'52 Reissue neck pup and wiring mod question

Pickalittle · February 12th, 2008, 04:44 PM

No answer on Tele-Tech forum. Can anyone help me here?

I'm checking out a touring friend's '52 Tele RI and he was concerned about the "muddy sounding, dark and weaker" sound of the neck pup. He and I are newer to this model but not to Tele's in general. (I understand "they didn't have too many electric basses back then...so they made it that way" but don't know much specifically about the modern wiring mod.)

1.) I measured the resistance on his neck pup and got 7.17K. Is this about right and within tolerances?

2.) Can anyone tell me how to tell (internally, on control panel) if his Tele has had a modern '52 ri rewire?

3.) Can anyone recommend a quality kit for the rewire?

I could use some answers really quick if anyone can help me out and knows for sure.

Thanks,

Rick J · February 12th, 2008, 06:35 PM

The way to tell if your tele is wired up in the "vintage" style is to unscrew the control plate and have a look under the hood. With control plate upside down and you looking straight down on the pots and wiring, have a look at the last tag on the switch nearest the volume pot. Is there a little capacitor soldered between that last tag and the back of the volume pot? Probably dark red and square shaped. If so, you have the old style "vintage" wiring. Also, check the capacitor between the two pots, - if its marked "503" or similar, then its confirming the old wiring. 7.17k is about right for the resistance of the pickup, so my guess it must still be wired up vintage style.

To upgrade to modern wiring involves removing the first capacitor between the switch and the volume pot, and moving the bridge and neck pickup hot wires, (white and yellow) to different tags on the switch. Also you need to solder a couple of patch wires between a couple of the switch tags. For details of exactly what to do, do a search on this site for a detailed wiring diagram. Its not difficult to do, but you do need to be competent with a soldering iron, - the patch wires can be a little fiddly.

Once rewired to "modern" wiring, you will have the three switch positions as being neck on its own, both pickups together, and bridge on its own. The tone pot will work in all positionsl.

With regard to the 503 pot between the two pots, you can either leave this as it is, or change it to a lower value (typically 223) to provide a different amuont of tone roll off. There are plenty of threads on this site dealing with this subject, (how do you think I know how to do it!)

A new 52ri (or 62ri) will come with a suitable diagram and alternative tone capacitor in the case candy.

Rick J

February 12th, 2008, 04:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
Pickalittle Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: USA Age: 56 Posts: 250	'52 Reissue neck pup and wiring mod question No answer on Tele-Tech forum. Can anyone help me here? I'm checking out a touring friend's '52 Tele RI and he was concerned about the "muddy sounding, dark and weaker" sound of the neck pup. He and I are newer to this model but not to Tele's in general. (I understand "they didn't have too many electric basses back then...so they made it that way" but don't know much specifically about the modern wiring mod.) 1.) I measured the resistance on his neck pup and got 7.17K. Is this about right and within tolerances? 2.) Can anyone tell me how to tell (internally, on control panel) if his Tele has had a modern '52 ri rewire? 3.) Can anyone recommend a quality kit for the rewire? I could use some answers really quick if anyone can help me out and knows for sure. Thanks, __________________ Don't die with the music still in you! Psalm 150

February 12th, 2008, 06:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
Rick J Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: North London, UK Posts: 442	Here ya go... The way to tell if your tele is wired up in the "vintage" style is to unscrew the control plate and have a look under the hood. With control plate upside down and you looking straight down on the pots and wiring, have a look at the last tag on the switch nearest the volume pot. Is there a little capacitor soldered between that last tag and the back of the volume pot? Probably dark red and square shaped. If so, you have the old style "vintage" wiring. Also, check the capacitor between the two pots, - if its marked "503" or similar, then its confirming the old wiring. 7.17k is about right for the resistance of the pickup, so my guess it must still be wired up vintage style. To upgrade to modern wiring involves removing the first capacitor between the switch and the volume pot, and moving the bridge and neck pickup hot wires, (white and yellow) to different tags on the switch. Also you need to solder a couple of patch wires between a couple of the switch tags. For details of exactly what to do, do a search on this site for a detailed wiring diagram. Its not difficult to do, but you do need to be competent with a soldering iron, - the patch wires can be a little fiddly. Once rewired to "modern" wiring, you will have the three switch positions as being neck on its own, both pickups together, and bridge on its own. The tone pot will work in all positionsl. With regard to the 503 pot between the two pots, you can either leave this as it is, or change it to a lower value (typically 223) to provide a different amuont of tone roll off. There are plenty of threads on this site dealing with this subject, (how do you think I know how to do it!) A new 52ri (or 62ri) will come with a suitable diagram and alternative tone capacitor in the case candy. Rick J __________________ "If you want to know what an electric guitar is supposed to sound like, just listen to this." - British DJ John Peel introducing a Roy Buchanan track on BBC radio in the late 60's.