Nice demo! As far as I know, this mod is popular for Tele players who like to use their volume knob to do swells like a volume pedal. Your channel has a lot of informative wiring demos which I will watch when I get a chance since I'm interested in learning how to do this stuff myself rather than paying a tech every time I need something done.
Bob Kirchen who was the lead guitar player of Commander Cody and his Lost Airmen, reversed his because it made it easier to do sound effects while playing and manipulating the volume or tone with his finger. On the song Hot Rod Lincoln in 1975 Bob Kirchen did automobile horns with his Tele. I seen him do truck horns and even large ship horns with his tele. So there is one reason people reverse the controls.
@Keith Clark I appreciate you letting me know its Bill. I actually knew that, I'm not sure why I called him Bob. I'm getting forgetful in my old age. I will blame it on that.p q I originally found out about the way he mods his telecastor's from watching a Dan Erlewine video of all things. Apparently they are friends from way back.
On a build currently so this video that I just stumbled on will be a great help. What change would I have to make to your guide to make it 50’s wiring? Thanks!
I play my Tele using the bridge pickup the vast majority of the time and there isn't much space between the switch and the volume pot. I vary volume far more frequently than I switch pickups. The reverse plate just makes sense to me.
Back in the 1950s, when a lot of Tele players in small bands were doing double-duty and also imitating Steel Guitar sounds on stage, somebody figured out that if ya flipped the control plate over, you could just reach your open hand STRAIGHT DOWN and grab the tone knob a lot easier, so you could make that Speedy West style "boo-wah" sound... That was the original idea of the reverse control plate...TRUE STORY.☺️
Great video, thanks, I'll be soldering up the kit I bought from you tonight. One question though: why do you bridge the terminals on the switch starting from the side nearest the pots and going going toward the far side, then wrap the wire back alongside the switch? Would it not look tidier starting from the far side and going towards the pots? It won't make any functional difference (I think) but would look neater.
I see on your diagram from the website the cap is wired from the vol pot to the tone pot. Is there any tonal difference in the different wiring or any other differences I should be aware of? Thanks for putting this up.
I definitely recommend it. The wiring components in the cheaper teles are, well, cheap. Not very expensive to upgrade, and it'll sound a lot better. You won't get your money's worth from new p'ups running then through cheapo components.
Thanks for this video, it really helped. Just a question, at 7:19 you mention “wrapping the wire around” the opposite end of the switch then back around to the pots…is this is necessary? Can’t you just wire it with the excess wire on the side of the pots instead of the opposite side? From a circuit perspective, isn’t it making the same connections?
Considering doing this, as I often whack the switch while playing, but I’m a little worried I’ll just end up whacking the volume knob instead and that might be a bigger problem lol
I have a switch on my 80's squire tele that has 6 tabs on one side and 2 on the other...I just cant work out the wiring on it? There is nothing on the web that shows anything on this switch. Any ideas? Thanks
i turned the switch plate around so that it was in the back V, T, S.. body of my tele cavity is not deep enough for the switch... any thoughts ?...router...
wallaguitars I had the same problem. I didn’t have a router, or a chisel. So I used the blade from my hand planer as a chisel. Cut a bunch of wood out, and then sanded the cavity with 80/120/220 grit to clean it up a bit. Worked like a charm.
Great video. Thanks! I have a question, as there are so many conflicting opinions on all the forums: I did this mod (Bill Kirchen), but used braided shielded wire for the jack connection. Due to lack of space inside the cavity (MIM tele, which cavity seems to be smaller), the shielded wire is touching stuff it shouldn't be touching. Any tips on what to do? www.pinterest.com/pin/473792823279379880/ BONUS QUESTION: If you use braided shielded wire, would you shield the cavity with copper tape?
Hey Mercedes, cover the braided wire with heat shrink tubing is use it in most of these videos. It stops the braid from shorting on anything. In the shielding, I’d try without first and add shielding if needed. Thanks!
Very good video I liked it very much in case no one has mentioned it and I haven’t really looked at some of the other Comments. The reason we switch the volume it becomes easier to do swells with your baby finger wrapped around the volume knob as you plug the string and it works perfect just thought I’d mention that in case no one else has.
That first wire you soldered to the four contacts could have been flipped 180 degrees...simpler, more direct to the pot, less wire. EDIT: Oh; I see someone already mentioned this.
Nice demo! As far as I know, this mod is popular for Tele players who like to use their volume knob to do swells like a volume pedal. Your channel has a lot of informative wiring demos which I will watch when I get a chance since I'm interested in learning how to do this stuff myself rather than paying a tech every time I need something done.
escargotomy thanks for the kind words. Yes, guitar wiring put a lot of people off but hopefully these videos help out and save a few £££ (or $$$)
Thank you for showing exactly, step by step how to do this.
Awesome video! Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for taking the time to record this.
These videos are incredibly helpful! Thanks for making them! I’d love to see a reverse Esquire assembly, as I’m going to put one together soon.
Just did this to my G&L Tele. Really works well with my style of playing. Great video.
Volume swells, roll on/offs, first mod i did. :)
Bob Kirchen who was the lead guitar player of Commander Cody and his Lost Airmen, reversed his because it made it easier to do sound effects while playing and manipulating the volume or tone with his finger. On the song Hot Rod Lincoln in 1975 Bob Kirchen did automobile horns with his Tele. I seen him do truck horns and even large ship horns with his tele. So there is one reason people reverse the controls.
@Keith Clark I appreciate you letting me know its Bill. I actually knew that, I'm not sure why I called him Bob. I'm getting forgetful in my old age. I will blame it on that.p q I originally found out about the way he mods his telecastor's from watching a Dan Erlewine video of all things. Apparently they are friends from way back.
EXACTLY... Flipping over the control plate was originally a trick the Western Swing guys did in the early 50s.
I like the idea of the pickup switch out of the way so I don't change selector in mid strum unintentionally.
Very informative.Thank you!
Thank you for the thorough presentation. Nice.
On a build currently so this video that I just stumbled on will be a great help. What change would I have to make to your guide to make it 50’s wiring?
Thanks!
I play my Tele using the bridge pickup the vast majority of the time and there isn't much space between the switch and the volume pot. I vary volume far more frequently than I switch pickups. The reverse plate just makes sense to me.
Great info and pacing!
Back in the 1950s, when a lot of Tele players in small bands were doing double-duty and also imitating Steel Guitar sounds on stage, somebody figured out that if ya flipped the control plate over, you could just reach your open hand STRAIGHT DOWN and grab the tone knob a lot easier, so you could make that Speedy West style "boo-wah" sound... That was the original idea of the reverse control plate...TRUE STORY.☺️
Great video, thanks, I'll be soldering up the kit I bought from you tonight. One question though: why do you bridge the terminals on the switch starting from the side nearest the pots and going going toward the far side, then wrap the wire back alongside the switch? Would it not look tidier starting from the far side and going towards the pots? It won't make any functional difference (I think) but would look neater.
Thanks Mark - we wire it the way you describe in our prewired version - changed it after this video as it happens!
Would be great to actually finish off by soldering pick ups as well.
I see on your diagram from the website the cap is wired from the vol pot to the tone pot. Is there any tonal difference in the different wiring or any other differences I should be aware of?
Thanks for putting this up.
No difference - it goes from tone to ground via the lug on the volume pot that needs grounding. Works both ways. Thanks for watching!
Now all I need is a video to show me how to wire a Reverse 4 way 😛
Very useful info mate thanks, if you upgrade the pickups on an affordable Tele, do you have to upgrade the pots and switch too?
I definitely recommend it. The wiring components in the cheaper teles are, well, cheap. Not very expensive to upgrade, and it'll sound a lot better. You won't get your money's worth from new p'ups running then through cheapo components.
@@J.Brachman Thanks very much for your reply.👍
Thanks for this video, it really helped. Just a question, at 7:19 you mention “wrapping the wire around” the opposite end of the switch then back around to the pots…is this is necessary? Can’t you just wire it with the excess wire on the side of the pots instead of the opposite side? From a circuit perspective, isn’t it making the same connections?
Excellent informative video😁😁😁
thanking you
Considering doing this, as I often whack the switch while playing, but I’m a little worried I’ll just end up whacking the volume knob instead and that might be a bigger problem lol
Great. I will use this when i rewire my tele. Do you have a video to show how to out of phase?
I have a switch on my 80's squire tele that has 6 tabs on one side and 2 on the other...I just cant work out the wiring on it? There is nothing on the web that shows anything on this switch. Any ideas? Thanks
May i suggest/request a wiring demo for a classic Rickenbacker 4001 bass? There doesn't seem to be too many online that I can find. Thanks!
do i reverse the pickup leads? or are they exactly the same? thanks
Thanks for the video. Can you do a reverse volume forward 4-way switch?
i turned the switch plate around so that it was in the back V, T, S.. body of my tele cavity is not deep enough for the switch... any thoughts ?...router...
wallaguitars I had the same problem. I didn’t have a router, or a chisel. So I used the blade from my hand planer as a chisel. Cut a bunch of wood out, and then sanded the cavity with 80/120/220 grit to clean it up a bit. Worked like a charm.
Thank you Thank You Thank you it was a success thanks to you
Great video. Thanks! I have a question, as there are so many conflicting opinions on all the forums:
I did this mod (Bill Kirchen), but used braided shielded wire for the jack connection. Due to lack of space inside the cavity (MIM tele, which cavity seems to be smaller), the shielded wire is touching stuff it shouldn't be touching. Any tips on what to do? www.pinterest.com/pin/473792823279379880/
BONUS QUESTION: If you use braided shielded wire, would you shield the cavity with copper tape?
Hey Mercedes, cover the braided wire with heat shrink tubing is use it in most of these videos. It stops the braid from shorting on anything. In the shielding, I’d try without first and add shielding if needed. Thanks!
@@SixStringSupplies Great. Thank you!
No worries, it’s very cheap but very effective! You would need 3.5mm diameter rubber tubing
@@SixStringSupplies thanks!!
Very good video I liked it very much in case no one has mentioned it and I haven’t really looked at some of the other Comments. The reason we switch the volume it becomes easier to do swells with your baby finger wrapped around the volume knob as you plug the string and it works perfect just thought I’d mention that in case no one else has.
can i use a seven pin selector to make a blend control??? please answer me
That first wire you soldered to the four contacts could have been flipped 180 degrees...simpler, more direct to the pot, less wire. EDIT: Oh; I see someone already mentioned this.
Its easier to do volume swells.
Pots are 20% tolerance instead of 10% tolerance.
Nope - 10% or 20% depending on manufacturer specification. These are 10% 👍
Volume roll offs mainly is the reason
Beer does NOT go under non-essential equipment...