Guitar question ('72 Tele Thinline RI)

[Chris P.]

There's a lot of technical knowledge here about guitars too, so I just ask this.

My girfriend has a MIM '72 Fender Telecaster Thinline reissue. She likes it a lot and soundwise it's fairly close to her Korean Epiphone Sheraton (with a lot of Gibson hardware).
At Harmony Central a guy posted he changed the 250K pots of his '72 RI to 500K ones. It sounds logical to me. A humbucker needs 500K and I guess Fender almost only uses 250K ones for Teles and Strats.

Could it be a wise idea to change the pots of this guitar? What will happen to the sound. Will there be a big difference?

[angrymatt]

I've heard the same recommendations for my '72 Tele Deluxe RI.  But since the pickups in these reissues aren't engineered to sound anything like the real '72 Seth Lover Wide Range pick ups, just look like them, I think the change would really just be personal preference, and not really get you much closer to a real '72 sound.  I haven't bothered making the switch.

[Chris P.]

I know the Japanese Jazzmaster pick ups look like originals, but they have a Strat pick up underneath the P90-a-like cover.

But the Deluxe and Thinline do have humbuckers. Are that like two Strat pick ups wired together? I guess a 500K pot still make sence then?

[Dave W]

My understanding is that they're standard design humbuckers with steel polepieces and an alnico bar magnet underneath. Putting them in a '72 style cover is just to make them look like the originals.

Like Matt said, you're not going to get closer to the original sound with 500K pots. The originals had 1 meg pots, but they were completely different pickups -- threaded cunife magnet polepieces and very overwound. Is she unhappy with the tone now? If so, why do you think changing the pots would help?

[Chris P.]

No, she loves the sound! Especially cos it sounds a lot like the Sheraton, which she loves. I was just curious!

[exiledarchangel]

If you change the pots to 500k you'll get some treble bite, thats why almost all manufacturers use them on humbuckers, and put 250k on single coils to tame a bit their shrilling highs.

[Dave W]

If you change the pots to 500k you'll get some treble bite, thats why almost all manufacturers use them on humbuckers, and put 250k on single coils to tame a bit their shrilling highs.

That's what "they" say, just like "they" say to always use audio taper pots. Yet Gibson has used 300K linear taper volume pots on its humbucker guitars for 35 years now. And the series humbucking split Precision Bass pickup uses 250K pots and has plenty of treble. Go figure.

Fender voiced this guitar to sound a certain way, and they used 250K pots to get that sound. It wasn't a mistake. No doubt the guys on Harmony Central know better, all because the mysterious "they" say to use 500K pots with humbucker.

Maybe, just maybe, the manufacturers know to use the pots that best fit the frequency range of the pickup.

[Bass VI]

The Wiki page here  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Wide_Range describes the differences between the originals and the reissues fairly acurately. IIRC the second generation Telecaster bass pickup was the jumbo version of the guitar pickup. The tone that Chris' GF is fond of is probably the result of the Thinlines' semi hollow body, as the current RI p/u is just a humbucker in Fender clothing. This would account for a tone much like her Sheraton, as it's essentially the same thing. I tend to agree that switching the pots would be more of an experiment than anything else.



Scott ( BassVI )

[Dave W]

FWIW, here's the innards of an original cunife magnet Tele Bass II pickup.

[Chris P.]

I have a spare '72 bass humbucker and a Squier RI. I can check 'm out once.

Thanks again for all the answers.

Dave: You're right by telling about manufacturers knowing which things to use. But you also know some cheaper guitars and basses can sound much better with better pots or other parts. That's why I was curious.

[Chris P.]

Nice Wiki link!

[Dave W]

If it's on Wikipedia it must be true. Chris knows this well, from his editing job on the brown note. 

[Chris P.]

I have my own Wikipedia and on that page I'm two years younger than I actually am;) A lot of friends checked it, but only one noticed the age thing:D
And like Dave says: It's on Wiki so true:D

But: I do the Wiki of a famous Dutch photographer and he does mine:)

And my editing on the brown note thing. I deny everything. I'm afraid Uwe will get rid of me in his last will. You know, the blue Nonrev;)

[Bass VI]

If it's on Wikipedia it must be true. Chris knows this well, from his editing job on the brown note. 

Caveat, the third-person singular present subjunctive of the Latin cavere, means "warning" (or more literally, "let him beware", "let her beware"...........

The Wiki definition of Wiki...is.......the third-person singular present subjunctive of the Latin cavere, means "warning" (or more literally, "let him beware", "let her beware"...........