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How to guide - Making your own Les Paul 3 way toggle switch harness with traditional braided wire
So you've wired up your pots and they're ready to go, now it's time to pre-wire your new switch. There's a couple ways I like to do this, but first up I'm going to look at the more traditional style braided two conductor wire.
Before we dive in, I wanted to highlight the different types of Switchcraft 3 way toggle switch that are available and suit Les Pauls. There are the traditional 'long frame' switches or the slightly more recent creation of the 'short frame' version. Both operate and are wired up the very same way, but are different sizes and feature different mounting thread lengths so felt it is worth discussing both and hopefully help you in deciding which would suit your guitar or install best.
Before we dive in, I wanted to highlight the different types of Switchcraft 3 way toggle switch that are available and suit Les Pauls. There are the traditional 'long frame' switches or the slightly more recent creation of the 'short frame' version. Both operate and are wired up the very same way, but are different sizes and feature different mounting thread lengths so felt it is worth discussing both and hopefully help you in deciding which would suit your guitar or install best.
How to guide - Making your own 50s or modern style harness/loom (pots section)
Let's dive right in, because we have already covered the tools and parts we'll need in the main article HERE.
You may be installing a pre-wired harness, but I thought it would be useful to show how to wire up a Les Paul pot harness from scratch as well. So if you have a pre-wired harness you can skip this stage, but if you're planning a re-wire from scratch please do read on!
You may be installing a pre-wired harness, but I thought it would be useful to show how to wire up a Les Paul pot harness from scratch as well. So if you have a pre-wired harness you can skip this stage, but if you're planning a re-wire from scratch please do read on!
How to Guide - Les Paul Re-Wire Pt.2 Drilling out the pot mounting holes to suit CTS/imperial sized pots
This may be a bit of daunting task for some, and rightly so, going at your guitar with a drill is an extreme measure! Although I have compiled this article as a helpful guide to demonstrate a method of doing this safely, I still highly recommend taking your guitar to a trusted local guitar tech. Have a read through this guide, have the correct tools and preparation and see if it's something you feel comfortable doing. Just remember to take care and remember this is your guitar! If you're at all not confident, your tech is absolutely there to help so no problem at all having them carry this out for you.
With that said, I'll continue with the article and hope it helps whatever you're final plan of action. Let's dive right in, because we have already covered the tools we'll need in the main article HERE.
With that said, I'll continue with the article and hope it helps whatever you're final plan of action. Let's dive right in, because we have already covered the tools we'll need in the main article HERE.
How to Guide - Wiring a Les Paul
Replacing, or in some cases, upgrading your Les Paul’s wiring may be a matter of necessity if there are niggling faults like noisy pots or a faulty switch perhaps. But you may also have considered replacing it as a way of improving or modifying the guitar to suit your personal tastes too, whether it’s a traditional 50s style re wire or adding push pull pots for coil splitting for further versatility. I have decided to put together this article, with each aspect of a re-wire pieced together as sub-articles, to help point out some details which will hopefully help you in re-wiring your Les Paul, whether that's with individual components, or with a pre-wired harness kit. As there is so much to cover here, I quickly realised that attempting to do this all in one would be too much, so I have decided to have one main article here and link to smaller articles for each task. That way you don’t have to read through every detail if you are only taking on a specific task.
How to Guide - Les Paul Re-Wire Pt.1 Removing cavity covers and original wiring loom
Let's dive right in, because we have already covered the tools we'll need in the main article HERE.
I highly recommend a nice clear workspace, dining table if the family allows, or if you have a dedicated workspace even better. You don't want to be banging elbows in a tight space, or running out of space to put parts. I also recommend having some spare tubs around, these are handy for putting parts in that you need to keep safe such as cavity cover screws or any wiring parts you happen to be re-using.
I highly recommend a nice clear workspace, dining table if the family allows, or if you have a dedicated workspace even better. You don't want to be banging elbows in a tight space, or running out of space to put parts. I also recommend having some spare tubs around, these are handy for putting parts in that you need to keep safe such as cavity cover screws or any wiring parts you happen to be re-using.
Joe from the Guitar nerds compares the standard Squier bronco bass pickup with our beloved McNelly double pole Bronco bass pickup!
A very special thank you to Joe Branton from the Guitar Nerds podcast for putting this comparison footage together for me, absolutely brilliant to hear the original Squier Bronco bass pickup (essentially a 6 pole guitar single coil pickup) against our beloved McNelly Bronco/Musicmaster double pole single coil bass pickup! I'm no bass player, so really grateful for Joe's help with making this comparison video happen. The McNelly Bronco bass pickup is a direct fit replacement for the standard pickup, but features a double pole design inspired by P-Bass split coil pickups for example which along with a baseplate and increased output makes for a much fuller, more responsive pickup. Ultimately transforming the Bronco bass in every way tonally. These pickups have been incredibly popular since we introduced them a few years back, and it's great to finally get around to putting some videos out there to share what it can do for your Bronco. This particular Bronco with the McNelly installed also features my Home of Tone Signature Series wiring kit upgrade, which features CTS 'TVT' series 250k pots, .022uF tone cap and a pure tone jack socket soldered together with Gavitt 22awg wire. The wiring kit is available along with the pickup or as a standalone wiring upgrade too!
Product spotlight - The CTS Push/Pull pot & coil split wiring
Push/Pull pots have been incredibly popular for guitarists for many years as they can help with alternative switching and tonal options without any real changes to the aesthetics of your guitar or the need to drill additional holes. They're regular pots but with an on/on DPDT switch mounted to the back casing allowing for some interesting wiring styles to be achieved.
If your control cavity allows (in regards to space available) then the CTS PCB Push/Pull pot is a superb, high quality option for your alternative switching needs. But does appear a little different to other equivalent push/pull pots on the market so I though it would be good to do a little spotlight on it and hopefully help explain those differences.
If your control cavity allows (in regards to space available) then the CTS PCB Push/Pull pot is a superb, high quality option for your alternative switching needs. But does appear a little different to other equivalent push/pull pots on the market so I though it would be good to do a little spotlight on it and hopefully help explain those differences.
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.
What does the post Brexit trade deal mean to customers & orders placed from outside of the UK
I thought it would be useful to put an article together explaining things regarding the post-Brexit trade deal and what effect it will have on any customers from Europe looking to place an order. Many of my customers are based across Europe and have built up a great relationship with many of you over the years, so do hope this info will help make things clearer in terms of costs. Truthfully, the the big mixture of info out there can be a bit confusing. I've spent some time double checking everything to make sure this will be correct and will hopefully help any of you from the EU looking to place an order know what to expect in regards to the costs involved now.
Descendant Vibrato arm tension adjustment & routine maintenance tips
I have recently put together this little video on how to install and adjust the tension of the vibrato arm in your Descendant vibrato unit. The Descendant features a really cool locking and adjustable collet for the arm, which allows you to set the swing tension of the arm. From fully loose and swinging or stiff so it stays put (a little like a bigsby arm for example), whatever your preference it can be set and locked in position, but still be able to remove the arm easily without having to adjust every time.
But also, Descendant highly recommend some routine maintenance to the system to ensure it lasts well for many years to come. After all, we might clean our fretboards each string change, so why not also look after some heavy use components too. This video touches on that which might be helpful!
But also, Descendant highly recommend some routine maintenance to the system to ensure it lasts well for many years to come. After all, we might clean our fretboards each string change, so why not also look after some heavy use components too. This video touches on that which might be helpful!
My 'SRV' inspired, Vintage Modified Stratocaster harness is now available
I have spent my guitar playing life around Stratocasters. I first become interested in them at the age of 5, seeing the likes of Hendrix, Clapton, SRV and Gilmour playing them on concert VHS tapes that my parents would put on whilst growing up. Although I was young, I soon noticed that all these people were playing the same type of guitar, and that really caught my eye. On my 6th birthday I asked for a guitar, and was incredibly lucky enough to have received a Squier Strat, and the Strat in general was pretty much all I played right up until my 30s. So needless to say, the Strat harness range is close to my heart and something I wanted to ensure is the best quality product I could offer to help bring out the best in your Strat too.
My first time trying out the Montypresso wax!
I was really keen to get my hands on the new 'Montypresso' tint/relic wax from Monty's Guitars. It's great to stock it, but I am very conscious that it is best to get some hands on experience with it to help answer any questions you may have along with get a feel for how to use it safely etc.
