Northwest Guitars
Pre-Wired Telecaster Compatible Wiring Kit CTS pots, Orange Drops, CRL 3-Way Switch
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Pre-wired Telecaster Compatible Wiring Kit - USA Standard
Our pre-wired kit for Telecaster (USA Standard) consists of some of the best components available, and is perfect for improving the overall tone and performance of your Tele.
Compatibility
Our Telecaster compatible wiring kit will fit genuine Fender guitars, and is also compatible with Squier/import instruments with a little modification. When installing on a Squier or import guitar, you may need to widen the control knob holes to ensure the pots fit. You may also need to replace your current guitar knobs with their imperial sized cousins.
All of our kits come with an easy to follow wiring diagram. For help on using our Stratocaster Standard wiring kit please refer to our video guide on wiring a USA Telecaster
The Telecaster Wiring Kit includes:
- 2 x 250k or 500k Matched audio taper pots (10% tolerance)
- 1 x Capacitor (Orange Drop or Paper in Oil)
- 2ft Gavitt black cloth push-back wire
- 2ft Gavitt white cloth push-back wire
- 1 x CRL USA 3 way switch
- 1 x Switchcraft USA 1/4'' jack socket
The components are installed onto one of our own aluminum control shields. You can remove this before transferring the parts to you guitar or alternativley leave it in place, as the shield will help with reducing the hum athat can be a problem when touching the control knobs and plate on many Telecaster models.
Orange Drop Capacitor
Orange Drop capacitors are often described as ’bright’ sounding and their primary benefit comes from their reliability, they essentially never go wrong. For a professional guitarist, stability and consistency is what you need in an instrument that has to play shows night after night, which is exactly why Orange Drop capacitors are so popular amongst guitarists and guitar builders.
CTS Audio Taper Pots
CTS pots are typically used by higher end guitar builders and techs but this is not due to any difference in tone. The main reason cited for using CTS pots is that they will last longer due to a more sturdy construction, and for that reason you’ll often find them used in USA-made guitars and guitar gear.
We supply audio taper pots for both volume and tone as these produce a smoother and more rounded sweep. All pots are metered and matched to ensure a perfect balance of tone and volume across all switch positions.
Switchcraft Mono Output Jack
Large guitar manufacturers will very often cut corners by using cheaper components, particularly on the input jack. Switchcraft have a great reputation for using only the highest quality materials in their components, providing a significant durability and performance upgrade over cheaper parts.
Cloth Push Back Wire
Paper-in-Oil Cap Upgrade
Want an extra vintage tone upgrade? Add Paper-in-Oil caps instead of Orange Drop. Paper in Oil (PIO) capacitors are an older technology, highly sought after primarily due to their use in many vintage instruments such as 50s era Gibsons. The capacitor is literally filled with paper and a special oil before being sealed in thermoplastic, delivering a darker, warmer and smoother tone.
Treble Bleed Upgrade
This 0.001uF capacitor together with a 130k resisitor are soldered to your volume control, resulting in a more uniform sweep from 1-10 and preventing treble loss at lower volumes
Will this fit my guitar?
Our wiring kit for Telecaster will fit all genuine Fender USA/MIM Telecasters and will also fit the majority of Telecaster type guitars and imported models.
Many imported models use the smaller Alpha pots, so it may be neccesary to drill your pickguard holes to 10mm diameter to accommodate the larger USA pot shafts. If you are upgrading your Alpha pots to CTS then you will also need to purchase imperial control knobs that fit the larger CTS pot shafts.
All of our kits come with an easy to follow wiring diagram. For help on using our Tele wiring kit please refer to our video guide on Wiring a Telecaster
Please note: All our wiring circuits are built to order. During busy periods it can take up to 2 working days for us to build and despatch your pre-wired kit.
Shipping & Returns
Order before 3pm for same day despatch Monday-Friday
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Click & Collect available Mon-Fri until 4pm.
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