The cheapest and easiest way to class up a Telecaster

With a Telecaster style body, it doesn't get any easier than this. Almost.

One of the great benefits of the Telecaster is that it's simple. As it turns out, the ridiculously simple mod of swapping out the control plate for something with a nice pattern on it really works.

The one you see above is here. Would you rather have a gold version? That's here.

I would argue this is probably not only the easiest Telecaster mod, but almost the easiest electric guitar mod. I say almost because switching out knobs is even easier than this, so you can consider the control plate switch the second easiest mod.

If you have never taken off the control plate of a Telecaster, it is literally just two screws. When installing a new or replacement plate such as the one above, moving the switch and knobs to another plate hardly takes any time at all.

The only thing you really have to worry about with the control plate is the wire management. What I mean by that is not to just shove wires back into the body cavity when installing, as that can break connections. In other words, as long as you don't throw things around like a caveman, you won't break anything.

Also bear in mind that, if you're daring, you can flip the direction of the plate. Many Telecaster players do this because they prefer the control plate in the alternate orientation so the pickup switch is further back.

Having a pattern on the control plate is something where you can add a touch of flare without getting crazy. The best part about this mod, other than it being stupidly easy to do, is that it's completely reversible. It's really nice when you can try a different look, do it easily, and completely undo it without any fuss at all if it doesn't work for you.

Where stress-free mods are concerned, this is a darned good one.

Published 2022 Feb 1