Esquire wiring question

So I've been thinking about turning my CV 50's BSB Tele into an Esquire, and I found a wiring diagram. I found all sorts of wiring diagrams. I know I can do this, and solder where it says, but my real question is, if you understand:

Why do I need to solder where it says? I can't find an answer anywhere. What do the capacitors and the resistor do? What is the purpose of a capacitor/resistor? What happens with different values?

This has been on my mindgrapes!


http://cdn.seymourduncan.com/images/support/schematics/esquire.jpg

This and the followup article should clear it up:
http://m.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2012/May/Fender_Esquire_Basics.aspx

But you don't have to do it that way, search phostenix for some good ideas.

imho, the 50's "vintage" esquire circuit served a very special purpose that is not particularly functional in the 21st century. i wire all my esquires thisaway ....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/wiring/esquire-1.jpg

1. volume
2. volume + tone w/.022uf cap
3. volume + .0047uf cap ("cocked wah")

you can experiment with those cap values, too.

...
Why do I need to solder where it says?

so that the circuit will work as expected

I can't find an answer anywhere. What do the capacitors and the resistor do?

attenuate treble and volume

What is the purpose of a capacitor/resistor?

attenuate treble and volume

What happens with different values?

when they're changed, the guitar will function with more or less treble removed



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....

Thanks! And I guess that "Why do I need to solder where it says" sounded stupid, but I was asking something... deeper than that. I can't explain it, but you did help me.

Basically, your question comes down to "what is an RC filter circuit?"

In extremely simple terms, the resistor reduces the signal strength, and therefore the volume.

You're dealing with an alternating current here (AC), which means the voltage goes up and down in alternate directions instead of just going up and staying there (that would be direct current, or DC). So, as the voltage goes up, the electrons start flowing through the wires in one direction and then when the voltage goes back down they slow down the flow. Then the voltage increases the opposite direction, and the electrons go back the way they came.

Because of that behavior, the capacitor can act as a filter. If you imagine the capacitor as a storage device, it has the capacity to take a certain number of electrons before it stops allowing anything through. A high frequency signal has less chance of filling up the capacitor before the voltage flips, so essentially it can pass through the capacitor unimpeded. A low frequency signal will fill up the cap and then be blocked.

In the circuit you show, you see the capacitor is running from one of the switch positions to the ground plane. This means that when the switch is in that position, it will allow some of the higher frequencies to go straight to ground rather than being passed to the amplifier.

If you increase the capacitance, that means that more (lower) frequencies will be allowed through the capacitor.

The reason for the solder is to avoid any poor connections to ground which could cause noise. The specific placement in that picture is just the fewest solder blobs that will easily do the job. You could make separate connections for the pickup lead, the cap, the ground, the third pole on the pot, and all that... but there's no real reason you'd want to other than just to avoid doing what you were told to do.

the reason for the solder is to make electronic circuits work. :cool:

You've never twisted wires together? :razz:

You've never twisted wires together? :razz:

tres amateur. :mrgreen:

What about the different voltages on the caps? Some of the diagrams I have seen have a .047 400v in there?

What about the different voltages on the caps? Some of the diagrams I have seen have a .047 400v in there?

there's so little voltage in passive gutiar circuits that a 400v cap is many thousands of times overkill. save that cap for a real electronic circuit (amp!).

Cool. Thanks. I'm in the process of changing my Nashville deluxe into a esquire. I have a dirty Harry pup in the bridge so I'm excited to see what it sounds like

i know the namesake of the rio dirty harry - both him and his pup are class acts. :cool: