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Yet Another Strat/pots/caps Question


Uncle Os

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Hey all!

I haven't posted in a loong while but I've been lurkin' about the place.

I've got a strat on the operating table. It looks as though everything was originally swapped out for a vintage noiseless. Then they discovered the bridge p'up was too bright. Whomever did it just used a pair of wire cutters to remove the treble bleed circuit from the tone pot. Anyway... NOW... The guy put a Dimarzio Fast Track 1 in the bridge position but it still has the 1 meg pots on the tone circuit so it's still too bright as well.

The guy likes the sound of the remaining Vintage Noiseless (neck and middle) but wants to tone down the Dimarzio a hair. The problem is... He's got the tone circuit on the neck AND bridge p'ups via the Schaller Megaswitch (E-Type). The plan is... Well... What I was thinkin' was to do 500K tone pots with .022mfd Vitamin D cap so it won't effect the neck p'up too awful much while allowing for a smoother tone on the Dimarzio (bridge p'up). He presently runs the tone control of the 1 meg pots @ 4-5 to get the bridge pickup's high end under control. I'm thinkin' a 500K/.022mfd circuit would allow for turning the tone knob down to about '7' most of the time and if he wants some 'snot' out of that bridge pickup, he can run it wide open.

I guess I'm fairly informed but not informed enough, methinks.

Questions, comments, criticism, guidance and direction for the good of the cause tremendously appreciated.

Os

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He's using 1M pots on a strat with single coil pickups??

If he's currently setting his tone pots at 4-5, and you're putting in 500K pots to warm it up, why not go with the traditional .047 cap? Whatever you do, I think he'll be happier with this than the old configuration.

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He's using 1M pots on a strat with single coil pickups??

If he's currently setting his tone pots at 4-5, and you're putting in 500K pots to warm it up, why not go with the traditional .047 cap? Whatever you do, I think he'll be happier with this than the old configuration.

Thank you, Kind Sir.

First... I need to clarify. The neck and middle p'ups are the Fender Vintage Noiseless (humbuckers)types. Thanks. :D

Well... The .047 cap... I'm just afraid it'll take too much off the top of the neck p'up. Quite certain it would be perfect for the Fast Track though. Soo... I thought I could meet in the middle. The 500 K pots would soften up the tone a bit and the .022 cap might allow some extra clearance for high end on the neck pickup while allowing the tone knob for the bridge pickup to be reduce just a little bit.

That was my thinkin'. Not that my thinking is correct. I'm just goin' by the general rules I've used in the past... 250 K pots go with .022 caps; 500 k pots go with .047 cap. the bigger the number the more highs are taken off. The smaller the number the less highs are taken off. Just guessing that if you combine a 500k pot with a .022 cap... You'll be in the middle somewhere.

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Well... I realized there was no way to avoid experimentation so I got to work swapping parts in and out. Started with 500Ks/.047 cap. When I plugged the guitar in, everything was... Well... Flat. Sounded like the standard guitar you'd pull off the shelf at GC that had an H/S/S config. The bridge pickup was tamed while the neck pickup as just castrated, for lack of a better term. I then went to a 500K/.022 cap and a little of that high end came back and you could hit the tone control on the Dimarzio Fast Track to get it where the guy wants it.

*MY* tastes... I don't like what the 500K pots did to the Vintage Noiseless pickups at all. I'm not a hater but I loves me some true single coil tones. The VN p'ups make a good go of that sound but the 500K pots flatten things out and make them far less lively. If it were mine... I'd have the bridge pickup on it's own circuit. Speaking of which... Bagh... That's another thread entirely. lol

The guy's comin' over today. I'll let him run it through the Bradshaw rig and see if he digs it or not. If not... Will report further. :D

Thanks again, DPM. :D

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