Back To The Wiring Problem _ November

[je00143]

Hate to appear dumb about this - but regardless of whether the instrument is wired "Modern" or vintage", if one uses an outboard volume pedal and puts the

instrument volume at 10, doesn't that solve the problem?? I recognize it is yet another piece of gear, but if it works………

 

Thank you.

 

Gil

[tulk1]

I thought it was more about the way the knobs interact with each other, rather than a volume in toto thing.

[TalismanRich]

Somewhere a while back I ran across an Excel spreadsheet.

 

You put in the resistance for the pickups, the pots, the capacitance, and you could move the slider to see the effect that the tone control and volume had on the frequency response. It amazed me how much the volume control rolled off the response curve.

 

Then you could add various values for either a parallel or series treble bleed circuit and watch the response. It was pretty neat to watch.

 

In the end, it was all a compromise. You could never exactly retain the response curve through the range of volume, but you could minimize some of the dips, especially with a range of volume, like from 5-10 (or 11 if your guitar is so equiped).

 

I would think that a volume pedal would minimize the effect, especially if you place it after a buffered pedal. I don't know if it does the same as a volume knob when run straight through. I'm sure some electronics whiz could work the circuit out.

[yoslate]

Hasn't Robben Ford bypassed the volume pots on his guitars completely, using just a volume pedal? I've been on a steady diet of Ford since Kuz gave me some Ford cd's in July, at PSP II. An awful lot going on there!

[212Mavguy]

Hasn't Robben Ford bypassed the volume pots on his guitars completely, using just a volume pedal? I've been on a steady diet of Ford since Kuz gave me some Ford cd's in July, at PSP II. An awful lot going on there!

 

The main problem with using volume pots and most volume pedals to control/adjust volume is the POT! Most volume pedals use a pot...Rolling back the volume on a pot tends to cause a rolling off of high frequencies. I have a Keith Hilton pedal steel volume pedal, it is an active pedal that will not roll off the highs at a lower volume. Can provide a bit of clean boost at full throttle. Spendy but nice, comes with a dedicated wall wart hardwired to it. Uses a light sensing thingie inside to control the volume. Has adjustments for min and max volume and a basic tone control to roll off some treble if that is desired. Have heard that Morley volume pedal is potless too.

[TalismanRich]

I mentioned this up in my previous message. I found this on the GearPage last year. It's got a link to a nice Excel worksheet that will graphically display the frequency response of the circuit. It allows you to change cap values, pots, treble bleed circuits etc.

 

It needs Excel to run all the visual basic scripts properly, but some of the program will work with Open Office.

 

10-23-2008, 07:51 PM

I've been playing around with this great program called Guitar Freak. I think its the kind of thing more would like to know of. Takes a lot of the trial and error out of swapping pots, caps, etc. Additionally, it can go from '50s to Modern wiring schemes with the click of a button.

 

Anyway, JohnH from the Les Paul Forum (not sure if he's a member here) created this program, and I wanted to get it out there more. As JohnH wrote:

 

"It lets you quickly see how pickup and component properties alter the response of a generic guitar circuit - plus its quite fun to play with.

 

John"

 

http://people.smartchat.net.au/~l_jhewitt/...arFreak_2_1.xls