Short bass roll off/contour video

[zionstrat]

We talk a lot about spin-a-splits, coil cuts and parallel to self pups to get variation out of thick guitars- but IMHO, the mod that is often overlooked is the good old, simple bass roll off.

From thin to fat, from clean to crunch (and a great way to keep a thick soloing guitar from mudding up the mix) check out the bass roll off video in the following blog if you're wondering what roll offs sound like-

https://www.guitaryoudreamabout.com...8/Taming-a-muddy-Les-Paul-with-a-bass-contour

 

[TeaAt5]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

That looks like exactly what I want. I would either replace my neck tone or add it as a push pull option.


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[TeaAt5]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

Hey Zion, is this the circuit?

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/24592-the-recording-guitarist-the-fabulous-focus-knob


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[zionstrat]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

That looks like exactly what I want. I would either replace my neck tone or add it as a push pull option.


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Or you can combine them Push, roll to where you want it and pull to defeat... It is activated by a "tone" knife switch on one of my builds.

But just replacing tone pot is really good for most...

When we do the pushpull with no pot, we put a trim pot in the cavity to tune in best alternative tone.. But I prefer the pot to dial in all of those mid tones on the fly.

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[Silence Kid]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

G&L has this on most of their guitars in the passive treble & bass system. Or I don't know if it's the same precise circuit, as that site does not describe the circuit.

Once you use a passive bass roll-off it's hard to get away from it.

 

[TeaAt5]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

Would it be worth just adding a fifth pot to a les paul for master bass contour? I don't quite understand the setup you're describing?


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[zionstrat]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

Hey Zion, is this the circuit?

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/24592-the-recording-guitarist-the-fabulous-focus-knob


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That will work and here's alternatives...

Regardless of the circuit, different guitars respond differently, so we wire with alligators so we can try out different caps.

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[Silence Kid]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

I believe G&L uses a reverse-taper 1 meg pot for the bass roll-off.

 

[TeaAt5]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

Once you use a passive bass roll-off it's hard to get away from it.

I use an eq pedal for this and would love to have it in the guitar. I am currently zeroing in on a tone control system to go with my new seth set. I want bass contour but I'm not sure if I want to give up separate tone controls for each pup



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[TeaAt5]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

That will work and here's alternatives...

Thanks again! What does that resistor do in the second circuit?


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[zionstrat]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

Once you use a passive bass roll-off it's hard to get away from it.

Yep, lots of people imagine the thinner aspect and do a coil split instead... But as we emphasized in the video, if you dial the amp correctly, bass roll off is more complex and can act like a clean to crunch dial.



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[zionstrat]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

I want bass contour but I'm not sure if I want to give up separate tone controls for each pup



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Not many go this route, but we have done the bass contour as the outer ring of a stacked pot with conventional tone in the middle.

That doesn't work for me because I'm constantly rolling the pot and its too easy to hit other pots with conventional Gibson layout...

That's where Reverends placement makes so much sense... So easy to reach and not hitting anything else, however, its not possible on a les paul due to the position of the 3 way.



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[zionstrat]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

Thanks again! What does that resistor do in the second circuit?


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It tunes the circuit differently, but I don't know the theory.

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[TeaAt5]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

I guess a p/p on neck tone to go between standard neck tone and bass roll-off would work, but I like the idea of applying bass AND treble roll-off for some interesting tones.

I am getting a guitar tech to wire this when he installs my Seths so I'm kinda stabbing in the dark a bit. I know I need to keep it simple, I know I want bass contour... the question is whether I'd sacrifice my neck tone to get it!


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[TeaAt5]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

It tunes the circuit differently, but I don't know the theory.

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A switch in the cavity might be nice to experiment with that


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[zionstrat]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

Would it be worth just adding a fifth pot to a les paul for master bass contour? I don't quite understand the setup you're describing?


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Yeah, per my other note, if you have space and want to add an additional pot, it is so nice to have room to fiddle with contour without hitting other pots.

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[zionstrat]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

I guess a p/p on neck tone to go between standard neck tone and bass roll-off would work, but I like the idea of applying bass AND treble roll-off for some interesting tones.




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Actually, we've done that one a lot... Leave standard treble cut tone alone... Add bass roll off, or switch...

Frankly, I've never intentionally experimented, but its really common for me to dial off a bit of trebble for jazzier stuff and continue to spin the bass contour, so they can play well together...

In fact, thats an advantage of bass contour for me... It works well with other mods if the guitar is very thick...

I often will set spin a split or parallel a pickup at the top for an entire song, but play with contour throughout.

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[zionstrat]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

I believe G&L uses a reverse-taper 1 meg pot for the bass roll-off.

Yes they do... It impacts the feel of the spin...

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[TeaAt5]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

What would be best for a fairly smooth, linear feel?


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[zionstrat]

Re: Short bass roll off/contour video

What would be best for a fairly smooth, linear feel?


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Most of the time, we're converting L.P.s to master tone and then converting the 500 or 300 that is there into bass roll off and don't remember any unhappy

But if its a 250 we almost always replace with 500.

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