Telecaster Modification – 4-Way Switching

I love the sound of a Telecaster. It’s a great workhorse to have in your arsenal because you can use it for so many styles of music – country, of course, but also, blues [Albert Collins], rock [Jeff Beck], fusion [Mike Stern], Jazz [Ed Bickert], and the list goes on. I believe you can never have too much of a good thing and I wondered if I could work the horse even more to get additional tones out of those two pickups.

I picked up a very nice USA Peavey Reactor [Telecaster copy] and wanted to upgrade the pickups and electronics. That seemed like a perfect time to try out a common modification – adding a four-way switch.

Here’s the wiring diagram I used



I replaced the stock 250k pots with 500k pots because I wanted a really bright sound and added a Sprague Orange Drop 047µF Capacitor. I love this mod because you get the three classic Tele tones, plus the more powerful, Humbucker-like sound of the pickups in series. If you’re playing rock or blues, it’s nice to have the option of a more beefy tone at the flick of a switch – something most Tele players don’t have.

This is one mod that’s definitely worth doing. Highly recommended.