Re: What mag fattens up the Brobucker best?
Hey blueman, how do resistors work?
You can use either a 1/4 watt 470K resistor or two 250K pots (volume and tone) on a bridge PU to reduce treble, which in turn makes the mids more prominent. Both give a richer, fuller tone. I've been putting 250K's on almost all of my bridge PU's for years, but recently switched to using resistors. Cheaper and easier. All you have to do is solder a resistor to the outside lugs of the bridge volume pot. That's it. Warmer bridge.
Some guys recommend using the guitar's tone knob, but it sounds different than using 250K pots or 470K resistors. It filters treble in a different way. To me, it
does not sound as good. Since I don't want to be adjusting my tone pot everytime I plug in, I like to get the PU's relative EQ's squared away up front; do it once and you're all set. That way you can dial in one amp setting that works great for both PU's. What I've seen so many times is players dialing in their amp to one PU, and never use the other one the rest of the night because it's so far off. Dial in your amp to the bridge, and the neck will be dark and muffled; dial your amp in to the neck, and the bridge sounds shrill and thin. Drives me crazy. I want to use
both PU's, and to be able to dial in my bridge tone at the amp, and know that when I flip the toggle, the neck will also sound nice. Simplicity.
Not everyone agrees with this way of doing it. Some swear by adjusting the tone controls, sometimes all night long. But this is the only way that works for me. On stage, there's enough going on getting set up and when you start playing. I want my tone changes to be predictable, either flipping a switch or stepping on a pedal. I don't want to be adjusting knobs mid-song. There's also the argument that 'You can't add treble once you take it away'; but I've
never had the treble and presence controls dialed up to '10' on any amp, so there's
always more treble available at the amp.
I play my best when I have a good warm tone with some high-end bite. I'm doing something right, because I always get compliments on my tones when I play on stage.