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Author Topic: Pickup specific tone limiter?  (Read 4547 times)

Kiichi

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Pickup specific tone limiter?
« on: March 21, 2011, 03:00:24 PM »
Hey,
I just got my first BKPs and absolutly love them, they even make my rightfully often hailed Crunchlab and Liquifire look kinda bad.
I got  a Rebel Yell Bridge, Irish Tour Middle and Mule Neck. Thing is, the RB sounds awesome by itself, but for any combination including the other two I always find myself turning the tone down, so that the high distorted frequencies are not that terribly biting. Especially the middle + bridge split posi is extremely cutting in a bad way. For my lead play with the neck positions, I basecally always turn it all the way down.

Now this is just my first impression after 3days so things still may change, but I thought about the possibility to solder in like a little non-variable tone pot for the neck and middle (neck stronger than middle) to get some of those frequencies outa there.
I donīt want to never have to turn the tone again, but donīt want to always have to, but rightnow I feel I always have to.
This is just an idea, but I wonder if this is possible.

I concider changing all pots, but that would affect the RB too, and that I do not want.

Any and all input is appreciated mates!
Cheers
Ole
BKPs in use: 10th set / RY set / Holy Diver b, Emerald n / Crawler bridge, Slowhand mid MQ neck/ Manhattan n
On the sidelines: Stockholm b / Suppermassive n, Mule n, AM set, IT mid

Frank

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Re: Pickup specific tone limiter?
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2011, 11:47:24 PM »
You could do it a capacitor and a resistor on the switch tags where the single coil pickups are soldered. Just set the tone pot where you like it, carefully open the guitar without turning the pot (easier said than done) then measure the resistance between the tone pot's wiper and ground to get the resistor value.

Kiichi

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Re: Pickup specific tone limiter?
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2011, 03:19:26 PM »
Ok, let me dig this up again.

By now I tried different thing again (different valves in the amp, setting action and pU height differently etc), but none seems to work well.
So I have come to the comclusion that I have to go through with this, but only for the Middle PU.

-->Now I want to basecally cut the pot value for the Middle Pu (single coil) in half to have the usual 250 for it.
As I donīt know much about the technical things yet, could you tell me exactly which parts I need and where to then put them?
Donīt mind if you put it like Iīm a moron, I just want to understand it and do it right ;)

Cheers
Kiichi
BKPs in use: 10th set / RY set / Holy Diver b, Emerald n / Crawler bridge, Slowhand mid MQ neck/ Manhattan n
On the sidelines: Stockholm b / Suppermassive n, Mule n, AM set, IT mid

Kiichi

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Re: Pickup specific tone limiter?
« Reply #3 on: May 13, 2011, 05:59:47 PM »
Ok, since nobody here has helped me so far I tried to figure something out with a friend who knows a bit more about this than me.

So I think I am gonna need a 500k resistor to get down to 250k for the SC with a parallel capacitor to have the posis parralel with the HBs not affect the HBs.
Problem is I have no idea which cap value.

Can anyone please help me out here?
BKPs in use: 10th set / RY set / Holy Diver b, Emerald n / Crawler bridge, Slowhand mid MQ neck/ Manhattan n
On the sidelines: Stockholm b / Suppermassive n, Mule n, AM set, IT mid

Frank

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Re: Pickup specific tone limiter?
« Reply #4 on: May 13, 2011, 06:22:47 PM »
Yeah. Sorry for not helping you. My bad.



    The voltage across the two resistors is the same.
    The current through the parallel combination is given by:
        Ip= Ia + Ib
    The currents through the two resistors are given by Ohm's Law:
        Ia = Vp /Ra
        Ib = Vp /Rb

        We can combine all of these relations, and when we do that we find the following.

    Ip= Ia + Ib
    Ip= Vp /Ra + Vp /Rb
    Ip= Vp[ 1/Ra + 1/Rb]
    Ip= Vp/Rparallel

Here, we take Rparallel to be the parallel equivalent of the two resistors in parallel, and the expression for Rparallel is:
1/Rparallel = 1/Ra  + 1/Rb

        There may be times when it is better to rearrange the expression for Rparallel.  The expression can be rearranged to get:
Rparallel = (Ra*Rb)/(Ra + Rb)

        Either of these expressions could be used to compute a parallel equivalent resistance.  The first has a certain symmetry with the expression for a series equivalent resistance.

Frank

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Re: Pickup specific tone limiter?
« Reply #5 on: May 13, 2011, 06:33:35 PM »
Seriously though ... what your friend is suggesting is different from what I suggested. He's talking about putting a 500k resistor across the volume pot which will effectively make it a 250k pot (although the "slope" of the pot will change a bit).

So you wouldn't need extra caps, the HF rolloff would happen because of the change in resistance of the pot.

Kiichi

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Re: Pickup specific tone limiter?
« Reply #6 on: May 13, 2011, 11:11:05 PM »
Seriously though ... what your friend is suggesting is different from what I suggested. He's talking about putting a 500k resistor across the volume pot which will effectively make it a 250k pot (although the "slope" of the pot will change a bit).

So you wouldn't need extra caps, the HF rolloff would happen because of the change in resistance of the pot.

First of all thank you very much for the reply, you certainly seem to know your stuff. I really apreciate your help.
I donīt completly understand your tech talk though, due to a combination of lack of tech knowledge and english not being my first language.


Now, about the quote: yeah, that would not be what I want as it would affect the HBs. I just want the SC to see 250k. I think I might have misunderstood him though, that canīt be what he meant...^^

Ok, one step back, I am still not entirely sure what I want is even possible, so to clarify this once for me in order to let me be sure about a possible solution: Can I tweak my guitar so that the HBs, at all times in all positions (including splits), work with a 500k pot while the SC at all times in all positons works with a 250k pot.
Is this just a fantasy or is it possible to tame my SC without affecting the HBs?
Now I think you suggested something for that in the beginning, you just never explicitly stated it was for that...sorry that I am unsure.

What you said in the beginning is that I should put a resistor and capacitor at the points where I soldered the PU wires to the swich, correct? If that is it, there is the question of the way I need to solder them: series or parallel (I really donīt know this stuff, sorry...want to learn though since this wonīt be the last time I will need this).
And which values for both parts I need to get a working circuit with the goal of 250k Ohm.


Thanks again,
Kiichi
BKPs in use: 10th set / RY set / Holy Diver b, Emerald n / Crawler bridge, Slowhand mid MQ neck/ Manhattan n
On the sidelines: Stockholm b / Suppermassive n, Mule n, AM set, IT mid

Frank

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Re: Pickup specific tone limiter?
« Reply #7 on: May 13, 2011, 11:36:37 PM »
Let me have a think about this. I may post a circuit diagram later. Or I may finish off a bottle of wine and forget about it until tomorrow night. Stay tuned but don't hold your breath.

EDIT: you do realise I copy-pasted that post right?
« Last Edit: May 13, 2011, 11:39:21 PM by Frank »

Kiichi

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Re: Pickup specific tone limiter?
« Reply #8 on: May 22, 2011, 06:46:49 PM »
Ok, new idea. This might be easier and could work quite well for me.

Can I disconnect the tone controll from the bridge and neck alltogether so that it just affects the middle?
Like: Neck and bridge through volume to output and middle through volume, through tone to output.

Am I correct that this would be possible without affecting the general Neck and Bridge sound (well exept they donīt have tone controll anymore)?
And can I with this achieve those desired split coil positions with the HB running normal and the SC toned down?
BKPs in use: 10th set / RY set / Holy Diver b, Emerald n / Crawler bridge, Slowhand mid MQ neck/ Manhattan n
On the sidelines: Stockholm b / Suppermassive n, Mule n, AM set, IT mid