Pandora is NZ$165 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$143.48

Pandora 3 way Esquire specifications: Alnico V – 10.07 KOhm 4.4H, 7.28KOhm 2.3H, 5.49KOhm 1.15H

The Pandora 3 way Esquire pickup took its inspiration from my desire to fix a problem.

Pandora 3way esquire pickup - MrGlyns Pickups

I’ve never been happy with the switching options given on the Fender Esquire so I came up with a plan.

Rather than switch in some capacitors or switch out parts of the circuit and create sounds you can make anyway using the tone control, I thought it would be better to have a tapped pickup so the player could generate usable, ‘real’ tones.

It’s simply a case of ‘tapping’ into the winding at different points to obtain different strength pickups from the one coil.

This essentially gives the player 3 different pickups in one.

So in the middle position it’s an Esquire pickup, one way it’s less than that (I’m calling it ‘Gold Foil’ though it isn’t). The other way it’s more – my Cruel Mistress pickup. This gives 3 distinct tones going from jangly rhythm to fat lead without losing the distinctive Esquire/Telecaster character.

It makes use of the normal 3 way switch to achieve this.

Then, of course, I realized that the main use for this wouldn’t be in Fender Esquires but in single pickup builds. The single pickup movement is getting bigger and this is the perfect tool to give those guitars extra versatility while still using a single Tele style bridge pickup.

So the experiments and trials began, there’s a lot to test with this sort of pickup. There were a lot of trials to get the 3 sounds to work well together, that’s different amps, pedals and most importantly with different drummers and bass players.

The ‘Cruel Mistress’ part was easy, it’s my best selling Telecaster pickup set. The middle position is based on a ’61 Esquire I once had the good fortune of getting to know. I was going for that clear, ringing bridge pickup tone we all know and love, a sound that stands out from a mix. I was so happy with how this pickup turned out that I have since made a Telecaster set from it – The Duchess. The third position I’m calling ‘Gold Foil’ but I could have equally called it ‘Lipstick’. It’s a tone in the character of that style of pickup though technically is neither.

I sat on the design for quite a while (about a year) thinking that although I really liked it the idea might be a bit complicated. I didn’t think people would want a pickup with all those switching options. I had done all the testing, was really happy with the sounds and feel but didn’t do anything about it.

Then on a whim I just posted on Instagram about it and received a huge response. It seemed players and builders liked the idea. So here it is, the Pandora 3 way Esquire.

Thanks to Reg Ayers for this demo : go and check out his YouTube channel – he makes some great pedals.

Pandora 3 way Esquire sounds great with a 500KOhm volume pot or to get the most out of it I recommend this wiring diagram:

Pandora 3 way Esquire suggested wiring diagram

Wiring diagram for Pandora 3 way esquire pickup, MrGlyns Pickups

The difference is that 1Meg volume pot (it’s usually 250KOhms) and those resistors. This enables each of the 3 pickup settings to ‘see’ the volume pot as a different value. It just emphasizes the good points of each setting, it’s subtle but it does make a difference.

Here is the wiring colour code for the Pandora tele pickup.

Wiring Colour code for Pandora pickup — Pandora Color code

Buy Pandora

Check out Mr Glyn’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@MrGlynsPickups/videos

Pandora 3 way Esquire

updated 28 April 2025

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I was sent an interesting faulty pickup the other day. It’s a bridge pickup from a 1983 Fender Telecaster Elite. Fender did a few unconventional things around that time and this is one of them.

Overview

The Telecaster Elite pickup is an unusual shape which means that it’s not an easy pickup to replace so I really needed to save this one.

What’s inside a Telecaster Elite pickup

Inside the plastic cover is a humbucker encased in some sort of resin. At least one of the coils is faulty so will needs to be re-wound. This resin is great until there’s a problem, I just had to dig the bobbins out. There was no way the coils were coming out undamaged so I gave the customer a call to explain they both needed re-winding. He was happy so I got on with it.

Tele Elite pickup bottom — Telecaster Elite ‘83 bridge pickup

Tele '83 elite — Telecaster Elite ‘83 bridge pickup

Elite Tele'83 — Telecaster Elite ‘83 bridge pickup

It’s a pretty delicate operation to get the coils out without damaging them.

'83 Elite Tele pickup repair — Telecaster Elite ‘83 bridge pickup

Telecaster Elite pickup bobbins — Telecaster Elite ‘83 bridge pickup

Spec

Once they were out and cleaned up it was a straightforward re-wind. I matched the dc resistance to the original spec of 11.3KOhms and put it all back.

1983 Telecaster Elite pickup — Telecaster Elite ‘83 bridge pickup

Telecaster Elite Pickup 1983 — Telecaster Elite ‘83 bridge pickup

If you have any duff pickups, get in touch. Most old pickups can be saved.

Pickup re-winds are a big part of what I do.

In the early days back in the 1990’s I re-wound a lot of pickups. It was an invaluable introduction into the inner workings of electric guitar pickups.

Back then there were a lot of 60’s and 70’s quality pickups around to practice on, they weren’t as valuable or sought after as they are now. Because of that I got to see how pickups were put together in the old days, the construction, the potting material…

There wasn’t much information available so experimentation was the only way to learn. I made so many bad pickups back then but made a note of every single one, how I’d wound it and what the result was. By using that method I got closer and closer to what I wanted. I also made a note of all the re-winds I did and the original spec if I could get it. I’m still writing in that note book to this day and it’s becoming a fantastic reference tool when I receive an unusual pickup repair from a customer.

I still really enjoy re-winding pickups, I think I have a strong instinct to fix things. I would much rather repair a faulty old pickup than sell a customer a new one. Sometimes, of course, the customer wants a different sound that the old pickup can’t give them and a new pickup is the way to go.

Please feel free to contact me about any faulty pickup by email (mrglynspickups@gmail.com) or by phone (021 912 678). https://mrglynspickups.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcDggiRTQyFec5KAVHsC2xA

Head to store…

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