Treble bleed mod?

[LushTone]

Has anyone tried this mod from Stew Mac?

http://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_Electronics/Components_and_Parts/Capacitors_and_Resistors/Golden_Age_Treble_Bleed_Circuit.html

 

[Timmsie95]

I've heard it on multiple guitars, and it is nice. I'm ordering one for my current build.

 

[stratamania]

Not that one form StewMac but I have a couple of similar ones on a couple of the axes. They work pretty well at avoiding things getting muddier as you turn down.

 

[Glimmer]

I never used the Stew-Mac one you link to, but opted against such a mod on my recent build.

I liked the idea that the volume control could also be used to shape tone.

 

[Cagey]

I do it, but not with that part from StewMac. I buy the resistosr/caps individually. Another way you can go that's almost as good or maybe even better, depending who you talk to, is to do the "'50s wiring" scheme. In that, the tone control follows the volume rather than the other way around as most guitars are wired. There's an article on doing it with Strat wiring here, and another for Les Paul wiring here. The wiring scheme has the advantage of being the same amount of work you normally do as well as costing nothing.

There's also an article here you may want to read that might put you off the StewMac solution because different pickups/amps/playing styles dictate that one size does not fit all. He does the same thing with similar parts, but talks about how you might rearrange them or use different values to achieve results you'll like better.

 

[Strat Avenger]

I tried it with just the cap without the resistor. I really didn't care for it. I like how the sound fattens up when backing off the volume control. In fact, EVH used to have a knob that said "Tone" on his volume control. The volume control essentially was the tone control.

 

[Logrinn]

Haven't tried exactly that one from StewMac, but I put this one, from one of our suppliers here in Sweden, in my Super-Sonic.
I'm guessing it's pretty much the same even though it doesn't mention the values of the components.

I got a couple of them, when I ordered it and will be putting one in my Warmoth Strat later on.

 

[line6man]

I cannot believe that anyone would want to pay that much for a resistor and a capacitor. Head to an electronics store with a shiny dime in your pocket, and you will still get change back.

 

[nullref]

I cannot believe that anyone would want to pay that much for a resistor and a capacitor. Head to an electronics store with a shiny dime in your pocket, and you will still get change back.

The price for the StewMac part (even the Orange Drop version) is silly cheap in comparison to the Fender equivalent part.  Talk about paying for the name...

 

[Cagey]

No kidding. Fender wants $49.99 for the same thing. Although, to be fair, they do put it in a 10¢ package, so there's that.

 

[line6man]

Now that's just silly. I'm not sure whether it is more appalling that they want $50 for a capacitor, or that they expect you to use a capacitor like that, in an application where a tiny ceramic will suffice just as well. For a treble bleed, you don't really have to worry about anything. Even the tolerance doesn't really matter.

 

[line6man]

Staying on topic; treble bleeds are an extremely popular mod. Lots of guys love them.You just need to be mindful that the mod only requires a few cents worth of componentry. Spending extra absolutely will not get you any better results. Whether you spend 5 cents on a tiny cheap ceramic, or $50 on some boutique part, the result is going to be the same.

 

[Cagey]

Now that's just silly. I'm not sure whether it is more appalling that they want $50 for a capacitor, or that they expect you to use a capacitor like that, in an application where a tiny ceramic will suffice just as well. For a treble bleed, you don't really have to worry about anything. Even the tolerance doesn't really matter.

I suspect rather than a cap that's just a hollow package with a resistor/cap in parallel internally that looks exactly what you'd make yourself. I remember 100 years ago at a company I used to work for, we used to buy little radial packages like that and make our own opto-couplers.

 

[bagman67]

Counting down 'til I see the video of some clown doing a comparison of the fifty dollar Fender part with some $.01 cent item they swept off the floor of a radio factory in Shanghai and waxing rhapsodic about the orgasmic goodness only attainable through the hemorrhaging of cash into the pockets of the private equity sharks who now run FMIC.

 

[LushTone]

I'm ordering the Stew Mac part because I found out my Grosh guitar uses the same system, and I've compared it's volume sweep to others now. Subtle, but a worthy improvement. Thanks for the feedback! ccasion14:

 

[Logrinn]

I believe the volume sweep is a matter of the potentiometer. The volume sweep on a guitar could differ from potentiometer to potentiomer, even of the same brand and values because of the differences in tolerances.

But the treble bleed wouldn't affect the volume sweep, just the amount of high end that is retained when turning down the volume.

 

[mayfly]

Now that's just silly. I'm not sure whether it is more appalling that they want $50 for a capacitor, or that they expect you to use a capacitor like that, in an application where a tiny ceramic will suffice just as well. For a treble bleed, you don't really have to worry about anything. Even the tolerance doesn't really matter.

I suspect rather than a cap that's just a hollow package with a resistor/cap in parallel internally that looks exactly what you'd make yourself. I remember 100 years ago at a company I used to work for, we used to buy little radial packages like that and make our own opto-couplers.

I sense a business opportunity here....

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I do it, but not with that part from StewMac. I buy the resistosr/caps individually. Another way you can go that's almost as good or maybe even better, depending who you talk to, is to do the "'50s wiring" scheme. In that, the tone control follows the volume rather than the other way around as most guitars are wired. There's an article on doing it with Strat wiring here, and another for Les Paul wiring here. The wiring scheme has the advantage of being the same amount of work you normally do as well as costing nothing.

There's also an article here you may want to read that might put you off the StewMac solution because different pickups/amps/playing styles dictate that one size does not fit all. He does the same thing with similar parts, but talks about how you might rearrange them or use different values to achieve results you'll like better.

I do the same thing, we have a Frys Electronics not too far away, and you can find the respective values there easy enough.f

I have these on all of my electrics.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I'm ordering the Stew Mac part because I found out my Grosh guitar uses the same system, and I've compared it's volume sweep to others now. Subtle, but a worthy improvement. Thanks for the feedback! ccasion14:

Darren, when Jay worked at your store, he had a bunch of these on his workbench, I got a few of these from him a couple of years ago, might check with your boss before ordering from Stew Mac, and Frys is pretty much just up the road from your store.

 

[line6man]

Now that's just silly. I'm not sure whether it is more appalling that they want $50 for a capacitor, or that they expect you to use a capacitor like that, in an application where a tiny ceramic will suffice just as well. For a treble bleed, you don't really have to worry about anything. Even the tolerance doesn't really matter.

I suspect rather than a cap that's just a hollow package with a resistor/cap in parallel internally that looks exactly what you'd make yourself. I remember 100 years ago at a company I used to work for, we used to buy little radial packages like that and make our own opto-couplers.

I sense a business opportunity here....

IIRC, there was a scandal a few years back, with Gibson selling cheap capacitors packaged to look like they were more expensive PIO caps.