lantertronics
TDPRI Member
The topic of treble bleed capacitors came up one on of the Dylan Talks Tone livestreams, which gave me the impression that there's some misunderstandings out there about how it operates, so I put this together.
Treble bleed capacitor analysis
- Thread starter lantertronics
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
Fenderbaum
Tele-Afflicted
Bought a pre-made harness for my strat. Came with Bleed and Auricap caps on both pots.
Hated it. Awful sound.
Pulled both the bleed and caps off and put a regular dime cap on it and put on audio taper pots on both tone.
Love it now..
Never buying prewired harness again.
Hated it. Awful sound.
Pulled both the bleed and caps off and put a regular dime cap on it and put on audio taper pots on both tone.
Love it now..
Never buying prewired harness again.
yeah. treble bleed circuits simply allow too much treble through.
I'd say they "add" treble put that's only true in the semantics sense, as they can't actually add anything, except in the sense of from what we've become used to hearing. This bit of "knowledge" was pedantically pointed out to me in another thread on the subject
I'd say they "add" treble put that's only true in the semantics sense, as they can't actually add anything, except in the sense of from what we've become used to hearing. This bit of "knowledge" was pedantically pointed out to me in another thread on the subject
sjtalon
Doctor of Teleocity
>misunderstandings out there about how it operates<
High pass filter
High pass filter
SixStringSlinger
Poster Extraordinaire
I’ve had good luck with treble bleeds, but only 2 electric guitars out of about 10 or 12 I’ve owned have needed one: My Squier JM (mud city anywhere but “10”), and Reverend Tricky Gomez (came stock so I put one in when I re-wired it). My Ibanez Jet King 2 may have one, can’t recall.
My “recipe” so far is a cap (1nf? I think that’s a pretty common value for treble bleeds) in parallel with a resistor roughly half the value of that of the volume pot it’s used on (I say “roughly” because so far I’ve stuck to commonly available values, so a 250k pot will get a 100k resistor, for instance).
So far so good, but like I’ve said, not every guitar needs it.
My “recipe” so far is a cap (1nf? I think that’s a pretty common value for treble bleeds) in parallel with a resistor roughly half the value of that of the volume pot it’s used on (I say “roughly” because so far I’ve stuck to commonly available values, so a 250k pot will get a 100k resistor, for instance).
So far so good, but like I’ve said, not every guitar needs it.
@lantertronics That is a good analysis of how these things work.
As a player, one's ears are different from other players' ears. When someone says one thing sounds better than something else, it makes that a true statement for them. It may sound like total crap to you.
The parts for a treble bypass are cheap as chips and it's easy to experiment--which you must do--because guitars and amps are all different. As you experiment with different components, take notes and take frequent breaks because ear fatigue will mess with your brain and can cause faulty conclusions.
Here's a quick start:
As a player, one's ears are different from other players' ears. When someone says one thing sounds better than something else, it makes that a true statement for them. It may sound like total crap to you.
The parts for a treble bypass are cheap as chips and it's easy to experiment--which you must do--because guitars and amps are all different. As you experiment with different components, take notes and take frequent breaks because ear fatigue will mess with your brain and can cause faulty conclusions.
Here's a quick start:
Willie Johnson
Friend of Leo's
Duncan and cap-only result in the same value, right?
Painter644
Tele-Meister
I put one (parallel) in, took it out…. There it sits, in my parts bin. Ugh! Not for me.
6stringcowboy
Friend of Leo's
I used this article (link removed) as a loose guide to how I wired up the P90s w/treble bleeds in my Ibanez AS83. I am extremely happy with the results.
I set my volume and tone on '5', and then dial in my amp. I like the muted sound when I turn down and the scream when I turn up. I don't understand people who dial in their amp so their only choice is to play quieter.
Anyway, the problem addressed in this video is guitarists and their techs use slang to describe what they experience. In this case, they use the same word in two (electrically) opposite situations. I'm not sure the mathematical analysis really clears the air. It's more of a word problem.
Anyway, the problem addressed in this video is guitarists and their techs use slang to describe what they experience. In this case, they use the same word in two (electrically) opposite situations. I'm not sure the mathematical analysis really clears the air. It's more of a word problem.
No, the resistor lets ALL frequencies through. You could say it "waters down" the effect of the cap. This actually the best way to do it, but it helps to see it with a modeling program as well as hear it to get the values right.
SixStringSlinger
Poster Extraordinaire
This is a good point. My Strat “needed” a treble bleed until I set my amp so that I liked it with all the knobs about 7 or so.
I wire mine up to only be in the circuit when the tone control is up all the way on 10, roll it back a bit, and it's out, before the tone control's treble cut kicks in, and then the volume control gets its full function back. This way, no tone option is taken away, but the added tonal option is added. The switching function that's added this way, effectively removes the tone pot from the circuit as well, so there is even more of a treble boost.
Last edited:
TB seems very much that way to me anyway. 1-10 stays uniform tone mostly. And I guess that is the intention for a TB.
With no treble bleed you can use that 9-10 notch for a change.
Cool Peegoo. You make your own brand of pots too.@lantertronics That is a good analysis of how these things work.
As a player, one's ears are different from other players' ears. When someone says one thing sounds better than something else, it makes that a true statement for them. It may sound like total crap to you.
The parts for a treble bypass are cheap as chips and it's easy to experiment--which you must do--because guitars and amps are all different. As you experiment with different components, take notes and take frequent breaks because ear fatigue will mess with your brain and can cause faulty conclusions.
Here's a quick start:
. Just spotted that 
