It won't change the clarity aspect. Realize that the "modern wiring" won't give you anything you don't already have, except convenience. You have the "middle" position now, you just have to balance the pickup selector between the bridge and middle position, just like on a 3-way Strat switch.I have a ‘66 Tele with the original wiring... I don’t use the dark tone position and I do like the sound of the modern middle, both pickups position. Is it difficult to switch to modern? Will it open the tone up a bit as far as clarity?
I thought Fender was still using '66 pots well into 1968. it seemed like a rather large purchase. I can pull and check on mine, but i thought I remembered them dating to '66 as had a bunch of other '68s I've looked at.It won't change the clarity aspect. Realize that the "modern wiring" won't give you anything you don't already have, except convenience. You have the "middle" position now, you just have to balance the pickup selector between the bridge and middle position, just like on a 3-way Strat switch.
Rewiring to "modern" is easy, but the better approach might be to just take the old harness out intact, switch, pots and jack all factory connected. All you have to do is unsolder the pickups from the switch and ground. Then build a whole new harness and stash the old one away for resale time.
Fender started using 1meg pots in '67. I have occasionally seen them in guitars with a late '66 neck date. 1meg pots in a Tele are awful in every way. If you have those, definitely build a new harness with 250k pots.
Thx... It's already been refretted too... (or regretted as auto-correct likes to say...)Nice. My custom also had a maple cap neck. Tough to find. If you want to put any future potential buyers at ease, just have a very well known vintage guitar dealer do the wiring change and keep the receipt with the guitar. If this were a ‘52 Tele in that condition, I’d say leave it alone, but no one is going to cry foul over a CBS era Fender with an extremely minor and 100% reversible wiring change.
I have a Callaham Tele, which obviously has his hardware. The knobs are fantastic. Heavy, but they feel very solid. Combine that with pots that have some resistance when turning and it feels like a tank. I also have an aged / distressed bridge with saddles on another Tele and it looks very good. Nothing overdone, just de-shined and done right IMO.Need to source a lightly aged control plate (I wouldn't call the original a relic... more of a new patina with scratches and a few dings...), top hat and knobs for the '66... Callaham?