Hey this may be a dumb question, but is there a way you can wire a switch to make a guitar brighter? I built my backup with a humbucker, and it sounds a bit dark, also doesn't react with pedals as much as my other guitar that has a single coil. I don't have room for a pot, that is why I was thinking switch. Thanks for the help.
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Yes. I was thinking that would also be a way to achieve the brighter tone that Wolfeather is looking for. Since guitar potentiometers & capacitors are passive, they can only subtract or reduce from the frequencies available. Adding a Altoid box with a 9v battery & an active tone circuit would do the trick.
It’s just a pot & a capacitor inside the box, no voltage, so it’s not active, it’s wired like a standard tone pot, I made it for a one humbucker guitar that had volume & no tone?
Adding a tone pot & cap will not make it brighter than it is. A 1 Meg ohm vol pot will be a bit brighter, as will no vol pot. Otherwise, use Brian's Altoids can to install an active treble boost circuit.
Hi Wolfeather, also check what humbucker you have. Some brands wind the coils to suit certain tones and positions on the guitar, eg: Neck or Bridge.
Cheers Taff
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Have you given thought to an external tone pot? You could throw a pot, capacitor & jacks in any kind of enclosure? I’ve had to do this for a couple of my customers who play Tom Delong volume only strats? I used a 1590a Hammond stompbox but you could use anything that’s enclosed like an empty tin?
Here’s what I’m talking about, you could actually mount it on the side of a cbg if you wanted to?
They do have specialty tone caps for guitars, but I don’t think they’re worth 10-20 dollars for one capacitor? A capacitor with a 100/250v rating & tolerance rating of 5% or lower is really the best option. I use WIMA box capacitors 250v/5% & 715p Orange drop capacitors, but I use the 1% tolerance over the standard 10% tolerance that everyone uses, they last longer & the specs are tighter?
Do you have a pic of this on/off switch?
I don't believe that adding a cap will help brighten the pickup. Capacitors bypass high frequencies. Using a 550K vol pot may help a bit, as will removing the vol pot completely. Have you tried lowering the bass side of the pickup & raising the treble side? Probably not an option, but, of course, moving the pickup closer to the bridge will brighten the sound. :)
Brian, would I be able to use just an on/off switch? Also are there special caps for guitar? I really appreciate the help.
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