New tone discovery!!!!!

[darren]

Why not put in a mini-switch to bypass all of the controls, hooking your bridge humbucker in series mode directly to the output jack?

 

[EdgeCrusher]

I think Im gonna try this (disconnecting tone pot) with my JB, is it really just a matter of desoldering the wires on the tone knob, tape them off, and im done?

 

[thepunisher]

i would get them off the volume if you can. when i tried it the way you mentioned, i got tremendous hiss.

 

[Allen Garrow]

Yeah, removing from the volume pot is the best. You can also try cutting the wire between the volume pot and treble pot. Then remove the coating enough so that you can twist em back together. This way you can easily connect and disconnect A/B them if you will. That way you can make sure that you actually like the difference. If you like it, then just desolder the wire from the volume pot and your done. You can just roll up the extra wire now and just tape or tuck it in around the treb pot.

~A

 

[fathead]

+1 on the Tone Zone with no tone knob. Been using that setup for Drop-D on the Charvel and I love it.

 

[LordOVchaoS]

[action=LordOVchaoS]will be bypassing his tone knob this weekend.[/action]

 

[dpm]

i pulled my tone out today, and noticed a loss of balls on my bridge pup. however, it sounds louder and clearer.(sd jb)

the neck pup, the jazz was pretty much the same as always, only more definition.

Taking the tone pot out of circuit slightly raises the resonant frequency of the pickup, that's what you'll be hearing as 'loss of balls'. Tone Zone's get clearer for the same reason - raising that resonant peak frequency gives them better definition. Dig it

 

[Chad]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this, but a good option is to either buy or create a no-load tone pot. That's a tone pot that functions like normal from 0 to 9, but when you go to 10, the tone pot is out of the circuit. Fender sells a no-load tone pot, but it only comes in 250K. But people have been doing custom no-load tone pots for years. Folks at the Les Paul forum have been buying CTS pots, taking them apart, and putting nail polish on the resistor trail. Find pic attached.

 

[7stringninja]

Any added resistance will affect the output.

You could always wire it up so that you can switch between a direct connection (no tone knob) and a traditional setup.

 

[Chad]

Yes, resistance will affect the output, but when the tone control is set to 10 on a no-load tone pot, there ISN'T any resistance coming from that pot. It's completely out of the circuit at that point.

That's the great thing about no-load tone pots.....you have a fully functional tone pot from 0 to 9, but if you want the sound that you get without a tone pot, just turn the tone pot all the way up.

 

[Allen Garrow]

I'm curious what it would sound like. I always ran my tone at 10, anything under 10 and it seemed to muffle the tone. It would be cool if in fact 9 was the same as 10 on normal 500k pots.
I just figured hell,,, I don't use the tone, so why have it there suk'n sound from pickups. works for me.

~A

 

[Emperoff]

I just figured hell,,, I don't use the tone, so why have it there suk'n sound from pickups. works for me.

That's what I thought too, and I disconnected the tone pot before even trying the pickup with it. I can't tell you anything about the difference, but the overall tone of my guitar it's amazing now

 

[Mark 7]

I tried this and it made no difference at all - 500K pot on it.

Totally disconnect the tone pot wire - correct?

 

[thepunisher]

yes. get the tone pot completly out of you set up capacitator and all. you should notice a stronger signal, and more definition.

 

[Allen Garrow]

Asumming you just you have a volume and a treble? Some guitars have multiple pots,,,LP style, strats etc. Otherwise you would need to disconnect both treble pots. The differences will vary I'm sure. Tonezone7 and Airnorton7's are darker pickups. For me they needed just a little something more. This procedure took away some of the mud and brightened them both just a little. Blaze customs, for me sounded great running through the treble pot at 10. The treble gives the BC some warmth.
So I guess it varys,,,, I would have to imagine that regardless there would still be some sort of difference that would be audible.

~A

 

[Damo707]

just read this thread and tried it on my guitar - i noticed it sounds smoother now, just to point out im using an emg 707 along with a stock duncan designed in the neck.
edit - after having it this way for a day i will be keeping it, ill have to tweak all my xt pre-sets a little bit but its worth it imo i love the sound im getting now.