Recommendations for a wired control panel

[old school fender]

Hi to all. New poster here (still have that new poster smell). As a little introduction I am and have been an avid fan of Fender equipment for the past 55 plus years having acquired my first Tele in 1972. I have been doing my own setups, minor repairs, mods, etc, for probably the last 40 years, but having said that I still feel like the combined experience, knowledge, and wisdom of a forum such as this to be a valuable asset.

I just recently stepped back into the word of Tele after having let go of all my former Tele's (the 72, a 62 reissue, and a 70 something Deluxe) Needless to say I wish I had them all back, but, water under the bridge. My recent acquisition is a Limite Edition MIM Player Tele in sienna sunburst. Beautifull guitar but I'm not at all impressed with the modern appointments, being a purist at heart, as the name implies, old school. Soooo I'm in the process of retro fitting with more vintage appointments ie 3 brass saddle bridge, kluson tuners, bootstrap pickups and have worked my way up to the control panel to which I must confess I have limited knowledge of.

On to the meat of the matter. I'm looking for an upgrade to the current control panel. I don't want nor need boutique, fancy, just quality 250k pots, proper cap if needed, a three way switch that will outlast me, prewired. As I'm on a limited budget I need the best quality I can get for the least amount of money, no recommendations for cheap ebay chinese junk please! Any other suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[Boreas]

Welcome aboard! Pix of the guitar??

Do you have specific gripes about the current components?

920D does pretty impressive vintage-style work, but you will pay for their soldering quality and wire dressing. With a little practice, I found I could pretty well copy their techniques. They use pretty standard components, but all are supposedly tested for tolerance.

Guitar Wiring Upgrades - 920D Custom - Shape Your Sound

Guitar wiring upgrades and components for serious players around the world. From individual pots and wiring harnesses, to fully loaded pickguards, we can hook you up. Shape your sound.

920dcustom.com

 

[old school fender]

Thanks for the info! As to specific gripes, I'm just suspect of the quality of the electrical components used in the MIM's. The only way of testing as to effects of their quality is to replace them with parts of a known better quality and see if there is an improvement. The prewired kits from 920 are a little over my budget. The wiring kit is however in my range and has the components I was after (cts, crl). The only rub is at my age, with failing eyesight and an unsteady hand I'm not so sure I can trust my soldering ability anymore. I do have a longtime friend who does excellent work but getting him to do anything is like pulling eye teeth.

 

[old school fender]

Oh! And here's the photo.

 

[Phrygian77]

CTS pots and a CRL switch will be expensive regardless of who you source them from. I personally don't want anything except the dish back J taper CTS pots (like the Mojotone branded pots). There's nothing wrong though with 3/8 bushing Alpha pots though, other than they're stiff and don't come in a 30% taper. If you're the kind of person who wants more control between 50-100% volume and tone than 0-50%, you can substitute a linear taper. The Oak Grigby switches are good and cheaper than CRL. You don't want anything other than a switchcraft jack.

 

[old school fender]

I'm not that fussy about taper. Once I figure how a particular pot functions i can adapt to the taper, if it's of a reasonable standard, more concerned with the quality of the component and to the effects on tone. But thanks for the info!

 

[LowCaster]

Nice guitar and amp.

My experience with Fender MIM is that the electronics is not always top notch, but if it works there’s nothing wrong with it. On the contrary I have bought a few CTS pots during the last years and I was not always impressed with the quality. This is why I wouldn’t bother to swap anything if you have not identified an actual problem.

If you really want, you can find a wiring kit or wiring harness at every price point. The wiring harness is already assembled but you still have to solder the pickups so it defeats the purpose.

Now if you want to try something completely different, EMG sells a complete set for Telecaster, active pickups, control plate, and it’s solderless (comes with Quick connectors).

 

[unixfish]

Nice guitar - nice amp!

Welcome.

 

[Boreas]

Thanks for the info! As to specific gripes, I'm just suspect of the quality of the electrical components used in the MIM's. The only way of testing as to effects of their quality is to replace them with parts of a known better quality and see if there is an improvement. The prewired kits from 920 are a little over my budget. The wiring kit is however in my range and has the components I was after (cts, crl). The only rub is at my age, with failing eyesight and an unsteady hand I'm not so sure I can trust my soldering ability anymore. I do have a longtime friend who does excellent work but getting him to do anything is like pulling eye teeth.

It would be best if you could post a couple pix of the current guts of your control plate - especially if you didn't buy it new. That will make it easier to suggest changes if we know what you have.

Frankly, I doubt you are going to notice much of a difference comparing pots of identical resistance - just taper and torque. I have swapped out import Squier pots (usually Alpha) for CTS and noted no difference. In many instances, I prefer the higher torque of the Alphas. I do not like the import 3-way switches because they are so flimsy and often noisy. But I doubt your MIM would have them. Hard to find anything better than a CRL 3-way. If you are indeed old-school, I doubt you will be wanting a 4-way.

 

[old school fender]

Thanks for the reply. The components in this guitar are currently working I'm just not sure of the quality. Sorry to hear that CTS has let their quality slip for in my experience over the past many years having owned and still own many CTS equipped guitars I never encountered any issues with failure or poor quality, but then these guitars have been around for a while and this is a new day with new ways of doing business. Go figure!

As an aside, one reason for the upgrades to my current Tele is I have partscaster project on the drawing board for which I will use the parts taken from it to use on the partscaster build. I'm willing to take a chance on the soldering on the partscaster

 

[old school fender]

It would be best if you could post a couple pix of the current guts of your control plate - especially if you didn't buy it new. That will make it easier to suggest changes if we know what you have.

Frankly, I doubt you are going to notice much of a difference comparing pots of identical resistance - just taper and torque. I have swapped out import Squier pots (usually Alpha) for CTS and noted no difference. In many instances, I prefer the higher torque of the Alphas. I do not like the import 3-way switches because they are so flimsy and often noisy. But I doubt your MIM would have them. Hard to find anything better than a CRL 3-way. If you are indeed old-school, I doubt you will be wanting a 4-way.

Would gladly post pics of the guts, only right now it's in the Fender guitar hospital having the neck replaced. Yeah, BUMMER! When I recieved it(brand new) it had a scooped out spot on the low e side of the neck where somebody fell asleep when profiling it.

As to the four way, no way! I have enough problems keeping up with three positions! I've even considered changing my 3 strats back to three ways since one currently has a faulty import switch. Never had any problems with the old spring loaded CRL's

 

[Boreas]

Would gladly post pics of the guts, only right now it's in the Fender guitar hospital having the neck replaced. Yeah, BUMMER! When I recieved it(brand new) it had a scooped out spot on the low e side of the neck where somebody fell asleep when profiling it.

As to the four way, no way! I have enough problems keeping up with three positions! I've even considered changing my 3 strats back to three ways since one currently has a faulty import switch. Never had any problems with the old spring loaded CRL's

Perhaps ask them for the bad neck to use on your partscaster!

 

[schmee]

Thanks for the info! As to specific gripes, I'm just suspect of the quality of the electrical components used in the MIM's. The only way of testing as to effects of their quality is to replace them with parts of a known better quality and see if there is an improvement. The prewired kits from 920 are a little over my budget. The wiring kit is however in my range and has the components I was after (cts, crl). The only rub is at my age, with failing eyesight and an unsteady hand I'm not so sure I can trust my soldering ability anymore. I do have a longtime friend who does excellent work but getting him to do anything is like pulling eye teeth.

Just use good CTS pots and an Oak Grigsby switch. You can ensure Fender style CTS by buying the ones sold and packaged by Fender. But the same spec without the Fender label is fine also. I dont know what year MIM had what pots, but the newer MIM may have good pots in it already although they could be Alpha pots. If things are smooth without crackle, certainly nothing wrong with just using what you have.

 

[old school fender]

Perhaps ask them for the bad neck to use on your partscaster!

Thought about that already. Except for the mis-lick it's really a nice neck. Frets were finished well, couldn't find any high or low ones, tangs had been properly dressed, straight as an arrow, nice piece of lightly figured maple,couldn't ask for a better fit. I'd dare say you couldn't pass a frog hair between the body and the neck anywhere they touched.

 

[old school fender]

Just use good CTS pots and an Oak Grigsby switch. You can ensure Fender style CTS by buying the ones sold and packaged by Fender. But the same spec without the Fender label is fine also. I dont know what year MIM had what pots, but the newer MIM may have good pots in it already although they could be Alpha pots. If things are smooth without crackle, certainly nothing wrong with just using what you have.

Yes. Am definitely going with the Fender packaged CTS if I don't get a prewired plate. Model is 2022. Haven't had any experience with the OG switch but it looks good!

 

[schmee]

Yes. Am definitely going with the Fender packaged CTS if I don't get a prewired plate. Model is 2022. Haven't had any experience with the OG switch but it looks good!

The OG is the traditional Fender switch.

 

[Boreas]

Yes. Am definitely going with the Fender packaged CTS if I don't get a prewired plate. Model is 2022. Haven't had any experience with the OG switch but it looks good!

CRL vs Oak Grigsby

Any opinions on quality/longevity of the OG? I usually use CRL but the OG's are about 1/3-1/2 the cost.

www.thegearpage.net

 

[Boreas]

The OG is the traditional Fender switch.

I think most of the vintage ones were CRL with the external springy thingie.

Pure Vintage 3-Position Pickup Selector Switch | Parts

Pure Vintage 3-Position Pickup Selector Switch with Mounting Hardware

www.fender.com

That being said, they both work well. I think CRL may make them both now.

 

[old school fender]

The OG is the traditional Fender switch.

Yeah I can see that. Just never used one before

 

[old school fender]

I think most of the vintage ones were CRL with the external springy thingie.

Pure Vintage 3-Position Pickup Selector Switch | Parts

Pure Vintage 3-Position Pickup Selector Switch with Mounting Hardware

www.fender.com

That being said, they both work well. I think CRL may make them both now.

All the vintage strats I've had were the CRL with the external springy thingie. As long as the spring didn't wear out or stretch, or break I'm convinced they would last forever and if it did ...... replace the 50 cent spring.