
The Telecaster is a guitar with very complex primary-tone physics, but on the other hand, is electronically very simple. If your Telecaster has a good primary tone, it will benefit from the following mods and you can maximize your tonal possibilities.
I hope you all had a great holidays and that Santa brought you some nice new gear toys … maybe a Telecaster? If so, heat up your soldering iron, because this month, we will take a closer look into the Telecaster circuit and the possibilities to expand its tonal palette.
A General Electrical Update
To start, I would like to ask you a question: how many things can you name that are still built today exactly the same way as 60 years before? The Telecaster is one of them! Without any doubt, Leo Fender was one of the great masterminds in musical history. Almost 60 years ago, he constructed an electrical guitar that remains a landmark today. The Telecaster is a guitar with very complex primary-tone physics, but on the other hand, is electronically very simple. If your Telecaster has a good primary tone, it will benefit from the following mods and you can maximize your tonal possibilities.
Many guitars suffer from poor components that can turn into trouble within a short time; following Murphy´s Law, your troubles will most likely happen in the middle of a solo, live on stage. To make your guitar road-worthy, I highly recommend completely replacing all external components with a "made in the Far East" quality. This can also cure a dull sounding guitar and the virtual "blanket over my amp" syndrome. A fresh and matched set of high quality CTS pots, a good CRL 3-way switch, a new Switchcraft or Neutrik output jack, all connected with good cable and solder plus a top-notch tone cap can do magic to your tone.
Having said that, let''s look at the standard Telecaster wiring that is used in almost all Telecaster guitars today. Through the years, the values of the pots and the tone cap changed several times, so I didn´t name it in the drawings. We will talk about this subject later.
Changing Pot and Cap Values
As a guideline you can say the higher the resistance, the warmer the tone. This is valid for both the pots and the tone cap. For a very bright sounding guitar, I recommend 250k pots to get rid of the penetrating highs; vice versa, you can use 500k or even 1Meg pots on guitars with not so sparkling high-end sizzle to bring out more of the top-end. Of course, this all is personal choice, and is dependent on the pickups you use.
The standard value of the tone cap is 0.047uF, but for most of us this is almost overkill, because when you use your tone control the tone will get clinically dull and liveless. If you don´t want darker tones like this, I recommend changing the tone cap to a much smaller value (e.g. 3300pF, up to 6800pF). This will guarantee that your tone will always be defined and full of life and color, even when you completely close the tone control. You can dial in numerous different tone colors with this simple and inexpensive mod, and it´s a good field to experiment on your own. Personally I use selected 3300pF Orange Drop caps and 250k pots for a classic, vintage Telecaster tone.
Pickup Swapping
I bet the number of good replacement pickups available for Teles has never been bigger than today. An often discussed subject is the Telecaster neck pickup, as it seems to divide players into two different parties: you either love it or hate it. For full disclosure, I´m lean more towards the "I hate it" camp and usually replace this pickup in all of my Telecaster guitars because the standard pickup is too "boxy" sounding for my tastes. If you are willing to reroute the pickup cavity (or better yet, let an experienced luthier do it), here are some suggestions that sound incredibly good on a Telecaster:
- a Stratocaster neck pickup
- a P-90 soapbar pickup (especially on a Thinline Telecaster)
- a Gibson or Gibson-style Mini Humbucker
Coil-splitting
If your guitar is equipped with a 4-conductor cable humbucker, you can perform all kinds of coil splitting to enlarge the number of possible sounds … singlecoil mode, parallel mode, in phase, out of phase, etc. A prime example of a good sounding bridge pickup humbucker for Telecasters is the DiMarzio "The Chopper" pickup. A pickup like this can give you the best of both worlds: a hot and punchy humbucker tone and a classic, twangy singlecoil sound in the split mode. One problem with this is that all the pickup manufacturers use different color codes, so there is no general guideline how to wire all the coil splitting options, as it depends on the pickup you have installed. If you can´t download this information directly from the factory homepage, here is a link for you that could be helpful.
'50s Vintage Wiring
I´m sure you''ve heard about this magical wiring that Gibson used inside late 50s Les Paul guitars and that was almost forgotten for a long time. Electronically there is nothing special about this wiring, it simply connects the tone pot to the output of the volume pot (middle lug), instead of with the input. This changes the way the volume pot reacts, and the overall tone gets stronger and more transparent - more "in the face," you could say. There is much less of the typical treble loss that occurs when rolling back the volume and the tone control reacts smoother and more linear without the typical hot spots.
It´s possible to rewire all guitars this way, not just Les Pauls. With a Telecaster it´s simple, because you only have to change one wire, marked red in the drawing. You can also consider using an additional switch to have both wiring variants available: the classic Fender wiring, as well as the 50s Gibson vintage wiring.
The "Strato-tone" Mod (aka "Nashville" Modification)
Many of the top Nashville studio players, like Brent Mason or Reggie Young, are playing Telecasters with an additional third pickup in the middle position to get those popular "in-between" Strat sounds (bridge plus middle and middle plus neck together in parallel). If you want to modify your Tele this way, I recommend giving it to an experienced luthier and letting him do the necessary woodwork (routing the additional pickup cavity, rerouting the pickguard, etc.).
Any Stratocaster pickup is a good mate for the standard Telecaster pickups and will expand your tonal palette drastically. You will also have to change the 3-way switch and install a standard Stratocaster 5-way switch and eventually a third pot if needed. Basically, this is a standard Strat configuration and naturally you can perform any Stratocaster mod you like (the 7-tone mod, blending options, etc.), but we will talk about all this Strat stuff in a later column. If one day you decide to switch back to the classic two-pickup Tele configuration, you can simply take out the middle pickup, switch back to a 3-way Telecaster switch and reinstall a standard Telecaster pickguard that will cover the third pickup cavity; suddenly, the former modification is invisible again.
4-way Wiring
Position 2 of the Telecaster selector switch gives you both pickups wired in parallel; this is a standard wiring, and one of the classic Telecaster tones. But what if you need a fatter sound out of your Tele? The two outside switch positions on the Tele - which select the bridge or neck pickup individually - stay basically the same. But the middle position (both pickups together) wires the pickups in series rather than parallel. This produces a thicker, meatier sound, while still retaining the recognizable characteristics of a Tele. This is not a hum-cancelling combination, but it gives the increased power of a series link. So, in short, all you do is change the #2 position of your 3-way switch, so that the bridge and neck pickups are in series instead of parallel.
If you want to be more flexible, you can install the Fender 4-way Tele switch, as shown in the circuit below. This will give you both sounds when you dial in the two pickups together - wired in parallel (standard wiring) and the wired in series sound.
If, for any reason, you don´t want to install a 4-way switch, you can also use a push/pull pot or a small toggle switch to manually add the neck pickup in series when the Telecaster 3-way switch is in position #1 (bridge pickup alone). Here is what you have to do:
Attention! If you have a standard Telecaster neck pickup with installed metal cover:
For this alteration to work correctly, isolate the metal cover of the neck pickup (if present) from its ground lead. Run a separate ground wire for the cover to the back of the volume control! You can find a good pictured step by step guide for this here - it´s in Spanish, but the pictures are international…
"Direct Through" Switch
If you really want to hear the sound of your guitar together with the pickup, there is only one way: soldering the pickup directly to the output jack. Depending on the guitar, the result can be stunning; with a Tele, your tone will be louder, stronger and more direct, a highly recommended mod for all the country guys, as well as anyone who wants the maximum twang and spank a Tele has to offer. The control pots always add a little load to the circuit and, depending on the pots, the tone will get a bit softer and sometimes dull, losing the shimmering highs and the organic vibe. As you may recognize, the suggested method works well, but is not practicable in any way. However, there are different ways to get rid of the control load in your guitar system:
- You can replace all your pots with so-called "no-load" pots from Fender. This is a very cool, albeit an expensive, way to enhance the sound of your guitar. Electrically this pots are great; when you open them 100%, a circuit will shorten this pot and erase it from the circuit, so it''s as if it never was there. And you can hear it!
- Another way to do this is to use a DPDT switch or a push/pull pot and to perform my "direct-through" mod. You can see how to wire the switch on the circuit below. Activating the switch will bypass all controls and all pickups connected to the pickup selector switch are wired directly to the output jack.
Combating Volume vs. Tone
I´m sure you know the idiosyncracies inherent in passive single coil pickup systems like the Telecaster - when you turn down the volume (even just a bit), the high end or treble loss is not proportionate. In other words, a small cut in volume creates a far greater loss in your guitar´s treble response. The best solution would be to replace the complete system for an active one, but there is a simple method to get rid of this problem.
As you may know, for some time Fender installed a so-called "bleeding cap" on the volume pot to get rid of this problem. Leo was on the right track for sure, but he choose a 1000pF cap that was much too big for this purpose and you can´t use one value for all configurations; it depends a lot on the pickups, the pots, the cables and, of course, the amp you use. The theory behind this is much more complex than it seems, so maybe we will take a closer look into this in a later column. But for now, please take my word and desolder the 1000pF cap if you have one installed.
When rolling back the volume, this cap will pronounce the highs much more than necessary and you can get some really cool, funky sounds with that, but for most of us, 1000pF is not a helpful value in any way. For a standard Telecaster with two singlecoil pickups, connected to two 250k pots, install a 470pF cap and experiment from there. The higher the value, the more treble you''ll receive when rolling back the volume. For other pot values, you unfortunately can´t use the "cap only" method because it would kill the mid frequencies. For this, you will need a treble bleeding network with caps and resistors in parallel or in series, depending on the configuration.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this one and good luck pimping your Tele-Babies!
[Updated 7/20/21]
- Decoding Jerry Donahue's 5-Way Telecaster Wiring - Premier Guitar ›
- Mod Garage: The Super-Flexible, Super-Simple Telecaster Wiring ... ›
- Primary Tone Mods for the Telecaster - Premier Guitar ›
- Decoding Jerry Donahue’s 5-Way Telecaster Wiring - Premier Guitar ›
- The Brent Mason Telecaster Wiring - Premier Guitar ›
- 10 of the Best Telecaster Pickups - Premier Guitar ›
- DIY: Another Option for the Brent Mason Fender Telecaster Wiring - Premier Guitar ›
In the ’80s, Peter Buck’s clean, chime-y arpeggios defined the sound of alt-rock to come.
In the ’80s, Peter Buck’s clean, chime-y arpeggios defined the sound of alt-rock to come. From R.E.M's start, his post-Roger McGuinn 12-string style served as the foundation for the band’s simple, plain-spoken approach, offering a fresh take on what an independent band could be and inspiring generations of artists to come. Buck not only found his sound quickly, he evolved throughout the band’s career. By the ’90s, R.E.M.’s sound had evolved to incorporate organic, acoustic textures, and eventually leaning into a glam- and grunge-inspired, distorted-guitar-focused sound on 1994’s Monster.
This episode is sponsored by Voodoo Lab.
The solo artist and leader of Asking Alexandria and We Are Harlot finds inspiration in an innovative new guitar that he calls “absolutely game changing.”
“I’m a big fan of old things,” says Danny Worsnop. “From cameras to guitars to microphones to cars, I like the stories they tell and the lives they’ve lived. I think old stuff has more soul.”
Best known as the lead vocalist of rock bands Asking Alexandria and We Are Harlot, British-born Worsnop has also released two solo albums that explore country and blues. He’s currently in the studio working on his third solo release.
With his love of vintage aesthetics and appreciation for instruments that age with character, he’s spent much of his life searching for a guitar that feels like home. “I’m always on the quest to find the perfect thing,” he says.
For years, Taylor’s GS Mini-e Koa Plus has been his go-to songwriting companion. “I don’t need a bunch of things to do the job,” he explains. “This guitar was the first one that did that, and it’s been with me for years. The finish is beat up. It’s got shiny spots from the sweat on my arm. This has been my daily driver and workhorse and life partner since I got it. It’s more than a guitar. It has a life and a personality and a sound. You pick up any other GS Mini-e Koa Plus in the world, it doesn't sound like this one.”
With his love of older things, Worsnop acknowledges the challenges of making a deep connection with an out-of-the-box acoustic. “All the nice, shiny new guitars that anyone has sent me over the years are great—I have fun with them,” he says. “But I've never loved them. I find it hard to love new stuff because it kind of doesn't have a life or personality yet.”
Worsnop’s done his best to infuse them with some of his own personality by tweaking them in different ways–chasing a specific feel and sound that makes a guitar feel more like an extension of himself rather than just another utilitarian tool. But his most recent acoustic arrival was different.
“It’s more than a guitar. It has a life and a personality and a sound.”
Striking Gold
Worsnop recently got his hands on Taylor Guitars’ new Gold Label 814e, designed by Andy Powers, the creative visionary behind many of Taylor’s guitar innovations since 2011. For Taylor’s new Gold Label Collection, Powers drew inspiration from the sound of flattop acoustics from the 1930s and 1940s.
Worsnop was immediately drawn to the Gold Label 814e’s vintage-inspired visual aesthetic—influenced by old banjos and mandolins, early Taylor designs, and Powers’ pre-Taylor archtop guitars. But the true revelation came when he played it.
“When I saw this guitar... I mean, it looks super cool, like an older guitar,” he says. “And the second I picked it up, it was different. It was like, this plays like a guitar that is so old and has stories and songs in it already. I fell in love with it.”
Worsnop says that with other Taylors he has owned, including his GS Mini-e Koa Plus, he would often modify them in some way to give them a more vintage sensibility. But not with the Gold Label.
One of the defining features of the Gold Label 814e is its new Super Auditorium body shape. The non-cutaway body bears a clear family resemblance to Taylor’s popular Grand Auditorium, but the Super Auditorium is slightly longer and wider at the lower bout, with a slightly shallower depth. The new body dimensions, combined with Andy’s version of a long-tenon neck and his new fanned V-Class bracing pattern, are all key ingredients in a new sonic recipe that defines the sound of Taylor’s Gold Label collection. The result is a warm, old-heritage voice that’s unlike anything Taylor has ever produced.
Worsnop says the guitar complements him musically because it supports his dynamic vocals with extraordinary volume and responsiveness to a lighter touch.
“Because I sing loud, having something that’s loud enough, but not so loud that when I do drop down you can’t hear me anymore, is important for me,” he explains.
The Gold Label 814e comes with back and sides of solid Honduran rosewood or solid Hawaiian koa (Worsnop has the Honduran rosewood model) paired with a torrefied Sitka spruce soundboard. Each model is available with a natural or sunburst top.
The Revolutionary Action Control Neck™
One of the standout features of the Gold Label 814e is Taylor’s patented new Action Control Neck™, an innovative neck joint design that allows for quick, easy, and precise neck angle adjustments. It marks another step forward from the patented, micro-adjustable design Bob Taylor introduced back in 1999. Unlike traditional neck resets, this system, like Bob’s, is also glue-less, and in this case enables effortless fine-tuning on the fly without having to remove the neck or even the strings, and without the use of shims. By simply using a 1/4" nut driver (or standard truss rod wrench) on a nut in the neck block (accessible through the soundhole), a player can raise or lower the action to dial in an ideal setup.
“It is a massive deal,” says Worsnop. “When it comes to traveling musicians, it’s absolutely game changing. This allows you to do a micro-adjustment without having to get in the car and drive. When I’m in the studio, I like having that precision to be able to make it just perfect.”
For professional musicians, service techs, and recreational players who want to quickly fine-tune their action, the innovative neck design marks a paradigm shift.
In Studio and Onstage
In his Tennessee home, Worsnop has an upstairs studio where he records most of his music. It’s where he’s tested countless guitars, searching for the right fit. Though his trusty songwriting guitar has been the aforementioned GS Mini-e Koa Plus—perfect for capturing spontaneous new ideas—when it comes to recording, the Gold Label 814e has taken center stage.
“I’m working on the new album right now,” he shares. “If I’m at home and I’m just wandering around downstairs, which is usually where and how writing happens, [the GS Mini] is the guitar I’m walking around with. And then as soon as there’s an idea, I’ll go upstairs, and it’s the Gold Label. Honestly, I don’t play anything else up there now. I put the album recording on hold for this guitar. It’s the only guitar on the album.”
And it won’t just live in the studio. Worsnop plans to bring the Gold Label 814e on tour, making it his primary acoustic guitar for live performances.
Performance Highlight: "Ain't No Use"
In a recently recorded performance of his song “Ain’t No Use”, Worsnop showcases why the Gold Label 814e is such a great fit for him. The song, rich with storytelling and emotional depth, aligns well with the guitar’s vintage aesthetic and warm tonal character. It explores the universal tension between who we are and who we want to be, while emphasizing the transformative power of acceptance despite imperfections. The guitar’s deep, open sound and full-bodied, muscular tone are a perfect complement to Worsnop’s soaring, soulful vocals, amplifying the expressiveness of his performance and highlighting a symbiosis between player and instrument. A video of the performance is featured at the top of this article.
For Worsnop, the Gold Label 814e represents the culmination of years of searching, experimenting and refining his sound. It’s an instrument that feels like it has lived a life, carrying with it the soul and character he always craved in an acoustic.
“I have played music since I was 6 years old, and I’ve spent my entire life looking for my instrument,” he reflects. “At 34, I’ve found it.”
Clean power is an essential part of the pedalboard recipe. Here’s a collection of power supplies that will keep you up and running.
CIOKS DC-7
This power supply features a 1" profile, seven DC outlets with four switchable voltages (9, 12, 15 and 18V) on each outlet, plus a 5V USB outlet and can be expanded for even the most power-hungry boards.
$259 street
cioks.com
Strymon Zuma
Strymon Zuma is the quietest and most powerful pedal power supply of its kind, capable of powering a huge number of guitar pedals silently and reliably with a staggering 500 mA.
$279 street
strymon.com
Mission Engineering 529i
This powerful power supply offers eight 9V isolated outputs and an internal rechargeable battery. It powers your pedalboard for four hours on a single charge via USB port or 12V input. It also includes a doubler cable that allows two 18V outputs.
$199 street
missionengineering.com
Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 3 PLUS
From standard battery-operated stompboxes to high-current DSP effects, the expandable 12-output Pedal Power 3 PLUS combines cutting-edge technology and time-tested analog engineering to ensure any pedal will sound its best.
$179 street
voodoolab.com
D’Addario XPND Pedal Power Battery Kit
If you need portable, wireless power, this unit offers 10,000 mAh that can last up to 10 hours on a single charge. It also includes a USB-C power supply and a patent-pending Gateway hub for ultra-quiet operation.
$169 street
daddario.com
In honor of Paul Reed Smith's birthday today, PRS launches a limited-edition model of Paul's personal instrument.
Introduced on Smith’s birthday, February 18, the Charcoal Phoenix Limited Edition is part of the PRS Guitars 40th Anniversary celebration. Only 150 of these instruments will be available worldwide, with each including a 40th Anniversary certificate hand signed by Paul Reed Smith himself.
"When we released the Private Stock John McLaughlin Limited Edition in 2023, I was inspired by its exceptional sound and playability. For the Charcoal Phoenix, I wanted to create something equally remarkable but with a stoptail bridge," said PRS Guitars Founder & Managing General Partner, Paul Reed Smith. "Using chaltecoco for the neck and ziricote for the fingerboard, I achieved an instrument that sustains beautifully and rings with clarity. The deep crimson back and the charcoal microburst top inspired the name ‘Charcoal Phoenix,’ evoking the imagery of a phoenix rising from fire and ashes.”
Over the past year, Smith has road-tested this guitar, refining its design and tone. Most recently, he played this model on stage at the late-January 2025 PRS Guitars 40th Anniversary concert at the House of Blues in Anaheim. A deep crimson back contrasts with the Private Stock-grade figured maple top in a charcoal microburst finish. The ripple abalone “Old School” bird inlays on the ziricote fingerboard add a vintage touch.
The Charcoal Phoenix also features the PRS TCI pickups, newly updated for 2025, and EQ mini-toggle switches. The TCI pickups are crafted with American Alnico magnets and slightly modified winding, wiring and electronics specifications. Based on Smith’s experience playing this guitar live and in the studio for more than a year, these pickups offer clear tones from spanky single coils to full soapbars. The EQ mini-toggles act as tuned high-pass filters when engaged, removing shelved low end and allowing the high frequencies through for more clarity and musical highs.
Rounding out the details are the PRS Stoptail bridge and PRS Phase III Non-Locking Tuners. The bridge is engineered with curved string slots, brass inserts and steel studs. It is designed to maximize the transfer of the strings’ vibrations through the guitar. The lightweight tuners promote tone transfer for a louder, more resonant instrument.
PRS Guitars is planning a year full of new product introductions. Stay tuned to see new gear and 40th Anniversary limited-edition guitars throughout the year at www.prsguitars.com/40 and by following @prsguitars on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, X, and YouTube.