roahboah
Apprentice Shielder
Posts: 36
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Post by roahboah on Jun 14, 2007 5:16:53 GMT -5
Folks, I did some searching before posting on this one, so forgive me if I missed a prior conversation. I'm going to have two HBs in my MIM Strat upgrade w/ two volumes only. It's obvious upon reading in these forums and many others that the prevailing knowledge is that best practice is to use 250k pots for SC and 500k for HBs. My question is this: does anyone out there use 250k pots for your HB pickups to purposefully produce a warmer and/or darker sound? If so, I'd love to hear about it! thanks, roah
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Post by JohnH on Jun 14, 2007 5:52:22 GMT -5
I have them on one of my LP pups, but not by choice - its what it came with. A change to 500k adds a slight extra edge in the high treble, (or takes one away if going the other way!). Seems to me that if you want darker, the tone control has a very similar effect.
John
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Post by michaelcbell on Jun 14, 2007 7:03:14 GMT -5
I agree with John (when do I not?) on this one - if you wanted the 250K sound on a 500k, just turn it down a bit, assuming you don't put a bleed mod on the volume. About an 8 on a 500k log pot = 250k. It's not perfect, since there is also a little more resistance to the pup side. Really, though, we're here to "experiment" (mess with) stuff to see what works (with a little guidance to save some time). Try the 250's and/or the 500's and see what happens.
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roahboah
Apprentice Shielder
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
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Post by roahboah on Jun 14, 2007 9:45:17 GMT -5
Good info! This guitar won't have tone controls - just the vols. for each PU. I'll probably go with the 500k first, and if it's too bright for my taste (and 8 sounds better than flat-out) I'll change 'em out then and will report findings. I'm still waiting on stuff to get to my house, but hopefully I'll be able to start working on it this weekend!
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Post by michaelcbell on Jun 14, 2007 10:08:35 GMT -5
awesome. Let us know how it goes.
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Post by sumgai on Jun 15, 2007 13:11:26 GMT -5
ro, Whoa! Stop the presses! Did you just say "too bright"? How can you even contemplate such a thing? There are only three things in the world you can't get enough of: Enough money; Enough attraction of the opposite gender; and Enough brightness in your guitar's pickups! If you take away nothing else from this Forum, remember only one thing: you can always get rid of some of the brightness with a tone control, but you can never add any brightness that wasn't there in the first place. (Paraphrased from the clean/muddy argument.) That sparkling brightness is what separates the men from the boys, the winners from the also-ran's, and the songs with outstanding solos from the ho-hum disco trash that so many producers think we might buy (or pirate!). In short, there ain't no such thing as a too much brightness! HTH sumgai
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Post by JohnH on Jun 15, 2007 15:21:03 GMT -5
In short, there ain't no such thing as a too much brightness! HTH sumgai Well, my Shergold Masquerader from '76, has a factory-stock setting with both pickups locally out-of-phase, in parallel with each other, out-of-phase with each other! I would have to say that that setting challenges your claim. This is a sound clip of it from the Shergold site: www.shergold.co.uk/audio/bridge_ph_neck_ph.mp3Its very useful for making blood run out of peoples ears, and for giving dogs a curious expression on their faces. John
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Post by echobase2002 on Jun 15, 2007 16:56:02 GMT -5
I have a MIM strat with a mini-HB and no tone control for it. I used a 250K since that's what I had on hand. I also use a treble bleed since I use only one channel and use the volume knob to control overdrive. I love the sound. In fact it's my favorite guitar and pickup. Then again, I've never had a 500k on it.
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Post by ChrisK on Jun 15, 2007 21:46:03 GMT -5
So, each (presumed humbucking) pickup is out of phase between its two internal coils (locally out-of-phase) AND out of phase with each other? Hmmmm, since each pickup has one coil phased one way and one the other, no matter how you connect them together, there will always be one coil from each pickup in phase in one overall direction and one coil from each pickup in phase in the opposite overall direction. I would have to say that that setting challenges my brain! ;D 'Course it could be a down-under variation of the Coriolis effect (I have seen video of a hairy leprechaun running amok playing lead guitar (well, a repetitious handful of notes) on an SG wearing wool shorts in the middle of the summer there). BTW, I liked the clip (and the tone). You really can't get enough brightness out of your pickups. (Or, it could be old farts like sumgai and I that have that convenient hearing loss that is centered at, oh, about the frequencies of female speech!)
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Post by JohnH on Jun 16, 2007 0:03:33 GMT -5
So, each (presumed humbucking) pickup is out of phase between its two internal coils (locally out-of-phase) AND out of phase with each other? Hmmmm, since each pickup has one coil phased one way and one the other, no matter how you connect them together, there will always be one coil from each pickup in phase in one overall direction and one coil from each pickup in phase in the opposite overall direction. Good point - cant really have four things all out of phase. But the way it is set in practice, whatever bit of residual fundamental is left in the single pup OoP settings, ends up further cancelled in the combo setting. J
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Post by sumgai on Jun 16, 2007 16:14:07 GMT -5
John, You make my point for me! (Thanks!) With that kind of treble to start with, knocking off some of the shrillness is child's play. But if you want that tone, and don't have it to start with, then you're hosed - you can't make something out of nothing, not even by using the reverse-Coriolis 1 effect! (Hmmmm. On second thought, women can do that. Makes me feel like I came out second-best in the capabilities department. ) sumgai 1. The reverse-Coriolis effect - isn't that where dogs get a funny look on the other end instead of on their faces?
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Post by ChrisK on Jun 17, 2007 22:57:01 GMT -5
Only know about the reverse Country Music effect. Play it backwards and ya get yer dog back, yer truck back, yer wife back..............
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Post by gumbo on Jun 21, 2007 8:21:38 GMT -5
Hey...! I've just realised why playing Country Music forwards down under in Oz has that exact effect....
...perhaps that's why we keep getting the same government back!
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Post by ChrisK on Jun 21, 2007 11:48:47 GMT -5
"reali sed" Hmmm, meybe thiz 'zplainz why them there "z'z" get reverzed to "s'z" in zo many werdz down there (no, wait, them there Britz got them backwardz firzt). Well, there is a saying that we get the government that we deserve... Stop voting fer them there boomerangs! In the U.S. we have government of the people, by the people, for the people... Unfortunately in practice it's government of the people, by some people, for them people...
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