wickerwolf

Hi all, rummaging though my boxes i came across an old varitone attepmt i did from years back (7 years or so) which was my first and only attemp t make a varitone, it didnt work out well, due to a poor quality rotary switch and lack of supplies.

So ive decided to make a new one this time the right way around, so first the guitar this will be used in is a mid mid level ibanex RG (fitted with Bare knuckle aftermaths)

I have 12 Position 10 Pole Rotary Switch to use, and ive got the following Polyester caps to hand;

2 x 1uF 250V

2 x 0.47uF 250V

2 x 0.15uF 100V

2 x 0.05uF 100V

3 x 33nF 100V

3 x 68nF 100V

4 x 22npF 100V

6 x 47nF 100V

4 x 15nF 100V

5 x 6.8nF 100V

11 x 10nF 100V

5 x 8200pF 100V

5 x 5600pF 100V

5 x 4.7nF 100V

6 x 3300pF 10V

5 x 2200pF 100V

5 x 0.22uF 100V

5 x 0.27uF 100V

2 x 0.82uF 100V

10 x 1nF 100V

8 x 0.1uF 100V

And a few odd an ends in ceramic caps, this will be run along side the existing tone pot, now based on the caps i have heres the order i was thinking;

P1 - Bypass

P2 - 0.05uF 100V

P3 - 0.15uF 100V

P4 - 0.22uF 100V

P5 - 0.27uF 100V

P6 - 0.47uF 250V

P7 - 0.82uF 100V

But im not sure what values to use on the other possitions, anybody have any ideas or what values they would use?

Also i see some people use a small blue cube on there swicths (inductor/choke) if i understand it right this makes the sounds more scooped in some values/keeps the highs, what inductor/choke/part of ebay would i need to get to do this?

And lastly, the order/signal path on all the different pics ive seen always seems ot differ, i was thinking of

Tone pot hot lug > Varitone > volume (see pic) is this ok?

Thanks

Hi all, i dont see any topics here covering this already so i thougth id ask what gauge and type of wires everyones using to wire there guitars with.

Whats the best ones?

Any body had sound quality issues based on the wire theve used?

I've used various wires, the 2 most common ones been 22awg hookup wire and 22awg cloth coverd/waxed hook up wire, with no noticable difference in sound between the 2. Ive just got a few sets of these http://www.ebay.co.u...0776435022& in so ill be trying them on my next build.

They didnt feel alive, the notes were all thick and clear but the dynamics were lacking, very compressed kind of sound, glad i didnt drop more money on emg's or blackouts now. Took the plunge and invested in the bare knuckle black hawks, and a new oak 5 way switch. The guitars got a tone and volume pot in it, and hooked up using cloth covered and waxed wire, using a .22 cap on the tone. So it should be a simple drop in of the new pickups when they arive.

Well after a days testing and playing around the actives are now back out the axe and will be listed on gumtree, there not nesseceraily bad sounding but theres something about them, i dont like, the mix of bridge and neck pickup gave a nice lead tone. But for rythm, i just couldnt warm to them.

Before taking them back out i rewired them to both stock and moded (tried an 86 cap and a 33 cap) to see if i could get the tone i wanted but no luck.

So now i've got a set of bare knuckle black hawks ordered and they will be going in on tuesday.

Well after a days testing and playing around the actives are now back out the axe and will be listed on gumtree, there not nesseceraily bad sounding but theres something about them, i dont like, the mix of bridge and neck pickup gave a nice lead tone. But for rythm, i just couldnt warm to them.

Before taking them back out i rewired them to both stock and moded (tried an 86 cap and a 33 cap) to see if i could get the tone i wanted but no luck.

So now i've got a set of bare knuckle black hawks ordered and they will be going in on tuesday.

Hi all, after some googling ive decided on 2 simple mods to do to go with my new active pickups, but before i do them could somebody look at the schematic and check it all looks right?

The 2 mods are;

Solo mod - SPDT toggle, which takes the signal from the 5 way selector and then sends it to either volum\tone or directly to the jack (bypassing the vol\tone circuit)

Cap selector - SPDT toggle, with a cap on each possiton connecting to the tone pot, giving me 2 choices of cap.

Heres my schematics (both are the same just 1 is neater looking)

If theres any other mods that people think would be usefull please chip in, also im sure i recall a user here who did a simmilar tone\cap selector but also put trim pots before the caps, if i wanted to do this what value trim pots would i need?

Thanks.

After sifiting thorugh loads of junk on ebay, I've managed to bag a duel 25k concentric pot so that will do for the tone\volume, leaving me a empty hole from the old tone pot to do a mod with.

Thanks

Whilst im waiting for my new 3 way switch to arrive, ive been looking at what mods i can do to compiment my new active pickups, got a few liend up but due to the guitar (ibanez S series) space for controls is limited. So i've been looking for some push\pul or push\push pots, IronGear recommend 25kOhm pots to go with there active pups.

I've found this one but its from HK;

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item5ae0bd0cf6

And is only a B so that would do the tone but not volume.

So before i get that one from HK does anybody know were to find either push\pull or push\push 25kOhm pots in the UK (i need 2 one for volume 1 for tone)

Or what effect would me using 2 normal 500k push\pull pots have?

Thanks

Does the '3way heavy duty' one here look decent? If so ill order one now

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item5ae05a5a7d

EDIT; I've just bougth a fender 3 way switch so that will replace the 5 way.

The irongear schematic shows a 3 way togle, ive got it wired tothe 5 way as the stock pups were, which is

With the exception of the Red\White wire on the 8th lug (since my pups only have Hot, 9v+, and ground wires)

Hi all, so after wasting the day trying to get round this i give up, I have a S470 which i was fitting IronGear volts (actives) in. Having fitted them then trying the guitar out, both pickups are engaged no matter where the 5 way selector switch is, even in the middle posstion (no middle pickup fitted tho)

Ive gone over and over every ground and wire to try and check for any faults, but cant find any, ive even removed the tone control (Pickup>5 way>volume>out jack) but the issue is still there. Ive had the 5 way switch out and on the multi meter checking for cross connections etc nothing!

So now im completely stumped, anybody any ideas?

Hi all selling this on ebay at the moment so take a look at My Add Thanks.

Hi all, ive got a WEM 4x12 Cab as can be seen in my advert here My Add

Its rated at 12'Ohms is there a way to lower it to run on a head rated at 4'Ohms? Thanks, just curious befor eit gets bought if it would of been possible.

Hey would something like this Variable caps be usable in a custom guitar circuit? (Eg, in a varitone etc so different tones can be dialed in)

These look very intresting, if all goes well ill be trying 1 out for the bridge possition in my next project.

Looking good so far, not my style of guitar but for some inspiration you should check out the dean razorbacks there almost identical except for the lower point/horn http://www.deanguitars.com/electrics.htm

Thats the same switch i have in my last project i built. I got it of ebay (www.ebay.com) Just keep an eye on there untill 1 pops up and then check the shipping, they normally ship worldwide.

Just use 2 push/pull pots its the neatest and most hassle free way to do it.

Did the pickups suffer any bangs whilst you were changing them over? (Droped them perhaps etc?) That can sometimes cause what your describing.

I'm making a bass I'm just using the tutorial to get an idea on how to make it. where would I find a wiring diagram for these parts? and thanks for the help.

All the diagrams you need can be found at http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/category/wiringresources/

If you get stuck at any point just post your problem up here and i or another member will be more then happy to help you point you in the right direction.

Going of that tutorial you will want to get

1 volume pot 250k/500k

1 tone pot 250k/500k

1 selector switch -- again this depends on what combinations you want but usauly a 3 way or a 5 way is used

2 humbuckers -- what ever pickups suit the sound your after

1 output jack

And then the obvious little bits - Wire, solder

Check out http://www.axesrus.com/axeknobs.htm if your in the UK they have all the parts you need plus more.

Im a little confused what is t your building a bass or a guitar? In your 1st post you say bass but in the tutorial its a guitar??

Capacitors, or "caps," are typically used in guitar electronics as filters or barriers for certain frequencies. High frequencies will pass through a cap, while lower frequencies are blocked. The value of the capacitor will determine the frequencies that pass (See picture). Using the filtering properties of a cap, its possible to change the tone of the guitar.

Higher frequencies travel more readily to ground, and a guitar can sound muddy as the volume is rolled off. Many builders overcome this problem by using whats been called a 'treble bypass' between the input and the output of the potentiometer. The most common treble bypass caps are 680 picofarads (pf) and .001 microfarads (µf). The higher the value of the cap, the more upper frequencies are allowed to travel through it. A tone pot uses the same properties of a cap, but instead of letting the frequencies slip by to the amp, they are sent to ground. Most tone control caps are of a higher value than treble bleed caps, so the overall effect will be more noticeable, with more tonal flexibility.

Many mods such as the varitone controls use different value caps to alter the sound. Check out http://alexplorer.net/guitar/mods.html in the advanced section alot of those mods use caps and should give you some good examples of the theory in practise.

Hope this help.

That really comes down to the question of how custom do you want the bass? For instance you could have the minimal and go with no electronics just run the pick up tot he jack or 1 volume, 1 tone or 1 volume, 2 tones etc. It all depends on how many pickups you will be putting in the bass and then you can decide from there.

Absolutely. Any time you have a boost, though, it's going to be active electronics, meaning a battery. There are actually quite a few aftermarket products that will do what you want to accomplish, including the famous Afterburner by EMG. The afterburner works with passive pickups as well, if I remember correctly. Guitarfetish.com carries a few things that fit the bill-- just avoid the amp-emulator/"distortion" units. 1dB of boost isn't nearly enough to give yourself the "cut through the mix" boost you need, though, so the 20dB and 25dB units some of these places sell isn't completely out of line.

Artec makes some stuff, too: http://artecsound.com/active%20circuit.html I'm not sure if any of them are pure level-boosters, though.

Artecs great, i purchased the Artec QDDv2 last month and it works great, not as much distortion as my liking but it does exactly what they said it would so i carnt complain. Im going to be getting the Artec BCU unit next month to see how that goes. Ill have a look round on guitarfetish now to see what i can find the guitar this is for at the moment has 1 9v battery in it placed in the trem springs cavity. But im contemplating getting a battery box and then just routing the guitar, which would make it alot easier to change the battery if it goes at a gig etc.

Edit: Just came across this http://store.guitarfetish.com/25migubociti.html would something like that be suitable?