2 questions about capacitors

[glouis]

Hi there, I'm just finished shielding my Strat, and I took this opportunity to test some mods.
- First, the hi-pass filter on volume. I used a .001uF capacitor and a 150K resistor in parallel. The result sounds kind of strange : on the range 1 to 3 (approximately) of the volume pot, it works quite like an off/on switch, the shutting down is not smooth... Plus, from 3 to 10, it is hard to hear some big changes. The bottom line is : my volume pot acts more or like as an off/on switch ... that's not really what I'd expected! Should I put the capacitor and the resistor in series?
- Second question : I bought at GuitarFetish a kit with new pots and new 5-position switch. There were also two .022uF capacitors, and a diagram showing one capacitor on the neck tone, the other on the middle. Before, with the stock wiring, I only had one 0.047uF capacitor. In what extense is that important?
Sorry guys for my poor English and my poor electronics knowledge, and thank your for your answers!

[dasbeef]

I am quite new to this, but there's a possibility you'll find your answer here...
guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=wiring&thread=1147378795&page=3#1147814407

[glouis]

Thank your for your answer. I will read it carefully! but it seems like they're talking about the pot themselves, not the effects of the capacitors...
(but maybe my pots ain't crap!)

[UnklMickey]

dasbeef said:

I am quite new to this, but there's a possibility you'll find your answer here...
guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=wiring&thread=1147378795&page=3#1147814407

Keith,

either you know WAY more than you're admitting to, or you're living a charmed life.

when i pondered what might be causing this problem, i looked right past an obvious possibility.

your post to that other link does tie in.



Glouis,

Welcome to Guitarnuts2.


i suspect you may have linear taper pots.

putting that 150k resistor between the terminals would cause the effect you reported.

i'd drop the resistor entirely and just use the cap.



having 2 caps or 1 cap in the tone control circuit should be irrelevant.

you only use 1 pot at a time in the tone circuit.

if you share the cap between them, or have a separate cap for each pot, it doesn't make a difference.



however, you mentioned the stock wiring had a 0.047 uF cap.

did you like the way your tone cut worked?

if you did like it, putting the 0.022 uF caps in parallel will give you 0.044 uF for all intents and purposes, identical to the stock value.

you could share the paralleled caps, between the 2 pots in the new wiring.


if you want your treble cut to be "less deep", use just 1 of the new caps. or 1 for each pot, if you prefer.


unk

[glouis]

Many thanks Unk for your great answer! I will go for the cap alone.
For the caps on the tone pots, I must confess it's difficult to say, because I've also changed the pups, therefore the whole tone should sound different... All I can say, is that, as far as I've tested them, as I begin to shut the tone pots down, the tone sounds more and more muddy... but I've been always used to play with the tone pot all open anyway...

[UnklMickey]

Glouis,

you're welcome.

i personally rarely ever use the tone pot(s) on any of my guitars.

it's been my experience that "progressively muddy as you turn the tone down" is normal.

but the controls do something, so i guess they feel that justifies having them.

IMHO, unless you're a jazz player, they're not very useful.




unk

[ChrisK]

unk,

Yeah, tone controls are tough to use well. Most folk (guilty) tend to use them in a binary manner. I suspect that they persist like lawyers (we wouldn't need them if we hadn't had them to begin with). I feel that most players have to develop their appreciation for guitar tone controls (which may take years or even forever) to fully exploit the limited usability of the traditional high cut RC tone control. And, most "processed" guitar signals benefit little from them. I tend to use them when playing clean (when I can hear their effect).

The primary issue with the standard tone control is that it tends to only allow adjustment at a particular frequency response point, and then causes peaking at that same point once all the way to "0". Fender's "Grease Bucket" tone control (please, somebody give me a break) attempts to modify this (see Mr. Gearhead or whom/whatever is current).

The StellarTone tone switch is providing different RC combinations to give a varying low-pass filter cutoff point ('cept I don't get that whole "emphasizes the 2nd harmonics in yer toob amp" thang). I've always just used a 2 pole rotary (or even a SPDT center off toggle) to add a few "tone settings" that are RC (and sometimes even L) based.

For instance, a current tone control going into the TeleBlender is a blend pot that gives high cut from center to CCW and low cut from center to CW. It also now has a SPDT center off toggle that with a 0.047 uF and a 0.022 uF cap gives both of those values as well as 0.015 uF (the "woman tone") resulting from the seres combo of same. The same cap structure is used for both low and high cut functions. So I've now got three freq points and adjustment as before. plus low cut.

AND, both caps all fits neatly on the switch.

[UnklMickey]

chrisk said:

...The StellarTone tone switch is providing different RC combinations to give a varying low-pass filter cutoff point ('cept I don't get that whole "emphasizes the 2nd harmonics in yer toob amp" thang). ....

hey Chris,

you aren't supposed to get it.

it sounds like something good, so even if you can prove it's BS, they'll sell a ton of them first.


having different roll-off points available, can only be a good thing.


but, if i hear the term "woman-tone" one more time, i'm gonna SCREAM!


it doesn't seem to matter if it's a cut of only the upper treble range, or deep into the mids, everybody says their design will get you the "woman-tone".

i wonder if emphasizing the 2nd harmonics in your tube amp, IS the woman tone ?


unk

[ChrisK]

OK, so it's a high-pitched whine.

Which is amazing since high-cut controls CUT high-pitched whines......

Whatever.

[UnklMickey]

LSH...

[NanooMan]

Glouis, ton anglais est tres bon. Francais est mon specialite a la fac. J'ai dix-neuf ans. Je vais etudier au Tours dans le printemps. Bonne chance!