Try This Before Buying New Pickups | Cheap & Easy Mod
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ธ.ค. 2024
- I was amazed at how well this mod works to re-voice your guitar pickups, definitely worth trying before buying some new ones. Best of all, the parts used in this mod cost less than $1....thrifty :)
Unit and Schematic available here
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This is such a great mod + it's super cheap #thrifty :)
The Green Gizmo™ build video is now live th-cam.com/video/zWRD5PawPw0/w-d-xo.html plus the schematic and pedal are here mcphersonmusic.site/product-category/pickups/the-green-gizmo%ef%b8%8f/
Starting with a great pickup and fine tuning to what you like in your guitar. I've been saying that for years. Make what you already have sound better is a good option if you are on a budget. BTW Great video with lots of great information.
Do you have any plans to make and sell a version of that pedal? I would certainly be a buyer.
@@rickpilcher6576 yes - th-cam.com/video/zWRD5PawPw0/w-d-xo.html
I’m new to pedal building but I’ve decided I want this to be the first pedal I build
@@Earthwormjimm I just received my built one. Great useful pedal. Unsolicited tip - move the switch further away from the knob, its fiddly where it is. Also use a big switch .
Brilliant and thanks for showing us where to solder...just a little less reverb so we can hear the dry tone. This is much better than sticking those plates on the pick-up base which to my ragged ears does tame the brightness but also loses the midrange..resulting in a wider but thinly spaced tone. Thumbs up to this channel just for the " Have a go" spirit which is lacking in this "Specialist" field of Audio engineering. NB , if you haveca recyling centre nearby ask if you can salvage some caps etc from old radios or Big TVs , The 70s and 80s TVs are loaded with excellent quality parts for this sort of Guitar tone mod. Don't use old bits for amplifiers though, too dangerous.
I see this "Gizmo" being a useful pedal for luthier shops to have, letting customers dial in the sound they want before you install the mod for them
Also literally every guitar player who records, but doesn't have a lot of equipment. Instant way to sound like you have several different guitars that inhabit different parts of the mix.
@@KarstenJohansson I completely agree with that too
@@KarstenJohansson th-cam.com/video/zWRD5PawPw0/w-d-xo.html
im making the pedal to put in my pedal board
@@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar Thanks! This'll be a fun project for the weekend. I think I might end up using it as a more permanent fixture, too.
With 58 years of playing experience, I rarely seen something on TH-cam that's new to me, but you changed that with your clever.and useful info.
Wow you've been playing 58 years & didn't know this? Been playing 50 years and have known this forever.
42 years experience me
@@robertzombiekill6365 How are you over 60 yo and exist with this little tact. I'm sorry that you've grown into a curmudgeon in your later years. There's no reason to bring negativity in reply to op.
@@robertzombiekill6365you were born 2 years ago AI baby.
I have that guitar. I love the crazy bright sound. To lower the peak , I wired the bridge pick up through the tone control. Fender does not wire it through. Makes a huge difference. Also added a treble bleed. Cheers from Sacramento
Been playing and building guitars nearly 40 years and building valve amps a long time - Its not often I learn something new, Thanks! :D
I'm stoked it was helpful, cheers!
if you didn't know this, you have not been paying attention.
Excellent video Waylon there are also switches that use multiple treble bleed circuits and you flip tiny dip switches and choose which one you like.
In my guitars I actually always swap out one of the knobs for a 6-way switch with different cap values used with the tone knob. I did this to shift the peak frequency. It's also a great mod for making a guitar over-the-top dark for thicc doom sounds.
Great idea!! I was imagining either an extra switch on the guitar just for the capacitors, or Waylon's "gizmo" having a home on the pedalboard. I know next to nothing about guitar electronics...do you see any advantage of replacing the regular tone knob like you do, vs keeping it in, and maintaining the ability to simply roll off high frequencies when you want (plus the resonant peak control)?
A Varitone switch. I don't know why this didn't catch on.
@@jeke4977 Exactly 👍
@@j3ffn4v4rr0 you can buy this mod as a replacement for a tone pot in a rotary switch. 10 position, and there is a 16 position one. when on the guitar, you can not just turn it on and off, but switch it on the fly. more useful than the tone knob on the neck pickup.
@@louiscyfer6944 Where can I find this switch? What is it called?
I bought your schematics and have built 3 of these so far. I'm retired from owning a guitar shop in Texas for 3 decades and still do work for my customers.
I view these as tools to leave with players and let them run it with their gear to easily decide which caps to install. Of course I benefit by getting more work.
The response has been great!
I really enjoy watching your videos and have learned a few things as well. Including some of your very cool riffs! Thanks so much. Keep them coming!
@@LonestarSamurai01 Great to hear, I'm stoked!
I actually like the underwound PUPS.
The magic of 4-5 Kohm pups is the
Old Sixties Rickenbacher tones.
Too many guitar players play the
Bridge pup becuse they cant
Hear themselves in a mix, live or recording.
The total failure of on instrument ( guitar)
that is entirely voiced. Above
Muddle "C".
Recovering as much treble as possible from an electric guitar, allows a much wider tonal response with a single tone
knob.
PS this was Jeff Becks SECRET...
An Amp and guitar set to MAX TWANG TREBLE...... before
the tone or cap and resistance knob ...
At ANY position including the
wasted and oten unused
Neck PUP.
You burn fat or twanging with just rolling your tone knob around.
Basically a wah pedal in a knob
Jeffs Big Fat secret along with his
Vibrato and finger picking attack.
Old timer here haha, and im not the only one but I've been modding caps and pickups since the early 70's but what I'm realy impressed with is your new pedal! I truly hope you have amazing success with it if you decide to design and develop it more and market it.
Done : ) th-cam.com/video/zWRD5PawPw0/w-d-xo.html
Thanks mate. I was about to put some Duncans in my PRS. I can’t stand the 85/15 pickups as they have no character.
I just bought a used Squier Bullet Strat from a pawn shop on evilbay a month ago. I replaced the pickups, the pickguard, and the machine heads. All the stuff that I didn't want any way. The pickguard and pickups, controls, and wire I replaced completely with better components. At least the wire and the capacitor are USA made. Everything else was made in China but it works for me and I love it! I like hotrodding my own guitars when it's something cheap like this and doesn't cost me any money really. And it doesn't matter because I'm not destroying or modifying any of my expensive guitars irreversibly.
This is probably the most helpful and approachable "mod" video I've ever seen on YT. A handful of ceramic capacitors (still cheap nowadays) can make a huge difference in letting anyone create their "personal tone." (I bought a decade box specifically for messing around with tone. 👍)
I know a pro blues guy, who always gets the hottest singles he can find. Some of his fans think this is for volume, to overdrive the preamp and get his distinctive growl (he despises stompboxes other than a very occasional wah). It's actually to crowd the mids and get away from the "icepick" tone of singles.
On the other hand, whenever someone says their humbuckers sound "muddy" or "muffled," I tell them to back 'em down a few turns, to un-crowd the mids. And if they get new PUs, to go cooler NOT hotter.
Just to add to this fantastic idea. For those who wouldn't want the fixed capacitance for each pickup and be able to play standard and also add more combinations you can add a four way switch to the pickguard and wire it thus: All caps would be wired to ground on one side as explained in the video. Position 1 on the 4 way switch is off to play standard. For the bridge with capacitor on, you solder the other side of the capacitor to position 2 input of the new 4 way switch and then the output of position 2 to the area indicated in the video where the bridge meets the strats 5 way switch. Do the same to the middle and neck pickups. The added advantage of this: You can play any pickup in standard guise by switching the 4 way switch off, you can select any pickup on the strats 5 way switch then select its appropriate capacitor on the new 4 way switch but there is now a new option. You can select the bridge and middle on the strat 5 way switch but have the choice of bridge or middle on the four way switch and the same with all other combinations. This 4 way switch configuration is different from the original wiring though for this reason: When you select bridge and middle on the strat with the wiring shown in the video, the two capacitors have a combined value. If you use a 4 way switch and use bridge and middle, one capacitor is switched off and doesn't affect the value of the other. However, what it will do is have a combined capacitance across both pickups and produce a unique sound for that pickup combination.
Really clever mod, well done man.
Is this the Bill Lawrence mod? I just bought some Lawrence/Wilde microcoils tele pickups and there is an article on the website about 'tuning' the pickups using capacitors, which I guess is what you are doing here. Thanks for explaining this its a big help!
a cap in parallel across a pickup is just a tone cap with no pot. very small caps will bleed off the top end of the treble and pass everything else through. I suspect you're not actually shifting the Q-zero of the pickup - just nerfing its treble output a bit. The net result might be the same as a lower output pickup with a lower Q-zero though. Using a cap substitution box is a handy way to determine the cap you want. I made one of those in electronics shop back in high school. I take it your pedal is essentially a cap sub box thrown across a guitar cable.
Just ordered! My clients will love this service! Thank you so much!
Been playin a long time, never seen this before. Genius… thanks for sharing
Glad you liked it!
Thank you for such a powerful idea. Bought a bunch of 560nF silver caps, since the bridge value was addressing a different issue also. Already tried it on a set of AlNiCo-5 Strat pickups. It let just the right amount of air out their tires.
On a spare P-Bass that had questionable pickups, I added one in parallel and a 0.5H ferrite core inductor (in my parts bin for 25 years) in series. It's much more sober and focused now. I didn't know how I was going to get it to sound right but now suddenly it does. Such a cool trick.
Your welcome , stoked you like it :)
Utterly magnificent video! So clear and concise. I echo the thought that all Luthier mod shops should have your gizmo for customers to try sounds before committing to a mod. More videos please👍👍👍
Gibson did this in the 60's with the Varitone on the 345 and 355
Oh the very greatest guitars… I kinda want to do the stereo output mod on my epi 335.
I am building a superstrat with that revoicer pedal incorporated in the pickguard utilizing a 6 position rotary switch instead of one of the tones. Basically the wiring goes from the switch output to the rotary switch with 5 condensers (one position will be bypass) then to the tone pot which will act over the selected condenser. Doing the math it will end up having 5*5+5= 30 different tones before the pot modulation. Preatty neat having that revoicer pedal incorporated!
Very cool setup!
Now your catching up with BB King.
@@theofficialdiamondlou2418was gonna say! Now all that's missing is an inductor...
I think a spectrum analyzer would do this video a lot of justice, but it is definitely nice that you can really hear the difference.
So is it kind of the opposite of compression? Or a sweet spot box lol can u invent some tuners that don't go out of tune too quick for my SG? I'd be most impressed with that! I'd get locking tuners but every bit of it is original even the pearl Gibson tuning pegs. I'll put pics of it on my page it's red heritage cherry 🍒 red but u can see the mahogany grain through it, best axe I've ever bought by a way. I just put new Elixir strings on it so maybe that's got something to do with it, wierd tho cos when I tune it it's sharp not flat ffs n its kept in its flight case when I'm not using it as there's no scratches or dings etc
Cheers for a great tip! I have a question: Which cap would you put on a bridge humbucker that sounds muddy and dull?
This is a fantastic technique, what you do in the opposite case? to make it brighter? Is it there any way to do that?
Hi, This is Harry the one who came into ur store today, i will definitely be watching ur channel a ton. and thanks for everything!!
What would everyone suggest for doing this on an epiphone 335 with covered pickups? I’ve been wanting to get some pafs but i think I’ll try this first
Thanks!!n I found a 3.3nf capacitor at home and put it on my guitar, the bridge humbucker was ultra sharp, with this mod it sounds lovely. You are a Hero!
As good a Strat tone(s) as I've ever heard at any price point.
How is there not 1000 videos on this?! Im obsessed! bought 100 different caps to experiment with...Thank you for this!!
That right there is the fun part for me, the experimentation part! cheers!
@@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar This may be the dumbest question youve ever heard but please bare with me...Is there any cap or "device" or anything you can wire in series like these caps tame the harsh end, that does the oposite? something that makes a muddy pickup brighter without touching the tone knob? sorry if thats stupid, im new to the electronics part of a guitar. Thanks!
I might be wrong, but xotic pedals have the 'Sweet', and 'Super sweet'. It seems like your creation has a click setting. The Xotic pedal is a smooth sweep type knob adjustment.
I looked at a lot of tone stacks schematics in many fender amps and I wired a extra large pedal box up the way I seen them and I can get the same sounds with out doing this to the guitar. I just got tired of pulling my guitars apart to adjust them when I could just twerk the pedal box to do it and it was easier . Nice video 🎸😎
I have been doing this since the mid '80s. Just chanced upon it and pretty much have done this with all my guitars. So pleased to see you have a superb device like you displayed. Super cool indeed.
Thanks!
This is the most fascinating thing I've seen in a while on guitar YT, such a simple and clear mod. And, yeah - I think now guitar player just want that pedal of yours.
Done - th-cam.com/video/zWRD5PawPw0/w-d-xo.html
And now they can build it or buy it! th-cam.com/video/zWRD5PawPw0/w-d-xo.html
Sounds great, what value cap would you recommend to tweak the bridge on a usa standard strat from '96? Im ok at soldering but crap at electronics values!!
For a typical 2.3~2.8H Strat pickup, I prefer a slightly higher freq peak. ~2.2kHz has good clarity without sounding harsh. The cap value for that would be in the 1n5F to 2nF range (along with a typical 200-400pF guitar cable and ~140pF pickup capacitance). I use values like that on the tone knob. The useful versatility throughout the sweep is great.
Got an EVH Wolfgang Standard and replaced the Bridge Pickup with an USA made one that was way brighter. At least that's what I thought...With a .047 Orange Drop I made a Lowcut for the Neck PU and now they work beautirully together. So the other one had a muddier voicing? I'm sure I could have used a 1€ cap too, but I only had the orange drop.
The BB King model Gibsons have a similar sort of rotary knob for various caps too. I'm surprised it never caught on more it such an easy way to change the sound of any guitar. Cheers.
@@Peterbrendanalbert Yes, it has about 5-6 different positions on it, I believe.
Well at least two other people know what I do. Lol. It’s like reinventing the wheel. Les Paul (the person ) designed the Varitone for BB King in the early 70’s. If I remember correctly it’s 5 positions ,and a bypass. But I could be wrong on that one. I almost bought and put one in my LTD/ESP. But did something more custom instead. 🤙
I really liked that sound in the box. Like you turned it from a Squier Strat to a tele. But if you listen to 3:53 compared to 5:35 it doesn't have quite the same tone. It sounds somewhere in the middle of the Squier bridge sound and the sound you created in the box. A lot um warmer or butterier, if that's a word, than the Strat bright, twangy sound but not quite that tele sound.
A cap in parallel to the Non grounded pick up , when the p ups are in series , can keep highs from being muffled or shape tones also.
Thank u for this fascinating video. The changes sound so dramatic- amazing mod
Glad you enjoyed it!
pickup height is important. first thing i do on a new guitar that the pickups dont seem right, adjust the height up or down and test test test. The other useful too is a decent eq pedal. guitarist have dozens of fx pedals, but no eq.
I bought a Vox wah pedal opened it up and changed the starting/end point of the potentiometer to be a bit less bright with toe down.
Sometimes I'll just have it on and leave it at a specific angle for a different tone, I think we're doing similar things but I like your way better.
As a electronic nerd who happens to play guitar, that was glorious.
I love my strats but I agree with the bridge pickups being shrill for my taste. My go to has been either and HSS setup or having a mini switch to run bridge/neck together (i.e. the Gilmour switch) but I'll have to play with the caps some time to see what works best for me.
Stoked you enjoyed it!
I see others thought same: make a pedal based on your test box so one could have a couple choices; call it The Voice Box. Throw 3 switchable, in series compression circuits for fun. Hey, great simple mod, inspiring for sure.😂
Thanks, I have made it :)
mcphersonmusic.site/product-category/pickups/the-green-gizmo%ef%b8%8f/
The difference is dramatic, it actually sounds really good after the mod… And the little green box would actually be a killer tool to have if you’re playing multiple Strats and/or Teles in a live set up situation with different pickups on them! Great video!
Thanks! If you want to build one I've posted a video here
th-cam.com/video/zWRD5PawPw0/w-d-xo.html
That’s great, thanks!
Wow, thanks for the tip! I've been fiddling with strat wiring for decades. I will certainly incorporate this, maybe even using a pot or mini switch.
Thanks, I think a rotary switch installed on the guitar would be nice too, cheers!
Heck yeah. @@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar
Thank you! Which kind of capacitors are you using?
In your example, when you go to the bridge/middle position, I think you're getting both capacitors affecting both pickups. I believe you're running both capacitors in parallel at that point so the value would be 2.7 nf plus 560 pF = 3.26 for both pickups combined. Correct?
Yes, that is correct, same goes for Neck/Middle 560pf x 2, cheers!
Seriously solid advice and info! Reminds me of the great Yamaha Soundbook I used as A Bose vendor.
Thank you! This could easily be a MasterClass!
Glad it was helpful, cheers!
this is brilliant. Is this how a variac dial/switch on a Gibson 345 works?
Thanks!, actually this is a bit simpler than a Variac, cheers!
That external varitone box is a really cool idea, although it will sound slightly different on the output of the guitar when compared to putting them directly in parallel with the pickup.
When the caps are directly in parallel they form a resonant LC tank with the pickup's inductance. This resonance will be ever so slightly damped by the cap being after the volume and tone controls. Still, it's a good way to get an idea of the response.
This is only a difference if the volume control is rolled down. If it's all the way up, the cap in the box is also directly in parallel with the pickup along with the tone control (which is also a cap in parallel with the pickup, but with a pot in between) and the volume pot's total resistance value.
The main difference between putting it inside the guitar vs out is that the cables also have parallel capacitance and would contribute to the resonant frequency of the peak.
So, you would really also want to make sure you either measure the capacitance of the cable or use the same type and length of cable if you wanted to be able to exactly repeat it. This is kind of a variable capacitance cable, in effect.
The Source Audio Zio pedal, incidentally, has a tone switch that does this with 3 cap values to choose from and then the rest of the pedal curcuitry comes after so you can dial in a consistent buffered or boosted output
Wouldn't mind seeing how to build the gizmo you're using, that would be ultra useful to play before getting in there with the soldering iron.
Several position switch. Capacitors. Two 1/4” jacks. Box. Bypass switch. Wire the same as done with the pickup switch. Each position on the switch connected to a different capacitor value. Arrange them in ascending or descending order by value. One side of your bypass switch passes the signal straight through, the other passes through the big capacitor switch. Done.
@@ThelBosch brilliant!!! Thanks for the info, very much appreciated.
Done th-cam.com/video/zWRD5PawPw0/w-d-xo.html
Wow, the bridge really improved. G&L does something similar with their ASATS with MFD pickups.
Hmmm... Interesting. I could hear the diff on the bridge one. Love the Bullet Squier!
Very useful, turned the bridge single coil to sound more like a humbucker, more mid focused sound.
This is blowing my mind. Subscribed
Keep up the actual quality videos.
Pickups are surrounded by so much nonsense in opinions and marketing.
I don't really use my tone knob. Could rig a rotary switch there.
Very interesting! Does this work with every kind of pick-up? Single Coil or Humbucker? Passive or Active?
This is great! Is there such a thing as a variable capacitor? Like a pot that has a continuous change in capacitance - as a different kind of tone control? Thanks very much!
Have you unintentionally just invented a new pedal that strat players would be interested in?
Indeed
It’d be easer.
I think guitar techs would be more interested in your “Gizmo”
We need that pedal and we need it now! 😮
Did you build the switchable capacitor box or are they available?
It's a great idea, looks a bit like the Vari-Tone which Gibson used to fit in some models of 335 and little like the "Bill Lawrence/Jerry Donahue" mode for Telecasters. I'll certainly be trying it out. Thanks !!
Most Strat pickups are the same construction neck to bridge, no "voiding changes" of the pickups themselves. The tone change is due to operating under different string vibration widths. Recent Squier pickups are 'underwound and higher magnet' following advancements Leo Fender did at G&L guitars where he used that technique to increase the signal to noise ratio of pickups. If a pickup is too brash then lower it closer to or flush with the pickguard, tip the bass side up, or get a 'reverse hendrix' pickgurard slot to put the bridge pickup with the opposite slant. Unless specifically wired at the factory or modded later, stock Strats have no tone pot on the bridge pickup - it's just pickup>volume>jack. Some do a switch jumper mod so the second tone pot controls both the middle and bridge pickups.
I have an EHX LPB-1 circuit wired into one of my Strats. It's wired to the bottom tone control and the second tone control is global tone.
For me it adds a variable boost while trimming a bit of the top end off so it's not so bitey.
Really interesting thank you for this!
I'll have a stab at making the capacitor selector box for this project, what would you say is capacitance range and steps it should cover? :)
All info here : ) th-cam.com/video/zWRD5PawPw0/w-d-xo.html
I would love to put the caps on push pull pots to be able to turn them on and off for even more tone options. I used to do all kinds of mods but I hadn't thought of simply putting the cap in parallel, Ill be playing with this one for sure. Thanks so much
Awesome!
I need to play with one of those boxes for a few minutes.! Thanks
Despite of Your Dog Shiz crayon drawing medium… 😆…this Video shows one and the best description, Visual and explanation of the sound of the hertz of pick ups. I’m a simple man, and a Bass Playing man. So Yeah…
And! I STILL can hear the difference and the concept…. Much Respect from Canada… 😊
Thank you much, don’t change.,and more pls… 🇨🇦❤
haha, thanks so much :)
This is a Great idea and Im wondering how I would do this with a 3 way switch ,Im assuming it would be the same way ,I will have to toy around ,I have a P90 in my Bridge and its not the sound i was hoping to get out of it ,Thanks for showing how to remedy the issue
*What cap value would add more treble and mids to a stratocaster pickup?*
Genius mod + pedal, just got a package of capacitors and now I know what I’ll be trying to do with them 😁 that alligator clip method you were mentioning, is that as straightforward as attach cap to clip, attach clip to pot/selector? It’s all a little rocket science to me still but appreciate hearing you explain it all, thanks again!!
I just watched this, and I heard the difference with the mod. I really like that.
Subbed. Will this work with humbuckers?
Thanks! Yes, it work 100% with humbuckers too :)
Really enjoyed watching and hearing you play! The presentation was well produced, presented and highly engaging. Well done! I hope this channel gets the exposure it deserves.
Thank you very much!
You're a GENIUS! You could even add a small switch to turn this on and off. How can I make one of those switcher boxes?
Thanks, you can make one here :)
th-cam.com/video/zWRD5PawPw0/w-d-xo.html
What is the amp you are running through. I love those sounds. Thank you in advance
Neutrik's Timbre Plug lets you switch in 1nF, 2.2nF & 3.3nF.
cool, I did not know about that, cheers!
I wonder whether this is the same effect that players used to get in a more primitive way back in the day by using long or curly cables? The effect on the bridge pickup was particularly striking.
Yes. Hendrix used it to tame highs
What amplifier were you playing through? Thanks super vid
another thing people can do, ( if you just like position 2 and 4, like me, but also want to be able to select bridge + neck ), get a 3-position 4-pole Super Switch;
and pick your 3 favorites, if nothing else......also a lot less than new pickups.
and then when you start tweaking it ,with caps, then you're likely not sitting on a fence with it
Great!
I rewired my tone control on my MiM Strat as the bridge was too bright; this would have been a better option.
I like that breakout box you’ve made and you’ve inspired me to create my own; characterizing, tuning, and modifying pickups are on my list.
Here you go : ) th-cam.com/video/zWRD5PawPw0/w-d-xo.html
I like the adjustable capacitance box (revoicer) that you have ... better than having just one fixed value.
Been doing this and the Volume pot Frequency range bypass mods on guitars since the 90'S great to see others using some RLC bridge ideas to improve their axes. I use an ancient Capacitor decade box its a little ripper
WHat about the capacitor in series so that a humbucker sounds sweeter? :)
The value of these ceramic capacitors are strongly tied to temperature (and they are more prone to introduce noise). Depending on the weather your guitar will sound different. You should get ones with a lower temperature coefficient
Your electric wizardry has turned on a tinker goblin in my brain and I'm gonna watch your green gizmo build vid next..; do you think when you demo your mods in the future, could you please play the same riff on each pickup? It really helps me understand the changes to the tone through my bad pc speakers.
Thanks Jake, glad you liked it. Good point about the playing too, cheers!
Have you noticed that turning down the volume pot just a teeny bit loads the pickup to give it a better sound ? I'm assuming the pickup "wants" to see its DC resistance, before going to hot. The treble stays about the same, but as you turn it softly down you can really hear the bass bloom. After that of course the treble rolls off. I play w lots of distortion which really brings the effect out. But it's there clean too.
Wow! You learn something every day! Does this also work to brighten up humbuckers? if so, what value should I try? Thanks
No. To brighten up humbuckers I recommend using slightly higher valued volume pots. For example 550 kOhms instead of 500 kOhms. You easily can do that by yourself. Open the pot, take out the ring with the carbon resistor, clamp a multimeter to the two outer lugs and carefully grind down the carbon using a 1000 mesh grinding paper until the multimeter shows the desired 550 kOhms. Reassemble the pot, and you are fine. This takes a thick blanket from the sound.
I wasn't going to subscribe UNTIL I saw you are from New Zealand. Gotta support my friends over there... except when the cricket and rugby are on. ✌️🇦🇺
Cheers man :)
Yih, ai could tell he was an Enzedduh straight away. Ai laiked hiz tist of the nick pickup.
I've never had a use for a 0.022µF tone cap. I almost always replace them with either a 0.01µF or 0.005µF depending on the pickup. This way I have the option of in or out. On occasion I've installed pickups that sounded great save for being a bit brittle and harsh so I put a 1000pF capacitor between signal hot and ground. Tames the harsh without changing the character of the pickup drastically. The difference the 0.01µF or 0.005µF makes is even more noticeable as you add gain and more so on the bridge pickup.
loved the drawing section
Very much enjoyed this video. Hope one of your future projects is how to make the cap tester pedal
Thanks, that is literally the next video I am releasing, cheers!
The G&L tone control with low pass and high pass filters moves that resonate peak around as well. The "grease bucket mod" and the Fender TBX control both move the peak around. To maximize the usefulness, put a switch that removes the tone control from the circuit or back in. Some Tele players put 1M Ohm potentiometer for a volume control to get "more twang" . Just the difference between Vintage wiring and Modern wiring in a Gibson guitar makes a difference in the resonate peak and the tone control response. Totally touchy stuff, totally cool to mess with it.
The tonal changes are phenomenal! 👍 🎸
Will the same capacitor values work on a Tele?
Yes, any passive pickups, even humbuckers :) check out the latest video on how to build one, cheers!
Did you post the instructions how to build your cap box?
Yes, new video just posted, cheers!
th-cam.com/video/zWRD5PawPw0/w-d-xo.html
Would you consider sharing the design of your capacitor box or maybe even selling them or kit versions?
Done - th-cam.com/video/zWRD5PawPw0/w-d-xo.html
@@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar Thanks!
I believe the electronics in Alembic basses work on a similar principle of shifting the resonant peak.
Yup. It was called a Q switch or VQ potentiometer in the Series II electronics. I would say It's hard for most of us to get any of these.
*A high-end low tech mod* for singles is cutting a steel sheet metal plate to glue on the back of the magnet which easily doubles to triples output, and then you can add passive R-C filters to *really* make a huge alteration to tonal output without risk of it losing sustain and other desired characteristics by the time the signal reaches pedals and/or an amp.
You can also step them up to a 1 and sometimes even 2 meg ohm pot which won't bleed off highs as you cut your volume, but this mod doesn't just give a massive output boost, but when you cut volume the very high impedance pots can make 60-cycle hum a constant which is why 1 meg ohm is typically adequate for singles and humbuckers.
I'm a college educated electrical/electronics engineer though and while I once thought it was blasphemy, I now support active pickups 110% but with this caveat. Mine our custom made and if I desire, custom voiced with both fixed and variable filter schemes. Unlike commercially sold active modules or pickup sets, I run it all Class-A so your active sound can remain identical to the passive and the only obvious and significant change is the voltage output is 10-20 times what it previously was.
*There's heaps of active pickups out there that I don't particularly like starting with EMG's.*