Three-way wiring on Tele

[JohanM]

I want to wire my guitar like this:

Do I need a bleed circuit on the volume pot and if so, where? Just for those soft notes that becomes muddy...

Should I change the .047 cap to a 3300dF or what should I do?

Is this a good wiring and if better, can you guys help me? The switch position here is 1 - bridge pickup with tone controle; 2 - neck and bridge in Parallel with tone controle; 3 - neck pickup with tone control.

 

[Peegoo]

That's a good plan.

The treble bypass goes across the two ungrounded tabs on the volume pot.

There's no "best" bypass scheme. There are several ways to do it, and the one that sounds best depends on your guitar, your technique, your amp, and your ears. Here are a few of the most common methods:

 

[berzirk]

Johan
I'm definitely not the expert here, but relative to pot / cap values it may help to let the thread know what pickups you're planning on using, and what tone you're looking for. Also, that "Modern" diagram dates back to 1967, so there's a lot of other stuff out there. If you're concerned about the muddy tones, perhaps a grease bucket tone circuit which allows you to roll of the tone without the muddiness ?

 

[jfgesquire]

That is pretty much THE standard method of wiring a 3-way telecaster today.

IF you install a treble bleed circuit, it would be installed between lugs 1 and 2 of the volume pot. For reference, 2 is the middle and 3 is the ground. Do a search for Kinman Treble Bleed - my favorite. (NOTE: my numbering is backwards from the image above!)

As for the .047uf cap - that really is a preference thing, that is also interdependent on the pickups being used. .047 seems to work well for me and my instruments, but .033 or even .022 could be used and you may prefer one of the others - trial and error. Fender vintage guitars used a .05uf ceramic disc caps, obviously very close to a .047, especially when tolerances can be 20%

 

[gtrwrks]

jfgesquier is dead on. I like to use a fairly low value capacitor within the Tone circuit in order to give me LOTS of tonal shading variations. Typically 250k pot w/0.015 or 0.022uF caps - pickups/guitar dependent. It can take some experimentation - good thing about a Tele's wiring is, you can pull/replace the plate all day and not have to remove the strings like on a Strat.

 

[JohanM]

I just want to mention I'm using Texas Specials for pickups

 

[sjtalon]

When the tone control is on 10, the cap don't mean jack.


I call the cap a tool the tone pot uses in it's job. The higher the value, the faster/darker things will get as you turn the pot from about 6-0.

It's a player preference thing, do you want a subtle tone change ? I don't use the tone much so like .022 in most everything. Nice thru the sweep.

If you want it more aggressive....then .047 or even as high as .1 µF.

It's YOUR geetar, and YOUR ears, get it how YOU want it to function.


One more thing, consider a 4 way switch for series..................kinda like having a neck humbucker option to kick in.


Happy pickin'

 

[JohanM]

Many guys said I must do the 4 way switch circuit and I actually decided I will.

 

[Boreas]

Another useful tone consideration is to switch to 500k pots from the 250k pots. You start out with a brighter sound, which gives you a wider range of tones. I feel on most single coil guitars it is better to start out with more high end, then dial it back if needed. It isn't something you can add after the fact - but it can be easily subtracted. I also tend to use 1 meg pots on humbuckers for the same reason.

 

[JohanM]

Looking at my circuit right at the top - if I put a .022µF cap in the place of a .047µF cap - will a bleeding circuit still be necessary? Some guys says change the .047µF cap and some guys gives me info on the bleed circuit. What should I do - a)only change the .047µF cap with no bleed circuit; b) change the .047µF cap and install a bleed circuit; c) Keep the .047µF cap and install a bleed circuit? Thanks guys.

 

[DougM]

Looking at my circuit right at the top - if I put a .022µF cap in the place of a .047µF cap - will a bleeding circuit still be necessary? Some guys says change the .047µF cap and some guys gives me info on the bleed circuit. What should I do - a)only change the .047µF cap with no bleed circuit; b) change the .047µF cap and install a bleed circuit; c) Keep the .047µF cap and install a bleed circuit? Thanks guys.

The treble bleed is to retain the highs when turning down the volume pot. It has nothing to do with the tone control or tone control cap.

 

[JohanM]

The treble bleed is to retain the highs when turning down the volume pot. It has nothing to do with the tone control or tone control cap.

So I can go forth and install the .022µF cap between the tone pot and volume pot and develop a Kinman bleed circuit for my volume pot?

 

[Gaz_]

Another useful tone consideration is to switch to 500k pots from the 250k pots. You start out with a brighter sound, which gives you a wider range of tones. I feel on most single coil guitars it is better to start out with more high end, then dial it back if needed. It isn't something you can add after the fact - but it can be easily subtracted. I also tend to use 1 meg pots on humbuckers for the same reason.

Yeah, I put a 500k tone pot on my telecaster 12 string and it opened it up completely. I tend to play with it on about 6, so without it I couldn't get the sound I love! And there's nothing to lose, 0-5 will play as if it's got the 250k pot.

 

[4pickupguy]

I want to wire my guitar like this:

View attachment 747083

Do I need a bleed circuit on the volume pot and if so, where? Just for those soft notes that becomes muddy...

Should I change the .047 cap to a 3300dF or what should I do?

Is this a good wiring and if better, can you guys help me? The switch position here is 1 - bridge pickup with tone controle; 2 - neck and bridge in Parallel with tone controle; 3 - neck pickup with tone control.

You didn’t say whether or not you use the tone circuit. If not, why not bypass it?

 

[JohanM]

I'd like the tone circuit...

 

[DougM]

So I can go forth and install the .022µF cap between the tone pot and volume pot and develop a Kinman bleed circuit for my volume pot?

Yes, and the treble bleed should go between the two lugs on the volume pot that the tone cap isn't connected to, the one from the switch and the one to the output jack

 

[trev333]

a pic of one on an 83 tele of mine... it was on there when I got it... the solder looks old so it's been there for a while..

 

[JohanM]

Thanks for the circuit Doug! Trev333 - any values on there?

 

[trev333]

.001uf...

 

[Boreas]

Looking at my circuit right at the top - if I put a .022µF cap in the place of a .047µF cap - will a bleeding circuit still be necessary? Some guys says change the .047µF cap and some guys gives me info on the bleed circuit. What should I do - a)only change the .047µF cap with no bleed circuit; b) change the .047µF cap and install a bleed circuit; c) Keep the .047µF cap and install a bleed circuit? Thanks guys.

Only make one change at a time. Live with it a while to assess each change. There are an infinite number of ways to wire any guitar. Spend more time playing and less time fiddling.

My advice for a starting point is good quality 500k pots, a .022 or LESS tone cap, and a good quality switch. Then your tone control becomes very useful on the fly. If you don't fiddle with your volume pot much when playing, you don't need a treble bleed. If you do, I would recommend buying a Bourne or CTS 500k pot with a V-treb already installed - about $12.

Unless you need very dark or muddy tones, I would avoid a .047 tone cap. To my ears, they effectively eliminate half of the usable range of a tone pot. Teles are usually revered for the brightness and cut they bring to a mix. They aren't used much for mud...