Tone tips ~ tips on tone

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cashcow

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Anybody ever try this?

http://www.stewmac.com/tsarchive/ts0182.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ts0182
 
Don't mean to ask stupid questions :-? Is that meant to be a permanent modification? Or is it just an example? :-?
 
It's just a bit of solder.

I don't like this mod because the tonal changes when you lower the guitar volume knob can be very useful, especially when recording. That is part of what makes a Les Paul so versatile.
 
that's a really good idea to try it with clips. I'm well aware of the circuit, but being lazy and crap at soldering i tend not to get round to doing it- but using clips means you can instantly try it both ways to compare, plus also try different values.

does he solder the components to the clips? Looks like they're just sorta crimped on to the end of the crocodile clips. if so, that'd be sweet.

Excellent find :)

Cali Girl said:
It's just a bit of solder.

I don't like this mod because the tonal changes when you lower the guitar volume knob can be very useful, especially when recording. That is part of what makes a Les Paul so versatile.

yeah for certain applications i prefer the effect of the treble bleed circuit like that one, but for others i prefer it without... i think, if you really cared, you could put it on a switch, though, to get the best of both worlds. But depending on how much room the guitar has for a switch, you might end up having to do without something else more useful (coil splits, say).
 
I think it's great for a single volume pot... my custom shop reissue 65 strat is awful... I have NO sound from 1 to 6 on my volume... then it goes from loud at 8 to REALLY loud on 10. Need more audio taper and this little temporary, clip on mod is right what I'm looking for without replacing the period correct volume pot.
 
Never tried this but it is just the well known treble bleed mod isn't it?

http://ratcliffe.co.za/articles/volumepot2.shtml

Previous posts on this forum recommended removing it as it sucked tone.

As I said never tried but it looks like the same mod to me.

Dave
 
^ it is, just attached to clips it makes it easy to try to see if you like it or not. you could also (if you could be bothered) make up several different ones with different values and with slightly different circuits (capacitor only; capacitor and resistor in parallel; capacitor and resistor in series; also different values of the caps and resistors)- with subtle differences like that it's best to get to try them as close together as possible, and the alligator clips let you do that (as opposed to soldering which doesn't).

regarding whether it's better or worse- it depends on what you want. I don't think you could categorically say either method is better or worse. If you hate the way you lose highs when you turn down your volume control, then it's worth a try for sure. Sometimes it can be overkill and can sound thin, but it does work (50s wiring allegedly helps too, in a more subtle way, but i haven't tried that). Conversely, some players actually like how the tone darkens and actively use that darkening in their playing style... in that case, you're probably better off without the treble bleed circuit.

To clarify- I've only tried the simpler treble bleed circuits, with just a capacitor. but the principle is the same, just the ones with a resistor too are meant to be more natural-sounding (as i said above, a capacitor on its own can retain too many highs and thin out the sound if you're not careful).

EDIT: http://www.ratcliffe.co.za/articles/volumepot2.shtml

http://diy-fever.com/misc/guitar-wiring-101/#treble_bleed

http://guitarwiring.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/treble-bleed-mod.html

http://guitarnuts2.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=wiring&action=display&thread=5317

some good links there about treble bleed circuits (actually I have a feeling that that name is actually technically incorrect... it's probably more like a treble pass filter or something like that :-? )

marcusnieman said:
I think it's great for a single volume pot... my custom shop reissue 65 strat is awful... I have NO sound from 1 to 6 on my volume... then it goes from loud at 8 to REALLY loud on 10. Need more audio taper and this little temporary, clip on mod is right what I'm looking for without replacing the period correct volume pot.

i'm not sure that'll work for your problem, marcus- that sounds more like a problem with the taper of your volume pot. this mod is to retain highs when you turn down the volume pot. I could well be wrong, of course, I'm no electronics guru, but I doubt it'd help. EDIT: in fact, according to some of those links i posted, some of the treble bleed circuits could actually make your pot taper even worse :lol:
 
no problem marcus :)

i wonder if attaching a resistor to your volume pot might help (if you don't want to replace the pot)? Not sure, that's kinda getting beyond my pay grade :lol:
 
Dave_Mc said:
no problem marcus :)

i wonder if attaching a resistor to your volume pot might help (if you don't want to replace the pot)? Not sure, that's kinda getting beyond my pay grade :lol:

Played a gig yesterday and I need to do something... hate that volume pot. It's either all or nothing the way it is now. I
 
^ yeah :lol: I mean replacing the pot is the thing that'll definitely work (as far as i'm aware... i've never actually had to swap a volume pot myself). if you get one that's a direct swap it'll be reversible, presumably...
 
http://www.stewmac.com/tsarchive/ts0190.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ts0190
 
It is all in the 'taper' of the pots... try a CTS TVT pot or a RS Guitarworks Superpot, these pots have a 30% taper and have a much more gradual increase of volume. I have CTS TVT pots for volume and normal CTS post for tone... love it.
 
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