Switches and 'tone sucking'

[gunther]

I've read some complaints on a few different message boards about how switches and complex circuits 'suck tone'

One example being the s-1 switch on some strats....Have read that it 'muddies up the tone'

The question -

Do you think extra switches suck tone?

I really cant see how they do...
Guess i've answered my own question...but lets hear your opinion

[JohnH]

I dont think that switches suck tone - its what they connect to your pups that can do that, such as too many pots or extra caps and resistors. The designs you'll see on this board often have multiple switches, but are mostly "tone-suck free"

John

[michaelcbell]

I agee with JohnH,

The only sources of tone suck that could arise from extra switching (and not from the attached pots of caps) are:
- a little longer wire that the signal has to pass through, but that's going to be completely negligible, espcailly if you're using a 25 foor cable to your amp.
- poor solder joints, letting less of the signal through.

So, basically, if you do your job right, even massive switching schemes make such a miniscule difference that no one will ever be able to notice any difference.

[sumgai]

gunther,

I've read some complaints on a few different message boards about how switches and complex circuits 'suck tone'

One example being the s-1 switch on some strats....Have read that it 'muddies up the tone'

The question -

Do you think extra switches suck tone?

I really cant see how they do...
Guess i've answered my own question...but lets hear your opinion

Your post should have read "...... switches and/or complex circuits", and your question should have read ".... do extra switches or complex circuitry suck tone?"

A switch is purely mechanical, and in point of fact, all switches that we hobbyists can purchase for use on our guitars are rated to carry a lot more current/voltage than any coil will ever produce, even if aided by an on-board active pre-amp. They simply can't degrade the signal in any way that would be measurable in the real world.

Complex circuits, however, are a different story. Yes, lots of things can go wrong there, one needs to be careful and pay attention to what he or she is doing to modify the signal on its way out the door.

But the real point here is, one should take bold statements like the one you read with an extra dose of salt. There's nearly always a hidden agenda behind such claims, and a reader/listener should never forget that. Sometimes it's out of malice, pure and simple. Other times, it's out of total ignorance, well meaning or otherwise. And of course, don't discount money, that's always up for consideration when you read such fervent expressions.

And FWIW, if anyone here is aware of The Dreaded Tone Suck, it would be JohnH. If'n he's cool with it, then it's cool, period. 'Nuff said. ;D

Oh, maybe not quite 'nuff......... I've got a Strat with an S1, and it came wired to combine certain pickups and a capacitor in really unusable ways. That was a fault of the factory (or more properly, the design team), not a fault of the switch itself. Since I rewired it, all is well in Fender-land! ;D

HTH


sumgai

[ChrisK]

Hmmm, I've never experienced "tone suck" as a result of my demented wiring schemes,

but then................................my tone sucks anyway!

[jkemmery]

The only "tone suck" I've ever experienced had to do with my amp, as in, the tone of that amp sucks!