Prevent muddiness when turning down volume?

[JimLamme]

Hi fellas,

How do I reduce treble loss when turning down the volume pot? It seems to get muddy as you turn down the volume.

I read one can solder some caps and resistors in the wiring circuit. But what values and where do they go? How do the diff values used affect the tone?

Thanks.

[Old Tele man]

...while exact values probably depend upon which pickups you're using, you can probably start with 180K and 0.001uFd, wired in series.

...of course, you could also try just the 0.001uFd cap alone and see what that does for you.

[karmadave]

You can have a treble cap installed that will prevent treble less when turning down the volume. A decent guitar tech could do a better job of explaining this as well install one of these in your guitar.

-KD

[leofenderbender]

I've always soldered up a 680pfd cap and a 150K resistor (in parallel) across the blades of the volume pot.

The problem you are describing will be solved.

[lonestargtr]

I know it's not just a quick technical fix, but a company out of Nashville, TN makes a circuit called "The Redeemer" that fixes this problem. It is active so you have to have enough room in your cavity for a 9v battery, but it makes your volume knob on your guitar act like a master volume, with full frequencies passing through (including highs) as you roll the volume down. You can check out their website at http://www.creationaudiolabs.com/redeemer.html

Mike

[Old Tele man]

...there are two schools of thought here: (A) ACTIVE where battery-powered electronics is used, and (B) PASSIVE where simple resistors and capacitors are used.

ACTIVE = has the benefits of both sharper and broader control of both volume and frequencies (both selected and rejected), but is subject to "dying" while you play due to weak batteries.

PASSIVE = needs no batteries and thus won't "krap-out" while playing; but, at the same time, it cannot BOOST signals, only ATTENUATE them! That's why passive-controls are called "lossey" circuits.

...if you need "precise" control of volume and/or frequencies, you want ACTIVE, but if "close enough" is OK, you can use PASSIVE.

...and, there IS a cost difference, not counting cost of batteries!

[EADGBE]

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d188/picsyes/volumecontrolextratwo.jpg

[Mullet Kingdom]

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d188/picsyes/volumecontrolextratwo.jpg
+1

This is what you want. I use a 220k resistor coupled with a 250 pfd capacitor soldered to the first and second lugs of the volume pot as illustrated above.

However, if your soldering skills are sub-par it'll work fine for about an hour before it starts sounding like a normal volume pot again.

[JimLamme]

Hey guys, thanks for all the info. I understand to wire a capacitor and a resistor in parallel across the volume pot middle and other leg.

But what value should I use? I did some surfing also and the recommended range for caps is from 250pf to 2500pf(0.0025uf on the fralin page) while range for resistors is from 120k to 220k.

Which values should I use for 3 single coils pups? How do the values affect the tone? Are the differences negligible?

Thanks!

[Pearly Gator]

The 50's tone control wiring mod is a good place to start. http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88796&highlight=wiring

[leofenderbender]

The mod works regardless of the pot or pickup configuration of your guitar - it simply allows the treble frequencies to bypass the pot and continue down the guitar cord to your amp - the type of pot or pickup is irrelevant.

Acme Guitar Works has one for sale on their site using a 680pfd cap and a 220K resistor; Anderson guitars use the 680pfd cap and a 180K resistor. I use 150K because I couldn't find 180K, that could be why they are using 220K. Here's the link to the Acme site:

http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/Volume-Kit-680pf-220K-P87C13.aspx

[EADGBE]

Hey guys, thanks for all the info. I understand to wire a capacitor and a resistor in parallel across the volume pot middle and other leg.

But what value should I use? I did some surfing also and the recommended range for caps is from 250pf to 2500pf(0.0025uf on the fralin page) while range for resistors is from 120k to 220k.

Which values should I use for 3 single coils pups? How do the values affect the tone? Are the differences negligible?

Thanks!.001 mf cap and a 150K ohm resistor. - Guitar Electronics by Donald Brosnac.

[Jon Silberman]

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d188/picsyes/volumecontrolextratwo.jpg

This is exactly what I did to my PRS and it works nicely, even gives the buckers a single coilish sound when rolled back. On the other hand, that's a higher value than some people may prefer.

[justicetones]

I've always soldered up a 680pfd cap and a 150K resistor (in parallel) across the blades of the volume pot.

The problem you are describing will be solved.

These are my favorite values and the values used by a very well respected custom guitar builder.