Nocaster Blend vs Modern wiring

[bluesjuke]

I'm curious to know of those of you Nocaster owners that have changed from the Blend circuit, which I do like a lot, to Modern wiring-

Did you like it better and keep it that way?

As said I like the Blend circuit and while it sounds great at home while playing out last week I wanted some tone control so I'm getting ready to swap but am interested in hearing you impressions from experiencing "The Change" first hand.

Thanks.

 

[Dylan61]

 

[Sean French]

Wired my Tele to modern wiring after about an hour.

 

[bluesjuke]

Is this typical for you Sean as Teles go?

If I had a '52 I wouldn't hesitate at all but Blend to tone is cause to ponder.
Both have plus sides.

 

[Sean French]

Is this typical for you Sean as Teles go?

If I had a '52 I wouldn't hesitate at all but Blend to tone is cause to ponder.
Both have plus sides.

I need a master tone on all my Tele's as I use it often.
The blend doesn't interest me.

 

[bluesjuke]

I do use tone on all of my others quite a bit too.
There's things you can't do well without it.

So few use it they don't realize it's like a secret weapon and buy lots of other stuff to achieve what a simple tone contour can accomplish.

Heating the iron up as I type.

 

[Maven]

What needs to be done to go from the blender wiring to modern?

 

[Member 995]

I changed my Nocaster to modern wiring after a few weeks. You gain a lot more versatility, but the neck pickup loses a bit of its magic. I'm thinking about getting a no-load tone pot to try to regain the high end on the neck pickup.

Bryan

 

[Dylan61]

With this wiring diagram it will let the Neck PU stock if I am right:

http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/pdf/WiringDiagram_Tele_4-Way.pdf


..

 

[bluesjuke]

What needs to be done to go from the blender wiring to modern?

Well I finished mine a few hours ago.

Remove cap between vol. and switch,
remove resistor from switch,
Relocate jumper between vol. and blender/tone pot,
add cap between Vol. and tone pots.,
relocate hot pickup leads on switch,
relocate one wire from Vol pot to swith and then jumper that switch terminal to three other switch terminals.

This turns the Nocaster into standard Modern Tele wiring.

Good thing I got my new soldering station yesterday as the RoHS solder is a pain in the butt as it's very high temp.
Removing wires, cap, and resistor I was about 670 degrees and turned back down whenever I was resoldering good ole 60/40.
I was too lazy to hunt down some 63/37 solder.

My soldering station- a Hakko 936-12 worked like a champ and the temp recovery was fantastic even after cleaning the tip on the damp sponge.
Took about 1 second to recover from that.


I'm glad I did the mod to Modern wiring.
I actually find my neck pickup to be brighter with the tone on 10 asnd I mean the neck pu itself not the old #3 position comparison.
Lots more body and charactor to all settings which was an extra I didn't expect.

 

[bluesjuke]

I kept mine like that for almost three months and really enjoyed it.

Wasn't sure if I would do it but after playing out last week I needed a little turn down on the tone from the guitar and though I'd better give it a whirl.
I didn't want to give up the Blender circuit but now a good as the guitar sounds I don't miss it at all.

 

[Member 995]

Bryan it's very easy to remove the tone control from the neck p/u.You shouldn't need a no-load tone pot.

I want the best of both worlds - the sound of the pickup without the tone control and the use of the tone control.

Bryan

 

[gregc]

I'm leaving mine alone. On the '52 RI I like to switch to modern wiring but with the Nocaster I like em just the way they come.

 

[Big Tim]

I am about to switch to modern wiring too. Greater versatility in my opinion.

 

[bluesjuke]

I got better overall sound in the change.
I have equal or maybe even improved clarity on the neck pickup now than I did before in the former #2 position.

My harmonic overtones are richer and I have a surprisingly wide range of tone control.
With the tone set right I can get a sort of 'Tele Quack' sound from the bridge or neck when I'm using just one or the other alone.

I didn't know Teles did anything like that.
Not like a Strat but definately a quack sound.

 

[shuie]

Can someone please post a diagram of both wiring schemes for reference?

TIA

 

[bluesjuke]

shuie, I just Emailed you both.

 

[Aslan]

I liked the sound of the blender circuit so much I left it it my Nocaster, but I did change the cap. for the front switch postion to .0033 and this gives the front pickup a very useful warm jazz tone. I think the pickups sound better with no tone controls in the wiring.

 

[Dana Olsen]

To my ears the blender wiring sucks tone and output. I hate 'em on Strats too - they suck the highs right out of the split positions, IMHO. It does get some cool sounds, but if you were raised in the traditional Tele environment, I think you'll prefer that wiring.

I too use the tone and vol pot to taper the high end and put it where I want it. Never used to 15 years ago - always put the guitar's vol and tone on '10', but since then a bunch of longtime Tele players have advised me to try using the tone and vol pots, and I like the results a lot. You sorta use a little too much treble on the amp, and then 'work around it' with the tone and vol knob. Most amps, in my experience, work better this way too. It's an easy way to 'buy back' a little high end on the neck pickup too - get the treble about right for the neck p/u, and ride the tone and vol on the bridge p/u.

It's not all roses though - now I spend time obsessing with details about various vol pots, tone pots, and caps - in all 3 of my Teles. The good news about wiring - it's easy to do, cheap, and reversible.

Dana O.

 

[shuie]

thanks, bluesjuke