AVRI tone changes w/modern wiring?

It could just be that you are not used to what the switch does in modern wiring.

What is now your #3 position was formerly your #2 position. What you have in position #2 now is both pickups on, in parallel. This is an airy, notched sound with lower output than the other two positions. If you are putting the switch in the middle, and expecting the tone you got from the middle before, you will be disappointed with something weaker sounding. That former middle position tone is now in position #3.

Additionally, you now have a tone control that affects your bridge pickup. I'm not sure if tone knob in the old AVRI '52 wiring worked on both pickups, or just on the neck pickup. But if the old wiring had no tone control for the bridge pickup, then having the tone knob control the bridge pickup now will cause a slight amount of treble loss (maybe audible and maybe not).

 

I'd think about fitting a 4 way switch' and add a treble bleed curcuit to your volume pot, then you'd have bridge and neck giving strong tones, and a great middle position, then flick it to the 4th slot, and your neck/bridge become like a humbucker! Great for switching to lead tones, or chugging out rock chords!

 

There's a gazillion 52RIs and the suggested mod is easily reversed and will have no effect on it's resale. A four way lets you 'Keef it up'.

Consider also a 'no load' tone control. This has a detent at '10' which lifts the wiper of the tone pot taking the cap and pot out of the circuit and unloading the pickup output.

This gives a warmer, hotter signal to any combination of pickups, higher and lower.

May get you back to where you were.

 

More options, costs pennies and both do nothing if not engaged.

I have a fiveway on my 69 TL - the 2nd position gives a hot series in phase humbucker crunch which is what the four-way gives, the 4th posi is a series out of phase like a Strat on 'roids, pretty funky if rarely usable.

1-3-5 is neck, parallel in phase and bridge like a stock Tele.

 

If I was doing it again I'd use 4-way. The series humbucker setting is a great addition and adds a lot to it's versatility.

 

Reminds me of a SG bridge.

 

Your luthier or eBay oak and grigsby

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com.au/ulk/itm/322112728828

 

You will need to solder in a new switch
Many places will offer a diagram , Seymour Duncan etc

The slot for the switch in the control plate is sometimes not long enough , the throw of the the 4 way is slighty longer

You also have to split the ground wire from the neck pu , so you will have one from the coil , and one from the cover.

Stock ground wire grounds both coil and cover

 

They are available everywhere. It's a standard Fender part. Do a 4-way switch search. Oak Grigsby supply US and Mexico Fender switches

 

Chino - do you know how the person rewired you AVRI Tele? I used to have one; when I bought it back in 2004 the tech who changed the guitar to modern wiring discussed 2 ways that he could do the update. The kit that comes with the guitar has a different capacitor that replaces the capacitor on the tone pot. He said that he could either update to that capacitor or keep the original capacitor - this is not the "dark circuit" capacitor that is activated in position 3, but the capacitor that is active in positions 1 and 2 with the tone pot. I chose to keep the original vintage capacitor and only have the "dark circuit" capacitor removed when he changed the switch to modern (i.e. bridge/both/neck).

Maybe your tech put in the "Modern" capacitor - they are close but have a slightly different value which could be accounting for the changes you're hearing. Caveat - I'm not a wiring guy; I'm just going by what this guy told me when I bought the guitar - in fact I didn't even bring it home until after they changed the wiring as I bought it from a local store.