Varitone use with Tone

[PitchShifter]

Hi Guys,
I'm looking at using a varitone rotary switch on my current project, but I'm a little miffed how they work when placed in a circuit with a volume and tone. Basically, I want the varitone switch to decide the bandwidth of cut, and the Tone pot to determine the level of cut. I've seen a number of different schematics so aren't sure how to achieve this result, or if it's even possible.

Here's a basic one...will this work?

 

[jackthehack]

Is this for a P-Bass?

 

[PitchShifter]

Ahh..no, that just happens to be where the schematic is from.  I just assumed the wiring would be similar.  Standard dual HB guitar.

 

[TroubledTreble]

The two wires on the tone look backwards to me. The middle post should go to the cap ( or varitone ) and the outer leg goes to the volume.
It would be just as any guitar hookup and simply putting the varitone in place of the cap.

I would love to hear a review of this. It seems like a great idea but I wonder if it is worth it and how much it would get used.

 

[PitchShifter]

What would be the effect of hooking the varitone off the tone as in the pic?

I've seen other schematics where the varitone sits out of the circuit for the most part, just meeting the circuit at the hot jack output.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to hook it up to fit what I'm after.

 

[jackthehack]

If you want to "review" it; if you have a dealer/shop near you that has either a Gibson ES-345 or a Blueshawk in stock, they both have the Varitone circuit. I've played an ES-345 a couple of times, didn't have much use for it; if you check out pictures of the world's most famous Varitone guiter equipped player - B.B. King on ES-345 - his switch is almost always in the #1 bypass position.

 

[Orpheo]

i think that a varitone hooked on the tonepot is useless. afterall, you can get the same range of attenuating the highs with a .047 as with a 0.013, but you have a bigger range with the .047. i.e.: skip the varitone, and use the hole for an onboard booster of some kind

 

[DiMitriR33]

a "vari-tone" is hooked up in series with an inductor and forms a notch filter. but i get yer point. now the above sugestions of nixing the switch and going traditional might not be what you want. wiring a cap to ground with an inductive pickup forms a resonant peak, a frequency that has greater responce. a single cap with a pot doesn't quite have the same effect. it only attenuates highs for most of the range, no real peak is created other than the one caused by the cable. the multi cap rotary switch will change the resonant frequency and efectivly make your guitar sound like it has entirly diferent pickups.

to answer the question yes the layout of the tone curcuit is correct. but as a sugestion adding a pot would be more usefull to one used as a notch filter. you just need an inductor about 1 henry wired in series with the switch. and that can go between the switch and ground, between the switch and pot replacing the lead shown in the diagram, or between the hot off the volume and the tone pot replacing the lead shown in the diagram.

a notch filter setup this way and a rotary switch that changes between caps to cut highs could give a huge variety of sounds from the most basic pup switching combos and be mre usefull than 90% of the goofy wireing ideas out there.

tt there is no diference with how the tone is wired, when only two lugs are used you vary the resistance between them and direction is irrelevant.

 

[PitchShifter]

you just need an inductor about 1 henry wired in series with the switch. and that can go between the switch and ground, between the switch and pot replacing the lead shown in the diagram, or between the hot off the volume and the tone pot replacing the lead shown in the diagram.

a notch filter setup this way and a rotary switch that changes between caps to cut highs could give a huge variety of sounds from the most basic pup switching combos and be mre usefull than 90% of the goofy wireing ideas out there.

This is exactly what I'm trying to achieve, but I don't quite follow the technical explanation.  Are you able to adjust my diagram to illustrate the setup you've described?

 

[-CB-]

That schematic is not a VariTone.

The varitone uses an inductor, and a load resistor, and bleed resistors, and caps... and the six way switch.

You can build your own though, using the $20 inductor from Bill Lawrence (the real one)... its called a Qfilter, and works fine.

The varitone rolls off the upper mids, with its notch response deepening into the highs too at the 4-6 ranges.

BB uses bypass (#1) or the #2 position, depending on things known only to BB.... and it could be something as simple as the amps he's playing with.  Last time I saw him he had a pair of silverface JBL equipped Twin Reverbs on stage for him, and another one for his backup guitar player.
I was too far to see the varitone tho.