volume, or volume & tone
- Thread starter JR
- Start date
Hmmm that's a tough one because it's such a personal thing. I personally would never build a guitar without a tone knob, because I'm constantly tweaking mine. The tone control helps me to make sure that regardless of what type of pickups are in my axe and who's amp rig I'm playing through, I still sound good.
I have a few (3) guitars with no tone controll- these are my VanHalen guitars, and for playen that "sound" its fine. But if I wanna play some Scorpions ballads or Pink Floyd, I need a tone controll knob.
I like the looks of 1 knob and it gives me the freedom to mount the volume knob where I like So I buy a pickguard that is not predrilled for controlls
And installing a single stacked concentric volume/tone controll
I like the looks of 1 knob and it gives me the freedom to mount the volume knob where I like So I buy a pickguard that is not predrilled for controlls
And installing a single stacked concentric volume/tone controll
I'm REAL BIG on simple controls... but having said that, I'd never build a guitar without a "middle" control, as well as "treble" control. There are times you just gotta roll it back, and both of those are part of what I'm becoming more and more accustomed to doing.
I do.
In that picture, using 250k audio (the ones from Warmoth are good) and 250k/500k linear pots will get you pretty well dialed in for most humbuckers. I prefer the 500k for humbucker volume, but the 250k is ok for the tone controls (unless you're a real treble nut, but then you'd not be using humbuckers probably...)
The caps... standard for humbuckers treble control seems to be about .022. Some folks like a smaller .015, or will hand pick from a selection and get .018 or .020 or whatever. You're call. On the middle control - you can use the capacitor to dial in more or less "lows" retained when you cut the middle. A good starting point is .022, but... you can go smaller (more lows retained) or higher (fewer lows retained). Eliminating the capacitor all together will result in a very thin, nearly single coil sounding tone. If you do that, its suggested you but a resistor in place of the cap, because if you turn the pot all the way the effect is too great. A good resistor to try there is from 15k to 47k, depending on the pickup and the inductor.
The inductor is a humbucking Lawrence Q-filter, which, in its latest incarnation runs about 1.8hy and 55ohms impedance. Yes 55 ohms. Very very low, which is why you need that blocking resistor if you dont use the cap. If you want some fun, you can put two Q's in series and retain more highs when you cut the mids out. Or you can put two in parallel and retain less highs. The impedance is so low, that going to the 27 ohm or 110ohm combined impedance creates no problems. If you use two in series, you get 3.6hy and what that does is bring the retained highs into the fundamental frequency range of the high E string, and 2nd harmonic range on the B and G. Personally... I find the 1.8hy just about right, as it retains the very top end of the high E fundamental and 2nd and greater harmonics of the other strings. In other words, it cuts the middle, and retains the "crisp" to a great extent (until turned way way down). I use a .022 cap, but... if you wanted to thin it out a bit you can use a larger cap (lets more thru to the inductor). Those Q filters are small cubes about 3/4x3/4x5/8 tall. Easy to fit. I mounted it with a double sticky foam tape square. They run $20 from Lawrence (give them 3-4 weeks to get it to ya tho, they're SWAMPED)
In that picture, using 250k audio (the ones from Warmoth are good) and 250k/500k linear pots will get you pretty well dialed in for most humbuckers. I prefer the 500k for humbucker volume, but the 250k is ok for the tone controls (unless you're a real treble nut, but then you'd not be using humbuckers probably...)
The caps... standard for humbuckers treble control seems to be about .022. Some folks like a smaller .015, or will hand pick from a selection and get .018 or .020 or whatever. You're call. On the middle control - you can use the capacitor to dial in more or less "lows" retained when you cut the middle. A good starting point is .022, but... you can go smaller (more lows retained) or higher (fewer lows retained). Eliminating the capacitor all together will result in a very thin, nearly single coil sounding tone. If you do that, its suggested you but a resistor in place of the cap, because if you turn the pot all the way the effect is too great. A good resistor to try there is from 15k to 47k, depending on the pickup and the inductor.
The inductor is a humbucking Lawrence Q-filter, which, in its latest incarnation runs about 1.8hy and 55ohms impedance. Yes 55 ohms. Very very low, which is why you need that blocking resistor if you dont use the cap. If you want some fun, you can put two Q's in series and retain more highs when you cut the mids out. Or you can put two in parallel and retain less highs. The impedance is so low, that going to the 27 ohm or 110ohm combined impedance creates no problems. If you use two in series, you get 3.6hy and what that does is bring the retained highs into the fundamental frequency range of the high E string, and 2nd harmonic range on the B and G. Personally... I find the 1.8hy just about right, as it retains the very top end of the high E fundamental and 2nd and greater harmonics of the other strings. In other words, it cuts the middle, and retains the "crisp" to a great extent (until turned way way down). I use a .022 cap, but... if you wanted to thin it out a bit you can use a larger cap (lets more thru to the inductor). Those Q filters are small cubes about 3/4x3/4x5/8 tall. Easy to fit. I mounted it with a double sticky foam tape square. They run $20 from Lawrence (give them 3-4 weeks to get it to ya tho, they're SWAMPED)
ccasion14: 
neddi stanz
Newbie
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i'm an old school VH kinda guy and i haven't had a tone control on any of my guitars for many years - i've always been the "what i don't need i don't have" type of player and i've never needed it - not to say other players don't but for what i do it's not needed - neddi
TonyFlyingSquirrel
Master Member
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neddi stanz said:
I'm the same way. My IBBY 7 string has one, & the only reason I put it back in when I refinished it was so I could put the push/push pot in to activate the led's. If the volume pot had been located a little further away from the playing position, I may have considered filling in the tone position & putting the push/push pot in the volume.
I haven't used a tone pot at all for at least 20+ years. I like the simplicity of the 3 way pickup selector switch that selects the 2 inner coils in the center position, and the volume pot, that's it. For bass, I'm in the Timothy B. Schmidt school of thought that I prefer both pickups wired in parallel to the single volume pot, nothing else. I'll let the amp do the tonal coloring & just send it a good signal. That's also why I prefer pickups that don't have drastic eq curves, I prefer them flatter.
I suppose I ought to add (as an extension of me other posts above) that I'm not a hard rock player, but can be hard blues player, definately not a metal player... I do play a lot of softer things, some light jazz, even do the clear as a bell late50's/early60's pop. Even some swing and rockabilly. So my insistence on a middle control (even if there's no treble control) is born of the desire for SIMPLE yet useful tone changes. I dont find the usual "roll off the treble" as useful as the middle control, and rarely use the treble control any more... but it still has its place.
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