Vintage / Modern wiring help

[sinner]

Can someone explain the Vintage Tele wiring vs. the Modern wiring?

Just got a used 2000 Relic Nocaster and trying to determine what changes the previous owner may have done. For instance, Blade selector is: position one (toward headstock) neck pickup; middle position is both pickup blend; position three (toward bridge) is bridge pickup. Tone Knob works for Both pickups (nice!). Thanks for your help--sinner.

[sinner]

Just saw this cool old Fender Product Flyer from 1951, amazing how little the Telecaster has changed! (I've been trying to learn about this wiring issue, could use you experts' help--this is what I found):

1951 specs:
The original Pickup and Control combinations were pretty imaginative. What they call the "tone control" is actually a "blend control". With the pickup selector switch in the rear position the bridge pickup is selected and the "tone control' blends in the neck pickup. In the middle position the neck pickup is selected. The forward position selected the neck pickup with the tone heavily rolled off for a "deep soft rhythm" sound. That's pretty different from modern combinations of bridge, bridge + neck, and neck!

In 1952 the wiring was changed. The tone control become a true tone control and the three pickup conbinations were brige pickup with tone control, neck pickup with tone control, and neck pickup with "deep soft rhythm".

It wasn't until 1967 that the wiring was finally modified to the modern configuration.

[sabby]

Thanks man! :yay

[sinner]

...you're welcome, sabby--pretty neat old advert?

And--doesn't anybody know what the stock Nocaster wiring should be? (I'm trying to figure if mine was "upgraded"...Thanks!

[harrycat]

Sinner - what u describe is the mod I did on my first Nocaster to get a "standard" Tele configuration.

The original '51RI Nocaster harness has already been described here - there's a resistor wired across the three-way switch to deliver the deep-rhythm tone, and what we now know as the tone control in fact blends the two pickups in switch position three but does nothing on switch positions two and one.

The blending function is a bit like winding treble off but not precisely the same. In effect, you play with two positions - neck pup flat out or bridge pup flat out - and one tone knob to wind bridge output into the neck output. It's limited but very cool - just like an Esquire.

There's less to mess with on stage, therefore less to go wrong, and it's amazing how many tone basses can be covered using just those elements and the volume knob.

The deep rhythm I use only when I feel like playing Take Five - about once every six months.