Gretsch style "mud switch"

[fender3x]

Makes sense to me! Also caps are cheap and easy to swap.

As to the switch on the back. I am sure it could be done with a sliding switch. On one of my first mods I did it with micro-switches on a G&L bass. On some basses G&L adds what players call an OMG cap that makes the pickup sound really boomy. Some people really like it, others don't. I didn't want to mess up the front of the bass, but I wanted to be able to turn them on and off. So I put the switches in an unused part of the control cavity, and recessed them so they couldn't be flipped accidentally. It worked like a charm, and is great for a setting that you want to be able to adjust, but that you don't need to adjust while you are playing.



Not very pretty, but I figured it was on the back ;-)

[EsquireEsque]

Makes sense to me! Also caps are cheap and easy to swap.

As to the switch on the back. I am sure it could be done with a sliding switch. On one of my first mods I did it with micro-switches on a G&L bass. On some basses G&L adds what players call an OMG cap that makes the pickup sound really boomy. Some people really like it, others don't. I didn't want to mess up the front of the bass, but I wanted to be able to turn them on and off. So I put the switches in an unused part of the control cavity, and recessed them so they couldn't be flipped accidentally. It worked like a charm, and is great for a setting that you want to be able to adjust, but that you don't need to adjust while you are playing.



Not very pretty, but I figured it was on the back ;-)

.... and I thought it was my idea!

But that's pretty much what I was thinking - but for a sliding switch.

I've just come across a video where someone went to the trouble of switching pots so the difference could be heard.... I'm not sure it's any different from just using caps.....

So now it's just either a straight lead to the out put or by way of a switch with a cap....

Probably makes sense to go with the former but to "prep" for the latter.....

[WeirdBits]

Rear mount slide switch(es) can certainly be done, as long as you don’t want to do any quick changes while playing.

If you decide to use a pot and a switch, then 3-way switches (mini or large toggle) can give you your clean and two different ‘mud’ options (half-way down this post gives you a few ways to do it).

For a single pot only layout, then a push/pull is your best option. Get some clip leads, a range of caps and resistors, and test until you find the sound you want.

[EsquireEsque]

Rear mount slide switch(es) can certainly be done, as long as you don’t want to do any quick changes while playing.

If you decide to use a pot and a switch, then 3-way switches (mini or large toggle) can give you your clean and two different ‘mud’ options (half-way down this post gives you a few ways to do it).

For a single pot only layout, then a push/pull is your best option. Get some clip leads, a range of caps and resistors, and test until you find the sound you want.

Hi, thanks.

I think if I use resistors and a push/pull - then the tapering will be inconsistent.... that sort of kills the idea.

That is a very well done (and far more complicated) example of what I was thinking for the back switch...

AS to the build itself...... wow! It would seem you've done this before....

[WeirdBits]

I actually meant you can use a resistor to reduce the amount of mud a particular cap adds to the sound, so you can have your preferred cap value but just less strong in its effect. That’s where the testing comes in.

[EsquireEsque]

I actually meant you can use a resistor to reduce the amount of mud a particular cap adds to the sound, so you can have your preferred cap value but just less strong in its effect. That’s where the testing comes in.

I see - not what I thought.

However - I simply don't understand. So probably best to start with something that I think I can get my head around.

More and more I think it best to have a simple Pickup to volume to outbut... with a space that I can later put a switch in (whether on front - or in the back).

If the Fender dual value pot was push/pull as I originally thought it was - it'd be easier.

[fender3x]

That would get you up and playing. Generally a good thing.

You can always test some caps later. To test, you wouldn't even need to open the control cavity with your setup. You could do it with an old guitar cable. Just cut it in half, and splice the shield wire (ground) and the center wire (hot) back together. Then alligator-clip one leg of the cap to each splice. That will give you a sense of how it will sound with the cap activated, should you ever decide to put in a switch.

If you decide to do some testing, eBay and places that sell small electronic parts, particularly places that sell them to guitar people, will often have "test kits" that include a few "chiclet" style caps in the values used by guitarists. These are generally cheap. If you have an electronics store nearby, you can often get a handful of them for pennies. If you get adventurous, you can also get a range of common guitar resistors for even less. You don't need to spend much, and it can be an eye opener.* I have a few caps in the standard values where I soldered alligator clips to the legs to use exclusively for testing. (That was an idea that came from Weirdbits, BTW)

This has been interesting to think about. I think I should be a little more conscious of how I use my tone control. I think that I don't sweep it all that much. I think I just find a place I like it and leave it in one or two places. I can see the benefit of having a couple of tone control settings pre-set, which would be quicker than trying to find the setting I like with a pot.


* I know that people will swear up and down that Sprague "orange drop" caps are much better...but I can tell you that Leo Fender used cheap chicklet style caps in his USA made G&Ls.

[EsquireEsque]

That would get you up and playing. Generally a good thing.

You can always test some caps later. To test, you wouldn't even need to open the control cavity with your setup. You could do it with an old guitar cable. Just cut it in half, and splice the shield wire (ground) and the center wire (hot) back together. Then alligator-clip one leg of the cap to each splice. That will give you a sense of how it will sound with the cap activated, should you ever decide to put in a switch.

If you decide to do some testing, eBay and places that sell small electronic parts, particularly places that sell them to guitar people, will often have "test kits" that include a few "chiclet" style caps in the values used by guitarists. These are generally cheap. If you have an electronics store nearby, you can often get a handful of them for pennies. If you get adventurous, you can also get a range of common guitar resistors for even less. You don't need to spend much, and it can be an eye opener.* I have a few caps in the standard values where I soldered alligator clips to the legs to use exclusively for testing. (That was an idea that came from Weirdbits, BTW)

This has been interesting to think about. I think I should be a little more conscious of how I use my tone control. I think that I don't sweep it all that much. I think I just find a place I like it and leave it in one or two places. I can see the benefit of having a couple of tone control settings pre-set, which would be quicker than trying to find the setting I like with a pot.


* I know that people will swear up and down that Sprague "orange drop" caps are much better...but I can tell you that Leo Fender used cheap chicklet style caps in his USA made G&Ls.

Always good to think about things...

For me it's been quite informative.... some I understand annd some I don't (but that just makes obvious what is possible now and what is best left for later).

In a sense - the whole conversation validates what I originally though to do - but also makes me aware of how to avoid "retrofitting" in the future.