The tone control...

[midnightlaundry]

Do you think that your guitar passes more high end without a tone control and capacitor? For example, having a guitar with a volume pot only?

[aleclee]

Don't have any guitars without tone controls but EE theory suggests that it would. PRS actually went so far as to create a circuit approximating a dimed tone control for its guitars with a sweet switch and no tone knob.

[teletroy]

I took the tone pot out of my Telecaster and added a 6 way (I think) rotary switch, one position doesn't have a capacitor and the others all have different values - to me it's brighter when no cap is being used. I actually use the switch more than I ever did the tone pot

[HBob]

Originally Posted by teletroy

I took the tone pot out of my Telecaster and added a 6 way (I think) rotary switch, one position doesn't have a capacitor and the others all have different values - to me it's brighter when no cap is being used. I actually use the switch more than I ever did the tone pot

Sounds like a neat idea. I hardly ever touch the tone controls. I also tend to keep the volume up all the way, too.

[Prof.Fuzz]

That's the beauty of a no-load tone pot.

I've used them on a couple of Teles in the past and currently have one in my crap-o-caster (Squire Strat with Lollar Chicago Steel pickup). Really lets all the bite of that pickup through for nasty cutting Hound Dog Taylor goodness.

[midnightlaundry]

Thanks guys!

[shane88]

i don't believe in tone controls

to prove the point play a guitar with a switch like an esquire which switches the tone control in and out

[blackblack]

Pretty much anything you stick in the signal path will attenuate the signal slightly - high end seems to go first. That's not automatically an evil thing. I use my tone controls a lot and don't wish to give them up. So called no-load pots (Acme Guitarworks is one source) are one option to eliminate signal loss when you're not using the tone control to roll off treble. Another option is a Varitone type tone control (Stellartone.com) which eliminates the pot in favor of a number of different value caps on a rotary switch.

[ruach1]

Hadn't thought about that, but that may explain something. My Gorodnitski has no tone control. Semi-hollow, spruce top/mahogany back, maple/ebony neck, hss pickups. I string it with D'Addario Chromes flatwound strings, and it is amazingly bright -- far brighter than an ES-335

[Unabender]

Check out this tutorial in making own DIY "no load" pots for tone. Basically, you remove a bit of the pot's taper and then when it's completely turned up, the whole tone circuit would be essentially out of the picture.

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/pots.htm

I think Fender actually sells pots of this kind... TBX pots?

[Dog Boy]

Originally Posted by leadfootdriver

Do you think that your guitar passes more high end without a tone control and capacitor? For example, having a guitar with a volume pot only?

Definitely.

I'll add its a sound I'm not fond of. YMMV

[Gris]

Oh man, this is the best 'secret' in the world of elec guitars. If you have a great guitar with nice PUs, you OWE it to yourself to try this - particularly in the neck position, but also can be cool in mid or even bridge if your PU is 'fat' enough to begin with. You will definitely get more attack, harmonics, everything from the neck position if you do this. Strats are commonly wired with no tone on the mid pos. However, it can make the bridge PU shrill if it is bright to begin with...