We're back once again and today we're talking one of the oldest traditions in electric guitar: Fender Telecaster wiring and pickups. Now, the Fender Telecaster is an institution unto itself among electric guitars – not even just concerning Fenders! There's been generations of writing and rewriting of the Telecaster tale. However you tell it, it's always there.
Today, we're talking about the beauty of the Telecaster, its pickups, and how the Fender Custom Shop has translated such beauties into models you can design and take home yourself. Whether you need some pointers on building your own Custom Shop or are looking to get more into the lingo and lexicon of Custom Shops, we're here for you. Let's talk about it.
TL; DRThe Fender Custom Shop offers a wide array of wiring configurations and pickups for their custom Telecaster guitars. Both vintage and modern-inspired setups are available for exciting control schemes. Pickups with low and high output designs can be used in Custom Shop Teles, as well.
Fender Custom Shop Telecaster Pickup Wiring
If you joined us for our talk about Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster wiring and pickups, you'll notice some familiar terminology and theory at play, here. Take a look at our write-up on the topic, if you're hungry for even more electronic whimsy.
Vintage Telecaster, Nocaster, and Modified Nocaster 1950-1952, 3-Way Switch
So, a bit of a history lesson, here. Back in the earliest days of the Telecaster – the Broadcaster and Nocaster days – we didn't have Fender's other early innovation: the Precision Bass electric bass guitar. Before the introduction of the Precision Bass, there were no electric bass guitars to join our new electric guitars onstage. Early Fender engineers addressed this issue by making early Telecasters work as both an electric guitar and an electric bass. Those Telecasters featured a different wiring configuration where its "forward" pickup selector position featured the neck pickup and a preset bass frequency level. Now doubling as an electric guitar and electric bass, they were free to have their honkey-tonk shows carry on unencumbered.
Today's Vintage Telecaster, Nocaster, and Modified Nocaster 1950-1952 plays with a similar setup. The configuration's three pickup configuration differs from your usual Telecaster setup. The "forward" position carries the early Telecaster wiring setup with a preset bass frequency and no additional tone control. The "middle" position features the neck pickup with no additional tone control. Finally, the third "backwards" position has one more vintage-inspired design.
The third pickup selector position, typically your bridge pickup, features a level blend control. What this blend level control does is start with the bridge pickup selected and allows players to increase the level of the neck pickup in the signal. Similar to the Custom Shop's "Blender" wiring configurations you can pick for your Stratocaster, this vintage-inspired configuration throws back to some of the earliest Fender designs for players who want to experience a lesser-seen chapter of Fender electronics history.
3-Way Selector Switch
- Position 3: Neck Pickup with Preset Bass Level (No Tone Control)
- Position 2: Neck Pickup (No Tone Control)
- Position 1: Bridge Pickup with Neck Level Blend
- Master Volume
- Neck Level Blend Control (Position 1 Only)
Vintage Telecaster 1953-1976, 3-Way Switch
Jumping from our last wiring setup, we have the next evolution in Telecaster wiring. Not differing a great deal from our Vintage Telecaster, Nocaster, and Modified Nocaster, it offers a feel that is more familiar to modern Telecaster setups. This configuration moves past the signal blending function of its predecessor and enables greater control over the guitar's tone. Our neck pickup selector position still retains the preset bass signal level and no tone control, keeping in tradition with our previous setup. Where this wiring differs is the middle and bridge positions' new enabled tone control, giving the setup an overall more modern and fluid feel.
3-Way Selector Switch
- Position 3: Neck Pickup with Preset Bass Level (No Tone Control)
- Position 2: Neck Pickup with Tone Control
- Position 1: Bridge Pickup with Tone Control
- Master Volume
- Tone Control (Positions 1 and 2)
Modern Telecaster, 3-Way Switch
Okay, so now we're in the present. Our fancy blending, bass level, and tone control tricks have been all but filtered out, but hey, we have bass guitars and more space for closer tone control now, so let's not despair! Let's talk modern.
Our Modern Telecaster configuration needs little introduction – it's likely this is the one you were raised on. In any event, our Modern Telecaster operates intuitively as the wide majority of Telecasters do today. No surprises here, just a linear navigation through pickup configurations.
3-Way Selector Switch
- Position 3: Neck Pickup
- Position 2: Neck and Bridge Pickup
- Position 1: Bridge Pickup
- Master Volume
- Master Tone
H-S Telecaster, S-H Telecaster, H-H Telecaster, 3-Way Switch
We're going to consolidate a couple of these for sake of not being repetitive. If you're looking to get in on humbucker tones with your Fender Custom Shop Tele, then you've got some options for configurations. Whether you're looking to put a humbucker in the bridge position, neck position, or both, these configurations operate the same, whichever one you pick. Humbuckers in the bridge, neck, or both positions will operate as such:
3-Way Selector Switch
- Position 3: Neck Pickup
- Position 2: Neck and Bridge Pickup
- Position 1: Bridge Pickup
- Master Volume
- Master Tone
Full Throttle Esquire, 3-Way Switch
We've got one more for you, here. You might notice something unusual about the Esquire. It's only got one pickup, where's the other one? How are we supposed to work a three-way switch with one pickup? If these questions have got you up at night, fear not. Onboard our Full Throttle Esquire wiring setup, our pickup selector switch operates as a designator of what characteristics of our single pickup are being affected.
On our "forward" facing third position, our bridge pickup will feature control over both volume and tone. The middle position will only enable volume control, eliminating tone control altogether and let the pickup play as its natural self. Finally, our last position will run the pickup straight to the output jack, meaning there is no control offered over tone or volume. If you're looking to be truly untethered by traditional control setups, take on this particular setup and go – as the name implies – full throttle.
3-Way Selector Switch
- Position 3: Bridge Pickup with Volume and Tone Control
- Position 2: Bridge Pickup with Volume Control
- Position 1: Bridge Pickup Straight to Jack
- Master Volume
- Master Tone
Fender Custom Shop Telecaster Pickups
Alright, we made it here. Let's talk about our individual pickups, why don't we? First, machine-wound versus hand-wound pickups:
Machine-Wound vs. Hand-WoundNow, it's no secret that you can get hand-wound pickups with your Fender Custom Shop guitar. Though, what does that mean? If you see Fender Custom Shop pickups listed as "hand-wound", that's exactly what they are. Commonly you'll see hand-wound pickups listed alongside the name Josefina Campos or, if you're really lucky, Abigail Ybarra. Celebrated by both Fender and their leagues of players, hand-wound pickups are distinct by virtue of each one being just a little different from the last. Carrying their own quirks set to set, they differ from machine-wound pickups and their more regimented and precise assembly and sound. Whatever your personal taste is, either flavor of pickup is expressive and reliable for your Custom Shop guitar.
'51 Tele/Nocaster
The OG. Throwing it way back to Fender's earliest days, we have our '51 Tele/Nocaster single-coil pickups. Crafted with Fender's original design in mind, these '51s impart that same twang and shimmer that bloomed from some of Fender's first models. Jump into these if you've got a hankering for bright Tele twang just like Fender's earliest adopters.
'51 Loaded Nocaster
Originality elevated. The '51 Loaded Nocaster pickups come designed, again, with '50s originals in mind. However, these single-coils punch up to the next level with extra winds of #43 gauge material and a pair of alnico 3 magnets in the bridge and alnico 5 magnets in the neck. These pickups are where you'll find the tastes of early overdrive, if you're looking to naturally push a teetering preamp over the edge.
'56/'57 Telecaster
So, we move further into the '50s and things keep getting a little wilder, a little more heated, a little more "You can't do that on television!" Because of this, we have the '56/'57 Telecaster single-coil pickups – a strikingly accurate 1:1 recreation of Fender's Tele single-coils constructed between 1956 and 1957. With more distinct grunt and snarl, these pickups carry quite a bit of weight with alnico 5 magnets and enamel-coated hardware.
'63 Tele
Another couple years and a few more innovations and we're on to the '60s. The '63 Tele pickups are replicas of Fender's 1963 Tele model single-coils. With distinct warmth and bite, these pickups are fitted with alnico 2 magnets and vintage enamel wire.
'67 Tele
We're cutting through the noise of the late 1960s with the '67 Tele pickups. Interestingly enough, these late-sixties creations play with a definitively lower output with grey bobbins and a copper baseplate. Alnico 5 magnets make this pair clearer than clear for yet another turn of a decade.
Twisted Tele
You like 'em loud, you like 'em hot? Well, someone's got to. Twisted Tele single-coils are among the Custom Shop's most prominent and boisterous pickups for a Telecaster. Matching high output with a pinch of Stratocaster in there somewhere, these are pickups to load up and make statements.
Texas Special Tele
Like we've said before – everything's bigger in Texas. Everything you love about Telecaster single-coils is built up with Texas Special Tele pickups. Whether you're in it for the higher output, the hotter character, the boost in presence or the thickened midrange, Texas Specials have you covered.
Any Questions?
Okay, so we've covered quite a bit here today. If there's anything you'd like us to go on about further, if you're just looking to talk shop on Fender Customs, or if you're in the market for a build of your own, feel free to reach out to us here at Russo Music anytime!
