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Post subject: How do pots and caps effect tone?
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 6:44 am
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How will the tone of my guitar change in relationship to the value(250K. 500K, etc...) of the pots and cap being used?


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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 6:49 am
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A basic rule for tone caps is that the bigger the cap, the darker the tone. Depending on the cap’s value (capacitance), the effect can reach from “slightly warmer” to a “woman tone” all the way to “completely dark and clinically dead.” Remember, the tone cap is always part of the guitar circuit and it even influences the tone when the tone pot is fully opened.

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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 7:35 am
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Guitar Caps act like filters or a gate because the higher the value of the cap the more highs will be filtered out. The pot determines how much signal you allow to get to the cap.

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Post subject: Re: How do pots and caps effect tone?
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:21 am
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[quote="ITL15"]How will the tone of my guitar change in relationship to the value(250K. 500K, etc...) of the pots and cap being used?[/quote

This is a good one for Niki and Ceri!

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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:51 am
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So in summary of caps:

Low value = Brighter tone
High value = warmer tone

What about the value of the pots, does the same theory hold true?


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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 2:19 pm
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If you change the caps and dont like you can always change them back. The American Standards use .022 caps and American 57 Strats are .1 caps. I like to use Orange drops over the disc caps. I have had a few people give me old tootsie roll caps and want them put in even.

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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 6:40 am
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So, what about the pots? How does there value affect things?


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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 9:12 am
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The 250k pots don't add as much treble to the signal thats why they are used most on single coils because they tend to have a lot more bite . And 500k pots keep more of the treble in the signal and Humbuckers often need more treble. You dont see 1meg pots used much at all they have a real rough sounding tone.

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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 9:56 am
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Thanks.


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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 1:18 pm
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Being a electronics guy Pots and caps are hand in hand like one of the posters stated they work as filters they pass different frequentcies these have to be calculated to determine what your trying to achive, there alots of different filters that can get different results. You should get a electronics book and read about R/C filters before you try anything.


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