OP
I think im going to remove the covers too..
Von Herndon Double Neck:
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ivan H
Ambassador of Tubes & Grooves
There are conflicting views as to which is more effective. A 1 meg volume is common to brighten a pickup, likewise a 1 meg tone to combat a muddy pickup. Not having tried either, I can't offer any personal insight, though in your position I would take the easiest route to experimenting & get a couple of resistors, (470k ~ 520k) & try the resistor between pot & ground first on the volume, then tone controls (& probably both) to see which, if any worked best for your application. Certainly easier & cheaper than changing pots to experiment.
I do hope you get it sorted. Cheeers
OP
OP
So, I opened up the cover and did some investigating. I discovered that I had correctly put a .015uf capacitor (K40Y) on the 12 string side, but inadvertently used a .033uf (K40Y) on the six sting side, where a .015uf should have been placed.
Also, the CTS pot numbering nowadays is kinda strange. The bridge tone pot reads 450GT35K504A2L 1707 CTS - which appears to be correct - according to my project build notes - as a 500kΩ Audio Taper Pot.
So, I see a couple of possibilities here. First of all, the shared (master) tone for the six string side is the easiest to get to and has only (2) soldered connections, so switching to a 1MΩ will be really easy. However, I am now thinking, why not really make a radical change in the tone capacitor???
I was thinking maybe even going lower than .015uf (maybe down to .005uf or .001uf) as I have read the lower the cap value - such as .001uf - gives a more usable range on the tone pot, but I get confused at which value does what exactly.
The goal here is to change the pot and caps to get the brightest tone possible and maybe be able to stick with the current Thro-Bak SLE-101 pickups....
Thoughts???
Also, since it would seem the construction of the caps has no bearing on tone, which is preferred for reliability and consistency???
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You could do both.
I would start with the tone pot, though. That is a high enough value that, referencing our earlier discussions, you’re starting to get into the area where now it may almost seem like you don’t even have a tone control when you’re maxed out.
Give it a shot. I’d be curious to hear of your results.
Personally, I like the Sprague Orange Drops. I don’t say this for any mojo reasons. They seem to be well-made and they have longer, heavier-gauge leads than a lot of other caps. I tend to do the ‘50s wiring scheme, so the longer leads make it easier to reach from pot to pot.
OP
I'm thinking this might work out, because I can brighten the guitar up with my GE-7....
OP
I suppose I could start at .015uf, but I was thinking a bigger initial jump.
I think I have a K40Y PIO here marked 0.01uf, does that sound right???
I think I have a K40Y PIO here marked 0.01uf, does that sound right???
OP
Here it is...am I reading that correctly??? What kind of tonal qualities do you think this would have compared to the current .033uf??? You say the cap is in play even at 10, so i am very curious...
It will be very much like a .015.
Keep in perspective what we’re saying, though.
We’re only taking exception to the idea that the cap is “out of the circuit” or is somehow unable to have any influence with the pot at 10.
Whereas both @ivan H and I have been rather strenuous on that point, don’t go too far the other way, either. We’re not trying to suggest you will see any radical differences with a different cap with your tone pot on 10.
The higher the total resistance value of the pot, the less apparent will be the influence of the cap with the control on 10.
OP
Oh, no problem, I understand your premise, I'm just trying to figure out what to order up....So let me see if I got this right...
I have a 500kΩ shared tone pot with a .033uf capacitor. I am proposing a switch to a 1MΩ pot and a capacitor change to at LEAST a .015uf.
Do you think that's a big enough 'jump' to actually hear a change???
My last question for you would be this: Is this K40Y (pictured abve) marked 0.01mk (I assume that's also0.01uf) going further in the direction of a .015uf, or is it going towards the .033uf???
A .01 mF cap (the cap you pictured) is very close to a .015. I doubt you’d hear a difference in behavior between the two.
My personal opinion is that going from a 500k ohm to a 1 Meg Ohm pot and using the .01 mF cap should yield a difference. I would be surprised if it didn’t at least a little.
But, having said that, at 1 meg, the pot value is high enough that you may not really hear much of the influence of the cap at 10...even a .033 mF cap. So, the cap choice becomes more a matter of how much you will want to roll off the highs.
My personal opinion is that going from a 500k ohm to a 1 Meg Ohm pot and using the .01 mF cap should yield a difference. I would be surprised if it didn’t at least a little.
But, having said that, at 1 meg, the pot value is high enough that you may not really hear much of the influence of the cap at 10...even a .033 mF cap. So, the cap choice becomes more a matter of how much you will want to roll off the highs.
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OP
from what I have read, caps like the 0.01uf give a more useable range.
Now, question...i see 0.01uf and .01mf in the above texts...are these not substantially different??? Not trying to be a kerk, just making sure I understand so i know what to buy and what to avoid buying...And, Thank You, Smitty...
Ok. I admit. I used the wrong suffix. uF is the correct one.
OP
No problem, I'm just trying to make sure I get and/or install the right stuff!!!!
OP
Here's a No-Cap vs. .033uf cap test - This is the cap value I am currently using:
OP
And here's a No-Cap vs. 0.01uf cap test - my proposed change:
OP
Thoughts to your ear???
As would be suspected, at 10 the influence of the capacitor is greatly reduced. Using just earbuds, I can’t really hear a difference with the .01 cap at 10 and no cap. The difference with a .033 cap is, similarly, barely detectable. Again, the only point I’ve been trying to make is that the cap is not “out of the circuit” or “bypassed” at 10. It, potentially, could still have some influence. How much influence is dependent on the value of the pot.
However, to me, in these examples at 0 the sound of the .033 cap is so dark as to be unusable. I’d use the .01 cap.
OP
Pretty much what I was hearing...very muddy when rolled off.