edvard
Meter Reader 1st Class
Posts: 51
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Post by edvard on Aug 13, 2017 22:03:19 GMT -5
I long ago banished the middle pickup on all my guitars (it always gets in the way of my pick), and I hardly ever use the tone control on the neck position, so on my latest #1, I have it hard-wired to the lug where the bridge wire connects to the pickup selector switch, so the tone control is out of the circuit when I switch to the neck pickup. This arrangement works well enough, but I began wondering if there was a better way... I experimented with the "50s"-style wiring, and it didn't do anything for me. WAAAAY too much interaction between the Volume and Tone. Then I got interested in the G&L PTB tone control schematic, but it only works if you have two tone controls (like in a Strat) and my latest creation only has realistic room for two knobs. Then I started thinking that it would be nice to have a bass cut for the neck pickup, while keeping the standard treble cut on the bridge. Hmmm... but then we're back to two tone control knobs. THEN I started thinking even harder... Would it possible to switch a bass-cut to a treble-cut control, by doing a series/parallel switch on the cap/pot combo, so I only use one pot for both tone control schemes? Yes, that would work. Could I then have it follow the pickup selection if I used a 3PDT toggle? YESSSSSSS!!! ONE Volume, ONE Tone, ONE switch... MUUUHHHAHHAHAHAHAHAhahahaha!! Caveats: No there's no middle position (sorry), but I almost never use that position anyway, and the cap values may have to be tweaked to get sounds that balance between the two pickups, but I'm just happy the concept works, at least on paper. It may not even work like I envision, but I'm willing to give it a shot. Anyway, I thought I'd share my inane thought process and figured it's worthy of a Nutzy schematic post, so enjoy! Next step; buy a 3PDT toggle so I can test this thing out!
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Post by sumgai on Aug 13, 2017 22:40:31 GMT -5
Ed,
Nice work!
However, not only is there no Mid, there's also no B+N for that nice chimey tone. (And when B+N is wired as OoP, it gives that oh-so-funky sound beloved by all disciples of Pops Staples....) But this was not your point, so I'm only gilding the lily.
The one thing I'd point out, besides the ability to install a dual-gang pot in almost any axe, is that 500K may not be enough resistance in the bass-cut circuit. My point is that the larger the resistance value, the stronger the seeming emphasis of the higher frequencies. Changing the cap's value will only change the "knee" of the response curve, meaning that your cutoff point will move up or down in frequency, but not in strength.
For those coming in late, 22nf is probably a good starting for something like this, but be prepared to experiment! And if you change pickups, you might find yourself experimenting all over again - the pickup coil plays just as important a part here as the cap, so your Mojo Tone just might not be so Mojo-ey any more.
HTH
EDIT: Did I mention a dual-gang pot? Well, if you install a concentric pot instead, you eliminate the need for special switching. You can then use either pup, or both together, as in any normal switching arrangement. By using the aforementioned concentric pot, you still keep the bass-cut for the Neck, and the treble-cut for the Bridge pups. Just food for thought......
sumgai
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