Different placement of cap in tone pot wiring?

[eclecticsynergy]

Anybody wire their cap between the tone pot and ground, instead of between volume pot and tone pot?

Could this partially help isolate the cap and minimize treble loss when the tone's wide open, or wouldn't it make any difference since either way 500K is 500K?

Perhaps it's all the same electrically and it's simply easier to ground one lug of the tone pot to its casing the way it's normally done...

Anyway, I'm curious - came across this diagram but I don't think I've ever seen a guitar wired this way...

[eclecticsynergy]

PS: I'm curious also about the effect of this on resistive loading. Would it affect the resonant peak differently without the cap in between the pots, or (once again) is it all the same because the cap is still in the ground shunt, albeit behind the tone pot rather than in front of it?

[DavidRavenMoon]

I always wire one end of the cap to ground.

It doesn’t make a difference in functional. If you follow the signal path it’s the same thing, except the placement of the tone pot.


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[eclecticsynergy]

I always wire one end of the cap to ground.

It doesn’t make a difference in functional. If you follow the signal path it’s the same thing, except the placement of the tone pot.


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Thanks, David.

[beaubrummels]

I've done it both ways, even with 50's vs modern wiring. There's no electronic or tonal/sonic difference.

[Dave Locher]

I also always wire the tone cap to ground.

[Lewguitar]

I don't always wire the cap to ground. Sometimes I connect the tone control to the volume pot using the capacitor to make that connection like Gibson has done it on Les Pauls.

Which terminal on the volume pot the connection is made to DOES make a difference though.

Connecting to the middle terminal of the volume pot (the wiper) is connecting the capacitor and tone control AFTER the volume pot and that gets most of the quality of "50's wiring".

(Hamer guitars have two volume controls and one tone control. Jol Danzig connects the tone control to the output jack. That's connecting the tone control and capacitor AFTER the volume control too.)

Retains highs better when you roll down the volume control, which I like with humbuckers but not with Strat and Tele single coils.

Connecting to the same terminal that the pickup or switch is connected to is connecting the capacitor and tone control BEFORE the volume pot and that's modern wiring. Sounds better (to me) with Strat and Tele wiring.

[AlexR]

Depends entirely on the circuit for me. Sometimes there is less to accidentally ground the pins on, so you can go from vol pot to tone pot lugs (Les Pauls are examples here)

Other times the tone circuit is a way from the pots, and the connection risks touching.....especially in a strat where you close up the wiring and can't see what is going on. In these cases I attach the cap from tone pot lug to ground.


And as others have said, the order of components is completely inconsequential to the function.

[Mincer]

I always go to ground, too. It is easier than sometimes stretching it between the 2 pots.

[GuitarDoc]

In all of the 50+ guitars that I own, I have them with cap on the tone pot as shown. It makes absolutely no difference electrically or sonically whether the cap is between the vol pot and tone pot or if it goes from tone pot to ground. But as Lew said, it does make a difference where it's attached to the vol pot.

[GuitarDoc]

I don't always wire the cap to ground. Sometimes I connect the tone control to the volume pot using the capacitor to make that connection like Gibson has done it on Les Pauls.

Which terminal on the volume pot the connection is made to DOES make a difference though.

Connecting to the middle terminal of the volume pot (the wiper) is connecting the capacitor and tone control AFTER the volume pot and that gets most of the quality of "50's wiring".

(Hamer guitars have two volume controls and one tone control. Jol Danzig connects the tone control to the output jack. That's connecting the tone control and capacitor AFTER the volume control too.)

Retains highs better when you roll down the volume control, which I like with humbuckers but not with Strat and Tele single coils.

Connecting to the same terminal that the pickup or switch is connected to is connecting the capacitor and tone control BEFORE the volume pot and that's modern wiring. Sounds better (to me) with Strat and Tele wiring.

Good post, Lew.

[ArtieToo]

I always go to ground, too. It is easier than sometimes stretching it between the 2 pots.

If I'm reusing an old cap, I'll do that. But if I'm installing new ones, with full length leads, I generally use the cap as the connection between the two pots. It just depends on the situation.

[ErikH]

If I'm reusing an old cap, I'll do that. But if I'm installing new ones, with full length leads, I generally use the cap as the connection between the two pots. It just depends on the situation.

Exactly what I do. And I have a lot of caps I salvaged from old electronics with short leads so yeah, depends on the situation. I prefer to put the cap between the volume and tone pots though.