StratDudeDan Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 i don't know how right i am or anything, i'm trying to figure out a high cut/no cut wiring thingamajig here, and i might be off on some part (which i think i am in several areas...) first question would be, do i need both capacitors? one circuit is wiring parallel, the other series (obviously), i was hoping the parallel one was correct for a high cut/low pass area, while the series would create a no cut/no filter thing... would i need the other capacitor, or could i find it's resistance (somehow, i know there's a forula out there somewhere) and just drop a resistor in the no cut/no filter line to balance out the impedance (i want to make 50% of the pot exactly 50%, and i don't want a volume change for the switch idea) or does that not affect it at all? also, what ratings should i use for the capacitor(s) and pot? as i said, i would like this to be a "high cut/no cut" setup for one pickup, possibly something i could integrate into a 3 single coil pickup setup in the future. it's been almost 5 years since i last took an electronics course, and a lot of my stuff is real rusty, so bring on the help in the biggest heaps you can hook me up with, please. i'll take the "dan, you're an idiot" with it, if i have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 I'm sorry, but I can't quite decipher your drawings - do you have a schematic of what you want to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted May 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 no...as i said, very rusty... the problem i'm having w/ find schematics is that i can't...i've looked all over the place for a high cut/no cut schematic, but not even (who i have deemed the "wiring gods" in my browser favorites) DMG has one... so i tried to through something together that would make sense. if you've got an idea of your own as to how this would work, that'd be cool, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 Well, a standard tone control is a high cut (low-pass filter). Do you want to eliminate the tone control in the no-cut position? If I can get a handle on what you're trying to do, I can probably draw something up for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted May 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 in essence, yes, and i don't like pots, but love switches (the second drawing was my attempt to re-create my brain's idea). if i'm using a pot, though, i plan on keeping the impedance the same, as i said, just so 50% is truly 50% and all that jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 So you're looking for a "preset" tone control, right? Just replace the tone pot with a pair of fixed resistors. Probably the easiest way would be to use a trimmer as a temporary tone pot, and adjust it to a setting that you like, then just remove the trimmer for the circuit, measure it from each end to the wiper terminal, and wire in the closest stock values you can find (like if it reads 321Kohms use a 330K). To switch it, simply switch the connection between the cap and the volume pot. If any of that is unclear, let me know and I'll try to explain it better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted May 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 the whole trimmer thing lost me. sorry for sounding like a total newb, here, i feel bad for "wasting" the time of experts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 A trimmer is a small pot that is adjusted with a screwdriver - the only reason to use one is because it's not likely to change settings when you pull it out of the circuit to measure it. You could do it with any pot if you can find a way to keep the shaft from rotating until after you've measured it. And you're not wasting my time - think of it as a public service (you're keeping me out of any discussions on politics and religion). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted May 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 k, that's what i was thinking, but i had no idea to be sure. so basically, i could just set my pot to a place i liked, measure it, then drop in that rating? also, what i was hoping to get was a way to "switch it off" and go with zero tone adjustment (or another setting for something different. keeping the same pickup setup and switching from rythm to lead on 1 single coil, for example...tee hee). would i do the same thing and just drop in a switch to route it through the two different tone settings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 Yeah, you could even use a rotary switch to switch the cap connection to the resistors off, or select any of a number of pairs, each pair representing a different tone pot setting. If you decide to go that route, you'll want to switch at the end of the cap that would normally connect to your tone pot. It's a simple idea, but by switching both the cap and the resistor pair, you could make it as versatile and complex as you wanted. If schematics would help, i can draw up an example or two for you, but I can't draw worth dookie so I won't be able to do wiring diagrams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted May 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 drawings or schematics are fine, either pm 'em to me, or post 'em here if you think some other schmo is gonna try something odd like i prefer to. however, i'm going to bed now, so i won't see 'em 'til the morning. thanks for your help thus far. gave me a "to do" list for tomorrow. well...added something, at least... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 Yeah, me too. I'll get something up tomorrow. Pleasant dreams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 OK, I don't know what I was thinking, but you'll only need one resistor and one cap for each "preset". I hope these diagrams will be a little easier to follow than my crazed ramblings. This is the standard tone pot setup that we all know and love. But you don't like pots, so... This replaces the pot with a fixed resistor and gives you a no-cut option. This allows two presets - with an ON-OFF-ON SPST, you'll also have that no-cut option OK, now we get tricky - by switching both cap and resistor, we can tailor the response of each switch position. The options are only limited to the number of poles on the switch (less one, since you'll want a no cut position). I hope that's a little clearer - as for component values, you'll probably want to tune it by ear. I'd probably breadboard it outside the guitar so I could swap values around until I found what I liked. Start with a few caps, maybe .1uF, .047uF and .022uF, and try resistors between 220K and 10K or so. The caps and resistors are dirt cheap, so this shouldn't be expensive - have fun with it, and when you find something that sounds great, hardwire it into your axe. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted May 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 my night is dedicated to figuring out what i like now. question, however... wait, now that i think about it, you have already answered it, question revoked. thanks for all your help again, btw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted May 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2004 bringing this one back with another question. first of all, here's what i got: using two switches instead of just one so S1 off = no cut, S1 on/S2 on = one setting, S1 on/S2 off = another setting. first off, is this right? secondly, now, i need to figure out how to get a humbucker w/ a coil tap in this thing, and i know nothing about that whatsoever. he wants to have a 3-way selector for the pickups (single coil, single + hb, hb) and then have the hb tapable, giving him a total of 5 different combinations (single, single + hb, single + hb *tap*, hb, hb *tap*). how would one go about doing this, if possible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted May 15, 2004 Report Share Posted May 15, 2004 depending on what type of range you want you can actually do away with the resistors.. and just use it as a high roll off cap.. put on a switch say .001uf should be sufficient. put it in switch posistion a and its high cut in switch pos b its bypassed.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted May 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2004 depending on what type of range you want you can actually do away with the resistors.. and just use it as a high roll off cap.. put on a switch say .001uf should be sufficient. put it in switch posistion a and its high cut in switch pos b its bypassed.. i've actually already got that section figured out. what i was worried about was a: the switches, which seem to be right and b: how to tie in a tapped humbucker w/ that single coil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted May 15, 2004 Report Share Posted May 15, 2004 For the pickup switching, just use two switches - wire the selector switch just like you would for any two pickups, Gibson-style, then use a second switch to coil-tap the humbucker. You can use a SPST mini-toggle to switch the coil tap, and a standard Gibson toggle or Tele blade switch for the selector switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asm Posted May 16, 2004 Report Share Posted May 16, 2004 sorry to interupt and be off-topic, but what program are you guys using to draw out schematics like that? thx. t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted May 16, 2004 Report Share Posted May 16, 2004 Circuitmaker 6 - student version, by Protel. Freeware, does some limited SPICE simulation, but the price is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonamemx Posted May 16, 2004 Report Share Posted May 16, 2004 Hey man, I put a 2 way tone switch in my Peavey Predator. I used a DPDT On/Off/On (center off) 3 postition mini toggle switch, and wired it like so /\ /\ /\ A Metal Film .22 on the left, soldered one end to the switch, one end to the ground, (really dark tone, nice with high overdrive/gain) and a Ceramic .01 on the Right. It cuts off just a little bit for a sort of "open vowel, half open wah" sound. Its cool. And the center is off. Beats any tone pot anyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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