Wiring for HH 2 vol, 1 tone, 1 mid scoop/cut ?

[rapidfire1404]

Hello everyone!

This is my first post here. Wondering if anyone has any ideas about this?

Edit:
Sorry, should have clarified and elaborated more.
Im looking for 2 volume pots, one for each pup. High cut pot, mid cut pot for both.

Regards,

Dan.

[JohnH]

Hi rapidfire - welcome to GN2

There's plenty of diagrams for two volumes and one tone, such as this one:

www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=2h_2v_1t_3w

With this wiring, the tone pot has to be after the volume controls which means it acts differently to the more usual way where it is before.

However, the more interesting part of your question is the mid scoop control. Unless you are going to an active system, i can only think of two ways to do this effectively, without adding alot of tone-sucking passive filter components in your signal path.

The simplest is probably to set up a second tone control across the output, with a pot, a cap and an inductor in series. When the pot is at high resistance, it does not much, but at low resistance, the cap and inductor suck out a particular frequency.

To test ideas like this, and others, I made a spreadsheet that shows you responses of guitar wiring, as you control sliders to change values and settings. You can download it at this link:

GuitarFreak - frequency response calculator

The last version, 2.2, has this type of tone control modeled. Even if you cant run it, you can see a screen shot of a typical result.

The sort of inductances that are needed are around that of a pickup, so the inductor could be a disused pickup, or apparently some small transformers from old wall-warts can work. This is cutting edge stuff - you would need to experiment! Fiddling with the spreadsheet myself, an inductance of around 2.7H (like a typ single coil pup), in series with a cap of 0.047uF = 47nF looks interesting. Never tested this in real life however.

The second idea which does a mid scoop, is on your humbuckers, make a configuration that puts a cap across one of the coils. This can be switched, or via a pot. It makes it bright like a single coil, deep like a humbucker with a dip in the middle. See this thread for some recent discussion: (see second diagram of reply 9)

One HB to the max

cheers

John

[JFrankParnell]

do you have anything handy for an active mid scoop, mr JohnH? Just out of cheerios.

[JohnH]

nothing out of Cheerios, but a couple of Fruit Loops in series might work.

[JFrankParnell]

haha, thats just my weird slang for just out of curiosity

[Yew]

What about putting a treble bleed on a tone pot? it works on volumes so it could work on a tone, as its essensially a volume knob with a capacitor on it...

Yew

[rapidfire1404]

Mmm... fruit loops... haha. Thanks for the info guys. Will check that spreadsheet out when I get home! Interesting idea with the treble bleed... instead of a tone control, would it be possible to use a volume control with a treble bleed and a bass bleed (high pass and low pass) where highs and lows maintain 100 percent output? Or would it be easier to just go with the inductor on a tone pot?

[Yew]

could somebody tell me if my treble bleed on a tone pot would work.. has anyone else tried it?

[D2o]

Aug 17, 2010 10:08:32 GMT -5 Yew said:

could somebody tell me if my treble bleed on a tone pot would work.. has anyone else tried it?

Hi yew,

The tone pot does not adjust the volume of the signal. It adjusts the frequency of the signals that it allows to pass. You use the tone pot to muddy / darken the sound on purpose.

You use the volume pot to lower the volume, with the (usually unwanted) loss of tone that the treble bleed tries to mitigate. The treble bleed is kind of trying to achieve the opposite of what the tone is trying to achieve.

I have no idea if a treble bleed on a tone pot would actually do anything, but if it does you wouldn’t want a tone pot treble bleed to counteract the reason you have a tone pot in the first place, would you?

Cheers,
D2o

[Yew]

if it did work., you could experement with values to let the highs pass through but the mids be shunted to ground, to use it as a mid cut.. just was somthing i was wonedering as i only have a single tone control on my amp, and sometimes my tone is too fat, and i want to slim it down a bit for a few songs

[ashcatlt]

It won't work to do a "treble bleed" on a tone control.

A Volume Control is a proper Potentiometer. All three lugs are used to effect a voltage divider action. The treble bleed cap (and maybe a resistor) is placed across the two lugs which are not grounded.

A Tone Control is a Variable Resistor. Only two lugs are used, and one of these must be connected to ground. A capacitor across these lugs will have the same effect as a tone control turned to 0 (with a cap = the series combination of both caps).

It is possible to create a bass cut (hi-pass) control by wiring it almost exactly the same as a Volume pot with treble bleed.

[4real]

I found this recently, can't vouch for what it does...



projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=43940&pid=471334&st=0&#entry471334

Yew, you might be surprised at how effective a treble bleed circuit can be to tame down HB's or over powered midrange or bass heavy pickups. What you need to get used to is turning up the map and keeping the guitar on 8 or whatever gives you the tone you want.

Of course a lot of tones can be had from rewiring and switching of pickups, a hot HB can sound really good in parallel with a bright sound, humbucking and more power than you might expect.

...

Torres engineering have a kind of mid-scoop control, kind of quack imitation as I recall, it uses a small transformer for the inductor and resistor and cap plus pot control.

For 'super' tone shaping, see if you can find an equalizer stomp box, no loss of tone and can shape it as you please, even use it as a booster, and can work with any guitar.