Home of Tone Blog
McNelly Pickups launch the 'Silvercaster' Strat pickup set
McNelly Pickups over in Canada, one of the Home of Tone's longest represented brand, have taken the pickups designed for the Silver Sky PRS model and rebuilt them for traditional Strats with a signature McNelly twist. The pole pieces are radiused to 9.5" and matched with vintage Strat string spacing, offering a modern take on a classic sound.
Tim McNelly featured on the 'Just Gonna Say It Podcast' Dylan Talks Tone podcast!
Really enjoyed watching/listening to this great podcast featuring two skilled pickup makers, particularly great to see Tim featured and hearing a lot about his processes and background. Been proudly stocking McNelly Pickups here since 2015, one of the finest makers around!
Dweezil Zappa, his insane guitar collection (and some awesome McNelly name drops!)
There's no doubting Dweezil Zappa's passion for guitar. From incredibly playing and instrument knowledge to being an absolute gear head, I have a great deal of respect for him and of course his family name too. Here's a great video presented by Gibson where they chat with Dweezil in great detail about his rig and guitar collection, but a number of instruments featured you'll notice also sport McNelly Pickups! We've known Dweezil has supporting Tim McNelly for a while now, but to hear the name mentioned in this video felt great, well deserved recognition from a fantastic musician and featured on such a big platform. Congrats to McNelly on this one! An honour to stock and represent the McNelly name here.
New McNelly Pickup models!
Tim has been well known for his custom pickup work since McNelly Pickups began, and it's great to see some of that custom work find it's way to the standard range. Tim released some teaser photos of an awesome retro cut pickup cover as well as some P90 Soapbar sized Gold Foils and the response was superb!
Meet the latest McNelly Pickups set! The Chaplain
I've been really excited about this set, after Tim teased some prototype videos on his social media channels recently.
McNelly have never let tradition dictate design and The Chaplain is a testament to that approach. By taking some inspiration from the Charlie Christians, Tim has made something that's not only bold, but extremely expressive with none of the honk. The tight and punchy low end is combined with exceptional clarity that is well beyond any traditional humbucker. But don't mistake this for a jazz-only affair. When you push harder, you'll be rewarded with dynamic response and distortion that doesn't get in the way of chords.
McNelly have never let tradition dictate design and The Chaplain is a testament to that approach. By taking some inspiration from the Charlie Christians, Tim has made something that's not only bold, but extremely expressive with none of the honk. The tight and punchy low end is combined with exceptional clarity that is well beyond any traditional humbucker. But don't mistake this for a jazz-only affair. When you push harder, you'll be rewarded with dynamic response and distortion that doesn't get in the way of chords.
McNelly Pickups at the Home of Tone going into 2019
I'll be honest, with so many aspects of starting and trying to grow your own business, It's difficult to pinpoint my proudest moment since doing this, but I feel I can very much put representing McNelly Pickups right up there at the top of the list. I've worked with Tim at McNelly Pickups since 2015, and he has been one of the most reliable, consistent, innovative and inspiring suppliers to work with and it's an honour to represent such a quality brand here in the UK.
Pickup spotlight - McNelly Jazzmaster range
For me, the Jazzmaster totally reset the bar of what I wanted from a guitar. The Chime, overall feel, scale, string tension and versatility spoke to me instantly. This is the same for so many of my customers, so I wanted to highlight the range of Jazzmaster pickup options available through us, how you can capture the classic JM tones and how you can mix it up a little without the need for re-routing or a new pickguard. So let's dive right in.
McNelly Black Friday new model release!
For this year's black Friday, we have officially launched a range of pickups which have always been available, but upon special request previously, making them part of the main line-up!
An insight into the McNelly Custom Pickups process
Tim McNelly recently shared a series of posts over on his social media pages featuring a brilliant insight into his methods behind a custom pickup idea/build. A huge percentage of the work McNelly carries out is custom based, be it for guitar makers or players alike who are looking for something unique for their instrument. Tim has a natural eye for making a design work, but luckily for us, an incredible attention to detail and knowledge of his craft. So these few posts I found incredibly interesting, and felt the need to share it on here! I'll quote the captions to each image exactly as he posted them, as no one can say it better than Tim when it comes to his work!
McNelly Charlie Christian Soapbar Pickup demo!
Using traditional components, true to the original CC Pickup design but of course in typical McNelly fashion, trying to further improve on it too. This pickup is beautifully clear and very transparent, whilst also being incredibly responsive to touch and tone/volume settings. I recorded this clean demo (which also shows it mixed with a T-Bar bridge pickup for example purposes) to hopefully show what a beautiful sounding and versatile pickup this is. Charlie Christian by name and design, but a whole lot more than just a swing/jazz sound!
Thinking of swapping your pickups? - A handy guide for new tone hunters!
Changing your guitar's pickups can prove to be a brilliantly cost effective way of transforming the sound of your guitar, and also a way of bringing out the best in your instrument. For so many it has been the first port of call in modifying their guitar and changing their sound. Perhaps you're planning on tweaking a more entry level Squier for example, chances are that you love how the guitar feels and plays but it's low quality pickups just don't quite do the job. This can sometimes even be the case with higher value instruments and it's existing pickups just simply don't fit the bill for you, be it personal tastes etc.
Project Offset Phase two - Modding & tackling common Import obstacles.
If you have a guitar you're planning on modifying, chances are that it will be an import instrument. There's good reason for that, they offer great quality bang for buck resulting in a great base for tweaks here and there than perhaps a more premium, pricier American made equivalent would. Let's face it, not everyone who's just spend £1500+ on a USA made instrument wants to go at it replacing bridges or pickups, so the import market offers great scope for DIY tweaking.