Guitar wiring question

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sliberty
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Guitar wiring question

Post by sliberty »

I have a Parts-o-Cabronita - a Tele body, a Gretsch Filtertron pickup, and a hardtail Strat bridge.

I currently have it wired like a 50's LP (well, a Junior since it has only one pickup). I was reviewing some of the wiring diagrams that TV Jones has on their website, and I noticed one version that is quite similar, except for the location of the cap. See attached.

What is the impact (if any) of locating the cap after the pot instead of in front of the pot?
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LeftyStrat
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Re: Guitar wiring question

Post by LeftyStrat »

I'm sure someone somewhere will claim they can hear a difference, but in both cases a variable resistor is limiting what goes through the cap.
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vibratoking
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Re: Guitar wiring question

Post by vibratoking »

I'm with Lefty. No difference, although a cork sniffer is liable to say there is.
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JazzGuitarGimp
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Re: Guitar wiring question

Post by JazzGuitarGimp »

LeftyStrat wrote:I'm sure someone somewhere will claim they can hear a difference, but in both cases a variable resistor is limiting what goes through the cap.
+1 What Lefty said. The tone control portion of the circuit is a series circuit; a variable resistor in series with a cap. The order they're in makes no difference.
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BTF
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Re: Guitar wiring question

Post by BTF »

I know I read on a cork sniffer site that the cap before the pot style becomes more a midrange filter somehow (note: not MY theory! :) ). I don't remember where I saw that. Do I believe it? I honestly don't have the Golden Ears to notice.

One advantage to the TV Jones would be that in that wiring the cap is usually mounted to the pot. If a pot mounting nut comes loose, the wire bridging the two pots is easily repaired if broken. On the Gibson wiring, the cap usually spans the two pots, so if a pot comes loose and you turn the entire pot, you can damage the cap. Admittedly, this is just a physical thing.

You can further the confusion by considering to which of the lugs of the volume pot (center or outside hot) you attach the pot. There it can make a difference.
vibratoking
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Re: Guitar wiring question

Post by vibratoking »

I know I read on a cork sniffer site that the cap before the pot style becomes more a midrange filter somehow (note: not MY theory! ). ...
Utter nonsense.
...You can further the confusion by considering to which of the lugs of the volume pot (center or outside hot) you attach the pot. There it can make a difference.
There is no further confusion. Wiring the the tonestack to the wiper vs outside of the volume pot does make a difference. No question about it.
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