Electric Guitars '66 Custom Shop Tele (in the shop)

CapnDenny1

Student Of The Blues
I have a repeat offender,... I mean customer, who brings me some really nice stuff to work on. '47 Epi jazzbox, '65 Fender Dekuxe, Dr. Z Route 66, you know the good stuff! So yesterday he gave me this '66 Tele that needs a new selector switch. It's a little rough, but if it is indeed a '66 then it's 54 years old, so I guess it's entitled. It has a Custom Shop sticker, but I have one of those too, that I haven't put on anything. But it plays and sounds amazing. It weighs a ton, but it just rings out clear as a bell all the way up the fretboard. It's good to be a repair guy sometimes!

IMG_4858 by Dennis Kelley, on Flickr

IMG_4860 by Dennis Kelley, on Flickr

IMG_4861 by Dennis Kelley, on Flickr

IMG_4863 by Dennis Kelley, on Flickr
 

blackcoffeeblues

Student Of The Blues
From the looks of the wiring (fabric covered color coded)--the pots and the selector switch the way they are ...It looks like it is the real deal but I am pretty sure the cavities were not copper shielded so someone might have been in there before. Either way it is cool. jmop
Today I just rewired and changed a pick up on a Squire Tele--1st time I ever worked on a Tele---
I think they are way harder to work on than a Strat or Les Paul---Strats are by far the easiest. I am changing everything over to U.S.A. except the body and even that's a pain in the butt.
 
Last edited:

CapnDenny1

Student Of The Blues
I think Tele's are easier, unless you are changing the bridge pickup.

I got the switch changed out, but something isn't right. It's loud and bassy in the neck position of the selector switch. Loud and trebly in the bridge position. So far OK.

But it's quiet and really thin in the middle position. I suspect the pickups are out of phase, or something?

I will check with the customer first, because sometimes these oldies, they don't was you messing with them. I can't imagine it being setup that way on purpose, but who knows?
 

tommytubetone

Great Lakes
Hmmm. It looks to me like the front contact of the selector switch has been arcing to the copper shield. There appears to be a burn mark there. It also looks like the wires have been smashed by the selector switch. I would probably replace the cloth covered wiring with modern conductors with thinner insulation. Of course it's not my guitar. (or yours). :Beer:
 

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
Well, personally I think it would be a crime to replace that switch with another 3-way. Do him a favor and talk him into a 4-way switch. :):whistle:
 

CapnDenny1

Student Of The Blues
I started to explain the problem, and he finished the part about the mid being quiet and then. He originally told me it was dead in the middle. He went on to say that there probably wasn’t anything wrong with the switch, huh? Which I’m sure he was right.

So I just had to swap the wires on the neck pickup. All good now.
 

blackcoffeeblues

Student Of The Blues
unless you are changing the bridge pickup.
That's exactly what I am talking about--on the one I got I had to remove the bridge plate (5 screws- then one extra to get the pickup out) plus the control cavity allows for almost no extra space for excess wiring- if they had made it just a little deeper you would have a little room to play with.
I am using fabric insulated wire which is about 3 times thicker than standard strand. I also went with CTS pots- they are bigger than the ALPHA
pots I took out and adding a 4 way switch ( 1 more wire)...so all in all to me the Tele is much harder even the plug in jack is harder later
 

david moon

Attempting the Blues
Was there even a Custom Shop in 66? Looks like the label might be a re-issue. Did they have those body woods and black headstock in 66? I'm no expert.
 
Top