THE DARK SIDE

I’ll wager the majority, if not all, of the Telecasters you own (or have owned) will have what we call ‘modern’ wiring. It’s also pretty much the default and most simple circuit for any two-pickup guitar: a three-way pickup switch (voicing bridge, both, and neck pickups) with a master volume and tone.

But back in 1950, Fender’s original circuit, known as the ‘blend’, was a little different and more complex. It was changed in mid-’52 to what lasted until 1967 and was known as the ‘dark circuit’. On both we had a preset ‘bass’ tone so us guitarists could cover electric basslines or switch from the steel guitar-like bridge pickup to a bit of muted jazz comping. On that second circuit you couldn’t combine the neck and bridge pickup at all.

So, the first 1950 to ’52 circuit offered the following functions from its three-way lever switch:

• Position 1: The bridge pickup is voiced but what we now know as the tone control worked as a blend. With the lower blend control fully clockwise the bridge pickup is voiced; by turning the blend control anticlockwise the neck pickup is introduced.

  The neck pickup is voiced. The volume acts as normal but