Wiring a Capacitor to the Jack
- Thread starter katat0nic
- Start date
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Re: Wiring a Capacitor to the Jack
If it were me, I would test it first before soldering in something like that permanently. Basically what you are proposing doing is wiring in a tone control and permanently soldering it to be turned all the way down all the time. You would probably want to a few very low value caps and test them first to figure out what value will solve your specific problem. However I would say if that's what it takes to make it sound good, I would investigate the source of the brightness and if necessary get a different pickup.
If it were me, I would test it first before soldering in something like that permanently. Basically what you are proposing doing is wiring in a tone control and permanently soldering it to be turned all the way down all the time. You would probably want to a few very low value caps and test them first to figure out what value will solve your specific problem. However I would say if that's what it takes to make it sound good, I would investigate the source of the brightness and if necessary get a different pickup.
Myaccount876
Amira-Maker
Re: Wiring a Capacitor to the Jack
Or you can use the tone control (if the guitar has one).
Or you can use the tone control (if the guitar has one).
katat0nic
New member
Re: Wiring a Capacitor to the Jack
I am using it, the problem is I have to turn it down incredibly low for it to sound right. I like to be able to use the full spectrum of my tone control, I actually use it a lot.
I am using it, the problem is I have to turn it down incredibly low for it to sound right. I like to be able to use the full spectrum of my tone control, I actually use it a lot.
uOpt
Something Cool
Re: Wiring a Capacitor to the Jack
It is a load capacitor. You can wire it up anywhere simple across the hot and ground wires. Typical values for load capacitors are between 0.5 and 10 nF but rather on the lower side of that up to maybe 2 nF. That is a lot less than the tone pot capacitor which starts at 22 nF.
It is a load capacitor. You can wire it up anywhere simple across the hot and ground wires. Typical values for load capacitors are between 0.5 and 10 nF but rather on the lower side of that up to maybe 2 nF. That is a lot less than the tone pot capacitor which starts at 22 nF.
Nostalgic Distortion
New member
Re: Wiring a Capacitor to the Jack
+ 1 for a higher value capacitor but if you don't think that will work maybe you should switch your pots? First off, what kind of guitar is it, what's inside for pickups & what size potentiometers are in it now? Maybe replacing your pots to some with lower values would be a better answer to the problem you face? If the guitar is running off 1meg or 500k pots switching them to 300k's or 250k's will darken the whole thing up a bit & you'll still have full control over the tone knob which is something you said you use quite often? Or you can change the cap to a higher value one which will just take more away when you do use it? Either way I don't know if soldering caps to the jack is a good idea, I think it's going to take too much?
+ 1 for a higher value capacitor but if you don't think that will work maybe you should switch your pots? First off, what kind of guitar is it, what's inside for pickups & what size potentiometers are in it now? Maybe replacing your pots to some with lower values would be a better answer to the problem you face? If the guitar is running off 1meg or 500k pots switching them to 300k's or 250k's will darken the whole thing up a bit & you'll still have full control over the tone knob which is something you said you use quite often? Or you can change the cap to a higher value one which will just take more away when you do use it? Either way I don't know if soldering caps to the jack is a good idea, I think it's going to take too much?
katat0nic
New member
Re: Wiring a Capacitor to the Jack
Its a Hamer Sunburst with a SD Jazz neck/Distortion bridge going through 500k CTS pots. I have a .047nf cap in it currently. Acoustically its a pretty balanced tone; it has a maple neck and basswood body, and it doesn't sound extremely bright by any means. Changing out the pots to 300k does seem like a better idea, but would it be the same to just switch to, say, a .1nf cap?
Its a Hamer Sunburst with a SD Jazz neck/Distortion bridge going through 500k CTS pots. I have a .047nf cap in it currently. Acoustically its a pretty balanced tone; it has a maple neck and basswood body, and it doesn't sound extremely bright by any means. Changing out the pots to 300k does seem like a better idea, but would it be the same to just switch to, say, a .1nf cap?
katat0nic
New member
Nostalgic Distortion
New member
Re: Wiring a Capacitor to the Jack
Yeah, switch to 250k's or 300k pots, this way your not going to be too bright to start out with? What most of us like is to be able to plug in with everything up to 10 & have it perfect, no messing around with tone knobs unless you're doing something out of the ordinary? I have 14 electric guitars & probably half of them don't have tone knobs @ all? Personally I think if you got the right pots and pups you should be able to fix your tone @ the amp & be done with it but that's just me, some guys use them, even while playing? I just never was one of them, my G&L Legacy's knobs get a lot of use but that has a P.T.B. system in it, (Passive Treble Bass system), it lets you control how much tone & bass gets bled into your signal so you can kind of E.Q. your amp with the guitar but ideally you shouldn't have to touch your tone knob very often, definitely not every time you play? On paper the pickups, pots, & tone wood you have should work but things don't always work out the way we think they will? If it sounds too bright to you then it's too bright, the best way to tackle this is to switch pots. I know replacing the cap seems like a more simple fix but I don't think that will get you the results your looking for?
Yeah, switch to 250k's or 300k pots, this way your not going to be too bright to start out with? What most of us like is to be able to plug in with everything up to 10 & have it perfect, no messing around with tone knobs unless you're doing something out of the ordinary? I have 14 electric guitars & probably half of them don't have tone knobs @ all? Personally I think if you got the right pots and pups you should be able to fix your tone @ the amp & be done with it but that's just me, some guys use them, even while playing? I just never was one of them, my G&L Legacy's knobs get a lot of use but that has a P.T.B. system in it, (Passive Treble Bass system), it lets you control how much tone & bass gets bled into your signal so you can kind of E.Q. your amp with the guitar but ideally you shouldn't have to touch your tone knob very often, definitely not every time you play? On paper the pickups, pots, & tone wood you have should work but things don't always work out the way we think they will? If it sounds too bright to you then it's too bright, the best way to tackle this is to switch pots. I know replacing the cap seems like a more simple fix but I don't think that will get you the results your looking for?
katat0nic
New member
Re: Wiring a Capacitor to the Jack
I think I'll go with that. I like to be able to plug in and just go, and not have to mess with all my controls and rob more tone than I fix. I use my tone knob often on lead stuff mainly. One final question however: I did notice that the Seymour Duncan wiring diagram shows that the capacitor should be wired to the center lug of the tone pot and the switch wire on the left lug. I have it wired the exact opposite of that. Does it make a difference which lugs they are wired to if everything seems to work?
I think I'll go with that. I like to be able to plug in and just go, and not have to mess with all my controls and rob more tone than I fix. I use my tone knob often on lead stuff mainly. One final question however: I did notice that the Seymour Duncan wiring diagram shows that the capacitor should be wired to the center lug of the tone pot and the switch wire on the left lug. I have it wired the exact opposite of that. Does it make a difference which lugs they are wired to if everything seems to work?
Re: Wiring a Capacitor to the Jack
Wiring the cap to the center lug of the volume pot is 50's wiring. It basically puts the tone control after the volume control.
Al
Wiring the cap to the center lug of the volume pot is 50's wiring. It basically puts the tone control after the volume control.
Al
Jacew
New member
Re: Wiring a Capacitor to the Jack
It's not exactly same thing. 500k volume sounds different to 250k (smoother with less attack and less "thump"). Even if you balance that out with tone circuit.
I use fixed tone circuit in my guitars rather than tone pot. (And use volume controls to blend pickups in place of usual tone control).
Don't recall now exact values, but it's between 0,5-1 nf cap behind with 5-22 k resistor I use there. This with tappable SSL-7 bridge SSL-5 middle and SSL-1 neck and 500k volume pot (two, so parallel positions have 250k load).
EDIT: Didn't notice the date, but anyway...
It's not exactly same thing. 500k volume sounds different to 250k (smoother with less attack and less "thump"). Even if you balance that out with tone circuit.
I use fixed tone circuit in my guitars rather than tone pot. (And use volume controls to blend pickups in place of usual tone control).
Don't recall now exact values, but it's between 0,5-1 nf cap behind with 5-22 k resistor I use there. This with tappable SSL-7 bridge SSL-5 middle and SSL-1 neck and 500k volume pot (two, so parallel positions have 250k load).
EDIT: Didn't notice the date, but anyway...
fenderjaguar
New member
This was very helpful.
I have a strat mini and I hated how the volume dial gets in the way of my hand, especially for palm muting plain strings etc. So I removed the tone and put the volume where the tone pot was, and left the pot hole nearest the strings empty.
But the tone was way too harsh, like an ice pick. So I tried various values of cap.
It seems there is a very narrow range. the strat mini pickups are very low output 3.7k single coils, but even 7nf sound like you've gone directly to the jack socket with no cap, so I went for 10nf, but that seemed like complete tone kill, when clean (strangely, when heavily overdriven the tone is pretty well balanced, even though you'd think it'd be muddy?)
I settled on 9nf, which I had to create by wiring 2 caps in series (100nf and 10nf), but I still yearn for a little bit more chime when clean, mabye I will try ~8.5nf cap
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Sounds like you need to adjust your amp more than your guitar. Or get a new tube amp.
There is definitely a place for 10 watt solid state practice amps, but not if you're on a tone quest (unless you particularly like the sound of bumble bees in a tin can...but then you can't correct that with capacitors of ANY value).
There is definitely a place for 10 watt solid state practice amps, but not if you're on a tone quest (unless you particularly like the sound of bumble bees in a tin can...but then you can't correct that with capacitors of ANY value).
