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MOD GARAGE:
TELECASTER MODS VOL. 1
Deutsch “Duke of DIY” Dirk Wacker breaks down series
wiring, feedback remedies, phasing, and Les Paul-style
wiring schemes for your Tele.

Digital Press
 DIRK WACKER lives in Germany and has
been a guitar addict since age 5. He’s
also a hardcore DIY-er for guitars, amps,
and stompboxes and runs a website on
the subject (singlecoil.com). When not
working at his guitar workbench, he plays
country, rockabilly, surf, and flamenco.
Contact him at info@singlecoil.com.

premierguitar.com
II PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS
 Telecaster Series Wiring
L
et’s explore a common mod for
Telecasters and other two-pickup
guitars, but with a little twist: wiring
two pickups in series rather than in parallel
to get louder, meatier sounds. This mod is
also known as Telecaster 4-way wiring.
A Telecaster with a standard 3-way switch
and traditional wiring provides the classic
pickup combinations we all know and love:
• Position #1: bridge pickup alone
• Position #2: both pickups (in parallel)
• Position #3: neck pickup alone
But many players (myself included) like
having an additional option with more balls,
perfect for solos that easily drive your amp
into saturation. This sound is also cool for
playing jazz. Hitting this goal is as easy as
wiring the two pickups in series rather than
in parallel.
In parallel mode, the pickup inputs are
connected, as are the outputs. This is one of
the main reasons a Telecaster usually sounds
Fig. 1
Wiring diagram courtesy of singlecoil.com
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very bright. The signal from each pickup
reaches the output jack via the shortest
possible route. High frequencies reach the
output jack almost unchecked, giving your
Tele its signature sparkling quality.
The sound of series. In series mode,
however, the ground wire of one pickup is
connected to the hot wire of the other. They
become a kind of “compound pickup,”
sharing one ground and one hot output.
When pickups are wired in series, their
impedance is summed, and the output is
very high. However, some treble frequencies
are lost because the long pickup wire acts as
a resistor, and any resistor in the signal path
suppresses the signal. Additionally, resistors
attenuate higher frequencies more than
low ones, which explains the prominent
lows and midrange of series-wired pickups.
Compared to parallel wiring, the signal
must travel through twice as much pickup
wire to reach the output jack.
How to wire
your Tele for an
added series
sound.
PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS 1
 Getting a series
sound with an
The resulting tone increases a Telecaster’s
added switch versatility, so it wasn’t long before someone
rather than a
replacement came up with a nice solution: the 4-way
pickup selector.
switch. Simply replace the standard 3-way
switch with a special 4-way switch and
follow the Fender wiring diagram in Fig. 1.
The mod is invisible from the outside, and
it provides this switching matrix:
• Position #1: bridge pickup alone
• Position #2: both pickups (in parallel)
• Position #3: neck pickup alone
• Position #4: both pickups (in series)
We’ll revisit the 4-way switch and its
physics in a later column. But all you really
need is a 4-way replacement switch and the
wiring diagram.
Important: Before performing this mod,
you need to check whether your neck
pickup sports the usual metal cover. If so,
you must separate the cover from ground,
as explained in my May 2013 Premier
Guitar column, “Preparing Your Tele for
Future Mods.”
An alternative arrangement. Some
players don’t want to change the standard
3-way switch, or don’t like the order of
settings in the 4-way switch mod. (The
order can be changed, as we’ll see in an
upcoming column.)
It’s possible to use a 2PDT switch to
activate series wiring. You can do this using
a mini-toggle switch mounted on the metal
control plate between the two controls
(there’s plenty of space), or you can replace
one of the standard control pots with a
push-pull or push-push pot. Either option
works as long as you use a 2PDT switch.
The basic idea is to have standard
3-way switch operation, plus the option
2 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS
Fig. 2
of jumping to the series sound simply by
hitting a switch, overriding the pickup
selector regardless of its setting. Hit the
switch again, and the 3-way switch is
re-engaged at its current position.
This wiring can work as a kind of preset
switch: Dial in a neck pickup alone for
rhythm work, hit the switch for a series solo
sound, and then flick the switch again to
return to your “rhythm preset.” We usually
use this wiring in our shop if the customer
doesn’t want to fumble with a 4-way switch.
Not just for Teles. Naturally, this
arrangement works with any two-pickup
guitar, not just Telecasters. The wiring
shown in Fig. 2 employs a push-pull pot
with a 2PDT switch, but you can also
use a DPDT mini-toggle on the control
plate—just move the relevant wires to the
new switch. Please keep in mind, though,
that you must convert your neck pickup to
Wiring diagram courtesy of singlecoil.com
three-conductor wiring as mentioned above,
assuming it has a metal cover connected to
common ground.
That’s it! Next month we’ll cover another
cool mod for acoustic guitars, in keeping
with that issue’s unplugged theme. Until
then, stay in tune and keep on modding!
premierguitar.com
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS 3
 Fighting Feedback in a Telecaster

L
ast month, we took the first step of screws (left). Save the metal springs in
our epic Tele-modding journey by case you want to return the guitar to its
looking at how to prepare the original condition.
guitar’s standard 2-conductor single-coils Pad the bridge pickup’s baseplate. Take
for hot-rodding [“Preparing Your Tele a piece of thin foam like the one shown
for Future Mods,” June 2013]. While in Fig. 1, and cut it to size so it will fit
you have your pickups out to do this prep the cavity area underneath your bridge
work, why not take a moment to make pickup. It can be tricky to get a piece of
a few feedback-fighting tweaks? (Even if foam with the right thickness. If it’s too
you’re not planning to rewire your pickups, thin, the foam won’t contact the pickup’s
these simple mods are worth the effort of baseplate and that’s useless. However, if
taking your Tele apart.) it’s too thick, the foam will interfere with
The Telecaster’s bridge pickup is a well- any pickup height adjustments. Take your
known source of feedback if you play at time and get this right.
high volumes. This is typically caused by Once you’ve determined the foam
the metal bridge plate, the way the pickup is the correct thickness to apply gentle
is mounted to this plate, and the pickup’s but consistent pressure against the
metal baseplate. By addressing two of
1
these problematic areas, the following
mods will dramatically reduce the chance
of feedback.
Replace the pickup mounting springs.
Pop off the pickguard and see if your
guitar has metal springs for pickup height
adjustment. If so, get some latex tubing
and replace the metal springs with it.
(Latex surgical tubing is readily available
from pharmacies or medical supply
stores.) The metal springs interact with
the pickup’s magnets and are often a
source of unwanted feedback. In the ’50s
and ’60s, Fender used latex tubing around The Telecaster’s bridge
the pickup-height adjustment screws, so pickup is a well-known
this is a “back-to-basics” upgrade.
Fig. 1 shows how to mount the latex source of feedback if you
tubing on the Tele’s three bridge pickup play at high volumes.
screws (on the right) and neck pickup

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4 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS
 baseplate—and thus keep it from vibrating
at loud volumes and squealing or causing
feedback—glue the foam piece to the
bottom of the pickup cavity. This foam
padding is most important for the bridge
pickup baseplate, but it can’t harm to repeat
the operation for the neck pickup, too.
Bonus! Strat-style neck pickup
adjustment. On most Teles, the neck pickup
is screwed directly to the wood with the
pickup screws covered by the pickguard.
Personally, I don’t think this is a problem
because once you’ve adjusted the neck
pickup height to your satisfaction, you’re
done—set it and forget it. Furthermore,
if you do need to adjust the neck pickup
height, it’s no big deal to remove the
pickguard. You can do this without
unstringing the guitar.
But if you want the ultimate convenience
of a Strat-style mounting for the neck
pickup, here’s how to do it: First, remove
your pickguard and on its underside, put a
piece of masking tape on each side of the
neck pickup hole. Place your pickup in the
pickguard and using a Sharpie, mark the two
fastening holes on the masking tape. Then
measure the diameter of the screws and drill
two matching holes into the pickguard (Fig.
2). Finally, install the neck pickup in the
pickguard and enjoy!
Nuke that static. Our last project for this
Wiring diagram courtesy of singlecoil.com
column is to prevent static noises that often
show up with plastic pickguards under
certain weather and humidity conditions.
I’m sure you all know this culprit: You
touch the pickguard and hear noises
coming from your amp. Annoying? Yes, but
then again, maybe you like to scratch the
premierguitar.com
2
pickguard with your fingernails and use the
sounds as percussion.
By the way, if you decide to mod your
pickguard for Strat-style neck pickup
adjustment, it makes sense to do this anti-
static mod first.
Here’s the process: Take some mid-grade
sand paper (150 grit or something close to
it) and carefully sand the underside of the
entire pickguard. Next, grab some dryer
sheets (chances are good you’ll find some
in your laundry room) and rub both sides
of the pickguard with them for several
minutes. As a side effect, your pickguard
will smell like early spring for days!
In most cases this should do it, but if
you still have problems with static noise,
repeat this treatment or make a 1:1
template of your pickguard out of thin
paper and install it between the guitar and
the pickguard.
All right—that does it for today.
Next time, we’ll start to explore factory
Telecaster wirings to discover how they
work and how to mod them. Until then,
keep on modding!
PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS 5
 Adding an Out-of-Phase Switch to a Telecaster
N
ow that we’ve investigated the
Telecaster’s bridge and neck
pickups individually, it’s time to
have some fun with both pickups together.
Are you ready to learn how to get out-of-
phase sounds from a Tele? In this column
we’ll cover the electrically out-of-phase
mod, not the magnetically out-of-phase
version. (The latter, which involves
modding a pickup, will be the subject of a
future column.)
How it works. First, it’s important to
understand the basic principle: To get this
out-of-phase effect, you need to use two
pickups together, with one of them wired
in reverse phase relative to the other. When
two pickups are in phase, they reinforce each
other sonically. When they’re in opposite
phase, many frequencies are canceled.
What we hear are the “leftovers” from these
cancellations. The closer the two pickups
are physically, the greater the cancellations,
which results in a thinner sound and
reduced volume. That’s why it’s better to
6 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS
use the neck and bridge pickups for out-of-
phase wiring than to pair either one with a
middle pickup. You want as much distance
between the two pickups as possible.
What does it sound like? Basically, it’s a
squawky “inside-out” sound in which two
pickups that normally sound full and rich
are turned into a thin and shrill couple.
Why would you want that? It’s great for
reggae or funk, where a thinned-out tone
sits well in the mix. Also, this sound
cuts through effects or heavy distortion
that would otherwise make your tone
too muddy. Brian May takes advantage
of this with his Red Special guitar, with
its individual out-of-phase switches for
each pickup. He often used this sound on
Queen recordings to clarify his tone while
using heavy distortion.
The first famous musician to discover
the out-of-phase glories of a Telecaster was
James Burton, and he did so by accident.
He says he stumbled on this sound on
his stock-wired late-’50s Telecaster while
Wiring diagram courtesy of Seymour Duncan (seymourduncan.com)
premierguitar.com
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS 7
 This sound cuts through effects or heavy distortion that
would otherwise make your tone too muddy.
backing up Ricky Nelson. Burton found
he could get the sound by setting the
3-way pickup selector between positions
(similar to what Strat players did to achieve
position 2 and 4 before the 5-way switch
became standard). He called it his “little
Chinese tone.” You can hear this on many
famous Ricky Nelson records, including
Burton’s solo on “Travelin’ Man.”
This sound cuts through effects or heavy
distortion that would otherwise make your
tone too muddy.
Heat up the soldering iron. To put our
Tele pickups electrically out of phase—and
have the ability to switch back to the stock
sound—we use a phase-reversal switch as
shown in the diagram. Which of the two
Tele pickups should you connect to the
phase switch? It doesn’t matter —it sounds
the same either way.
But first, it’s very important that you’ve
done the pickup mod we discussed in
“Preparing Your Tele for Future Mods,”
available at premierguitar.com. This
entails disconnecting the bridge pickup’s
ground from the metal base plate or the
neck pickup’s ground from its metal cover.
The new, third ground wire connected to
the base plate or metal cover always stays
connected to ground, while the pickup’s
ground wire is the one that has to be
connected to the phase switch. Naturally
you only have to do this mod to the pickup
that will be connected to the phase switch;
the other pickup can stay stock.
8 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS
You can use any DPDT on-on switch
for this mod. A perfect location for the
switch is on the control plate. Simply drill
a small hole between the volume and tone
controls and mount the switch there. Or
you can use a push/pull or push/push
pot for the switch, replacing one of the
conventional pots.
The wiring is fairly simple: Solder the
two jumper wires on the phase-reverse
switch as shown in the diagram. Choose
one of the pickups and unsolder the two
pickup wires where they connect to your
guitar. Solder the phase switch “out” wires
(hot and ground) to the exact spots where
the pickup wires were before. Solder the
two pickup wires to the input terminals on
the phase switch. Mount the switch to the
Telecaster’s control plate and start enjoying
the new sound.
And now, breaking news. After eight
years—a freaking long time for a monthly
column—we’re going to update the basic
concept of Mod Garage. Originally, we
set out to explore a particular model of
guitar in depth with a series of columns
dedicated to it alone. We’ve done this with
the Stratocaster, Esquire, and Telecaster.
Starting next month, we’ll change the
guitar model from column to column.
We’ll also make each article self-contained,
so new modders will find it easy to join
the fun without having to read several
previous parts to catch up. We’re excited
about “Mod Garage 2.0,” so please let us
know what you think. Meanwhile, keep
on modding!
premierguitar.com
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS 9
 ’50s Les Paul Wiring in a Telecaster
A
fter pestering you with switching
theory for a full three months
[“Inside the 3-way Telecaster
Pickup Switch,” October 2013, “How
to Wire a Stock Tele Pickup Switch,”
November 2013, and “How to Wire
Alternative Tele 3-Way Switches,”
December 2013], it’s time to start exploring
Telecaster mods.
Let’s begin with a simple but great
mod that’s typically called “the ’50s Les
Paul wiring.” (This wiring is also known
as “vintage wiring” or “’50s vintage
wiring.”) This is the way Gibson wired
up their electric guitars in the late 1950s,
including the famous “burst” Les Pauls,
Fig. 1
Fig. 1 Got a stock modern Telecaster? Move the
red wire in this diagram from where it currently
is guitar to where it is here, and you’ve
converted your Tele to ’50s-style wiring.
10 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS
as well as SGs and ES-335s.
This wiring has been one of the hot
topics in guitar forums in recent years, and
there are many myths and urban legends
about it. After it was forgotten for a very
long time, today it seems to be more
popular than ever. Electronically, there’s
nothing too special about this wiring—it
simply connects the tone pot to the output
of the volume pot (middle lug) instead of
the input lug. All late-’50s Gibson guitars
were wired this way, but here’s the good
news: You can do this with any guitar that
has at least one volume and one tone pot ...
just like our Telecasters!
What’s so special about this ’50s wiring?
premierguitar.com
 Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Gibson’s ’50s wiring applied
to a Telecaster. The tone pot connects
to the volume pot’s output (middle
lug) instead of the input lug. Wiring
diagram courtesy of Seymour Duncan
(seymourduncan.com).
It affects your tone in three major ways:
1. The overall tone gets stronger, tighter,
and more transparent. It’s difficult to
describe, but you might say it’s more “in
your face.”
2. The typical treble loss that occurs
when rolling back the volume is much
less than with standard wiring. Both
the volume and tone controls become
more responsive, and they react more
smoothly without the usual hot spots.
Another bonus: By simply rolling back
your guitar volume a bit, you can clean
up an overdriven amp without getting
lost in the mix.
premierguitar.com
3. The tone and the volume controls
interact with each other—something
you might be familiar with from certain
tweed-era Fender tube amps. When you
change the volume, the tone changes
a little bit as well, and vice-versa. This
may be strange at first, but you only
need a few minutes to get used to it.
As always, mods that affect tone are matters
of personal taste, but this one is really
worth trying. It’s simple and invisible, and
you can easily revert to standard wiring
if you don’t like it. Before we heat up the
soldering iron, let’s take a closer look at
what to expect.
PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS 11
 I’m sure you’ve heard about the magical
tone of late-’50s sunburst Les Pauls.
Perhaps you’ve been lucky enough to play
one—we’re all jealous—but we know this
tone from our old records. Part of this
magic is attributable to the ’50s wiring,
which makes the tone very transparent and
more “direct.” The guitar responds much
better and without this wiring, it’s difficult
to get that bloom—the way notes open
up after you’ve played them. It’s always
difficult to describe sound with words, so
your best bet is to give it a try and compare
it to standard wiring.
Let’s think about the treble-loss issue
for a moment. I’m sure you know the
inherent idiosyncrasies of passive single-
coil pickups and volume controls. On a
Telecaster, for example, when you turn
down the volume—even just a bit—
you lose highs disproportionately to the
amount of volume reduction. In other
words, a small cut in volume creates a far
greater loss in treble response.
You can get rid of this problem by
installing a “treble-bleed network”—a
combination of a capacitor and resistor
wired in parallel or series on your volume
pots. But another alternative is the ’50s
wiring scheme, which may be all you need
to deal with this treble-loss issue.
Here’s why: The ’50s wiring exhibits much
less treble loss that standard wiring because
it follows a completely different curve,
depending on the ratio of your pot. It works
best with audio taper pots, preferably those
with a 60:40 or 70:30 ratio. Smaller ratios
like 80:20 or 90:10 limit this benefit and
result in the typical “on/off” or “bright/dull”
12 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS
problem when using the controls.
Please note: If you currently have a
Telecaster with standard wiring and a
treble-bleed network, you need to remove
the latter when switching to ’50s wiring.
(Using a treble-bleed network with the
’50s wiring negatively impacts the natural
evenness of the controls’ response.)
Okay, let’s begin. First go to
seymourduncan.com and download the
standard (aka “modern”) Telecaster wiring
schematic (http://www.seymourduncan.
com/support/wiring-diagrams/
schematics.php?schematic=standard_
tele). Print this out and pin it up at your
workbench. This will be our reference for
all future mods—and you can bet there will
be a lot of them.
Next, check out Fig. 1, which is the
Gibson ’50s wiring, shown in a Les Paul
circuit. Most Les Paul, SG, and ES-335
players with PAF-style humbuckers prefer
this wiring because it’s one of the key
ingredients of old-school Les Paul tone.
When you alter the standard Telecaster
wiring to match the ’50s Gibson wiring,
you get the schematic in Fig. 2. To
reiterate: Simply connect the tone pot to
the output of the volume pot (middle lug)
instead of the input lug used in standard
Tele wiring.
See? It’s not so hard to apply this to a
Telecaster and it’s as effective as on a Les
Paul. Next month we’ll dig even deeper
into ’50s wiring on a Telecaster, and I’ll
show you an even simpler way to convert
your guitar to these specs. We’ll even make
it switchable, so you can have both wirings
in one guitar. Yeah, life is good!
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 Read PG's enhanced
digital magazine online!
 ’50s Les Paul Wiring in a Telecaster, Pt. 2

W
e’ve already seen that it’s easy Before we make this mod switchable, I
to apply Gibson’s ’50s-style need to mention that Fender never used
wiring to Tele tone pots [“’50s this wiring on their instruments, and I
Les Paul Wiring in a Telecaster,” January receive many emails asking why. After
2014]. Now it’s time to go a step further: all, it sounds great. The truth is, we don’t
Making it switchable so you can have both know the answer, and to my knowledge
the standard and the ’50s wiring in one no one has ever investigated this. And we
guitar. Cool, huh? can’t ask someone from the early Fender
The wiring we explored previously is a days, because Leo Fender, Freddie Tavares,
real 1:1 adaption from late-’50s Gibson Les Forrest White, Bill Carson, George
Pauls, and it requires moving some wires Fullerton—all the original guys—have
and the tone cap in your Telecaster. It’s passed away. And even if we had the
not a difficult mod, but on a Tele there’s chance to ask, I’m not sure anyone would
a much simpler way to convert it to ’50s remember such a specific detail.
specs: by moving only one wire!
From an electronic standpoint, this Fig. 1
second approach is absolutely identical to
the one from last month, and it yields the
same effect and tone. The difference is, you
can keep your tone cap untouched. And
there’s another advantage: It offers a perfect
opportunity to make this mod switchable.
It’s also by far the simplest mod I can
imagine: Swap one wire and you’re done.
Simply move the red wire in Fig. 1, and
your Telecaster is converted to ’50s wiring.
This diagram makes it easy to see the basics
of the ’50s wiring scheme: Connect the
tone pot to the output of the volume pot
(middle lug) instead of its input.
Whether you decide to use the previous
wiring or this new one is simply a matter Fig. 1. Got a stock
of choice—the tone will be the same. modern Telecaster?
Move the red wire
Purists tend to use the first version because in this diagram from
where it currently
it’s a faithful replica of a late-’50s Les Paul is guitar to where it
scheme. Lazy people like me swap only one is here, and you’ve
converted your Tele to
wire to achieve the same effect. ’50s-style wiring.

premierguitar.com
14 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS
 Today we pay a lot of attention to such Fig. 2 Fig. 2. A mini
toggle lets you
details, but back in the golden days of switch between
’50s and modern
the electric guitar I’m sure no one would tone-pot wiring.
have cared. All classic Fender wirings were The red wires tell
the story.
born on Leo’s workbench and he was
known for using a trial-and-error approach
to engineering. He was also known for
observing and investigating everything he
had the chance to get his hands on, so I’m
sure he knew how Gibson used to wire
their guitars.
Back in the ’50s, engineers had no
Google or online databases filled with
hundreds of circuit drawings. There were
only a few publications available to all
the companies trying to develop their
own circuits. They simply used what got
them close to what they wanted, and then
tailored it to their needs.
Perhaps Leo didn’t like the Gibson wiring
or believed his solution was superior. Or
maybe he didn’t want to copy anything
that other companies used. After all, given
his early-’50s episode with Gretsch—and
Wiring diagram courtesy of Seymour Duncan Pickups and used with permission

having to change the Broadcaster model

name to the Telecaster—he might have
wanted to avoid further copyright troubles.
Regardless, I’m sure he was aware of this
wiring and had a good reason not to use it.
Today, Fender designers may simply figure,
if Leo didn’t use it, why change the classic
Telecaster wiring?
Anyway, to make this mod switchable,
you need an SPDT switching device like a
mini toggle switch, or a push/pull or push/
push pot. You can also use a DPDT switch
(the standard for push/pull and push/push
pots) and use only one row of the lugs,
leaving the second row untouched.
Personally, I like a mini toggle switch
mounted on the control plate between the
two pots. It looks great, it’s easy to access,
and usually there’s plenty of space between
the pots. But naturally, you can substitute
a switchable pot. Fig. 2 shows the wiring,
which is based on the same modded circuit
in Fig. 1. Check it out—I think this is a
great enhancement for all Telecasters.
Next time we’ll begin exploring different
types of Telecaster pickups—starting with
bridge models—and discuss how they differ
sonically. Until then, keep on modding!

premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS 15

 Digital Press
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16 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS MODS