4 Way Tele Mod using a Push/Pull switch

Here's another Breja ToneWorks DIY video - this time I'll go over a 3rd possible way to mod your Telecaster from a 3-way to a 4-way that includes a Series option for your Neck and Bridge. Unlike the other two methods which require you to replace your 3-way with a 4-way selector switch, this mod allows you to keep the 3-way and accomplishes the Series circuit via a push/pull switch.

[@larrymarcusmusic]

You'd think that someone like Fender, Seymour Duncan or any of the other big name brands would have easy access to a wiring schematic like this. Nope. Searched for hours - then jumped to KZbin and found this in 5 seconds. You have a new subscriber now for sure - this is exactly what I (we all) need!

[@jcarh]

Right? I couldn't even find pot specs for my Tele Player Plus. I know the standard for single coils is 250k pots but they put noiseless pickups in my guitar so I thought they might use 500ks for the push/pull. I had to go to Sweetwater to get the specs and my rep is checking with Fender.

[@franck-elianwalter4308]

I just did the mod thanks to your video. Really well explained, and the new sound possibility is really sweet. Thanks for your knowledge and the clarity in your explanation !

[@SuperTheguys]

just wanted to say I love your videos! even if I know I'm not considering the mod I still enjoy watching them. thanks!

[@igabo95]

The volume pot of my tele is slowly starting to rustle, and I thought that being already in the process of opening up my guitar, maybe I could try something funnier than just swapping a POT. First thing I did was to go through your KZbin channel, and in 2 minutes I found this mod, which is just perfect for my case. Every mod I can think of, you did a video about it! I also find cool that if you engage the in-series config, you bypass the 3Way switch. Makes a lot of sense if you would like to switch e.g. directly from neck position to in-series middle position (which I will most probably need). Thanks!

[@chadjohnson-authormusician8072]

Thanks so much for this video. Clear as day, step-by-step, exactly what many people need.

[@veselerakve]

Hi, thank you a lot! Today i wired my Tele according to yours video and it sounds blasting! Now its the most versatile guitar I have. Great job!

[@alegiono]

Pure gold, man. Thanks. I'll definitely try this mod.

[@chrisb3k1]

Man, your videos are so well done. Thank you.

[@Unorthodoxexistence-t2o]

Thank You So Much!!! You Don't Even Know How Helpful This Is!

[@chrisclassical7]

well this got me out of a huge hole that i had dug for myself, thank you so much

[@Lovetone1983]

Just did this today, thanks for the clear diagram and explainations.

[@Edwarbr]

Awesome video. I also used a push pull on my volume pot for a tone bleed in the down position. I was going to use a 4 way switch, but my volume knob was too close to the switch. Due to the extra swing of the 4 way, the switch cap was almost touching the volume knob. Cheaper to buy a CTS push pull pot, than a new switch plate.

[@ninkichan7209]

My God, I've been looking all over the internet, posting on boards about this on what to do and this is like the saving grace video. Very clear explanation, as for someone like me who is not electronics savvy this is the best reference available. Thanks to you.

[@Braulios_Penesecou]

yo man thanks a lot, i've been kast half hour looking for this diagram in google and its here in youtube. Thanks

[@clenncapuchino]

Hey bud! I changed my bridge pickup to hot rails, I'm having problems in the middle position. I really need your help on this. I'm a fan of the page. I really love the 2 tone cap strat wiring you made.

[@nunobarbosa77]

It is possible to have a 4 way switch with a humbucker on the neck, and a push push to split the humbucker? I have a baja Tele and a gibson burstbucker on the neck, but i want it to work with the 4 way switch and i would like to have to option to coil split the humbucker... but it's a bit too much for me as i don't even know how to solder... 😅😅😅

[@j_wah3084]

This is fantastic! Thank you. Can't wait to hot rod my tele...

[@2969jlc]

Awesome video! Clear as day, I am about to do this mod soon. So maybe a dumb question but: the main "to ground" lead that comes off the volume pot: where does that go? to the metal of the bridge or where?

[@jcarh]

Man I am endeavoring to swap my Fender noiseless with either Seymour Duncan Hot Tele PUs or the Bareknuckle Nomads and thought it would be fairly simple. But when I removed the wiring plate what a mess the Mexican shop made with the wiring. They did loom splices from guitar to plate for both noiseless PUs without trimming the excess wire. Also, the grounds to pots are a soldering mess. I am guessing they did loom splices for quick swapping of pickups? Fender probably anticipates their customers swapping the noiseless with actual single coils. At least the BKP Nomads can be ordered with the extra ground on the neck PU exactly for this setup, but they are twice the price than the SD Hot Tele PUs.

[@InfiniteLoopGuy]

thanks - very helpful video , only comment would be it is a bit tricky to follow to match up the diagram of the DPDT switch with the CTS pot I was using, but fortunately I guessed correctly and it all works fine (a bit of a squeeze though fitting in all the extra wires, especially with the larger pot)

[@albertplaysguitar]

When a 6 year old video makes you hit the subscribe button

[@mikefarquhar5063]

Hi, great presentation super clear however i love this mod too i have liked and subscibed because of these reasons and also because you don't just show the whole diagram all at once from the get go you show the way its best- step by step which makes more clear how the wiring and switching works if you have the basic understanding that electromagnetic flow is drawn not pused like the flow of water, knowing this helps understand how electricity behaves, what each of the components components do and why the switching set-up works the way it works because of this truth of the behaviour of electricity. I just have one query if you dont mond? Its in relation to the newer cts dpdt push pull pot's pcb/your diagram orientation, and how your way ie diagram Key translates cts pcb, am I right that A2 would be C2 and B2 is C1, so the whole pot in you're diagram is drawn with in mind the control plate/switch and pots upside-down and as anyone would see the diagram same as they would see the control plate when doing the solder work in situ? Ie- A1 B1 - 4 2 A2 B2 - C2 C1 A3 B3 - 3 1 Kind regars and thanks for sharing yoyr expertise, its good to have the good mod options rather than sift through hundreds of mods and diagrams that would take forever to physically do, Mike.

[@kentl7228]

Why not reverse the sequence? Keep the neck pickup earthed and run the series through the bridge, where the bridge earth is either to ground or to neck hot? Then there would be no need to disconnect the neck pickup earth for the pickup cover...

[@jasonclements8995]

I want to wire a telecaster with a 3-way lever, 1 single coil in the neck, 1 humbucker in the bridge, and two push/pull pots. I want the volume pot to split the humbucker and the tone pot to put the neck and bridge pick ups in and out of phase with each other (both in humbucker mode and split mode). Would you have a diagram for this set up? Thanks for all of the other videos!

[@ninkichan7209]

Hi so I tried this in my tele and it worked. However, I cannot change the Volume, it is just on High, What could have gone wrong?

[@Kid0fThePast]

Hey, I have an urgent question, at 2:40 do you have another wire going from the volume pot to somewhere else in the guitar or is it grounded by simply being part of the control plate? Hope this makes sense. Thanks a lot.

[@RaulCoutinho]

Well done buddy, maybe you can help me , I have a fender pro 2 telecaster with that same switch already installed , and I just bought the ultra noiseless pickups but the bridge has 3 wires and I’m confused now haha can you help me ?

[@2dazetake]

Do you need to add a second capacitor to the series position, when you pull up the push pull pot to engage the series,does it bypass the original 3 way selecter circuit and the cap it uses,or does it use the same one.

[@michel333100]

How do you wire a tele like this just to put the pickups out of phase tone with a push pull pot in the tone pot pot position?

[@ruscoelee]

Did you change any of the pots from the standard 250k and did you use a different capacitor? The reason I'm asking is I'm buying a cheap Strat copy that I intend customizing, with two humbuckers front and back with a single coil pick up in the middle and coil taps on both humbuckers.

[@BrejaToneWorks]

+ruscoe lee Everything can be left the same. Personally I change all my POTs to higher quality ones along with a better capacitor with a value that matches what I want to hear.

[@pascaandrei7164]

Hello! I want to know if I want to put a push push pot, is it the same scheme? Thank you in advance!

[@bchant19]

Hi, I got a epiphone lp special that I've installed 2 P-90s into. I'd like to have this wiring option to thicken up the middel position. How much different would it be to convert this wiring to gibson spec?

[@joevanp]

Good day! I have a question, I did the mod, it works fine, but when I roll down the tone knob, the guitar gets muted. I installed a 500k pot because I didn't find the proper 250k, do you think is the reason? Or Did I wire something wrong? or that is the way it works with this mod? Thanks a lot for answeing.

[@CaptainRudy4021]

Would this work on a strat if I wanted to do a series/parallel mod on just the neck and middle pickups?

[@joshcohen1676]

I'm trying this Mod for the 1st time and I have 2 questions. 1.) Where does the ground wire go from the volume knob? 2.) which capacitor do you recommend? I'll be using a b500k push/pull tone pot. thanks :-)

[@Vince1974]

Josh Cohen Hi, did you have the answer ? Because I have the same question...🙏

[@sdpgo12]

On the push / pull switch, which position (A1-B1 or A3-B3) corresponds to the up position (pull) on the knobs on the guitar?

[@BraedenGMcMahon]

So. Can I transfer this idea to the TMAS C Brent mason idea? His is designed for a 4 conductor pickup. But I’m trying to get it to work with a 2

[@thehalodog9301]

I am about to install this mod but just need advice on one thing. I already have Fez Parka mod where the short green wire (on your schematics )coming out of outter tone pot is attached to middle volume pin instead of outter one.do i need to move it back to original set up?

[@HeavyMetalHodown]

Oooohhh, is that a Michael Kelly Tele? I have one and it's amazing!

[@BrejaToneWorks]

+HeavyMetalHodown Yep. I was really surprised at the quality. I did swap out the pickups because of some pickup demos I am doing but the guitar in general is really really nice.

[@fernandoluiz5733]

What would be the difference on the wiring if I use a mini humbucker on the bridge?

[@pipposmachebella5371]

How can I use this wiring with an import harley benton switch, telecaster clone 8 pin 3 ways? Please help me!!!

[@jekjeen397]

Thanks!

[@dontotte]

5 ways switch bro? Neck single bridge humbuker. Van you help me?

[@suryawardi950]

What a bout pushpull in volume its same or deferent?

[@humbertoava]

Can i change the SingleCoil pickup on the bridge for an chopper t dimarzio humbucker?

[@24AnVRodri]

For those with the newer Push Pull…. Video Pot vs New CTS Pots A1 = 4 A2 = C2 A3 = 3 B1 = 2 B2 = C1 B3 = 1

[@mikefarquhar5063]

I was wondering about this vids key for the newer cts dpdt pot, it's this guys way, nothing wrong wih that, but it gets confused when he says it is inverted, my query is to get a specific understanding of what he means by inverted this guys key for the connections, so he said in the diagram the pot is inverted, I wasn't sure if he simply meant - as you would see it while doing the solder work as is in position so the whole pot upside-down and looking at the actual pot everything is upside-down ie- left is right right is left When it would be much simpler to point out that C1 is B2- this is personally a simpler way to make clear the orientation of the pcb on the diagram in relation to the pot lugs and the newer cts push pull pot's pcb in situ. Query- did you verify what your comment stated?

[@24AnVRodri]

@@mikefarquhar5063The inverted can always get you. We are all soldering inverted only to flip back up and screw onto the guitar. I wouldn’t pay attention to that but in all honesty, these were a pain to solder. Tiny ass holes to then make the joint. Took time and patience.

[@mikefarquhar5063]

@24AnVRodri I feel ye, all I need to know is what the commons translate to, just one and from there I know what's left/right pull up/push down. The wiring I have on my telecaster is pretty much as in the diagram here when I bought it new, from there it's simple to deduct the modifications, and yeah it can be a pain in the hoop to solder the tiny cts pots the older ones are easier as you can make a mechanical connection to keep a wire hooked in place while soldering. With the cts dpdt pots though you can unattach the pcb I prefer to do that to lay it flat on a steel block or sometimes just use ball of bluetack to stick it and keep it up off the work surface And do all the mods that are outside the standard tele pre 67 changes wiring. especially handy when are using one ring for two wires or a double cap mod, all in a oner.

[@ronaldbolen5685]

Can this mod be done with a SPST push pull?

[@Neptunestef]

How is the disabling of the 3-way switch accomplished?

[@HenryBirkettOfficial]

Help! For some reason my neck pickup will not work, what could be the cause of the problem?

[@nmssis]

regarding the push/pull dpdt switch, is dpdt part of the tone pot or separate unit? thanks for sharing!

[@BrejaToneWorks]

+nmssis The Tone Pot has a DPDT-Push/Pull switch on it. It's a separate unit but it's attached to the tone pot.

[@nmssis]

Breja ToneWorks so when i ask for push pull, then the vendor will know? oh n still using 250ks?

[@markewing6780]

nmsis this is what you want: Genuine Fender 250K Push/Pull Pot Split Shaft Guitar Potentiometer

[@hdmusikk8826]

the yellow cord that goes from the switch "B1" to the pot "A1" or "B3", dosent do anything when I disconnect it...... what gives? what is it supposed to do?

[@mike22810]

Is this the same as the Fenders with the S1 switch?

[@monicacarr5295]

Could i do this with a three way switch and two humbuckers?

[@BrejaToneWorks]

+Monica Carr ?? Do what exactly? I'm not following you. You can't do a 4-way mod with a 3-way switch.

[@jeffreyprice773]

how do you wire a Telecaster control plate with 3 pups & 5 way switch so the switch is at the back position, reversed thanks.

[@BrejaToneWorks]

+jeffrey price Hey Jeffrey... Think about it this way. What you're in essence doing then would be wiring up a Stratocaster with a Master Volume and Tone. If you need help with the layout, email me at [e-mail]

[@jeffreyprice773]

Thanks i will .

[@salatieljyrustumanan4929]

I did exactly this but the pickups wont make a sound. It worked only on the neck at first, but i tried checking it and the neck pup wont sound. I have aluminum-shielded cavities and used a 500k push pull. Any help, guys?

[@lorenzowynberg]

probably shorting with your shielding somewhere

[@salatieljyrustumanan4929]

@@lorenzowynberg Thank you very much! Just came back to this cuz I managed to actually finish the job this year(I reverted to standard wiring cuz of conflicts with college but went back to this after successfully defending my thesis)

[@AnimalsmusicFGC]

is there anyway for you to demo how this actually sounds?

[@BrejaToneWorks]

+Amaia Aleandri I just did this mod on one of my Teles that I put some new pickups in so I will be doing a pickup demo soon that will incorporate this specific mod. Don

[@AnimalsmusicFGC]

+Breja ToneWorks awesome! I can't wait to hear how it changes the tone

[@ivanisachenko9881]

Does this soldering circuit perform the same task as S-1?

[@marcelosouza7627]

Thanks for the great video! How could it work with this import 3-way switch (www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?270306-Wiring-EMTY-7-Blackouts-to-3-way-switch)?

[@WeWardi]

Ada yg bisa bahasa indonesia kah?

[@LosRockson]

Hey, question! Is this possible to do with a 3 way, LP style selector?

[@whaleoilbeefhooked2564]

Yes you can , the red wire in the diagram at 5'30 would go on the middle lug of the switch and then to volume pot . The neck pickup white and yellow wire go to one of the outer lugs and blue wire goes to the other lug . If you do not have a multimeter use enough wire so you can rotate the switch if needed .

[@LosRockson]

@@whaleoilbeefhooked2564 thanks man. I will chart it and try it.