Modded Nashville Tele Wiring help

[JohnnyCrash]

I’m starting a Nashville Tele build.

I need to talk through the wiring I’m planning. Even after all of these years of building and modding, I get my brain scrambled…

I plan on using a 5-way Strat switch.

1. I would like the G&L style PTB tone circuit. I have three pot holes on the Tele control plate: 250k Volume, 500k Treble Cut, 1 meg Bass cut.

2. HOWEVER, I would also like the Seven Sound Strat mod (like Gilmour’s Nashville Tele) (for this, my volume pot has a DPDT switch to engage the neck pickup).

3. And I would like to be able to put the middle pickup in series mode (at least with the bridge pickup) (the 500k treble cut pot has a DPDT pull switch on it for engaging series mode).

4. Finally, I’d like a “blower switch” for the bridge pickup alone to bypass the switch and give me the bridge pickup with no load (bypasses controls and goes straight to the output jack, DPDT switch on the 1 meg bass cut pot for this).

My tired brain needs help!

 

[generic202]

Have you considered Free Way 10 way switch? It will reduce some of the complexity and remove the need for your push/pull switches as you intend them to be used.

 

[JohnnyCrash]

I’ve used FreeWay switches in the past. I’m currently only using one these days (also in a three pickup guitar, a 6-way that looks like a Gibson toggle). For this build though, I’m sticking to the parts I’ve got.

My rationale:

I’d like the ability to have the typical Tele bridge + neck combination (especially for Steve Cropper type stuff), which is why I’m going with the “seven sound Strat” switch for the neck pickup. I don’t think I’ll care for the all-three pickups at once sound (my previously mentioned FreeWay equipped guitar did that, it’s just too much undifferentiated mud).

I’d also like to have a (sorta) humbucker with the bridge and middle pickups in series, however…

That can get dark, so this is one reason why I’m going with the PTB tone circuit. I can (hopefully) cut Bass to help clear up the b+m in series. I also don’t like dark neck pickups, so I can see me using the bass cut more than Tone (I rarely cut treble and leave me Tone pots alone).

Finally, the pickups I’m using are AlNiCo III’s and the bridge has a base plate, so I’m concerned that a 250k volume might not give me enough high frequency snap for situations where I want a very very bright bridge pickup twang, so the blower switch seemed like a quick way to get a “no-load tone pot” where all of my pots have standard wipers (I do not want to open both the DPDT box and the pot itself to scrape a “no-load” area off of the carbon wafer).

My main concern is with the series mode and the 5-way switch function… which, if I’m putting the bridge in series with the neck, will mean the bridge pickup will drop out (shunted to ground via series switching) on the 5-way switch when the series switch is engaged in certain settings (basically in the #2 position on the Strat).

I don’t think this would bother me since I’d only occasionally want these two pickups in series (basically the series switch takes precedence over the 5-way switch’s functionality when used), but it’s got me wondering if I’m missing anything with all of these switching options.

 

[moosie]

Just circling back to this thread. I saw Strat 5-way and series, and then Freeway, and with all of that, I lost interest. But since you seem to have stalled out, how about a 4-way series setup like on any normal Tele, and then a Middle ON switch?

I just drew one for someone else earlier today, and it seems to fit the need here as well. The PTB stuff is separate. Do you intend having three pots on the control plate? The other option is a modded TBX, which is no-load center off, and treble cut one way, bass cut the other. All in a single (ganged) pot.

Then the blower is easy to do on a mini-toggle, or vol push-pull.

I can draw that if you need it. I have it already, just not in a single diagram.

Oops, I didn't read carefully. You want M>B series...

I'm not prepared to try and make any of that work with a Strat switch but it's all doable with a super switch.

 

[JohnnyCrash]

Just circling back to this thread. I saw Strat 5-way and series, and then Freeway, and with all of that, I lost interest. But since you seem to have stalled out, how about a 4-way series setup like on any normal Tele, and then a Middle ON switch?

I just drew one for someone else earlier today, and it seems to fit the need here as well. The PTB stuff is separate. Do you intend having three pots on the control plate? The other option is a modded TBX, which is no-load center off, and treble cut one way, bass cut the other. All in a single (ganged) pot.

Then the blower is easy to do on a mini-toggle, or vol push-pull.

I can draw that if you need it. I have it already, just not in a single diagram.

Oops, I didn't read carefully. You want M>B series...

I'm not prepared to try and make any of that work with a Strat switch but it's all doable with a super switch.

I just finished soldering it all up.

Unfortunately, my two-year old is sleeping, so I can’t test it.

I’ll report back tomorrow.

 

[Legba-1967]

Pics? And post it in the Nashville Tele owners club thread. We’d love to see it.

 

[JohnnyCrash]

Here she is. I tuned it up and then tested the switches through the headphones jack of a Champion 20. They each work.

Volume pull switch throws the neck pickup into the mix (giving me the Tele’s classic middle bridge + neck sound, like Cropper… plus all three pickups on at once [the bass/woof of which I tame with the Bass cut knob]).

Treble cut pullswitch throws the bridge and middle into series in 5-way switch position #2. Again, Bass cut helped me dial in something much closer to a humbucker than any other Strat #2 position build I’ve played so far (one, of several, reasons I hate Strats). Classic Strat quack in #2 #4.

Bass cut pullswitch is a blower that simply bypasses everything and dumps the bridge pickup directly to the output jack — a no-load option for when I want maximum snappy high end twang from a Tele bridge pickup.

Other than fooling with the Neck pickup On switch and spending a good bit of time with the series mode and Bass cut, I’m looking forward to intonating it and really giving it a listen. Headphones through this cheap amp don’t lend themselves to new pickup/guitar evaluation.

 

[PCollen]

I’m starting a Nashville Tele build.

I need to talk through the wiring I’m planning. Even after all of these years of building and modding, I get my brain scrambled…

I plan on using a 5-way Strat switch.

1. I would like the G&L style PTB tone circuit. I have three pot holes on the Tele control plate: 250k Volume, 500k Treble Cut, 1 meg Bass cut.

2. HOWEVER, I would also like the Seven Sound Strat mod (like Gilmour’s Nashville Tele) (for this, my volume pot has a DPDT switch to engage the neck pickup).

3. And I would like to be able to put the middle pickup in series mode (at least with the bridge pickup) (the 500k treble cut pot has a DPDT pull switch on it for engaging series mode).

4. Finally, I’d like a “blower switch” for the bridge pickup alone to bypass the switch and give me the bridge pickup with no load (bypasses controls and goes straight to the output jack, DPDT switch on the 1 meg bass cut pot for this).

My tired brain needs help!

The pre-owned Nashville Tele I bought has a 920D 7-way switching control plate., giving the 5 traditional Strat combinations with a p/p switch on the tone pot that adds in the neck pickup when activated giving the N/M/B and N/B additional combo's. No series capability though.

 

[telepuller]

I am following this thread as I am wiring a 920D Brent Mason set up in a Darrin Matney b-bender body right now. I am told that the middle (push/pull) control pot will give me a series/parallel and mix function for the middle "Hot Stack Strat p/u in the circuit if I follow the wiring that Jimmy gave me. He is the 920D tech. Really nice guy and very helpful.

 

[moosie]

I am following this thread as I am wiring a 920D Brent Mason set up in a Darrin Matney b-bender body right now. I am told that the middle (push/pull) control pot will give me a series/parallel and mix function for the middle "Hot Stack Strat p/u in the circuit if I follow the wiring that Jimmy gave me. He is the 920D tech. Really nice guy and very helpful.

It's my understanding after speaking to a couple of people at Seymour Duncan, their "stack" pickups are not meant to be treated as if there are two separate coils, as you might a single-sized humbucker like a Li'l 59. Instead, think of it as a noiseless single coil.

You should consider using a single-sized humbucker in middle position, if you want to do that.

Also, the way Brent's circuit is normally wired, the middle pot is not a blend, but an actual vol pot. With a blend, the overall volume is determined by the single vol pot. A separate vol pot allows middle to be louder than neck/Bridge. You can also play middle alone, by turning neck/bridge volume to zero.

When I wired this up in my own Nashville, almost immediately I realized that I wanted to be able to turn middle on and off with a switch. I didn't like having to spin the pot back and forth. Also, I didn't like losing my volume setting each time I 'turned it off'.

If you don't have a humbucker in middle position, maybe use that push-pull as a middle-ON.

 

[Northern Born]

Here she is. I tuned it up and then tested the switches through the headphones jack of a Champion 20. They each work.

Volume pull switch throws the neck pickup into the mix (giving me the Tele’s classic middle bridge + neck sound, like Cropper… plus all three pickups on at once [the bass/woof of which I tame with the Bass cut knob]).

Treble cut pullswitch throws the bridge and middle into series in 5-way switch position #2. Again, Bass cut helped me dial in something much closer to a humbucker than any other Strat #2 position build I’ve played so far (one, of several, reasons I hate Strats). Classic Strat quack in #2 #4.

Bass cut pullswitch is a blower that simply bypasses everything and dumps the bridge pickup directly to the output jack — a no-load option for when I want maximum snappy high end twang from a Tele bridge pickup.

Other than fooling with the Neck pickup On switch and spending a good bit of time with the series mode and Bass cut, I’m looking forward to intonating it and really giving it a listen. Headphones through this cheap amp don’t lend themselves to new pickup/guitar evaluation.



View attachment 970775 That thing looks sweet! I am certainly not at that level of wiring. I just sent my Fender Deluxe Tele to Guitar Center to add the push pull to engage the neck at any time. I should have sent it to you!

 

[telepuller]

"Northern Born --- Here she is. I tuned it up and then tested the switches through the headphones jack of a Champion 20. They each work."



From what I understand (from the 920D tech) the middle push-pull puts the middle p/u in a series-parallel config (and of course vol). Until I get the wiring completed I'll just have to take his word for it. The Seymour D tech had a different explanation and I have heard about sixteen different explanations of this Mason setup in several reviews. You would think that the Fender people would have a consistent definition of a "signature" guitar but I have heard more than one explanation in the Fender reviews alone. I'm a little confused about this whole thing but that is nothing new for me. In the end, it will just have to come down to whether I like the way it sounds, and if I want something different I'll have to learn how to make the changes. I have no idea what the possibilities of the six terminals on the pull-pull pots are. I haven't found anything on SD site that explains that pot.

 

[moosie]

I have no idea what the possibilities of the six terminals on the pull-pull pots are. I haven't found anything on SD site that explains that pot

The switch portion of a push-pull pot is a DPDT. Double pole, double throw. Means it does two different things... to two different things.

Your average guitar mini-toggle is also a DPDT. Same animal, different lever mechanism, that's all.

An S-1 push-push is different. That's a 4PDT. So, does two different things, to four different things.

Your six terminals are divided into two banks of three each. Each bank is a 'pole'. The center terminal of each is the 'common'. It's the terminal that is always active in the switch. The other two terminals alternate between active and inactive, depending on switch position.

 

[telepuller]

Hey moosie,
Thanks for the reply. The push/pull I got from 920D has a jumper from the center terminal of one bank to the bottom terminal of the opposite bank. I suppose that is how I get what the tech described as the "series/parallel" function for the middle pick up (the Hot Stack Strat)? I don't know if he was talking about the stack in the middle p/u or the wiring from the middle p/u to the other pick-ups.
I think you can see the source of my confusion - or maybe it is just because I know nothing about wiring these things. I can only wire it per the diagram he sent and see what happens.

This setup has a 3-way switch not a 5-way or I would try to make sense of Travisb's "Series Parallel" post. After reading a bit of that thread I'm sure I would be completely lost.

 

[moosie]

Hey moosie,
Thanks for the reply. The push/pull I got from 920D has a jumper from the center terminal of one bank to the bottom terminal of the opposite bank. I suppose that is how I get what the tech described as the "series/parallel" function for the middle pick up (the Hot Stack Strat)? I don't know if he was talking about the stack in the middle p/u or the wiring from the middle p/u to the other pick-ups.
I think you can see the source of my confusion - or maybe it is just because I know nothing about wiring these things. I can only wire it per the diagram he sent and see what happens.

This setup has a 3-way switch not a 5-way or I would try to make sense of Travisb's "Series Parallel" post. After reading a bit of that thread I'm sure I would be completely lost.

Why don't you post the diagram you're looking at. We can't do anything without that.

 

[telepuller]

What a concept!

Here's the text portion of the instruction:

"The 3-way switch acts like any other 3-way with a neck and bridge pickup. You introduce the middle pickup by turning up the middle pickup volume control and turn it back down to get it out of the signal path. The push/pull is a series/parallel switch for the middle pickup. Down should be series which should be a little louder and higher output, and up should be parallel which should be a little lower output."

Here's the attachment:

This one wasn't very helpful. Are "stacked" p/u's wired to the 6 terminals the same as buckers ?

Here's the other diagram I received:

Again, I'm not so sure stacked and humbuckers would be the same wiring.

 

[telepuller]

moosie - this is another option I suppose but it introduces another question, does an "adjustable coil" mean the vol pot changes its volume?

I realize this would mean removing the jumper. If the adjustable config means the split mode can be vol pot adjustable, this could be handy.

I'm seeing that "adjustable" could just mean the coil with the screws instead of the SLUG mags? The problem is that the middle Hot Stack Strat is a blade mag and the Vintage Tele Stack is a row of slugs.

 

[moosie]

I am following this thread as I am wiring a 920D Brent Mason set up in a Darrin Matney b-bender body right now. I am told that the middle (push/pull) control pot will give me a series/parallel and mix function for the middle "Hot Stack Strat p/u in the circuit if I follow the wiring that Jimmy gave me. He is the 920D tech. Really nice guy and very helpful.

What wiring? Can we see this, please?

Assuming Duncan Stack colors are the same as Duncan humbuckers, then:
Top coil: start = green, finish = red
Bottom coil: start = black, finish = white

In series, red/white are joined together.

In parallel, white is grounded and red is connected to hot.

Ignore the split stuff, as it's not what you're trying to do.

If I can see the diagram, I can illustrate which pickup leads go where. Without it, I can't.

 

[telepuller]

I didn't see these two attachments buried in the emails that went back and forth. Maybe this answers everything except what I should expect them to do.

Does it look to you like this is a series/parallel function of the push-pull switch?

 

[turfdoc]

The Complete Guitar Wiring book by Gerry Hayes has just been released and it looks to be the ultimate tech bible for all wiring possibilities, diagrams, etc. Check it out on amazon for a peek.