© 2010, AweSome Musical Instruments, All rights reserved worldwide
1
Telecaster Control Plate Upgrade
www.AweSome-Guitars.com
Telecaster Upgrade Installation Instructions
Revised: June 6, 2014
Before you start,
read these instructions first
to understand what you need to do to install this product.
Assumptions
This patented
Pickup Switch Upgrade
TM
product is
designed to use only one Volume and one Tone
control for all of your instrument’s pickups. These
products are designed to control 2, 3 or 4 magnetic
pickup coils.
Note:
Active
(uses batteries) or
Pizeo
pickups cannot be used with this product.
Tools Needed
You may need one or more of the following tools
(not included with purchase) to install this
Pickup
Switch Upgrade
TM
product (see each product for
additional specific tool requirements).
•
Wire cutters / Wire strippers
•
Regular pliers
•
Small Phillips & straight slot screwdriver (a
4-way screwdriver can be used as a deep-
well socket to remove switch mounting nuts.
•
Ohmmeter to measure continuity
•
Optional: rotary file and electric drill
•
Optional: Soldering iron (25/30 watt max.)
with fine tip, rosin-core solder .022” dia.
Preamble
Although not required for this product, you might
want to completely
remove all strings
from your
instrument for easy access to its parts. The strings
are probably already old and replacing them will
make your instrument sound even more
brilliant
after you install this product.
This
Telecaster Control Plate
Upgrade will have
you cutting existing wires on your instrument. You
may need to make wire connections, increase the
length of existing wires, and remove some wood in
your instrument body cavity.
Because you will be making several changes to your
instrument, you need to have a plan to install this
revolutionary
Pickup Switch Upgrade
TM
product.
See the
Reference Drawing
on a later page of this
document. Use a pencil to draw the original circuit
of your instrument before you proceed. When you
record where the wires (and colors) were removed
from your instrument, you have a way to restore it
to its original condition should it become necessary.
Since there is a large variation of pickup switch
wiring that spans 50 years, you will need to draw
your own pickup switch used in your original circuit
Adding Extra Wire
If your pickup or input wires are too short to easily
reach the specified connection of the green terminal
strip on the
Pickup Switch Upgrade
TM
circuit
board, here is what to do. Measure out the needed
length of the RED or BLACK wire in the included
PARTS BAG
to permit the wire to reach the applicable
connection. A length of 3” (7.62cm) is budgeted for
each wire extension. Insert the unstripped end of
each wire into the 2-wire UY2 yellow/clear
connector and clamp down using regular pliers.
Use pliers to squeeze the UY2 connector top button
so it is flush with the body to create a permanent
electrical connection. Verify electrical continuity
between the two pickup wires using an ohmmeter
(some coil resistance will be present). The 71B grey
wire nuts are used to make the needed firm and
insulated connection to the input jack wires, but let
you disconnect the installation if needed.
Note:
If either your pickup or input wires use a
shielded/braided cable, you will need to solder
black wire to the cable because the green terminal
strip (J1) does not directly accept shielded cable.
Product Variants
Your installation will involve one of the following
upgrade products. This document contains
information specific to one of these products.
1.
Pickup Switch Upgrade Board
2.
Telecaster Upgrade
3.
Stratocaster Upgrade
4.
Jazz Bass Upgrade
