Tone control that will cut bass instead of treble

[old_picker]

Diagram below is the way I wire the tone control on all teles built here. I realise there are other ways of doing it. The cap from the center tap on the tone control [bottom pot] to earth via the earthed lug on the volume control. Value is usually .022 or .047 depending on variables.

I need to change the function so bass is dumped instead of treble. I read that cap values in the range of .001mf to .007mf will do that job. My question is: Will substituting the .022 / .047 with caps in the range of values .001mf to .007mf achieve the desired outcome - I have seen various ways of wiring in na bass dump cap but none look like my circuit. I also see resistors in some circuits and wonder why.

thanks for any and all responses

 

[trev333]

TBX tone pot might work for you.... the 5-10 half is great for cleaning up muddy pickups... 5-0 works like a normal tone with half the sweep...

 

[RottenTheCat]

You cannot shut the signal to ground through a capacitor and lose lows. You can put a capacitor in series with the signal and only allow heist through. Then you can use a pot in parallel with the capacitor, as a bypass, to add lows back in. That's not really a great solution I'm just throwing it out there cuz it does work.

 

[Geo]

You could move the wire on the outside lug of the tone control to the opposite outside lug
if you just wanted to reverse the control taper from bright all the way up to bass all the way up.

 

[moosie]

I need to change the function so bass is dumped instead of treble. I read that cap values in the range of .001mf to .007mf will do that job. My question is: Will substituting the .022 / .047 with caps in the range of values .001mf to .007mf achieve the desired outcome - I have seen various ways of wiring in na bass dump cap but none look like my circuit. I also see resistors in some circuits and wonder why.

No, the circuit is different. More than just values. Where the treble cut runs parallel to the signal, the bass cut is in series with it.

Here's Leo's original bass cut he did for G&L - my drawing of it anyway...

Caps pass high end, and block low end. Depending how it's hooked up, either highs or lows can be kept in the signal, or dumped to ground.

With a cap running parallel to the signal (connecting to ground), the highs pass the cap, and 'escape' from the signal. Gone. Bass is blocked from the escape route, are left in the signal, and we hear them.

With a cap in series with signal, the bass is blocked from getting through. The highs pass, and we hear them.

With a treble cut cap, the higher value darkens the signal, because it takes a larger slice of the treble out of the circuit.

The bass cut cap still works the same, taking a bigger slice of highs, but the effect is that the smaller the cap, the greater the bass cut.

 

[old_picker]

ok getting down on it but not quite where I need to be in the above example from moosie -I'll fill in a little more of the detail - I have a 2 gang pot in the tone control position and the pickups are wired direct from the pickup input lugs on the blade switch. 1st pot is for the bridge - normal tone control and set up as per the diagram in my first post. 2nd pot is where I want the bass dump - if we look at the pot labelled bass in moosies diagram I would simply wire in the cap as shown terminating at the top lug ie: without the connection to the pot above. - correct?

 

[moosie]

...

 

[moosie]

Ugliest diagram I've ever drawn, but I'm hurrying a bit here, and I'm not sure this is what you want, or if it'll be feasible...

In middle position, neck will be affected by the bass cut, and BOTH pickups will be affected by the treble cut. No way around that in a passive circuit.

You still have the issue of not using the proper spec pot for the bass cut... because you won't find a double gang pot with one of them a 1megRA.

 

[old_picker]

ok just to neaten it up a little - yeah cant get i meg gang pots - either 250/500 or 500/500 - or a danelectro double 100k linear and one meg.
ill stick with the 500/250 using the 500 and see how we go -
using minis with 3 in a row brent mason style is another way to go - eghhhrr to me - ugly and not much room - looks like an effect pedal on the guitar

 

[wabashslim]

EDIT: you posted yours while I was writing mine. You've got it right.

 

[moosie]

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/21112-three-must-try-guitar-wiring-mods?page=2

Here's an example of someone getting by with a normal 500kA pot, instead of the specified 1MC (reverse audio).

I can't say about the value difference, but the rotation / taper will have the bass cut coming on quick as soon as you back off the knob. The original was designed to come on gradually, like any normal volume or tone pot. See if you can get used to it, I guess.

 

[moosie]

Here's a more organized diagram. It's for normal modern 3-way Tele wiring, but shows the tone control stuff you wanted.

I don't have a gang pot on hand, so I don't know which level is which knob. If you care, you need to test first, don't just copy me.

 

[wabashslim]

Slight correction:

 

[moosie]

Whoops! Thanks for the assist. @old_picker, I hope that didn't mess you up.

 

[alnico357]

I put one in my Carvin.
https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/24592-the-recording-guitarist-the-fabulous-focus-knob

 

[old_picker]

thanks wabashslim
moosie - might be worth posting the whole amended diagram - i got the picture but havent got around to wiring this up as yet

 

[moosie]

moosie - might be worth posting the whole amended diagram - i got the picture but havent got around to wiring this up as yet

Yep, here you go.

 

[old_picker]

thanks again moosie -