Fender Deluxe 8

[William Fraser]

This may belong in the electronics section , if so , move me , I have a Fender 8 string lap steel ser. no. 00003 , in nice shape. I need to replace a worn tone pot, which shouldn't be a problem , the cap appears to be a replacement . This is a 2 p/up model , the bridge unit's hot goes directly to the 1st lug of the vol. pot along with the cap, the 2nd p/up has its hot wired to a pot under the bridge cover & appears to allow the 2nd p/up to be blended in with the bridge unit , which is always hot if the volume is turned up , it all looks original except the tiny ceramic cap . I am assuming this to be an early model due to the serial no. Was there a later design or mod to get more out of the neck p/up or should it be left alone , I don't want to modify it if ther is no reason to , there is no room for a real blend pot & drilling would be required , I would have sent a pic , but it is hard to see without fingers to move wiring , but basically the neck p/up is parralelled to the bridge & the pot under the bridge cover adds the neck p/up but only in combination with the bridge . I havn't de-soldered anything yet , any suggestions ? what should these pickups read on an ohm meter . I appreciate time spent on other folks projects.My friend is a non pedal guy , he has a 68 ZB D-10 he uses & can get ANY steel tone out of it & a National New Yorker Etc. Billy Lee Fraser

[Bill Creller]

That arrangement is like the usual String Master, and there's lots of those around in stock configuration. It's sort of up to you, but I wouldn't change it. A bit of the "neck" pickup in the mix takes some of the typical trebly sound Fenders have, and mellows it out a bit.
Subjective and a matter of taste...
The amp you are using will have a lot to do with the tone you are looking for too. Many Fender amps have the "scooped mids" sound, which the rock music folks like, (but not me ) Take your guitar to a music store, and plug into some various brands of amps to see the difference.

[b0b]

This may belong in the electronics section , if so , move me , I have a Fender 8 string lap steel ...

For the record, we consider wiring of the guitar itself to be an "instrument" issue, so placing it here is correct. The Electronics section is for topics like volume pedals, effects and amplifiers.

'Nuff said about that. Please continue.

[Jackiso]

This might be of some help......



Jack Isomura
Yokohama,
Japan

[William Fraser]

Jack, thanks for your reply & diagram . I was given the diagram , or half of it , minus the pot wiring , this is EXACTLY what I see inside this guitar , altho the yellow wire is white , I will replace the pot & leave well enough alone . Billy Lee Fraser

[William Fraser]

I am replacing the tone pot ,and noticed it is 1meg linear as opposed to audio taper , what is the deal with that ? Bill