I was going to comment on an existing thread, but it's old, and probably frowned upon. People have written about magnet swaps and air mod for the 59/custom hybrid. Why is this necessary? Why wouldn't a cap swap in the tone control, and turning down the tone reduce the brightness?
reducing pickup brightness with tone control
- Thread starter music321
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LLL
New member
Re: reducing pickup brightness with tone control
Don't let anybody here tell you what you can/cannot post (as long as it falls within the forum rules).
Don't let anybody here tell you what you can/cannot post (as long as it falls within the forum rules).
Re: reducing pickup brightness with tone control
Magnets (can) change the whole personality of the pickup. So if you want other things than to 'just remove treble'.
Also sometimes the tone control can neuter a pickup if you get the offending frequencies down to where they're less obnoxious.
So there are many ways to fine-tune pickups.....the volume pot value is another. This is like a magnet swap in that it changes the whole pickup frequency response.
Magnets (can) change the whole personality of the pickup. So if you want other things than to 'just remove treble'.
Also sometimes the tone control can neuter a pickup if you get the offending frequencies down to where they're less obnoxious.
So there are many ways to fine-tune pickups.....the volume pot value is another. This is like a magnet swap in that it changes the whole pickup frequency response.
Re: reducing pickup brightness with tone control
Since both the volume and tone controls both trim pots, I phrased it this way to differentiate the tone from the volume control. Thanks for the replies. Gregory, I didn't know that.
Since both the volume and tone controls both trim pots, I phrased it this way to differentiate the tone from the volume control. Thanks for the replies. Gregory, I didn't know that.
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Lewguitar
New member
Re: reducing pickup brightness with tone control
Bill Lawrence used to tell some customers that they didn’t need new pickups...they needed to learn how to adjust their amp’s tone controls with their ears and not their eyes.
That’s sort of true and probably 100% true for some players.
But it’s not true for everyone.
Some of us really do hear (and feel) subtle tones we either like or don’t like and have found that magnet swaps or tone cap swaps or pickup swaps or speaker swaps or guitars made from certain body woods or neck woods or fingerboard woods are the way for us to get those sounds that help us feel comfortable.
Then, hopefully, we can just have fun making music.
Bill Lawrence used to tell some customers that they didn’t need new pickups...they needed to learn how to adjust their amp’s tone controls with their ears and not their eyes.
That’s sort of true and probably 100% true for some players.
But it’s not true for everyone.
Some of us really do hear (and feel) subtle tones we either like or don’t like and have found that magnet swaps or tone cap swaps or pickup swaps or speaker swaps or guitars made from certain body woods or neck woods or fingerboard woods are the way for us to get those sounds that help us feel comfortable.
Then, hopefully, we can just have fun making music.
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gregory
New member
Re: reducing pickup brightness with tone control
The tone control does the same thing, except that it doesn't affect the bass frequencies, though it depends on the output impedance of the pickup and the value of the capacitor. Normally the tone control cuts the mids along with the treble. If you want to cut only the treble you'll likely need a cap that is no greater than 2nF (0.002uF), possibly less than 1nF.
Re: reducing pickup brightness with tone control
The way I think about it, is that everything is on the table as long as it can get you where you want to be, and you can get back to where you started easily. There are many things that can be done to change the sound of a pickup in a guitar, from swapping it out completely, to taper of the tone control to different strings. Experiment with all of it.
The way I think about it, is that everything is on the table as long as it can get you where you want to be, and you can get back to where you started easily. There are many things that can be done to change the sound of a pickup in a guitar, from swapping it out completely, to taper of the tone control to different strings. Experiment with all of it.
Demanic
PenultimateTone Member
Re: reducing pickup brightness with tone control
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Once again...
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blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: reducing pickup brightness with tone control
+1. Just look at the Custom: with an A2, A3, A4, A5, A8, UOA5, and ceramic how much they each change the EQ spectrum and tone. Every one of those literally makes it a different PU. A2 & UOA5 also add rich textures. You can't do all that by dialing down a treble knob.
To me, hybrids like the '59/custom need a magnet that adds midrange. Both parent coils have scooped mids, and then add the unbalanced coil effect of additional treble and a further reduction of mids. You can dial down the tone pot to make the mids seem more prominent, but you're also giving up some high-end, which also happens when you dial down the volume pot (unless you have a treble bleed). There are limits to what can be done with a tone control.
+1. Just look at the Custom: with an A2, A3, A4, A5, A8, UOA5, and ceramic how much they each change the EQ spectrum and tone. Every one of those literally makes it a different PU. A2 & UOA5 also add rich textures. You can't do all that by dialing down a treble knob.
To me, hybrids like the '59/custom need a magnet that adds midrange. Both parent coils have scooped mids, and then add the unbalanced coil effect of additional treble and a further reduction of mids. You can dial down the tone pot to make the mids seem more prominent, but you're also giving up some high-end, which also happens when you dial down the volume pot (unless you have a treble bleed). There are limits to what can be done with a tone control.
