is it possible to rig an on-on-on switch with resistors to create a 'tone switch'- low- mid - high? if so ,how and what value resistors etc? discuss...
You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!
This reply was deleted.
is it possible to rig an on-on-on switch with resistors to create a 'tone switch'- low- mid - high? if so ,how and what value resistors etc? discuss...
You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!
Replies
Learning new things all the time!
Really just running with the idea of having a tone switch like what was suggested in the opening post. Still looking for a way to make a passive low pass filter. Did come up with something. Over the top but it would add bass to your bridge pickup.
I have no clue how to do this. But it might work. And it would add a bass to your bridge pickup. Tie in a wire from your neck output. This would go to a SPST switch. Or always on always off. In the off position the signal would have to go to a resister that would keep the signal from going any farther. A dead end. In the on position the signal would go threw a resistor that would allow part of the signal to get blended in with the bridge pickup. Say 25% to 50% of the output. Instant bass to your bridge pickup. ....or you could use your three way switch, have your volume on the neck pickup set to how much bass needed.... … : ) Mod for mod sake I guess. And for fun you could do the same thing with your bridge pickup's output. This would be an interesting way to see if you could actually loop your hot signal and burn your pickups out......
In the end there is a way you could have a set tone on a switch. And a way to choose from different tone options using a switch. But all these only take away from what you have. It would take an extra energy source and gadgets to add anything from the inside of your guitar.
There are more mods you could do inside a guitar than anyone could need. Jimmy Page's heavy modded Les Pauls had inherent problems. A few switches in the wrong position and you'd have no signal at all.
http://www.1728.org/guitar9.htm
Modifying the sound of an electric guitar has been going on for almost as long as there's been electric guitars. Silvertone came out with a guitar with effects built right in. Electra had ones with interchangeable modules. There's countless passive and active off the shelf stuff you can add to your guitar. Now they're making pedals you connect to your cell phone to get different settings. Or different pedals over the phone. And you can even get your favorite player's actual settings! Now your garage band can have the sound of the band's song your playing. Even if you can't play it right.
Keep thinking and asking Jabes! Moding a guitar is fun. I learned the hard way that you can destroy a five way switch. But I did end up with a strat with three volumes and a way to have the bridge + neck or all three on at the same time. Without adding anything. And way before you could get answers on the net.
Totally cool explanation of how pots work Phrygian Kid.
Still haven't found the original varitone wiring diagram. Still looking.
I'm having a blast looking for possibilities. Found a thread on using a five way blade switch as a volume. Going down in increments from 100% to 0.
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1590112&p...
With this in mind you could use a combo of a cap and resistor to have a switch give you a set tone when on. Or a DPDT switch to select between two tone options. On/no effect/on. Say to choose between a set cut of highs or mids. Still haven't found one to cut out everything but the highs. Using two single on switches as on/off would not work. If both were on it would put your ground in parallel combining both cap and resistor values. Instant low volume mud.
Jabes, As far as the mods your planning I don't see why they wouldn't work. First find what wires you need to use to do the coil tap. use a switch or push pull pot. Replace your three way with a blend pot. Run your blend pot to a volume. Run the volume ground to your tone pot. Your tone pot could be connected to a varitone selector switch,
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1604469&h...
The possibilities are almost endless!
But my question...
If it's 'fixed' why put it inside the guitar?
Let's say you put it in a shielded box with an input and output jack and a stomp switch...
You can now
1 use it with multiple axes...
2 easily open it to tweak the values..
3 easily put additional tone filter(s) alongside the first...
This box could also easily have cheap trim pots inside, so although the filter(s) are fixed, you can open it up, get a screwdriver, and fine tune em...
Just a suggestion, to my way of thinking this can easily done inside a small cookie tin or whatever, even built into one of your guitar cases, and could also add several useful features, a/b switches at input and output (switch amps with a stomp, switch input guitars with a stomp) and a Di box, preamp for pizzos....
Yes you did Phrygian Kid. I took off with the idea and looked for possibilities, Haven't found the original five way tone switch wiring diagram yet. But know where to get answers. As soon as I find it I'll post the info here as well.
If you into some heaving reading there's this thread.
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1019006&p...
This thread's been going on for six years now. Way to much information. : )
As far as just a switch, The only thing I've come across was part of an active pickup system. Guy got rid of his toe knob and used a switch to get a set tone. Not sure how he's got the switch set up. The vid,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9edniFVldM
ok, well rather than circuit diagrams etc, lets just think about how the tone circuit works for a second...
1.. we tap into the hot side of the signal somewhere (usually off the volume control, but perhaps directly from the hot side of a particular pickup or whatever..
2.. and we send that (off, in parallel to the rest of the circuit) to a potentiometer, which is of a certain known resistance, (+ or - manuf. tolerances,) lets say 250k ohm..
3.. which opens like a faucet, allowing more or less of the current to go to...
4.. a capacitor, again which is of a certain known value in capacitance, perhaps 0.022 or whatever..
5... the pot and the cap together form a simple r/c filter. See the calculator i linked above. So basically some of the signal (in this case the highs, because the pot and the cap are in series, again see r/c filter for more info about how to do other types of filters for a bass cut) can pass through and is sent to ground..
.... because the current will always follow the path of least resistance to ground the signal which can pass the filter will much prefer to go to ground than do all the work of going through the rest of the circuit to your amp and making noise..
.......................................
ok so what I was saying in my original answer, what Gibson did with a vari-tone circuit on various mostly es-335 shaped semi solid guitars was insert a switch between points 3 and 4 above, selecting a different cap or circuit to filter some of the signal to ground. Gibson went whole hog and used a 6 way rotary switch. Or you could do a simple 2 way one, use a pull pot to hide it inside the knob which is already there (this a reasonably popular mod to existing guitars)....
hope that helps :)
sure does, thanks again...
hey i thought i'd explain how i do it with a balance pot, since you said you've got a few, and how it went wrong for you when you tried to use it for a pickup blender. (and how you almost got there on your own )
if we graph out the response of a linear (type B) pot it might look something like this
now theres a couple of ways of looking at this. If we connect to lugs 1 & 2 our signal will respond to movement in the pot as shown in green. However if we wire to lugs 2 & 3 our signal is shown in blue. Do you see?
Now every once in a while we'll get someone ask about which pot should i use and of course some know it all will tell them they really must use type A pots, because the human ear/brain does not respond to attenuation in a linear fashion, so we need a pot which acts on a logarithmic curve in order to sound 'right' .. And there is surely some truth in this. A type A pot might graph out more like this
What about when I do a left handed guitar ???
FUCK.
this is why i stick with linear pots, imho they're actually BETTER. because its always the same. You get used to it, and snap, you're good.
Anyway, I digress.
a balance pot is dual ganged pots of course, so the graph will be double. Its not like normal ganged pot tho, the curve of each is offset from the centre detent. It should look something like this.
So, to blend two pickups we want to connect 2 & 5 together for our output, then put one pickup to lug 1 , that'll be in the green in the top one, and the other pickup to lug 6, that'll be in the blue on the bottom one. Now what you've done is use the blue on the top one and the green on the bottom one..... just swap the hots from the pups, 3 -> 1 & 4 -> 6.. (or, in order to reverse the direction, 3->6 and 4->1...)
Your standing on the outside of the house...
Which is exactly how i use em for a 'dual tone knob!!'
ie - connect to tone control (from wherever) by soldering to both centre lugs, 2 & 5.. connect cap1 to lug 3 -> ground and connect cap2 to lug 4 -> ground.
PS Ive never revealed this in public before. You're welcome :)
You need a cheap mutimeter to work your pots out as you use em, only takes a couple seconds to be sure you've got it right ;)
cheers Jef, that's just what my old brain needed.
i think i was a tad ambitious trying to wire a single coil a tapped hbucker with a switch and a 'blend pot and a tone pot with no real idea whether it would work. or how to wire it...lol..
..
You question's got me thinking. And Looking.
Found a few vids on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akyNcQFZFOY
This one is using a standard push pull pot to go between two tone options. For me, I'd mod it to get both a mid cut and a standard tone control. Mid cut can be found here. http://www.jpbourgeois.org/guitar/microsbis.htm#midrange and look at 'midrange modification'. This could also be done with a simple 3 way switch wired between the volume and tone pots.
The guy from the first vid has lots of great info.
cheers, my aim is to have just a vol and a switch, but this opens up the possibilities somewhat..i'm not in any rush, it was just a thought. i appreciate the responses. now to check out the vid..
oh lots of stuff there, cool.
-
1
-
2
-
3
of 3 Next