Different approach to PAB for a non-HRM

[greiswig]

Hi, all,

I'll start out with the usual...a dumb question. I know, I know...everyone wants to sound like Ford. I love Robben's lead tone, and the smooth transition he makes between a lead tone and a rhythm tone. Does anyone know how, on live tracks like "Nothin' to Nobody" he is making that switch? I can get kind of close to that by just turning the OD up and varying the volume on the guitar, but...it's harder to do than switching in PAB.

My PAB is pretty good, bypassing the treble cap with a small cap to add some body back in to the standard D'Lite lift of the connection between the treble and bass pots. Okay, but not great; the tone just isn't as sweet as with the tone stack in place. Too much treble, not enough midrange, and bumping the cap value up that bypasses the treble cap makes things muddy without really fixing the main issue.

I'm thinking about trying something different. Something that is closer to what I'm after...a nice beefy lead tone that still allows for greater dynamics and getting the tone closer to the normal OD tone. One thing I have tried was lifting the ground on the mid pot connection. That's in the ballpark. And I can control the amount of bass by connecting the input of the bass pot to ground via a 100k resistor. Then if I goose the OD Drive a bit, along with the OD Volume, I get a really nice fat lead tone. Closer to what I'm after, at least.

Now I would have to make all that switchable, but with two relays dedicated to the PAB, I think it could be done. Has anyone else tried something similar?

[heisthl]

If you have a DPDT mid boost relay just use the unused side of the relay to break the mid cap from the wire to the midrange control, you can use a 4m7 at the relay (just like the mid boost) to eliminate pop. I call this "tweed" boost instead of mid boost.

[greiswig]

If you have a DPDT mid boost relay just use the unused side of the relay to break the mid cap from the wire to the midrange control, you can use a 4m7 at the relay (just like the mid boost) to eliminate pop. I call this "tweed" boost instead of mid boost.

Hi, Henry. Thanks for chiming in. Isn't what you describe effectively the same thing as lifting the ground on the mid pot? If not I must be misunderstanding something.

And is the 4.7M just permanently tied to ground at the cap?

[heisthl]

yes and yes