LP 50s Style vs Modern Wiring At 10?

[PoorMan]

I know this general topic has been addressed many times...but I have a little bit of a spin on the question.

My question is...

Let's say I play full-bore with volume and tone knobs at 10 100% of the time. Am I right in thinking that Modern wiring is better because the tone control receives the signal direct from the input of the volume pot rather than: volume input > volume output > tone pot? I base this assumption on my opinion that the less garbage in your signal, the better your tone. Or is the single extra step of passing through the volume output in the 50s wiring insignificant?

Or, worded more simply, is there a tonal difference between 50s and Modern wiring when all pots are at 10?

Also...Is there a "general" tonal difference between the 2 styles? Or is it just a matter of of how the tone and volume interact? Because many people clain you can't get a true vintage tone without 50s wiring.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: LP 50s Style vs Modern Wiring At 10?

With everything on 10 I doubt there is an audible difference between "modern" and "50's" wiring. But there is a diff when you turn the volume down and the 50's wiring will retain highs a little better. Lew

 

[Glass Snuff]

Re: LP 50s Style vs Modern Wiring At 10?

Lew's doubts are well founded, as when the volume is on "10", the modern and '50s wiring are electrically identical.

The tone pot connection changes the taper of the '50s volume control - there's a sharp drop in volume right at the beginning. Because of this, you don't have to turn the volume down as far for a given level decrease and thus you lose less treble, as Lew noted.

Because the '50s wiring adds part of the volume control to the resistance value of the tone pot (from the pickup's point of view) there is a definite tonal change increasing as you turn the volume down if the tone pot is below 5. Not many people play with their knobs like this, though. It does, however, make for a nice, backed-off woman tone.

 

[buster]

Re: LP 50s Style vs Modern Wiring At 10?

Hello fellas. This is an old post but in my experience, there IS a difference in the tone with the volumes at 10. The vintage wiring seems to have more presence and yet be slightly softer at the same time. It is more evident on some guitars (perhaps due to pickups or pot values) than others yet so far to me it is always evident. You can do it on a fender too and the vintage style wiring is substantially brighter.
Buster

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: LP 50s Style vs Modern Wiring At 10?

zombie thread!!

i haven't really noticed much of a difference between the two with volume and tone full up, but i prefer 50s wiring for when i roll my volumes down. i love that bright, sorta twangy sound you can get form rolling down the volumes while still getting a little grit when you dig in.