fender deluxe 8 wiring question

Will Slack · From: Texas, USA

I have a deluxe 8 and the tone pot has never worked. I swapped in a new one and it behaved the same way still--full on tone until it causes the volume to drop off drastically at the end of the turn. To be clear, mine is the early trapezoid pickup.

The wiring matched neither of the dual 8 wiring diagrams on John Ely's site (i figured my guitar would be wired similarly, though with 1 pickup and no switch). So, I re-wired it according to the second example. It still behaves the exact same. Could the capacitor be dead and causing the problem? Does anyone have a definitive wiring schematic for the single trapezoid pickup guitars? What to try next?

Einar Baldursson · From: Stockholm, Sweden

I had that exact problem - early 50s trapezoid, non-original pots/cap and a tone pot that cut off volume. The problem turned out to be the pickup itself and the coil-wiring had to be redone. In the end I sent it to Tom Brantley Rewinds and he fixed the problem. Have him take a look. If at all possible he will repair the pickup instead of doing a full rewind.
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Jeff Mead · From: London, England

Yes, I was going to say exactly the same thing. The trapezoid pickups on my Dual Pro behaved in the same way when I got it - also the sound was quite thin with not a lot of bass.

I had them rewound and they sound great - It is now my my main recording steel.

Will Slack · From: Texas, USA

Wow, the pickup can cause this? Right now my pickup sounds great--it is probably the best sounding guitar pickup I've ever owned. Volume pot works, but tone only gives me full on treble or what sounds like full treble cut.

Since it's outputting a strong signal, I assumed it was the tone circuit. How can a functioning pickup affect the ability of the tone circuit to work correctly? (Hope it doesn't sound like I'm attacking your theory, just trying to understand).

Do either of y'all have a wiring diagram from the deluxe 8 trapezoid circuit?

Thanks for the help!

Jeff Mead · From: London, England

The symptom I had was that the tone control didn't do much and then cut the volume drastically which is what you originally said you had. Now you're saying the tone gives full tone cut (which it is supposed to do isn't it?) but just a bit more suddenly than you would want.

Mine too sounded OK if I tweaked the tone controls on the amp but was definitely very thin sounding compared to another guitar with the same pickups. I'm guessing you don't have another one to compare it to?

Those trapezoid pickups are so great that even a broken one might sound better than a fully working one of a different type Very Happy

I'd say get someone who understands pickups to check everything out with a meter. It could be a wiring problem but I still wouldn't rule out something wrong with the pickup.

Garry Vanderlinde · From: CA

I have that same problem with the tone control on a '37 Rick. It seems to come from a leaking cap. I like the way the guitar sounds and don't use the tone control so I just left it original. On a Fender it would be easier to replace the cap to see if it solves your problem. At least it would be an easy fix if it worked.

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

The Deluxe 8 wiring is very simple except for the wiring of the pickups themselves and the balance control. If that part is wired wrong - especially if the volume/tone circuit is somehow interconnected to the balance control - the tone control can act strangely.

It's either wired wrong, the capacitor is bad or the tone or or volume pot is bad - or the wrong type. A linear pot can do odd things in this circuit as well.

If the pickups both sound rich and full it's very unlikely they could be causing the symptoms you describe. To be sure you can simply bypass the controls and wire each pickup directly to the jack to test them. If they both work fine you have eliminated them as the problem. But I'd try a different cap first.

If you don't have the exact value capacitor you can use anything from a .011 to a .1 uf just to see if you get some kind of treble rolloff. If a cap within those values works a little (to a lot) you know it was the capacitor. if not - recheck the wiring. If it's correct the tone pot is the likely culprit.

You can use a 250k audio pot, or a 500k or even a 1 meg - all will work. The higher values will react a bit differently but work fine. Just make sure you are using audio pots.
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No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional

Will Slack · From: Texas, USA

I'll try a different capacitor when I get a chance. Just to be clear, Jim, this is the older, single pickup version so there's even less going on in the wiring.

No one has diagram for the original wiring? This guitar is from '53, has one tone and one volume pot, same pot values as telecasters usually have--was it wired the same as a tele?

Will Slack · From: Texas, USA

I tried a new cap, but that didn't change anything...

Stephen Cowell · From: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Will Slack · From: Texas, USA

Hey Stephen, how do I verify this with an ohmeter? What's the reading I'm looking for across the coil?

I'm definitely confused--had no idea a pickup could sound great and have an open coil that only affected the interaction of the tone circuit.

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