Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

P bass tone capacitor


OldGit
 Share

Recommended Posts

[quote name='OldGit' post='129417' date='Jan 28 2008, 05:04 PM']With the rotary control with the various capacitors, I'd need a rotary tone pot too yeah?

Did it make a serious difference to the sound with each cap or was it subtle?[/quote]

The varitone can be wired with a tone control as well but i just wired it with a volume, very simple hookup and incredibly useful, mine was used with a single darkstar ( big single coil) and with a simple click of a knob i could go from a deep dubby sound to Motown to almost Ricky like bite. Admittedly the Darkstar played a part but it was a very useful set up one which i may well recreate with a cheapo SX or similar, personally i don't see the point of adding a tone pot, i got a simple setup which worked much better than any other passive basses i had owned and had all the variation i needed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='steve-norris' post='130954' date='Jan 30 2008, 09:00 PM']The varitone can be wired with a tone control as well but i just wired it with a volume, very simple hookup and incredibly useful, mine was used with a single darkstar ( big single coil) and with a simple click of a knob i could go from a deep dubby sound to Motown to almost Ricky like bite. Admittedly the Darkstar played a part but it was a very useful set up one which i may well recreate with a cheapo SX or similar, personally i don't see the point of adding a tone pot, i got a simple setup which worked much better than any other passive basses i had owned and had all the variation i needed[/quote]
OK Thanks Steve.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Hamster' post='130888' date='Jan 30 2008, 07:05 PM'][quote name='OldGit' post='130870' date='Jan 30 2008, 06:41 PM']
Would a 500k pot brighten my darker sounding P pickup?[/quote]

Yes - it will allow more highs through. If that doesn't work, try a 1meg.
[/quote]
Um, why would it allow more highs through? A pot is a simple resistance, which doesn't vary with frequency.

Quick summary of resistances/impedances:

Resistor (fixed or variable): a resistance which doesn't vary with frequency
Capacitor: impedance which is inversely proportional to frequency - blocks DC completely, then the impedance falls as the frequency rises
Inductor (coil): impedance which is directly proportional to frequency - so it increases as the frequency rises

The effect of changing the volume pot is that (IIRC) it forms a potential divider with the pickup, so as the frequency rises, the proportion of the signal voltage across the volume pot would decrease. However, I don't know what the impedance of the pickup is - I would have thought it would have a pretty negligible effect, otherwise there just wouldn't be any top end. Oh hang on, it's a Precision, isn't it? :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='tauzero' post='131382' date='Jan 31 2008, 04:34 PM']Yes - it will allow more highs through. If that doesn't work, try a 1meg.

Um, why would it allow more highs through? A pot is a simple resistance, which doesn't vary with frequency.

Quick summary of resistances/impedances:

Resistor (fixed or variable): a resistance which doesn't vary with frequency
Capacitor: impedance which is inversely proportional to frequency - blocks DC completely, then the impedance falls as the frequency rises
Inductor (coil): impedance which is directly proportional to frequency - so it increases as the frequency rises

The effect of changing the volume pot is that (IIRC) it forms a potential divider with the pickup, so as the frequency rises, the proportion of the signal voltage across the volume pot would decrease. However, I don't know what the impedance of the pickup is - I would have thought it would have a pretty negligible effect, otherwise there just wouldn't be any top end. Oh hang on, it's a Precision, isn't it? :)[/quote]

Cheeky

Well I'm a bit lost by that ..
new strings arrived today so I'll try that first then ..

.. should try the 500 k vol pot to see if things brighten up a bit?

Then it's a pup swap to see if that makes a difference .. I have a Fender P pup lying around .. It's a bit old though and I understand they loose power as they get old ... or is that an old wives tale?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...