Richie Kotzen Telecaster wiring

Pickups, wiring schemes, switch techniques and onboard active electronics for guitars and basses
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eddieod
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Post by eddieod »

Hi all,

Thought this might be interesting for all telecaster players. It's a wiring scheme that's configured in the same way as the telecaster Richie Kotzen uses. It incorporates the standard 3-way pickup switch along with a two pole switch that's only active in the middle position of the 3 way pickup switch. With this second switch (which is a two way rotary switch that replaces the tone control on Richie's telecaster) you can select either the two pickups in parallel or in series for a more beefier tone.

Have fun!

Ed's Custom Shop
Edwin Thoen
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diggum12
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Post by diggum12 »

But you lose your tone control doing that? I need mine. I ended up using the 4 way selector. Does the same thing as yours, but you can keep your tone control & don't have to add a switch. http://www.marshallparts.com/products/1 ... -4-Way.htm
"Now we cheer if someone get's a tweed champ working. I feel like the future was here and we traded it away for trinkets." -diagrammatiks

ayayay! on the other site

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Post by JiM »

You may use a push/pull pot to get the same result without loosing your tone pot.
Or just drill a hole for a mini toggle switch between the knobs.

With a 5-way stratocaster switch, there are also a lot of wirings available including series, parallel, an additional cap or out-of-phase ...
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giangregorio
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Post by giangregorio »

Is possible to have a more clear picture wiring kotzen telecaster with colour ?
Thanks

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skylark44
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Post by skylark44 »

How would that same wiring look , but on an import "white" switch (where the lugs are all in a row)? :mrgreen:

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Post by JiM »

skylark44 wrote:How would that same wiring look , but on an import "white" switch (where the lugs are all in a row)? :mrgreen:
Both lugs with a "C" are un the center. The other lug keep the same position relative to those.

A picture from TDPRI is worth many words :
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Post by MoonWatcher »

Richie uses a Chopper in the bridge position, right?

I really like using a 4 way or 5 way switch with blades, stacks, etc. - anything with about 10.5K overall resistance (both coils in series).

I basically just leave the two "end" positions in standard series humbucking mode, and then cut a coil with the next position of the switch.

If you are content with HB bridge/single bridge/single neck/HB neck, it's worth ordering a 4 way.

If you use a blend setting, you can jumper over for that with a 5 way.

I really like to just have a switch with only the settings that I use. The cool thing about a Tele is that:

1. the plate comes off with just two screws - great for rewiring.

2. the plates are relatively cheap - great for if you add a "Brent Mason" pot or add some crazy Steve Morse approved switching.

I didn't think that I'd bond with the 4 way. The cool thing is you can use it to split HB's, or you can use it for traditional single coils to just get bridge/parallel/series/neck.

I love coil cutting with DiMarzio HS-2 and HS-3 pickups as well - the top coil only will give you nice snap and guts, and the bottom (deactivated) coil knocks out a bit of hum. Kick both coils on for leads and high gain stuff where losing just a bit of definition isn't such a deal breaker (the thing that most single coil afficionados complain about with humbucking retrofits for Fenders).

What I'd like to do next is to figure out how to switch a pair of blades or stacks to go from standard series humbucking to parallel with the Fender type of switch (I'm assuming that I'd need a superswitch).

A Tele kills for rock music.

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gus
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Post by gus »

Look at my post in this thread, clink on the link.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5474
Also look for the l6 wiring that is a good one.

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Post by bluelemon »

Hi guys! Sorry for digging that post from the ashes, but I cant understand clearly this wiring. Can someone help a little. In position 3 on the switch that must be neck pickup I see that both pickups go to "out". Im I right or just :slap: Can someone draw the hole thing with pickups and other stuff for dumies. Thank you! :horsey:

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Post by bluelemon »

Guys I am done. All the thing are wired and sound great! I use this diagram and work brilliant http://www.deaf-eddie.net/drawings/tele-series.jpg :block:

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pedro
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Post by pedro »

Hi Folks,

I know this is a really old thread - and I have searched extensively - but I am struggling to find a pictorial version of the Richie Kotzen Tele wiring set up with the rotary series/parallel instead of the tone pot.

I have the DimMarzio Chopper T and Twang Kings and want to set up this exact wiring scheme in my Highway One USA Tele - to get as close to Richie's configuration as I can.

Does anyone have any info they can share ?

Many thanks
Pete

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