ezbass

I had a 3 way one of those in my Tele. They are horrible, not only in working out the connections, but in general operation. I just replaced it with a decent, open design switch. If your friend is unwilling to spend a few quid on a decent selector, try some Google images for what wire goes where. Sorry, best I can do.

I haven’t lived in London for some time, so can’t help with a tutor.

As Kiwi says, if you’re going for a trad, bolt on Tele, any tech can put one together for you, in fact, you could do it yourself if you have any DIY skills and just have final set up done by a tech (fret levelling, etc), this is pretty much what I did with my Tele: Squier neck & tuners; bound body from a UK supplier; DiMarzio pickups with the voicing I was looking for (DiMarzio were brilliant with their recommendations); Hipshot bridge; various other spares I had laying around. Everyone who plays it is blown away by the playability and tone (I was very lucky with the Classic Vibe neck).

When I think of rock guitarists who use/used solid state, I always think of Dimebag Darrell. He used Randall (among others) and they do a 75w combo, the KH75 (Kirk Hammett signature). Although probably not the sound you’re going for, but achievable with cranked gain and a pedal or two, the Fender Tone Master range gets a lot of love. Apparently, Mesa used to do a SS amp, but now discontinued.

Not me, I’ve just tried a whole bunch over the years. I think any audible tonal quality perceived by bouncing a pick will be negated once held. However, if it works for your friend as a selection process, then it’s good for them. We all have our own ‘things’.

Hard to say, it could be just the finish cracking (and probably is), but it might have gone deeper. The cracks on the back bother me as there is the chance of snagging your hand, whilst playing . Seeing that there is some fret wear there too, I think you should take it to a tech to appraise and if they think it’s sound, get it stripped or refinished and have the frets recrowned.

Try tinning the twisted wire with solder beforehand if you can manage it (I saw this might be an issue).

Is it a solid core or multiple fibres? If solid core, I'd strip twice as much as you think you need, bend it in half and twist from left to right, to present a textured surface to the screw. If multi core, strip a good length and, again, twist from left to right, this should stop the twist from unravelling.

I think that’s your answer. I can’t imagine one passive DI box being that much different from another (happy to be corrected here), any differences should be fixable in the eq section of the DAW.

Iconic combo.

Wotcha Upsie.