Bridge tone control

[weeman]

Hi,

I just purchased a Highway 1 Strat, and I would like to have a tone control for the bridge pickup. I looked on the guitarnuts site, and found this mod: .

I have a few questions (keep in mind, I haven't done any mods on guitars before.)

1. Does adding the 0.0047 capacitor require any soldering? If not, how is it attached?
2. Where can I get this cap?
3. The picture on the site is a little confusing...the cap is attached to the mid tone pot, but what is the other end attached to, an empty place on the switch.
4. This works with the standard 5-way switch, right?

Thanks in advance!

[UnklMickey]

weeman said:

Hi,

I just purchased a Highway 1 Strat, and I would like to have a tone control for the bridge pickup. I looked on the guitarnuts site, and found this mod: .

I have a few questions (keep in mind, I haven't done any mods on guitars before.)

1. Does adding the 0.0047 capacitor require any soldering? If not, how is it attached?
2. Where can I get this cap?
3. The picture on the site is a little confusing...the cap is attached to the mid tone pot, but what is the other end attached to, an empty place on the switch.
4. This works with the standard 5-way switch, right?

Thanks in advance!

1. Yes
2. radio shack, or whatever electronic store is in your area.
3. it is connected to the standard 5-way switch. between the connection for the mid-tone and the unused connection to the bridge position of the same switch.
4. yes

p.s. you can also skip the cap and just connect a wire between the two contacts, then the mid tone is fully active in positions 2~5.

using the cap, makes for a lesser cut when in position 5.

[weeman]

Thanks unklmickey.
Which would be better, to connect the wire or solder the cap?

And, I assume I have to solder the wire between the two contacts. What type of wire?

Thanks again.

[UnklMickey]

which would be better? depends on what you want.

using a cap, causes you to effectively have 2 caps in series when the bridge only (position 5) is selected.

that means for the same setting of the mid tone control, when position 5 is selected, only the higher part of the treble will be cut.


with the jumper, the treble cut in position 5 will extend to the "normal" range it already does with the other positions.

no special wire required.

soldering is recommended.

since you asked about soldering, i get the impression you don't have much experience with it.

do yourself a favor and get some practice on other, less important stuff first. then do whatever soldering you need to in your guitar(s) after you feel comfortable.

good luck, and welcome aboard!


unklmickey

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

UnklMickey's got most of your questions answered very well, but I just wanted to toss in one thing. (Almost a nit-pick.)

weeman said:

1. Does adding the 0.0047 capacitor

The above may just be a typo (I sometimes put extra zeroes on the ends of numbers that have a dollar sign in front of them, just to see who's paying attention), but here goes: I think what you want is a 0.047 microfarad (sometimes expressed as "µF" or "uF") capacitor.
Higher values (higher as microfarads go, anyway) will result in a "darker" tone. Also, you may sometimes see a .047µF called a ".050 cap."

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

unklmickey said:

using a cap, causes you to effectively have 2 caps in series when the bridge only (position 5) is selected.

that means for the same setting of the mid tone control, when position 5 is selected, only the higher part of the treble will be cut.

Since caps in series would be like resistors in parallel, wouldn't you get more highs? Plugging a .022 and a .047 into Wolf's calculator page comes up with 0.014986. At least two vendors list a .015 cap as the one for the "Woman Tone."

[UnklMickey]

get more highs? your thinking is sort of in the right direction, but let me help you refine it a bit more.

smaller cap means, the lowest frequency that will be affected is higher (than with a larger cap).

since this is a high cut configuration, a smaller cap will only cut the higher part of the treble.

a very large cap would allow cutting deep into the midrange.

that's with the tone control near minimum resistance.

at max resistance, the circuit has virtually no effect, so it doesn't matter what value cap is in there.


i think i explained this well enough without getting too technical. but, does it make sense now?

unk


p.s.

i think "woman tone" has become a bit overused and i try to avoid it except in historical references to E.C.

but that's just me.

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

unklmickey said:

i think i explained this well enough without getting too technical. but, does it make sense now?

Uh, yeah. {Doug is still trying to get around the conventional-vs.-electron flow thing. }

i think "woman tone" has become a bit overused and i try to avoid it except in historical references to E.C.

but that's just me.

Well, I wouldn't disagree with you about that. It's probably become a "marketing thing" to catch the attention of all those guys who wanna be E.C. (Like me, for one.)
"It's in your head, your heart, and your hands, doofus! Practice, practice, practice!" -- From Things My Instructor Would Say To Me Right Now

Speaking of E.C., let's crank up our Strats and play "The Minoxodil Song." I wrote some lyrics awhile back, but found some other good ones on the More Songs page of Demi_Godd's Spoof Site, www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/klf/640/msong.html. It's almost at the bottom; the only one beginning with 'R'. The WIN95 one is pretty good, too. ;D
{BTW, withut getting too specific, I don't/won't use RealAudio.exe, but that could be "just me."}

[bam]

i think "woman tone" has become a bit overused and i try to avoid it except in historical references to E.C.

In today's world of modern rock, those kinds of tones are rather obsolete - for the public, maybe. But I think we're guitar .. geeks, right ? .. hey, it depends on our own creativity, after all..

It's probably become a "marketing thing" to catch the attention of all those guys

whoa. if you listen to TODAY's E.C., his tone are completely different than when he still use the original (the Frankenstrat) Blackie..

[Runewalker]

whoa. if you listen to TODAY's E.C., his tone are completely different than when he still use the original (the Frankenstrat) Blackie..

You know, poor ol' EC has spent his last twenty years trying to make his Strat sound like a Les Paul like when he was with Mayall and Cresm. What the heck is that mid tone boost but an attempt to eliminate stratiness and sound like a Les Paul. Why doesn't he just start a bench press program and go back to a Les Paul like a real man?

Besides, sorry Unk + but the woman tone is alive and well. Check out the Warren Haynes lead in 'World Gone Wild' from Life before Insanity [Gov't Mule] Tales of Brave Ulysses indeed. Awesome.

So you don't want the 'ice pick in the ear' [Unk}, --- move on over to the mid tones, --- just get there with humbuckers instead of your girly battery powered vibrator mid boost. Please.

That mid boost circuit just sounds so fake. Go back to your Les Paul EC. Grow up, be a man.

Oh, off topic, sorry.

Yes there are compelling reasons to switch the tone control on strats away from the mid towards the bridge. In fact, you may as well get rid of the tone for the Neck and assign it to the mid. Basically the strat tone controls have always been on drugs. You are not reallistially going to turn down the tone on the neck unless you are trying to sound like Wes Mongomery, and if you are doing that get a proper Jazz guitar.

Can you tell I am getting in the holiday spirit?

Happy new year?! Thanks for indulging the rant, or not.

RW

[pollyshero]

Rune,

When I finally get my stuff in one pile & get moved back to TX (20 JAN!!), you, me, Red Foreman, and Hank Hill are all going to have to get together and hoist a few.

That is unless I get arrested for smuggling bottle rockets into Hays county from LA against the current fireworks ban...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[Runewalker]

Back to ya, UD. I guess we take our wild fires seriously here In Tejas, but it just not the same sence they stopped selling cherry bombs to 5 year olds. Travis Co, ( up I35 from Hays) is a little moralizing and prissy, so hopefully you can influence the tightly wound, (not talking single coils here).

Happy New Year UD and all. Even EC.

Even though you left her, Texas is a little like the Morman's: you can't really quit or resign, you can only be excommunicated. Even though you left UD, Texas knows your wanted back, and she loves you anyway.

Welcome home, slather on the BBQ sauce, unless you are in Lockhart of course (no sauce, no sides, no plates ... Use yore fingers, that's what God gave 'em to ya for).

RW

[bam]

Why doesn't he just start a bench press program and go back to a Les Paul like a real man?

I think it's because he doesn't like the LP's shape. - (actually it's me who dislike that shape)
.. and - for my ears - today's EC tone is not LP'ísh or "between Strat and LP", but of a Strat. (what they call "glassy, resonant tone"). but still, it's completely different than of the Cream's era.

[UnklMickey]

runewalker said:

whoa. if you listen to TODAY's E.C., his tone are completely different than when he still use the original (the Frankenstrat) Blackie..

You know, poor ol' EC has spent his last twenty years trying to make his Strat sound like a Les Paul like when he was with Mayall and Cresm. What the heck is that mid tone boost but an attempt to eliminate stratiness and sound like a Les Paul. Why doesn't he just start a bench press program and go back to a Les Paul like a real man?

Besides, sorry Unk + but the woman tone is alive and well. Check out the Warren Haynes lead in 'World Gone Wild' from Life before Insanity [Gov't Mule] Tales of Brave Ulysses indeed. Awesome.

So you don't want the 'ice pick in the ear' [Unk}, --- move on over to the mid tones, --- just get there with humbuckers instead of your girly battery powered vibrator mid boost. Please.

That mid boost circuit just sounds so fake. Go back to your Les Paul EC. Grow up, be a man.

Oh, off topic, sorry.

Yes there are compelling reasons to switch the tone control on strats away from the mid towards the bridge. In fact, you may as well get rid of the tone for the Neck and assign it to the mid. Basically the strat tone controls have always been on drugs. You are not reallistially going to turn down the tone on the neck unless you are trying to sound like Wes Mongomery, and if you are doing that get a proper Jazz guitar.

Can you tell I am getting in the holiday spirit?

Happy new year?! Thanks for indulging the rant, or not.

RW

now that's what i'm talkin' 'bout!

can't accuse RW of being overly polite, mincing his words, or pulling his punches.

i get the feeling you may have "intentionally misunderstood" my meaning about "woman tone" just to start some controversy. (you're good at controversy, and that's why we love ya so much.)

to be more explicit, i think the TERM "woman tone" is a bit overused.

i actually like the tone EC had during the cream years, both with the 'Paul and various hollow-bodies. (with lots of tone cut, and plenty of (even)harmonic distortion.


"your girly battery powered vibrator mid boost. Please"

i don't use battery powered devices on any of my ladies, be they guitars or otherwise.

there is a lot of room between I.P.I.T.E. and HBs. since i already have a few HB axes, it's worth investigating that territory with SCs.

i don't know EC well enough to assume that he is trying to make his strat sound like a 'Paul. it does kinda seem that way, but it also may be that he's going for exactly the sound he's getting now. (and nobody's gonna confuse that with a 'Paul!)