custom shop '60 NOS telecaster mod or leave original

[mr pink]

I got a second-hand custom shop '60 NOS telecaster the other day.
Nice guitar with good craftmanship, a light alder body and a nice neck (early C-shape; fatter than a '62 reissue telecaster or Jazzmaster).
The guitar is very nice as it is; the prevoius owner put compensated brass saddles on it. Intonation is spot-on.
My only 'complaint' is that the middle position isn't the typical tele position, where neck and bridge are blended with reverse polarity, but instead you get a humbucking effect. I looked under the hood and there's a third wire running from the neck pickup.
I don't recall teh exact reason for this, but I once put one on a '52 reissue to achieve this humbucking effect.
While I like the sound of it, I miss the sound of the 'normal' middle position.
I thought of changing the wiring to normal as well as putting a 4-way or 5-way switch to get both the humbucking mode and the normal one.
My only delemma is why mess with a guitar that is actually absolutely briliant (exept for that one option it hasn't got) and possibly devaluating it by altering something.
This '60 telecaster isn't the 'custom' version, but a normal contoured natural colour one with a black pickguard.
When I adjusted the truss rod, I saw that the neck was marked '61 telecaster NAMM Germany'.
Anyone has any thoughts about this?
I don't doubt the originality, even if it is 3th hand, because the neck fits the body so well and the neck's specs are 100% what they should be, according to my searchings. (9.5 radius, dunlopp frets, oval C-shape.
I'll post pics as soon I got some.
Thanks for your thoughts.

[dough]

Sounds like a fantastic guitar, dream specs for me. Re. the switch, I'd go for the 4-way. After using that configuration on my newish Baja Tele, I'll never go back. Option 2 (for me) would be return to modern tele 3-way blade. As much as I enjoy the HB sound of position 4, I get a bit more use out of the standard middle tele position.

[borz666]

I don't think you are going to "devalue it" by putting it back to stock??? Its your guitar do what you want!

[mr pink]

I agree that I can do whatever I like with it; it's my guitar and I can play it the way I like it best.
Objectively seen, the past 5 or 6 years some 20-25 guitars have been going on and off around here and while I think this one's a keeper, I've been thinking this before of guitars that I finally sold again.
I think the guitar came out of the custom shop this way, but there is so little to find on the net about this particular '60 reissue that I could not verify this yet.
In fact, I wrote the custom shop, gave them the serial number etc. for some more info and they send me the specs of the '60 NOS 'custom'. Not my guitar.
The guy said that since it was a 2004 he didn't have accurate scources to trace back.
Apparently they delete their files every 10 years or something, I dunno.
He also said it must have been a special order; hence perhaps the parallel wiring.
Could anybody confirm this wiring is indeed non-standard on a 1960 telecaster?
By the way, it's not alder, it's 2-piece ash.
However, I might get a 4-way switch and install that.
I could just desolder the main wires from the 3-way and leave the rest on, so I could always bring it back to it's current state if I felt the need to.

Oh, I nearly forgot to ask:
Where can I find a wiring sceme for a 4-way telecaster with series and parallel in pos 2 and 3?

[davec629]

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support...matic=tele_4ws

Oh, I nearly forgot to ask:
Where can I find a wiring sceme for a 4-way telecaster with series and parallel in pos 2 and 3?[/QUOTE]

[Bartholomew3]

Is the wire going to the bridge p/u area a ground for the bridge ?

Its easy enough to bring the center position back to stock by exchanging & soldering a couple of wires.

My personal opinion --- it's probably nice to have a 4 way but if you do club or stage work that extra position can be a huge PITA.

In the heat of battle I sometimes get into the wrong place even with a 3 way.

[xtrajerry]

Contact the custom shop, they can send you the build sheet from your guitar.

[Rolling Estonian]

Originally Posted by xtrajerry

Contact the custom shop, they can send you the build sheet from your guitar.

He wrote CS.

Pet peeve of mine is when people don't read the posts, particularly the OP's.

I'm waiting for someone to ask whether you tried raising/lowering the pups.

Though it is odd that there's no info, especially if it's a custom. Why put a s/n and make a coa if you don't have that in your database. Lastly, I checked my watch and it hasn't been 10 years since '04.

M

[Torz Johnson]

Have you tried raising/lowering the pups?

[mr pink]

Originally Posted by Torz Johnson

Have you tried raising/lowering the pups?

Is this a standard funny thing to say on this board?
sounds like a good varition of 'needs tort!'
I don't get what raising the pickups has to do with wiring issues.

The third wire is running from the neck pickup/ not from the bridge like in the seymour Duncan sceme.
Could I just leave it there and make a small alteration to the sceme with the same result?
Thanks for the sceme.

[mr pink]

btw, here are some pics







I know it's only a tele but I like it!

[fenderguy72]

That is a beauty. Thanks for the pics.

[Torz Johnson]

Originally Posted by mr pink

Is this a standard funny thing to say on this board?
sounds like a good varition of 'needs tort!'
I don't get what raising the pickups has to do with wiring issues.

The third wire is running from the neck pickup/ not from the bridge like in the seymour Duncan sceme.
Could I just leave it there and make a small alteration to the sceme with the same result?
Thanks for the sceme.

I dunno, I just didn't want to keep Rolling Estonian waiting too long.

Really nice Tele by the way.

[StratBluesRock]

It won't devalue it, haha.

[NastyMojo]

That is so beautiful

[Bartholomew3]

That's the pickguard I put on my 68.

Mine is just like that with a stripped-down satin clear finish. My year didn't have a clear finish so I destroyed the originality.

Also have a pickup out-of-phase issue in the middle position because I put in a Dimarzio neck Area T for silence and need to exchange the red and green wire - the instructions were reversed wired with the original bridge p/u.

[mr pink]

Originally Posted by Torz Johnson

Have you tried raising/lowering the pups?

Well, actually I changed the pickup height for the 2nd time yesterday.
The bridge and neck are more even in output now and for some reason the middle position (humbucker) is much more adjusted in output volume too.
When I got her, the bridge was too high (it is now set as in the Fender manual ) while the neck was too low. I had to raise the neck a bit higher than is written in the manual to get the same output as the bridge.
With this setting, the middle position isn't bothering me really. It sounds fine.
I think I'll leave her stock for know and whenever next time I feel bored and empty with my tedious life, I'll install a 4-way switch to have the typical middle position tele sound as well.
Not such a bad advice, after all!!!
By the way, I'm halfway married to my tele now.
Being primarilly an acoustic guitar and later a Jazzmaster player, It feels like I finally found my ultimate instrument.
She sounds full and rich and just forces me to play better and more aware and intense.
Would this be what a tele is all about?
After 5 attempts, I think I finally found the right tele; one I will not sell!

[rebelwoclue]

Originally Posted by mr pink

Well, actually I changed the pickup height for the 2nd time yesterday.
The bridge and neck are more even in output now and for some reason the middle position (humbucker) is much more adjusted in output volume too.
When I got her, the bridge was too high (it is now set as in the Fender manual ) while the neck was too low. I had to raise the neck a bit higher than is written in the manual to get the same output as the bridge.
With this setting, the middle position isn't bothering me really. It sounds fine.
I think I'll leave her stock for know and whenever next time I feel bored and empty with my tedious life, I'll install a 4-way switch to have the typical middle position tele sound as well.
Not such a bad advice, after all!!!
By the way, I'm halfway married to my tele now.
Being primarilly an acoustic guitar and later a Jazzmaster player, It feels like I finally found my ultimate instrument.
She sounds full and rich and just forces me to play better and more aware and intense.
Would this be what a tele is all about?
After 5 attempts, I think I finally found the right tele; one I will not sell!

I don't blame you for deciding to keep her- she's a beauty- congrats!

[surfoverb]

i use this wiring. I call it the poor mans 4 way

i dont know anyone else who uses it so Id gather its not stock on any Tele (nobody likes this scheme-except me)