Willwork4food Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 here's a wierd one... is it possible to have a passive system with selectible freq, and q control??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeAArthur Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 You mean like a "Varitone"? Or are you looking for separate frequency and Q controls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willwork4food Posted November 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 You mean like a "Varitone"? Or are you looking for separate frequency and Q controls? I'm looking for separate controls, kinda like on a high end mixing board... only on a guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 11, 2006 Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 EQ controls like those on mixing desks are active as they provide boost as well as attenuation. Passive tone controls only cut, so I would consider whether you want clever selective cutting (as said, Varitone) or a more flexible system which may take a lot more dialling in if you're looking for multiple tones to use live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willwork4food Posted November 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 EQ controls like those on mixing desks are active as they provide boost as well as attenuation. Passive tone controls only cut, so I would consider whether you want clever selective cutting (as said, Varitone) or a more flexible system which may take a lot more dialling in if you're looking for multiple tones to use live. What is a veritone? How does it work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jozer99 Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 EQ controls like those on mixing desks are active as they provide boost as well as attenuation. Passive tone controls only cut, so I would consider whether you want clever selective cutting (as said, Varitone) or a more flexible system which may take a lot more dialling in if you're looking for multiple tones to use live. What is a veritone? How does it work? Its kinda complicated, basically its a notch filter that Gibson put on a couple of different guitars. There was a 5 way rotary switch, which would allow you to select which (if any) frequencies to cut. They use some hard to find parts, but theres someone out there who makes em for like $50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted November 18, 2006 Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 (edited) The Varitone® isn't complicated - it's just an inductor, a rotary switch, a resistor and a handful of caps. Here's a cheap version using parts available from Mouser: It's basically a switchable frequency notch filter, but it works really well with passive pickups, and doesn't require any batteries. Or, if you're not up to building one, Big D sells a really nice ready-to-wire setup on his website. A quick (Electronics) forum search for varitone will get you more info, if you're interested. As for a complex passive EQ circuit, it can be very effective, but it usually attenuates the signal too much for it to be practical as an onboard feature, since it will lower the output level enough to make the signal-to-noise ratio unacceptable. F'rinstance, a standard Fender amp tonestack is going to cut the signal by 10dB or more (that's 66% lower output). Without some gain makeup, that's gonna be pretty weak! Edited November 18, 2006 by lovekraft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted November 20, 2006 Report Share Posted November 20, 2006 have you tried opting for a different style tone control one that passivly blends between two capacitors so that you retain all the highs but you can alter how much lowend comes out if you have say a strat style tone control system you can put one as a high roll off and use the other one to taper the body of it. with some clever switching you can actually eliminate it on some settings and in the middle posisiton its nearly transparent. ed ps i did this on my lespaul about a year ago. loved it. later did it to my strat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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