The Eldred Esquire wiring schematic. Illustration courtesy of www.singlecoil.com
This month, let's continue exploring Esquire mods by diving into the so-called “Eldred Esquire wiring," which is currently one of the most popular wiring schemes for this iconic Fender model. The Eldred wiring is named after Mike Eldred, who directs the Fender Custom Shop. (This must be one of the dream jobs in today's guitar industry!) Mike came up with this wiring for his personal Esquire and it was an instant success.
In addition to managing the Custom Shop, Mike is also a great guitarist who gigs a lot with his trio, so he knows what a guitarist really needs. I had the pleasure of meeting Mike at one of the winter NAMM shows in California, and he's a very nice and funny guy, too. (Visit fendercustomshop.com and mikeeldredtrio.com for a closer look at Mike's work.)
Like so many other Esquire players,
Mike doesn't like the stock switching position
#3, which routes the guitar's single
pickup through the volume control and
a fixed “treble roll-off " capacitor/resistor
network. Here is the switching matrix of
his preferred system:
• Switching position #1. This rear
position is the same as on a standard
Esquire. The pickup is routed through
the volume control only, with the tone
control bypassed for a hotter, louder
lead sound with extra highs.
• Switching position #2. This middle
position is also the same as on a standard
Esquire, with the pickup routed
through the volume and tone controls.
It sounds a little warmer than
position #1.
• Switching position #3. In the front
position of the Eldred Esquire wiring,
the pickup is routed through a single,
small capacitor and volume control,
with the tone control bypassed once
again. You might think this is a very
small and lame modification because it
consists of nothing more than removing
the fixed treble roll-off network
and replacing it with a capacitor. But
it's a very effective mod that's both versatile
and useful.
Adding the small capacitor and entirely removing the treble roll-off network gives this switching position a kind of “oh-oh" vocal quality and creates a scooped and hollow midrange that sounds nice and warm. This specific sound is also called the “cocked wah tone." When playing an Esquire that's wired this way, anyone with a wah pedal will immediately know why. Using some volume swells (the volume pot is still engaged in this switching position), you can completely mimic a wah pedal, once—like the great Greg Koch or Jim Campilongo—you master the playing technique.
To hear how this switching works and sounds, you can watch a video from the Fender Custom Shop, where Mike walks you through his switching system on a relic'd '50s top-bound Esquire (YouTube search term: LTD Release '50s Top Bound Esquire Relic).
So what do you need to set up this switching? Not very much—just an additional 4700 pF (0.0047 μF) capacitor and some wire. That's it. The project basically involves removing the treble roll-off network, throwing in the new capacitor, and moving some wires. Generally, this wiring sounds best with two 250k pots and a traditional Esquire/Telecaster bridge pickup. Mike actually prefers a hotter bridge pickup model with a more prominent midrange. Fig. 1 shows the Eldred Esquire wiring schematic.
Even though the Eldred wiring is versatile
and sounds great, it's no crime to
customize it to your personal preference.
Here are some ways to experiment with
this wiring:
• Start with the 0.047 μF tonecap
from the standard Esquire circuit and
then experiment with the value and
the type of the cap. In several earlier
columns, I've discussed the various
options in detail.
• Mike prefers a standard film/foil 4700
pF cap for switching position #3. You
can experiment with the value of this
cap to dial in the tone you want. A
lower value than 4700 pF will result
in more highs because less treble is
bled to ground and vice versa. A good
range to tinker with is 1000 pF up to
6800 pF, but naturally you can use
any value you like.
• Another excellent area to experiment
with is the type of cap you choose to
replace the stock treble roll-off network.
You can try ceramic, film/foil,
paper-in-oil, paper waxed, silver mica,
Styroflex, or anything you would
like to try. Personally I prefer a 715P
or 225P Orange Drop cap for this,
because these caps also offer a prominent
midrange scoop that perfectly
supports the vocal “oh" quality of the
tone. These caps really fit like a pair of
old shoes with this wiring. But it can
also be interesting to use a completely
different cap (and value), making the
“oh" sound more like an “uh" or “ah."
I think you know what I mean! In next month's column, I'll share my personal custom version of the Eldred wiring and explain how the Esquire I use onstage is configured, so stay tuned. Until then, keep on modding!
Dirk Wacker lives in
Germany and is fascinated
by anything related to old
Fender guitars and amps.
He plays country, rockabilly,
and surf music in two
bands, works regularly as a
session musician for a local studio, and writes
for several guitar mags. He's also a hardcore
guitar and amp DIY-er who runs an extensive
website—singlecoil.com—on the subject.
Hotone Wong Press
Cory Wong Signature Volume/Wah/Expression Pedal
Renowned international funk guitar maestro and 63rd Grammy nominee Cory Wong is celebrated for his unique playing style and unmistakable crisp tone. Known for his expressive technique, he’s been acclaimed across the globe by all audiences for his unique blend of energy and soul. In 2022, Cory discovered the multi-functional Soul Press II pedal from Hotone and instantly fell in love. Since then, it has become his go-to pedal for live performances.
Now, two years later, the Hotone team has meticulously crafted the Wong Press, a pedal tailored specifically for Cory Wong. Building on the multi-functional design philosophy of the Soul Press series, this new pedal includes Cory’s custom requests: a signature blue and white color scheme, a customized volume pedal curve, an adjustable wah Q value range, and travel lights that indicate both pedal position and working mode.
Cory’s near-perfect pursuit of tone and pedal feel presented a significant challenge for our development team. After countless adjustments to the Q value range, Hotone engineers achieved the precise WAH tone Cory desired while minimizing the risk of accidental Q value changes affecting the sound. Additionally, based on Cory’s feedback, the volume control was fine-tuned for a smoother, more musical transition, enhancing the overall feel of volume swells. The team also upgraded the iconic travel lights of the Soul Press II to dual-color travel lights—blue for Wah mode and green for Volume mode—making live performances more intuitive and visually striking!
In line with the Hotone Design Inspiration philosophy, the Wong Press represents the perfect blend of design and inspiration. Now, musicians can channel their inner Cory Wong and enjoy the freedom and joy of playing with the Wong Press!
Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Electric Guitar - Shaman
Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voices—two of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, it’s not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this can’t-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silos’ utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly won’t get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear “digital” voice, darker “analog” voice, and a “tape” voice which is darker still.
“The three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.”
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while it’s true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silos’ three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximity—an effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silos’ affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats that’s sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voice’s pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silos’ combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.
EarthQuaker Devices Silos Multi-generational Time Reflection Delay Pedal
