Volume control question Squire Tele Custom

[Yavin]

I have a squire tele custom I just traded for. I was playing the other night and had what appeared to be a faulty switch issue. I replaced the switch and all else appears to be wired correctly but oddly enough when I put the switch in the middle position and turn either volume control all the way down, both pickups go totally off. No sound whatsoever. Is this normal for these models? It seems odd to me.

 

It is this Tele:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Squier-Tele-Custom-Electric-Guitar?sku=515113&src=3WFRWXX&ZYXSEM=0&CAWELAID=26042830

[headless]

Yeah, it would seem strange to me too, but that's is the way they are wired.

 

I've never quite understood why someone would want it that way, but (I understand) Les Pauls are that way too (never owned one). At least most are--there is more than one way to wire them.

 

Here's a discussion on the subject of wiring a Les Paul for seperate volume control (with the selector in the Middle position):

 

http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=153617

 

I haven't done it, and I tend to believe (like some of the folks in that link) that it's not a great idea sound-wise.

 

As far as changing your Tele, I don't have any experience with that either. I just tend to like a single master volume, so I'd personally probably do that and figure-out something creative to do with the extra pot.

EDIT: Here's a suggest on re-wiring that guitar:

 

A master volume, and using the "S-500" wiring diagrams on the page linked below, you can use two of pots as a bass/treble master tone controls.

 

As far as that forth pot is concerned, well that's were creativity comes in. Perhaps you could substitute that pot for a multi-position rotary switch that could be used to change capacitor values for the tone circuit(s).

[kit_strong]

Like the previous poster said, its not faulty its just the way they are wired. And yes, LPs are like that too.

[Yavin]

Ok. Thanks. I have owned a couple Epi Les Pauls but I don't remember the middle position being that way. Oh well it has been quite a while since I had them.

On the positive, this tele sounds fantastic! It has GFS crunchy PATs in it and can cover a lot of ground. I thought about coil tapping both buckers but I am not sure yet.

[silverring233]

HNGD!

 

hope you enjoy the tele. been thinking about getting a tele again

[mike42]

I don't know anything about the guitar, but if everything is correct, I would guess it's just the combined pickup resistance and the pot values allowing complete cut off in the mid position. Doesn't seem like it would be any real issue.

[headless]

Not I have not done this, so my idea might be a bit hair-brained. But if you start with the "True Blend" device shown in the link below, and add a Master Volume, and then take the two-pot Bass/Treble tone control set-up I linked in my previous post, well that would cover all four pot control locations.

 

And then (I think) it could all be wired-up so that the pickup selector switch would work normally and the blend pot would only function in the "both on" position.

 

Maybe. Or maybe not.

 

It could be that the selector switch doesn't have enough contacts/poles to pull-off this sort of thing.

 

Hey, but if we install a battery and an on-board pickup-selector controlled relay....(somebody stop me!)!

 

 

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-tech/181275-tele-mod-blend-5-way-tone-help-wiring-5-way.html