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Read The Manual (5-Way)
Read The Manual (3-Way)
Overview of Available Switches
ToneShaper Videos
ToneShaper Reviews
Pimp My Tele
ToneShaper replaces your Tele's stock wiring, quickly and easily, without soldering. It provides increased flexibility that you cannot get with any other product. Cool switching options. Customizable tone controls. Built-in solutions for dealing with treble loss that happens when you turn down. Simple installation, simple operation, top-quality components.
ToneShaper. Think big.
Optimized For Humbucker/Single-Coil Combinations
Most players who add a humbucker to the neck of their Tele use the stock 3-way switch. But we think most players would like to be able to split the humbucker, which allows for more tonal flexibility. Assuming your guitar has a 3-conductor or 4-conductor humbucker, then you can use the ToneShaper with a 5-way switch, which will allow you to split the humbucker. However, if you have a humbucker with a single-conductor braided lead, like the original Gibson pickups, you'll need to use the ToneShaper with a 3-way switch (you can also use this switch if you have a P-90 neck pickup).
In either case, the ToneShaper's volume pot is designed specifically to give you the best tone from your pickups. Mixing humbuckers and single-coils always presents a dilemma: Do you use a 250k volume pot to accommodate the single-coils, or a 500k volume to accommodate the humbucker? The value of the pot has an effect on the tone, and most single-coils are voiced for 250k pots, while most humbuckers are voiced for 500k.
With the ToneShaper, you don't have to compromise. When you order a Tele ToneShaper for hum/single combinations, we use a 500k volume pot to accommodate the humbucker, but we've incorporated a couple of resistors that are brought into the circuit in the other switch positions, lowering the load to 250k. So the full-humbucker setting (all the way forward) sounds like a humbucker should, and the single-coil and combination positions sound like they should. (Prefer sticking with 500k in all positions? No problem, ToneShaper can do this too, just give us a call).
| TELE® w/ NECK HUMBUCKER, 5-WAY SWITCH (SW5C) |
| Switch Position | Active pickups | Volume Pot | Hum-Canceling |
| Position 5 | Neck Humbucker | 500k | Yes |
| Position 4 | Neck Single-Coil | 250k | No |
| Position 3 | Neck Humbucker + Bridge In Parallel | 250k | No |
| Position 2 | Neck Single-Coil + Bridge In Parallel | 250k | Yes (assumes compatible pickups - if in doubt, call us) |
| Position 1 | Bridge | 250k | No |
| |
| TELE® w/ NECK HUMBUCKER, 3-WAY SWITCH (SW3D) |
| Switch Position |
Active pickups |
Volume Pot |
Hum-Canceling |
| Position 3 |
Neck Humbucker |
500k |
Yes |
| Position 2 |
Neck Humbucker + Bridge In Parallel |
250k |
No |
| Position 1 |
Bridge |
250k |
No |
Season To Taste
You order the unit to fit your needs. This version of the ToneShaper comes with a 5-way switch or a unique 3-way switch, so that you can get the most out of your single-coil/humbucker combination. The switch simply plugs into the main circuit board, and it also determines the switching configuration that's available from your ToneShaper unit. (Have a Tele with two single-coils? Then check out our ToneShapers with standard 3-way and 4-way switches, which will give you solid, usable switching options for conventional Teles.)
Next, select your control layout. The ToneShaper unit is available in two basic configurations: conventional controls and reversed controls. Conventional controls are what you're used to seeing on your Tele, while reversed controls put the volume control at the front, the tone in the middle, and the switch at the back. Some people prefer this, as it provides more immediate access to the volume control.
Finally, choose your jack length. Both jacks are Switchcraft panel jacks, the exact same jacks used by Fender since 1950. The difference is in the length of the threaded bushing. The longer length will give you a few more threads, so if your Tele has a conventional jack ferrule then you'll be able to get the proper washers and the nut on there without a struggle. Using an Electrosocket? Then you'll want the short jack, which is the one the Electrosocket was designed to fit.
Top Quality
This unit features top-quality components such as USA-made, 4-layer circuit boards. The two outer layers are ground planes that shield the internal circuitry from Electromagnetic Interference and Radio Frequency Interference (EMI/RFI). This is the state-of-the-art. We went top-drawer, because we knew you'd want it to be quiet.
The pots are CTS audio-taper with solid shafts, custom-made for this application. The switches used are Oak-Grigsby, just like Fender uses on their Custom Shop guitars. Two jacks are available: a Switchcraft model 11 that is the industry standard, or a Switchcraft L11, which has a slightly longer threaded bushing, so that you can get the proper washers on there and still have enough threads to get the nut on. We've thought of everything. And we've used all the best brands, because we know tone is important to you.
We know what the good stuff is.
Easy To Install
Mount the ToneShaper and switch to your standard Fender control plate (fits Callaham and Gotoh plates too, as well as most other brands). Your pickup leads and assorted ground wires just plug right in - quickly and easily - with press-and-release terminals. There is NO SOLDERING required. These connectors are simple to use, don't degrade the signal quality, and hold the wire very securely. Enjoy swapping pickups in and out of your guitars? Then you're going to love the connectors on the ToneShaper!
Upgradeable
Order your unit to meet today's needs. Tomorrow, if your needs change, just buy a new switch. No need to buy a whole new ToneShaper. This modular approach makes it easy for you change with the times. Or your whims.
And unlike many manufacturers, we won't gouge on the parts pricing: piecing together ToneShaper products a la carte from our parts section costs nearly the same as buying our complete kits.
Hungry? Don't mess around. Get the whole enchilada.