software

What are the functions of tone pot capacitors?
What are the differences tonewise between a tone pot that uses a .05uF capacitor and the same tone pot with a .022uF capacitor?

A tone pot acts like a low-pass filter. When a tone pot is set to 0, only the quot;lowquot; frequencies are allowed to pass and the quot;highsquot; are filtered out. The capacitor determines which frequencies are considered quot;highquot;. A capacitor with a relatively high value (e.g. 0.05 µf) will cut out some of the mids when the tone put is rolled down, whereas a capacitor with a lower value (e.g. 0.01µf) will cut mostly just treble frequencies.


Originally Posted by MattPeteA tone pot acts like a low-pass filter. When a tone pot is set to 0, only the quot;lowquot; frequencies are allowed to pass and the quot;highsquot; are filtered out. The capacitor determines which frequencies are considered quot;highquot;. A capacitor with a relatively high value (e.g. 0.05 µf) will cut out some of the mids when the tone put is rolled down, whereas a capacitor with a lower value (e.g. 0.01µf) will cut mostly just treble frequencies.

That's kind of right...but when the tone control is on zero, quot;the highs (that are) filtered outquot; do pass through the cap and then through the tone pot and pass to ground...they return to the planet Earth never to be heard from again.

The lows (and most of the mids) are blocked by the capacitor and stay in the audio signal and head on down your output jack, into the cord leading into your amp and get amplified.

Lew

so is it right to say that if the tone pot is on 10, that tone pot with a .022uF capacitor would sound the same with a tone pot with a .05 one??


Originally Posted by fenderiarhsso is it right to say that if the tone pot is on 10, that tone pot with a .022uF capacitor would sound the same with a tone pot with a .05 one??

Yes...but some highs always leak through the pot even when it's on quot;10quot;.

With no pot at all most guitars sound brighter because of that.


Originally Posted by fenderiarhsso is it right to say that if the tone pot is on 10, that tone pot with a .022uF capacitor would sound the same with a tone pot with a .05 one??

Technically there should be a difference, but what ever difference there is in inperceptable to me. In other words, you could measure a difference, but you probably wouldn't be able to perceive a difference.


Originally Posted by LewguitarYes...but some highs always leak through the pot even when it's on quot;10quot;.

With no pot at all most guitars sound brighter because of that.

... unless you use a no-load pot, which completely removes the capacitor from the circuit at 10.


Originally Posted by ratherdashing... unless you use a no-load pot, which completely removes the capacitor from the circuit at 10.

You know, I've been using those in my Fenders and I'm starting to feel like they make the guitar to darn bright...

Thanks everybody...........very useful information as always..........


Originally Posted by LewguitarYou know, I've been using those in my Fenders and I'm starting to feel like they make the guitar to darn bright...

Agreed Lew....I find myself just dialing back my Tone controls a bit...I find I Love the No Load Tone Pots on my Humbucking Gibson type instruments,but that the Strat and Teles really could do without em..

a little experiment...try a .1 cap and a .02 cap in a Tele and compare; both with the tone control all the way up and supposedly out of the circuit...


Originally Posted by MattPeteA tone pot acts like a low-pass filter. When a tone pot is set to 0, only the quot;lowquot; frequencies are allowed to pass and the quot;highsquot; are filtered out. The capacitor determines which frequencies are considered quot;highquot;. A capacitor with a relatively high value (e.g. 0.05 µf) will cut out some of the mids when the tone put is rolled down, whereas a capacitor with a lower value (e.g. 0.01µf) will cut mostly just treble frequencies.

I wonder if there is some way to determine what the quot;perfectquot; or most ideal value is for specific pickups based on the resonant peak for the pickup (via the tone chart). Ideas? Oh, and thanks for the info about those no-load tone pots, I'm going to order one with a gold knob and then a DPDT switch


Originally Posted by ES350a little experiment...try a .1 cap and a .02 cap in a Tele and compare; both with the tone control all the way up and supposedly out of the circuit...

Done it. I used a .047 and a .01 cap. I had a pair wires leading from a 250k pot to a pair of alligator clips outside the body. This allowed me to try out different capacitors without having to mess with soldering.

The verdict: on 9 (it was a no-load pot), I couldn't tell a difference between .047, .01, and no cap. In fact, it wasn't until the tone pot was rolled down to around 2-3 that I could tell a difference between the .047 and .01 caps. However, with the tone pot rolled down all the way, there was a big difference between the caps.