has remained so for 2 years as it looks unplayed.

I will take it to a professional to get it sorted as it's too expensive a guitar for me to mess with but I'm curious about how a special edition guitar can apparently be sent out from the factory with such an obvious fault.

Gav.

PS. The guitar is fantastic despite this problem. I'll take a few photos and post them soon.

mellecaster · June 29th, 2008, 04:15 PM

I can't address your specific problem w/o seeing it...but if it makes you feel any better, I purchased a Brand New unplayed MIM Esquire off E-Bay from a Fender employee no less, and it had an intermittent problem when plugged in. When I removed the control plate to look around, the positive wire that goes from the output jack to the center lug on the Volume control, was just laying loose in the lug....bone dry, with nary a drop of solder on wire or lug...and it left the Factory that way.......

boris bubbanov · June 29th, 2008, 06:27 PM

I've got a few of them, and the only problem I encountered was one shop worn one had been modded, a botched attempt to switch to the modern wiring scheme.
I would suggest that some person also took a stab at converting that one as well and somehow knocked out position one ( bridge only); arguably the only position you really need.
You'd never believe the current way I have this one wired. Position One is normal, positions 1.5 and 2.0 give me a half range of trebly tones from the neck pickup, with and without the bridge pup. Position 3 gives me a half range of cocked wah to bassy tones, but nothing as dark as the stock position three. the capacitors are .010 and .047 mf, stock tone and volume pots.
And I don't know how I did this.

Mark Davis · June 29th, 2008, 06:52 PM

If all the solder connections look good its usually a bad switch rather than a bad pickup.

June 29th, 2008, 03:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
Gav2000 TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Northampton, UK Posts: 11	60th Anniversary Tele - No Sound in Bridge only Position ?? I picked up a 60th Anniversary Telecaster yesterday (No. 069 of 1000). It is unplayed and even untested it seems. The problem is that the 3 way switch works fine in the neck only position and middle position but no sound is amplified in the bridge position. I've had a quick look under the plate at the 3 way switch and can't see a loose connection (by this I mean that all the wires look to be firmly soldered in place). However the connector above the bridge switch position is not wired to anything so my layman's investigation concluded a wire is missing or the switch is mis-wired. Has anyone else had a similar problem with a 60th Anniversary Tele or any Tele really?? I'm fairly sure it left the factory not working and has remained so for 2 years as it looks unplayed. I will take it to a professional to get it sorted as it's too expensive a guitar for me to mess with but I'm curious about how a special edition guitar can apparently be sent out from the factory with such an obvious fault. Gav. PS. The guitar is fantastic despite this problem. I'll take a few photos and post them soon.

June 29th, 2008, 04:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
mellecaster Friend of Leo's Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 4,274 17 Photos	I can't address your specific problem w/o seeing it...but if it makes you feel any better, I purchased a Brand New unplayed MIM Esquire off E-Bay from a Fender employee no less, and it had an intermittent problem when plugged in. When I removed the control plate to look around, the positive wire that goes from the output jack to the center lug on the Volume control, was just laying loose in the lug....bone dry, with nary a drop of solder on wire or lug...and it left the Factory that way....... __________________ Let's Not Forget the Other 75% of The Tone Equation...It's Called an AMP

June 29th, 2008, 06:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
boris bubbanov Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA + in the past Posts: 7,145	I've got a few of them, and the only problem I encountered was one shop worn one had been modded, a botched attempt to switch to the modern wiring scheme. I would suggest that some person also took a stab at converting that one as well and somehow knocked out position one ( bridge only); arguably the only position you really need. You'd never believe the current way I have this one wired. Position One is normal, positions 1.5 and 2.0 give me a half range of trebly tones from the neck pickup, with and without the bridge pup. Position 3 gives me a half range of cocked wah to bassy tones, but nothing as dark as the stock position three. the capacitors are .010 and .047 mf, stock tone and volume pots. And I don't know how I did this. __________________ Bubban0v

June 29th, 2008, 06:52 PM	#4 (permalink)
Mark Davis Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bakersfield Ca. Age: 57 Posts: 12,260	If all the solder connections look good its usually a bad switch rather than a bad pickup. __________________ I'm so blind my seeing eye dog needs glasses.