Click for large image
Read the manual
Verify that it will fit into your guitar
Everything is Included!
The unit ships with everything you need to completely wire a Les Paul, except for the pickups. There are four pots (the fourth pot is under the circuit board in the photo above - the circuit board is actually attached to the pot), plus a Switchcraft toggle switch and Switchcraft jack. And a nice bag of assorted hardware (nuts, washers). Hey, we even give you a screwdriver for the bridge ground connection! Everything you need, so there won't be any nasty surprises. Who needs nasty surprises?
Select Options Above
We have two switches available, both from Switchcraft. The long switch is the one traditionally used in carved-top Les Pauls (Standard/Custom/Deluxe, et al.), while the short one is used in some newer Gibsons, and will fit in thinner guitars where the length of the long switch might be problematic. The long switch comes with a deep nut, while the short switch, which doesn't need one by virtue of having a longer threaded bushing, does not. Click here for more information about these switches, including dimensions.
The tone pots you select will determine whether or not you can split your humbuckers (assuming you have humbuckers, and that they have 4-conductor leads). This is a cool option, and the ToneShaper makes it cooler than normal by allowing you to combine coils in parallel, rather than splitting the pickups (read more below). But all other functionality described below is built into the circuit board, so with the exception of the pickup splitting, you'll get all of the ToneShaper's functionality regardless of the tone pots you select.
Configurable
The ToneShaper for Les Paul is revolutionary. It provides many configuration options that provide tonal flexibility you've never experienced from your guitar before, all available in seconds, with absolutely no soldering whatsoever. Install the unit and configure its mini DIP switches to select the following options:
Modern vs. vintage wiring
This is one of the most widely-discussed wiring mods for Les Pauls. The main difference between the two is a change to the point from which the tone controls receive their signal. With typical wiring (modern), rolling down the volume control carries with it the compromise that the tone also changes, with some high frequencies disappearing into the ether. Or wherever they go. Switch to vintage wiring, and this problem is addressed, with the consequence that it makes the volume and tone control interactive. Which is best? Ah, there is no easy answer, Grasshopper, you will have to experiment and decide that for yourself. If you go with modern wiring, then you can consider enabling the...
Treble-bleed networks
We call these volume kits. They consist of a 150k resistor and 1000pF capacitor
wired in parallel across two lugs of each volume pot. For those who select modern wiring, they will prevent the treble roll-off that accompanies turning down your volume controls. You can try them and see if you like them. Some do, some don't. They are independent of each other, so you can easily enable them for either volume control or both, or bypass them altogether.
Select between 500k pots or 300k pots
Most Les Pauls have come from Gibson with 500k pots. But that's not written in stone; they have experimented with different values, and even with linear pots (what were they thinking?). Well, we use audio-taper pots exclusively, and the ToneShaper comes with 500k, but we give you the opportunity to "change" them to 300k at the flick of a switch. Or actually, four switches. Because you can change any or all of them as you see fit.
Why? No, it's not about utilizing value-added functionalities or aggregating collaborative infrastructures, it's about tone. 300k pots will make your guitar sound different than 500k. Better? Worse? Well, we're guessing some of you will end up liking 300k, and others 500k, so we'll let you decide.
Select dependent volume controls or independent volume controls
Ever notice that if you have your Les Paul's switch in the middle position, turning down either pickup shuts everything down? A Jazz Bass doesn't do that, and it has two pickups and two volume controls too. Was Leo Fender's team just cleverer than Ted McCarty's team?
=]
All joking aside, you can wire it either way, so we give you both. Like most things in life, there are pros and cons with each. You try, you decide.
Split your four-conductor pickups
Order the unit with optional push/pull pots, and you can split your pickups (four-conductor pickups required). But we give you more control than that. Which coil would you like to have remain on? You decide. Some people like to have the screw coil remain on, other people prefer to have the slug coil remain on. Have unbalanced humbuckers, such as Fralin Unbuckers or Gibson Burstbuckers? Then this is critical, as you'll almost surely want to have the stronger coils remain on when the pickups are split.
And there's a third option: both coils on, but in parallel rather than series (series is the way they're usually wired). This last option gives you an open, airy tone that's reminiscent of a single-coil, but it's hum-canceling. So, more tonal goodness for you there, you betcha.
Configurable tone controls
Which capacitor values to use? (The capacitor values affect the operation of the tone controls) Is .015µF right? .022µF? Gibson used the latter, but these days players want to experiment. Well, experiment away,
because you can select between seven different values for each pickup, ranging between .01µF and .047µF. Yes, that's for each pickup, so you can set them up independently. Optimized.
Fast Installation
Install it in a jiffy. We give you all you need except the pickups. Install the prewired switch. Install the prewired jack. Install the board and pots. Install your pickups. Plug it all together. In 10 minutes. (All necessary hardware is included.)
Innovative Architecture
We scratched our heads (and other regions). And we thought up something cool. Attach the whole ToneShaper shebang to one pot, and make the other pots floating. Control spacing becomes a non-issue, because the pot positions aren't fixed. You say you have an Epiphone, not sure if the spacing is the same as a Gibson? Or maybe you have a Gibson, but you don't know if Gibson has always been consistent with regard to control spacing? It's a non-issue. Floating architecture means the unit mounts to one control hole, and the position of the other three isn't critical. It'll fit.
The Best Components
Like all of our ToneShaper products, we use the finest components. The switch and jack are Switchcraft, of course. And the pots come from CTS and Bourns.
The volume pots are CTS, and we use a long-bushing (3/4" bushing length) for the neck volume control. We use a specially-made medium-bushing pot (1/2" bushing length) for the bridge volume pot, and also for the tone pots if the unit is selected without push/pull tone pots. The PC board is attached to the longer pot. The 1/2" bushing length of the other pots was chosen for two reasons: First, it's long enough to get through any Les Paul top with sufficient threads free to install the washer and nut (we provide extra lockwashers for use inside the guitar, so you can fine-tune the number of threads that protrude through the face of the guitar. Wouldn't want those knobs sticking way up in the air, might give your Lester a complex). And second, the 1/2" bushing length allows the PC board - which is mounted to the longer 3/4" pot - to float above the shorter pots, allowing for flexibility of control spacing.
We also ordered Bourns push/pull pots to use as optional tone controls for players with four-conductor pickups. Bourns is huge in the potentiometer industry, but they don't have nearly the guitar-market share that CTS has. But they're gaining ground, and they're recognized as top-quality. Choosing them for the push/pulls was a no-brainer, but we optimized them in two important ways: The first is that we ordered them with 1/2" bushings, like the CTS pots we ordered. Like those pots, this will ensure that the bushing is long enough to allow mounting through the thickest Les Paul top. The second improvement - wait for it - is 24-tooth knurling! Yes, finally you'll be able to get quality push/pull pots for your Les Paul (and other guitars) that use the 24-tooth knurl pattern that's been used forever in the U.S. So your molded Gibson knobs will finally fit all four pots. Amazing.
Available Now!
We have the unit available with the standard pots in all four positions, or the Bourns push/pull pots for one or both tone controls. So that's three versions: with push/pull pots in the tone positions, or without. Please select which you want from the menu above.