Tele treble bleed values

Zoolooter

Thinking of tinkering with a treble bleed circuit. From what I've read it seems a bit hit and miss regarding cap and res values due to pickups and how the amp is voiced. Does anyone have experience of trying different ones, or what values to start with. I was thinking .001 cap and 150k res. I don't want dramatic changes just a bit less muddy when I turn the volume down. 

Definitely don't want the mod to effect the tone when the guitar volume is at max.

ICBM

Treble pass . Treble bleed is what a tone control does...

It won't affect the tone when the volume is full up.

The problem is that the right value is dependent on the guitar cable as well as the pickups and amp, but .001u/150K is usually a good place to start.

You can also put the cap and the resistor in either series or parallel, which changes how it works, although oddly the right values seem to be about the same.

Megii

I've used 150K/0.001u in parallel and got good results. It does also have the effect of altering the pot taper a bit, so that the volume decreases a bit less quickly at first as you turn down - with a log or audio taper pot this actually gives a result I like, but it might not be so good with a linear taper pot.

There's a thread on the Guitarnuts2 forum about the whole treble "bleed" aka pass thing: http://guitarnuts2.proboards.com/thread/5317/treble-bleed-circuit - just to summarize the findings, I think they come to the conclusion that sensible values are 150K/0.001u for 500K pots and 120K/0.001u with 250K pots, although either would work fairly well.

Funkfingers

Zoolooter said:

I don't want dramatic changes just a bit less muddy when I turn the volume down. Definitely don't want the mod to effect the tone when the guitar volume is at max.

Try starting with the guitar volume control turned down to roughly six or seven. Set your amplifier tone controls so that the guitar sounds right to your ears. This way, when you turn the guitar volume up, you increase both level and harmonic overtone content - especially through overdriven valve amplification.

Zoolooter

Can anyone tell me how a 470pf and 220k might work out. I'm assuming this combination will be more subtle, but how will the 220k resistor effect the volume taper?

professorben

But surely if you drop the treble on a Tele there won't be anything else left?!?! 

ICBM

Zoolooter said:

Can anyone tell me how a 470pf and 220k might work out. I'm assuming this combination will be more subtle, but how will the 220k resistor effect the volume taper?

The higher the resistance the less it alters the taper.

If you can find one, try 680pF and 220K - that's my preferred combination, in parallel.

Zoolooter

Well, opted for the 470pf and 220k as it is the only one I could find that came twisted together for soldering ease. 
http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Emerson-Custom-Treble-Bleed-Circuit-Volume-Mod/1LWZ

clarkefan

Wow, I'd no idea these were commercially available, a cap and a resistor in parallel, 7 quid, I am in the wrong business.

Wow again, imported from the States.

I must be missing something??

Megii

It's dead easy to just buy 10 or so each of the resistor and cap values you want for a couple of quid on ebay, and twist/solder them together yourself, just saying....

Zoolooter

clarkefan said:

Wow, I'd no idea these were commercially available, a cap and a resistor in parallel, 7 quid, I am in the wrong business.

Wow again, imported from the States.

I must be missing something??

Megii said:

It's dead easy to just buy 10 or so each of the resistor and cap values you want for a couple of quid on ebay, and twist/solder them together yourself, just saying....

Never attempted any kind of soldering before so I'm trying to make it as easy as possible. Hence paying over the odds. But, point taken. If I need to change values in the future I'll look into a cheaper option.

clarkefan

In case you're wondering, I recently auditioned various cap values for a particular spot in my DSL amp.  

I bought about 20 different cap values and types from Maplins (by any measure the most expensive option) for about 3 quid total.

Resistors are cheaper if anything.

Megii

Zoolooter said:

clarkefan said:

Wow, I'd no idea these were commercially available, a cap and a resistor in parallel, 7 quid, I am in the wrong business.

Wow again, imported from the States.

I must be missing something??

Megii said:

It's dead easy to just buy 10 or so each of the resistor and cap values you want for a couple of quid on ebay, and twist/solder them together yourself, just saying....

Never attempted any kind of soldering before so I'm trying to make it as easy as possible. Hence paying over the odds. But, point taken. If I need to change values in the future I'll look into a cheaper option.

Didn't realise that, apologies @Zoolooter - hope it goes well, I was there once so do remember what that's like. Take it steady and careful and you'll soon get into things. It's a useful skill to have for a guitarist.