Fender America Standard Telecaster: upgrades and modifications…

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Here is my very own FAST: Fender America Standard Telecaster. I sold my beloved PRS Mark Holcomb SE24 to buy this and what a purchase it has turned out to be. With a Fender moulded case, I paid only £605 for this and there was not a mark on it (an absolute bargain). Even with fuel, It cost me under £630.

Anyway; I always had it in mind to fit a single-coil sized humbucker. Given a choice, I’d I’ve chosen a Seymour Duncan Little 59 or a Hot Rail! As I could not afford this at the time, after watching a few demo’s, I decided on an Artec Hot Rail (a copy of the SD no doubt). Now, I am a big fan of Artec pick-ups (always have been). Artec are a Korean pickup maker that make pickups for most everyone (even Seymour Duncan’s imports ie: Duncan Designed).

So, I decided to go with an Artec Hot Rails Telecaster Humbucker Pickup Alnico II (model number: TRA73C). I also decided to upgrade the electrics. I will go with a 300k CTS Audio pot for volume and a 250k Alpha Linear push-push pot (to split the humbucker coils) for tone. As always, I will fit a Mullard Mustard capacitor (.047). The control cavity will need some routing so I can fit the (long) push-push pot as there is not enough room as it is. You need to route to a depth of 33mm…

Upgrades complete; this guitar sounds better than I could ever have imagined! With 4-way switching (the 4th option giving me the bridge and neck pickups in series) sounds fabulous! Wiring in series boosts the bass and sounds HUGE! Enjoy…

NOTE: I have explained the pickup positions incorrectly on the video! The options are as follows:

Position 1 (closest to the bridge): Bridge pickup
Position 2: Bridge + neck pickup (in parallel / normal)
Position 3: Neck pickup
Position 4: Bridge + neck (in series)

To use the bridge in humbucker mode: leave the tone pushed in (closest to the body)
To use the bridge in single mode: press the tone knob and it will pop out (single coil / Tele mode)