| Author | Message | ||
     Marc |
It's time to make USE of our guitar's CONTROLS... Here's two pretty straight forward and useful modifications!!!; 2 BASIC WIRING MODS: To alter the way in which your controls effect the guitar's output... 1.]Treble Bleed Network & 2.] Switching Tone Control Capacitors* 1.] TREBLE BLEED NETWORK WHY DO IT? AS YOU TURN DOWN THE VOLUME ON YOUR POT, YOU'LL RETAIN THE HIGH END OF YOUR TONE (a capacitor's job) AND RESTORE THE LOW END OF YOUR TONE (a resister's job). FIRST-] Take a .001µF capacitor and a 300k ohms resistor and twist thier spindly 'lil legs together "in parallel". This requires merely soldering the newly 'parallel assembled' tiny .001µF capacitor& 300k ohms resistor on the VOLUME control potentiometer only; NOW STICK 'EM WHERE? There's only three little prongs sticking out of the pot. Note that #1 is bent back and soldered to the pot itself. Faget abowt it. Solder the newly combined 'parallel' unit between the two legs of the pot that are used for connections (#2 is also for the wire live to the jack output, #3 is also for the wire live back to the switch/pickup). 2.] SWITCHING TONE CONTROL CAPACITORS WHY DO IT? Well if you already LIKE the 'darkness' of your tone control, leave the stock .02µF as it is. You'll already see a capacitor ("cap") hooked up between the #3 prong (which is also for the wire live back to the switch/pickup) and prong #2 of the associated tone pot. Stock, it comes from Gibson; .02µF However; 1.] IF you think it's TOO 'dark': Replace the stock existing cap with a smaller one (say- .01µF) 2.] You think it's not 'dark' enough: (Maybe you get feedback too easily and not when/ where you want it). Replace the stock existing cap with a larger one (say- .47µF) This basically performs the opposite job of the Treble Bleed Network above; the cap shunts off the treble frequencies to ground. Since you've got two humbuckers to control and each may have completely separate characteristics, you may wish to use two completely different caps. No problem. Marc mvmulay@cox.net PS- I modified my Les Paul Custom this way, while replacing the stock PUPS with a Seymour Duncan "SH-5" at the bridge and a diMarzio "Air Norton" at the neck. *[i]microfarad The microfarad (symbolized µF) is a unit of capacitance, equivalent to 0.000001 (10 to the -6th power) farad. The microfarad is a moderate unit of capacitance. In utility alternating-current (AC) and audio-frequency (AF) circuits, capacitors with values on the order of 1 µF or more are common. At audio frequencies (AF), capacitances range from about 0.1 µF to 100 µF. In power-supply filters, capacitances can be as high as 10,000 µF. | ||
| Barry Marie |
Nice post Marc! I've done the "treble bleed" thing and it works extremely well. One thing about caps though .. have you tried different types of caps (materials) and if so, is there a difference in tone? There certainly can be a differrence in an amp but I've wondered to what extent the cap material effects the guitar tone control. Barry | ||
| Steve Kennedy |
I agree! A nice post on a good related topic! There is indeed a difference in the sound of capacitors... but it isn't a night & day difference to most people. It is also more noticeable if you play clean. Mylar and polyester film capacitors sound "better" than solid disc ceramic or waxed paper capacitors. The sound of different types of capacitors has long been a hot topic of discussion in high-end audio and recording circles for many decades and film-caps generally get the nod. As far as resistors go, carbon composition types "sound better" but are noisy compared to metal-film resistors. Carbon Composition resistors also work better at the voltages and currents seen in typical tube audio circuits. | ||
| Marc |
Thanks Barry and Steve- Listen- I don't want to accept credit inappropriately! Please kno here and now that I'm niether a EE or an amp tech. There's a serious gang of assholes in the newsgroup world (alt.guitar.amps) that seem to think that finding and applying good information and then sharing it with others makes one a "noob" / "poser". Having established that, here's two sides to your question I've run across; 1.] "polypropylene is the best dielectric, film and foil is better than metallized film, and Spragues and Mallory 150s have good reps. Orange Drop/Mallory 150 stuff for coupling caps and the Xicon/etc. poly's for tone circuits, etc. " Essentially, I've heard that Orange Drop capacitors are "dynamic" / bright and that Mallory 150 caps are "darker" /"more mellow... 2.] My local amp tech, an OLD SCHOOL guy (and I'm 46 w/ several decades of experience as an expanding-style knowledge guitarist)laughed at this information. He emphatically stated to me that "caps are caps" and that "That crap is coming from guys looking for work". It's tough. There's this desire as a player to locate and implement THE best parts in your amps, guitars and gear (tube distortion)in order to exact THE best tone yet as Clint Eastwood's script writers observed; "a man's gotta know his limitations". *Steve Glasser (The Guitar Shoppe, Laguna Beach, CA....area code 949 if you're seriously curious). Frankly, I'd love to hear different but at this point, I'm inclined to invest my faith in this amp tech. Marc | ||
| Barry Marie |
Marc ... any discussion about caps/resistor types is always going to create lots of different opinions. Like you, I'm not an EE or amp tech, so I can't talk from experience in this matter. However I'm building a Marshall 18watt clone at the moment (first amp build). I have two turret boards - one fitted with Mallory 150 coupling caps and the other with Orange drops. I've done this because I want to "hear" the difference (if any) for myself. Some of the other guys that have build this amp (over at www.18watt.com) claim that the Spragues are brighter, while the Mallory sounds more smooth & mellow. Guess I'll find out soon enough .. I guess this is what prompted my question about caps in guitars (based on the assumption that there was some possible difference in amps). Barry | ||
| Dylan Schink (cymbalmonkey) Username: cymbalmonkey Registered: 12-2010 |
Eh the EMG tone controls (EXG and SPC) are basically the be all and end all of control. |