Making dark pups brighter

E

exhaust_49

New member
I will soon be putting Alcino 2 pro's in my lp and have noticed from all the sound samples that the pups are a bit dark for me, otherwise I love the pup. What cap should I put it to make the pups a bit brighter ? (don't confuse a bit brighter with strat bright, that's too bright for me!!!) Right now I using 0.47 caps.
 
Re: Making dark pups brighter

No, they shouldn't be too bright. Many guitars are designed with .022 uF caps, including both of mine. With the right pickups/pots/caps, I've never had a problem with either one being too dark or too bright.

Ryan
 
Re: Making dark pups brighter

Exhaust, changing the cap values will not brighten up those pickups and you are already at 500k on the pots.

You might want to consider a PG set or a 59 set.
 
Re: Making dark pups brighter

Robert S. said:
Exhaust, changing the cap values will not brighten up those pickups and you are already at 500k on the pots.

You might want to consider a PG set or a 59 set.
Click to expand...

Robert's right....again! :smack: :) I'd consider the PG's...they're alnico 2 too.

Guitars with just a volume control and no tone controls are brighter too. So if you want the Alnico 2 Pros, you could install NO LOAD tone pots. NO LOAD tone pots will remove themselves from the circuit when the tone control is turned to "10"...the guitar will sound brighter, as if no tone control was present.

I've started putting NO LOAD tone pots in all of my guitars.

Another option would be the 50's mod. That's real easy. Most Gibson's are wired with the tone control connected to the same terminal of the volume pot that the pickups are connected to. If you move that connection for the tone pot to the middle terminal of the volume control instead, the guitar will sound a little brighter, especially when you turn down the volume control.

I have also heard of people using 1Meg pots...1000K. Those supposedly make a guitar sound a little brighter too.
Never tried it tho.

None of these methods add highs or treble. All they do is help you retain the highs that are already present in your guitar but which are bled off to ground inadvertantly.

Lew
 
Last edited:
Re: Making dark pups brighter

Lewguitar said:
Robert's right....again! :smack: :) I'd consider the PG's...they're alnico 2 too.

Guitars with just a volume control and no tone controls are brighter too. So if you want the Alnico 2 Pros, you could install NO LOAD tone pots. NO LOAD tone pots will remove themselves from the circuit when the tone control is turned to "10"...the guitar will sound brighter, as if no tone control was present.

I've started putting NO LOAD tone pots in all of my guitars.

Another option would be the 50's mod. That's real easy. Most Gibson's are wired with the tone control connected to the same terminal of the volume pot that the pickups are connected to. If you move that connection for the tone pot to the middle terminal of the volume control instead, the guitar will sound a little brighter, especially when you turn down the volume control.

I have also heard of people using 1Meg pots...1000K. Those supposedly make a guitar sound a little brighter too.
Never tried it tho.

None of these methods add highs or treble. All they do is help you retain the highs that are already present in your guitar but which are bled off to ground inadvertantly.

Lew
Click to expand...
The pups are the place to start, however a 1Meg pot will brighten things up, stewmac carries an economical 1Meg audio taper pot, I think CTS offers 1Meg in a log (audio) taper as well, you could try that for your volume, I'd suggest it for your tone as well, but the no-load is a better way to go.
It's better to start with the pups , but these other things can fine tune it a bit also.
 
Re: Making dark pups brighter

Robert S. said:
Exhaust, changing the cap values will not brighten up those pickups and you are already at 500k on the pots.
Click to expand...
Robert, I had a problem with a neck pickup of mine being too dark and muddy with .022 caps, I changed them to .01 and not only did it get clearer sounding, but there was much more proportional treble that was audiable. I changed nothing except the caps, everything else stayed exactly the same.
 
Re: Making dark pups brighter

wasteofo2 said:
Robert, I had a problem with a neck pickup of mine being too dark and muddy with .022 caps, I changed them to .01 and not only did it get clearer sounding, but there was much more proportional treble that was audiable. I changed nothing except the caps, everything else stayed exactly the same.
Click to expand...

Dropping the cap value to .022uF from .047uF would shift the cutoff frequency of the tone control up a little past an octave, so brighter yes, but I wonder how much of a difference it would make if his pups are to dark now ... it's cheaper to try that and a pot replacement than a new set up pups for sure.
 
Re: Making dark pups brighter

I think I'll try the .022 uf caps and the no load tone pots. With the no load pots I can get more sounds. Can I get the no load pots with audio taper?
 
Re: Making dark pups brighter

exhaust_49 said:
I think I'll try the .022 uf caps and the no load tone pots. With the no load pots I can get more sounds. Can I get the no load pots with audio taper?
Click to expand...
Sure can ... Lew on this forum carries them, very reasonable also, PM him and ask for details. He also carries the larger Sprague polypro caps as well, they resist the heat of soldering, and hold to their ratings well. Also has the Hovland oil and paper caps too, not sure what the story on those are though.
Ask him aboutwiring the guitar with the '50's Mod.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top