This kit is as simple as they can come, but it is a tip of the 'Atticus angled cap' to one of my most favourite signature Fender guitar models and is incredibly nostalgic for me, the Tom DeLonge Signature Stratocaster! I spent countless hours staring at the Fender Frontline catalog back in the day wishing I had one of these guitars, super back to basics design but nonetheless wicked guitars. With the originals increasing in value, I know a lot of us are making partscaster replicas instead, so I wanted to offer a pre-wired volume pot kit to help with those projects! After having the privilege of working and inspecting an all original 2001 TD Strat thanks to one of my great customers, I was able to have a quick peek under the hood of an early example and see what aligned with the original manual/spec sheet.
This factory Fender TD signature model had a CTS 500k pot as expected, as well as a treble bleed cap mod, which featured a 680pF capacitor and 220kOhm resistor wired in parallel. This does indeed align with what the original model manual/spec sheet listed. I've come across a great deal of treble bleed mod specs and I personally don't think It's a totally common treble bleed cap and resistor spec, so I thought that was quite interesting and liked how it sounded with the original Seymour Duncan Invader too. I did a little further testing of that spec on one of my own SD Invader loaded pickguard guitars and I think it suits it really well, so happy to continue on with those specs. Prefer it made without the treble bleed at all though? Sure, just drop me a message prior to ordering and I can sort that no worries. I make it with the best components I have available to me, CTS 450 series audio taper pot, Gavitt 22awg wire, my treble bleed mod to spec and the brilliant Pure Tone multi contact jack socket.
I have decided to offer this kit for both right handed and left handed TD fans. So the right handed option is a simple one to choose, whereas left handed players will be able to choose their preferred pot turn direction with either a RH audio taper pot, or a LH audio taper pot depending on your personal preference. A RH audio taper pot turns clockwise to increase volume from '0', whereas a LH/Reverse audio taper pot turns counter-clockwise to increase volume from '0'.
Some lefty players prefer one way, and others another way, so I always feel it is worth offering the choice of either and you can pick which best suits your personal playing preference. Hope this helps LH Tom fans!
This pre-wired Tom Delonge Strat volume kit is now available to order and you can do so via the dedicated listing HERE
For TD fans, the new Starcaster builds he has been using on the 2023/24 tours have been well and truly hitting the TD guitar community hard! I also offer my TD spec pre-wired kits suitable for Starcaster projects/builds and you can order those via the dedicated listing HERE. The Starcaster kits come as standard without a treble bleed mod, which is as per Tom's own Fender built Starcasters (confirmed via conversation with their maker Custom Shop R&D department member, Brian Thrasher). But I do offer the option of a treble bleed mod if you like to have those. For further reference, the 2024 Fender production Delonge Starcasters do come with a treble bleed installed from the factory. Up to you which spec you would prefer/recreate, as ultimately how we like our tone, and volume roll off, how it affects things with our own amps, pedalboards, cable lengths etc, all are the most important thing! So I offer the kit with, or without one to suit your preferences. Hope this helps! It is all pre-soldered volume to jack via Gavitt 22awg braided wire. I am also able to make this kit with a standard jack, or with a black jack socket depending on whether you're going for the standard, or black hardware aesthetic.
I also make replacement/upgrade kits for the Gibson and Epiphone ES-333 signature Tom Delonge models. I thought offering these would be useful for those wishing to upgrade their Epiphone version to USA spec wiring components perhaps, or those needing a quality like-for-like replacement for tired original parts on their Gibson version. Even those perhaps modding 333/335 style guitars too! This kit, similar to the Starcaster, features a CTS 500k audio taper volume pot wired to a pure-tone multi contact jack via quality Gavitt 22awg braided wire (to suit the placement/measurements of the volume and jack that featured specifically on the TD signature ES-333 models). You can order this kit via the dedicated listing HERE
For further TD project guitar help, I am also a Seymour Duncan main dealer, so if you need to source a genuine Invader or SH-5, then you can do so via my website too! Click HERE for my Seymour Duncan stock page.
James.
Comments
An update for those who have previously asked about shipping to the USA. I do now ship these kits to the US, shipping rates are all setup on the checkout so they can be ordered through the webshop at your convenience. Thanks for your patience!
Are you able to ship to US now? 2023
You don’t ship to the us?
What voltage is the 680pf capacitor? Is it 50v?