Cap values for tone pot

[hermetico]

Re: Cap values for tone pot

After experimenting with different pot and cap values in my different guitars, I generally prefer 500k pots & .022 caps with Humbuckers and 250k pots & .047 caps with single coils. Although in my Les Paul I have a 500k pot & .015 cap for my neck humbucker. And in my Ibanez Roadstar II with Super 70 pickups, I have 300k pots & .022 cap. So I guess every guitar and pickup combination is different depending what sounds you want from them.

I am with you here. I love those pot and cap values with humbuckers/single coils but, even more, I like only PIO caps (by example, a Sprage Vitamin-Q or a Mojotone Vitamin-Q or Vitamin-T).

 

[Dr. Jimmy]

Re: Cap values for tone pot

What is the relation between tone pot and volume pot? I use a Cool Rails in my bridge with Area 58s in the neck and middle. I use a 250K pot for voulme as recommended by Dimarzio but that causes the Cool Rails to sound a little dull. I currently use 250K pots for the neck tone and bridge tone (I wired it so I have a tone pot for just the bridge and neck), if I change the bridge pot to 500K will that help? Will it work with the 250K volume pot? Will it affect the neck and middle pickups?

 

[mariosyjp]

Re: Cap values for tone pot

hey guys, sorry for resurrecting the thread but I did some cap experimentation with my LP and came to an interesting conclusion, hope this helps somebody:

i find that using larger values for the neck and smaller for the bridge is functionally better

since the cap value determines the cut-off frequency, the cap should cut a proportion of the frequencies that each pickup puts out

using a big cap for the bridge not only cuts the highs that one would like to tame but also a big part of everything the pickup produces

using a small cap at the neck you are cutting a very tiny part of that pickup's frequencies and this makes the pot less functional

 

[Liko]

Re: Cap values for tone pot

Lindy Fralin uses a push-pull tone pot on one of his teles with two different valued caps and I think it's a great idea.

You can also change the effective max resistance value of the pot with a push-pull. A fixed resistor between input and output lugs of the tone pot will create parallel resistance, so for instance a 500kohm resistor between the center and right lugs of a 500k pot will effectively halve the maximum value of the pot. Connect and disconnect this fixed resistor using two terminals of a DPDT, and voila, you change between 500k and 250k. The other half of the DPDT can switch between .022uF and .047uF caps, and the net result is you effectively switch the tone circuit between traditional Strat and LP specs.

 

[freefrog]

Re: Cap values for tone pot

You can also change the effective max resistance value of the pot with a push-pull. A fixed resistor between input and output lugs of the tone pot will create parallel resistance, so for instance a 500kohm resistor between the center and right lugs of a 500k pot will effectively halve the maximum value of the pot. Connect and disconnect this fixed resistor using two terminals of a DPDT, and voila, you change between 500k and 250k. The other half of the DPDT can switch between .022uF and .047uF caps, and the net result is you effectively switch the tone circuit between traditional Strat and LP specs.

+1!

It's also interesting to experiment with smaller capacitances, as mentioned by mariosyjp. Bill Lawrence was recommanding a 2,2n cap (0.0022µ) as a "mid enhancer" and I have mounted that in a couple of Strats. I like 3,3n (0.0033µ) with my TV Jones Classic. 10n (0.01µ) is generally described as producing a "cocked wah tone", maybe because wah pedals involve caps of this value... There's a world to explore in capacitive values!