What is a dark circuit on a Telecaster?
(On modern Telecasters, this position engages both pickups wired in parallel.) (On a modern Telecaster, this selects the neck pickup alone with tone control engaged.) This circuit is often referred to as the “dark circuit” or “blackguard” wiring and was roughly used from mid 1952 up to late 1967.
How do I know if my Fender Telecaster is vintage?
In 1982, Fender introduced the U.S. Vintage series. These instruments have a “V”-prefix serial and the only way to definitively date these is, like with the earliest serial numbered guitars, by removing the neck and checking the butt of the neck for a production date, which may be stamped or written there.
How old is my Fender Telecaster?
From 1954 to 1976 Fender stamped its guitar’s serial number on either the top or bottom of the neck plate. Modern Fender production guitars, 1976 to the present, have their ID numbers on the front or back of the headstock near the Fender decal. In 1982 Fender decided to start making reissued vintage guitars.
Are fenders made in China?
In short, Fender makes guitars in the USA, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, and China. Performer, Professional, Original, and Ultra guitars are made in the United States. The Vintera, Player, and Artist series guitars are made in Mexico. Needless to say, you want a well-built guitar.
How do you date a vintage Fender?
All Fender amplifiers manufactured from 1990 – present include a date code printed on the quality assurance (QA) sticker on the back of the amp chassis, and are dated the by the first letter as the year and the second letter as the month.
Where is Fender Telecaster made?
Luckily, Fender Player Telecasters are made in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, close to the US border south of California, and are much more affordable, yet just as awesome as the American made guitars.
Which fenders are made in the USA?
Performer, Professional, Original, and Ultra guitars are made in the United States. The Vintera, Player, and Artist series guitars are made in Mexico. The Deluxe and Boxer range are made in Japan, and the Squier by Fender guitars are built in Indonesia or China.
What color was the first Telecaster?
1950. The initial single-pickup production model appeared in 1950, and was called the Fender Esquire. Ash and maple were used to construct the body and neck respectively and the guitar came in one color – blond.
When did the wiring on a Telecaster change?
This wiring is referred to as the “modern” or “standard” Telecaster wiring and is still in use today. To understand why Tele wiring changed in 1967, it’s useful to review some history.
What was the resistor on a Fender Telecaster?
In his original hand-drawn circuit, Leo identifies the 250k pots as “1/4 meg” and there’s even a little error—the 15k Ω resistor is shown as “15M.” You can see this drawing at the Fender Museum and it’s one of the real treasures of the exhibit. For Tele freaks, it all started here.
What was the PF cap on a Telecaster?
The small 1000 pF cap was soldered as a treble bypass cap between the input and the output of the volume pot to keep the high-end alive when rolling back the volume. This cap is not shown in the circuit drawing and is no longer used today.
What did the second pot do on a Telecaster?
Instead, the second pot acted as a blend or pan control between the two pickups, and this was only engaged with the 3-way pickup selector switch in the rear position. In May 1952, Leo modified the circuit to incorporate a true tone control by skipping the blend functionality and discarding any two-pickup combination.