LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

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IMOCD
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LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by IMOCD »

Afternoon. Have fitted a firebird pup to my P90 LP thinking it would cure much of the 'woof' that was inherent in the neck position (Pup is set very low in the body, pots read well over 500k).
Definitely less wooly, and killer in combo with the P90 bridge, but it lacks that spank I was expecting from a firebird pup and I still have that struggle to eq my amp so that both neck and bridge sound good when used independently. Feels like I need the neck tone pot to go to 12.

As a recent convert to G&L, absolutely love the treble and bass cut on these. Wondering how it could work and sound if I wired neck tone on the LP to be a bass cut instead.
Anyone try this with good results? If so, how did you go about it?
Cheers.

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Re: LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by werdna »

You are onto the right idea.

Variatone knob/switch. There's a guy in the UK that makes them for less than 100 notes. To spec. You get 5 different filters, which can be for bass or treble. However each time you switch pickups you'll have to switch the knob to the correct filter.

Alternatively, search the internet under "variatone" to get the values of resistors that will filter neck pickups for bass. Buy two or three different ones. Then one after the other, put them into the front pickup circuit. The same effect as a variatone, but permanently built in so there is no need to switch on the filter when you go to your neck pickup.

Nipplewrestler knows more about this than me.
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Re: LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by NippleWrestler »

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/ ... iring-mods

Have a look there. I think it's called PBT wiring. Check out diagram 1c.

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Re: LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by IMOCD »

NippleWrestler wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:31 am https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/ ... iring-mods

Have a look there. I think it's called PBT wiring. Check out diagram 1c.
Legend. Thanks man. Have you ever tried it?

A second option (thanks Werdna) is to go down the capacitor or parallel capacitor/resistor in series with the hot wire of the pickup. Would seem to be a bit easier and give me the ability to use the tone controls as normal, but still reduce some bass on the neck. Seems like there are lots of options on cap/res values tho...... :crazy:

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Re: LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by olegmcnoleg »

If you just want a bass rolloff, consider the wiring mod that Reverend use. This works a treat for cleaning up the lower frequencies and helping your guitar sit better in a full mix. if you are using two tone pots, this means you can still have a traditional tone pot as well.

There are a few variants...here's one:

https://www.google.com/search?q=reveren ... rdNLk_V8bM

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Re: LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by sizzlingbadger »

Reverend Bass cut is a simple cap and pot, works well.
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...

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Re: LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by NippleWrestler »

IMOCD wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:48 am
NippleWrestler wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:31 am https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/ ... iring-mods

Have a look there. I think it's called PBT wiring. Check out diagram 1c.
Legend. Thanks man. Have you ever tried it?

A second option (thanks Werdna) is to go down the capacitor or parallel capacitor/resistor in series with the hot wire of the pickup. Would seem to be a bit easier and give me the ability to use the tone controls as normal, but still reduce some bass on the neck. Seems like there are lots of options on cap/res values tho...... :crazy:
Not on guitars, but it's used in fx pedals all the time. The tight control on the Friedman be:od is the same thing, just a cap and pot that cut off bass frequencies.

To fine tune your values use something like the high pass filter calculator on trancecat. The R value is the pot value and the cap value can be altered to suit. Presumably you'd want to stop the cut at around 2khz and lower at a guess.

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Re: LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by Mattallica »

Once you've found a value you like, you could install a push pull pot to switch it in and out. Then you can keep the tone knob.
I did the bass control on a epi LP and it worked fine. You can't really go wrong. It will be more about considering what set of controls will be most beneficial to you. Bass cut, 2x tone and master volume control? Do you set the volumes differently?
Assume this is a 4 knobber LP?

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Re: LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by sizzlingbadger »

Yamaha Revstar uses a pull switch tone pot to cut the Bass, it works really well.

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/ ... dry-switch
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...

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Re: LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by IMOCD »

Mattallica wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 10:35 am Once you've found a value you like, you could install a push pull pot to switch it in and out. Then you can keep the tone knob.
I did the bass control on a epi LP and it worked fine. You can't really go wrong. It will be more about considering what set of controls will be most beneficial to you. Bass cut, 2x tone and master volume control? Do you set the volumes differently?
Assume this is a 4 knobber LP?
Yes, a 4 knobber. Hmm......I like this approach too. The neck pickup, alone at home with some drive is actually pretty darn good, but I know that come band practice I will be doing battle in the same frequency range as the other guitarist who uses HB's.

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Re: LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by IMOCD »

NippleWrestler wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 10:18 am
IMOCD wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:48 am
NippleWrestler wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:31 am https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/ ... iring-mods

Have a look there. I think it's called PBT wiring. Check out diagram 1c.
Legend. Thanks man. Have you ever tried it?

A second option (thanks Werdna) is to go down the capacitor or parallel capacitor/resistor in series with the hot wire of the pickup. Would seem to be a bit easier and give me the ability to use the tone controls as normal, but still reduce some bass on the neck. Seems like there are lots of options on cap/res values tho...... :crazy:
Not on guitars, but it's used in fx pedals all the time. The tight control on the Friedman be:od is the same thing, just a cap and pot that cut off bass frequencies.

To fine tune your values use something like the high pass filter calculator on trancecat. The R value is the pot value and the cap value can be altered to suit. Presumably you'd want to stop the cut at around 2khz and lower at a guess.
Thanks for the heads-up on the calculator. I'll check it out. Now that I'm viewing it as simply a high pass filter on the guitar, seems to make a bit more sense to me. :thumbup:

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Re: LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by IMOCD »

After a bit of research, and to keep things simple for now, it seems putting a 0.0047mf cap in series should be a good starting point. However, some say to put a resistor in parallel with the cap. Coupla Q's.

What role does the resistor play in this scenario and any ideas on a starting point for value. (1M)?
Cheers

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Re: LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by valery121 »

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Re: LP - bass cut instead of 'normal' tone control.

Post by mr_sooty »

The Reverend style bass roll off is brilliant on humbuckers and P90s. Easily reversible too if you don't like it for whatever reason.

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