Better Tone Thru Brain Damage?

C

Cenulab

New member
:notworthy I've had success, thanks to many on this forum, in wiring a series/parrellel push-pull, a treble bleed and swapping cap's on my tone control (thanks Artie!)

But there's one thing that bugs me a little; I have trouble visualising the "flow" of electricity through some of the diagrams and schematics. For instance, which direction does it flow through a standard-wired 4-conductor humbucker? How about a typical set-up w/ vol & tone pots? Does it typically flow from ground or to ground?

I like to think I have a (very) basic understanding of simple electrical circuits, but I seem to get easily confused...

Hey- everything I've tried works, I'm just trying to put my over-active brain at ease and fool myself into thinking that I may actually have a clue...

Playing around with pickups & wiring is fun as all hell :saeek: ...please help me to continue!
 
Re: Better Tone Thru Brain Damage?

If you define electricity as the "flow of electrons", (and most do), then current flows from negative to positive. Thats fine for analyzing a flashlight, but a pickup is an AC generator. So, the current, or electrons, oscillate back and forth at the frequency of string vibration.

The volume control acts as a voltage divider, or a "valve", that determines how much of that voltage makes it to the output jack.

The tone control and cap, act as a high frequency valve, that determines how much of the high frequency content gets rerouted back into the pickup, rather than make it out the jack.

Its hard to expand on that too much without pics. :laugh2:
 
Re: Better Tone Thru Brain Damage?

Thanks Artie (yet again)...I think you hit it right on the head; I was forgetting the fact the a pickup actually GENERATES electricity...I KNEW I was missing something obvious!

I'll revisit a few diagrams and see if they make sense to me in this light.

-Cen
 
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