bluezguy Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Hello, Does anyone have the 'perfect' combination of caps and/or resistors on their LP so as not to lose the 'bite' of wide open pot playing when you roll that same pup pot down to rhythm? I recently acquired one of Marshalls latest release 100 watt amps... 100W Vintage Modern... This amp is a piece of Vintage miracle and is meant to be used in 'old school' fashion where you control your performance with your guitar's volume pot... not footpedals. My 2003 Standard loses a noticeable amount of treble on roll down which I know I can retain with the proper values and combination of caps and resistors soldered in place. Will changing the stock 300k volume pots to a quality CTS 500k pot do anything? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I changed my caps to paper in oil. RS Guitarworks sells them. It made the tone controls on my LP way more versatile. http://www.rsguitarworks.net/rsstore/index.php?cPath=45_67&osCsid=1mok87nl8kv98m3c3kidss3r84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elantric Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Does anyone have the 'perfect' combination of caps and/or resistors on their LP so as not to lose the 'bite' of wide open pot playing when you roll that same pup pot down to rhythm? To convert your Volume control to a "Level" control - and not change the tone as you lower the volume: 1) Verify or replace Volume pot with 500k Audio Taper pot, Wire like stock Les Paul Vol Pot circuit. 2) Observe the Volume pot has three lugs, one "lug" is soldered to ground - and the other two lugs we will call "middle" and "hot". 3) Get a 150K ohm 1/4 watt resistor, and a 500 picofarad (500pF) capacitor @ 50volt 4) Wire the resistor and capacitor from step 3 in parallel by twisting their leads together to form one lead on each end. 5) Solder the Resistor / Capacitor "RC Network" to the Volume Pot, one lead to the "Middle" lug, the other lead to the "Hot" lug. The result of this will deliver a "Level control" that does not loose high frequency bite as you roll the volume down. Optional: * You can change the EQ curve of your new Level control, by substituting different value Capacitors. - - 250pf or 1000pf. I have this RC Network wired to a Yamaha Push-Push pot ( from the SG2000 guitar) - to enable/disable the "feature" the network provides. With the Network out of circuit, the guitar reacts like a vintage Les Paul with 500K pots - just like a 1959. Trivia: *Early 60's Telecasters used 1 meg vol pot with 250pf or 1000pf Cap - and that provides a treble boost, bass cut as you lower the volume = very chicken pick'n Tele tone, almost too much of a good thing for most. The combination of 500K Volume pot, with 150K resistor / 500pF cap RC Network was stock on Dave Schector Strats for Mark Knofller in the late 1970's - and that is where I "borrowed" this circuit above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xuestor Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 It's a big difference between Linear Taper Pots, and Audio Taper Pots. Audio Taper Pots is the way to go. It made my faded Standard to get that laid back rolled off bite... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluezguy Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 The combination of 500K Volume pot' date=' with 150K resistor / 500pF cap RC Network was stock on Dave Schector Strats for Mark Knofller in the late 1970's - and that is where I "borrowed" this circuit above. [/quote'] Thank YOU for that very detailed report! I will acquire the parts listed and 'git 'er dun'!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom99SS Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 +1 on the RS GuitarWorks stuff. I too have the Marshall VM, it is a great amp and the tones you can get out if it are fantastic. Regarding the guitar, I redid the all the wiring on the Les Paul after talking to Billy at RS as I got their pre-wired toggle switch, 500K CTS Autio Taper Pots and Luxe BumbleBee caps. Wired everything 50's style and there is no need for the treble bleed kits. Also, got rid of that blasted grounding plate the pots are screwed to. IMO the 300k stock volume pots choke the tone of the pickups, combined with modern wiring is why when the volume is rolled down the tone gets muddy. I have found (and I just did this test so this post is ironic) with the bridge pickup and volume pot on 10 (VM in High Dynamic range no mid-boost) I have a nice distortion sound. Kind of like Motley Crue's Wild Side with tone knob on 7. Then I got a nice Grand Funk (Closer to my home) sound with just lowering the bridge volume pot to 6 and raising the tone pot to 10 (VM still in High Dynamic Range). And this with BurstBucker Pro pickups which I have tweeked the overall height along with polepiece height. Again this is just my opinion. I shy away from the bleed kits and such as. Talk to Billy at RS, tell him what you want and he will hook you up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluezguy Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 +1 on the RS GuitarWorks stuff. And this with BurstBucker Pro pickups which I have tweeked the overall height along with polepiece height. Again this is just my opinion. I shy away from the bleed kits and such as. Talk to Billy at RS' date=' tell him what you want and he will hook you up. [/quote'] Thanks Tom... I got your PM and called Billy right away. You're right... he is a great guy to chat with and I will try his product. What do you think of your Burstbucker Pro pups? This is about my 10th LP in 40 years and all I've ever had were PAFs or Classics in them (stayed true to Gibson). Billy's not fond of them (the pickups) because they're potted - me, I love 'em! So... which kit exactly did you get? The vintage or the modern? J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom99SS Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I actually got the parts individually as the kit I wanted was this Re-Issue kit but it only came with short shaft pots. So I got the long shaft 500k Audio Taper and the Luxe BumbleBee caps along with the Pre_Wired Toggle Switch. If you search the RS forum you will find the Roy states there is very little difference between the Luxe BB repros and the Jensen caps which are part of the vintage kit. I just wanted the BumblBee look even though you cannot see them. Did all the wiring myself. Also removed that grounding plate and grounded all the pots together and did the 50's wiring. Yep Billy is not fond of any wax potted pickups but that is his preference. We had a long discussion about them. I am with you, after tweeking the height and polepiece height I love the BurstBucker Pro pickups. If you get on the VM forum my settings for the VM is in the sticky there. Good luck and whichever kit you choose will be an upgrade in tone for your Les Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britabe Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I changed my caps to paper in oil. RS Guitarworks sells them. It made the tone controls on my LP way more versatile. http://www.rsguitarworks.net/rsstore/index.php?cPath=45_67&osCsid=1mok87nl8kv98m3c3kidss3r84 +1 huge difference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britabe Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 also i wanted to add that....I dont have this problem at all with my Traditional, thought I would but I dont. Kinda strange but it cleans up really really nice and I am all to aware of a new wiring harness can do as my Epi is modded out. I did change the caps but I didnt have a roll-off prob before that really. Its just more dynamic now. I might point out though that I tend to set my rig up so that EQ is right for rythm w/ my guitar around 7 on vol. so that when i crank for leads i get a psuedo treble boost too. if it is unwanted then i simply roll highs off on the tone. I do a lot of tone knob changes, rarely drastic, but there is a lot of tonal range to utilize which is something I love about a LP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.