Rotaries... Hmmm

[0wnyourtone]

So, I like capacitors and their effect on a guitar's sound and I have experimented with them a lot over the years.

I'm contemplating rewiring my guitar with two rotary switches, one would be a low pass filter switch (like a Tone Styler or Treble-Cut varitone) and the other would be a high pass filter switch (bass cut switch).

I've seen lots of folks do treble cut varitones, but never a bass-cut. Anybody here tried that?

The advantage I am looking for is versatility in tone, while still maintaining a strong resonant peak and attach, allowing me to better squeeze into various sonic situations, such as a band with a lot of competing instruments. I think it would have the added bonus of being able to better tailor the guitar to different amplifiers sonically.

I'm not sure how practical the rotaries will be to adjust live, but hey, that's never stopped me from meddling before!

[newey]

I've seen lots of folks do treble cut varitones, but never a bass-cut. Anybody here tried that?

Yup. Also called a "strangle switch", you'll find one on Ashcatlt's Rotary Ric. Ashcatlt also has all the functions of the V and T controls replicated by rotary switches.

I believe Ozboomer did something similar as well, I'll have to check.

[ashcatlt]

My Rick does have a strangle on a rotary, and it does have two caps, but it's not really any kind of "varitone" type thing. Both caps are the same. That switch changes where it comes in the path - either in series with both pickups or in series with the bridge and parallel to the neck. Pretty sure the two positions which are not off are only different when the Master switch is in Series or SOoP mode. When the pickups are in parallel, it just switches between two identical strangle caps on the bridge pickup.

[0wnyourtone]

Interesting - I've been going over that post and the strangle switch. Cool idea.

Rickenbackers, particularly the 5-knob control setup, really changed the way I viewed what guitar controls could do and opened a world of possibilities. I even had the bass cut cap hard wired into my Gretsch for a while, because I love those tight jangly Tom Petty sounds.

That Rick 5-control setup was particularly counter-intuitive to me and didn't have any practicality until I read the manual. They suggested using the blend knob as a global EQ, panning from the most bass-ridden sound to the most treble. Wow, the single most versatile, useful onboard guitar control I've ever used! Been trying to get similar results on other guitars ever since.

I love having the ability to turn one knob and adjust several nuances at once.