Guitar Potentiometers part 4, Modifying a Tone Pot to be No Load for True Bypass

[PwnEdgE1]

Very cool ,funny how I keep finding you from Idea's I am doing .Great video's.Thanks

[AshtonPhoto]

Really cool.

No pretentious graphics and so on, just good advice.

Thanks for posting.

[fesaco182]

what about if I get a pot with a very high resistance value? should it be enough? what value would you consider enough?

[johnplanetz]

@fesaco182 - you could try a 1 Meg ohm audio taper pot.

[ChronoGXay]

I'm looking to build a combination low-pass/high-pass filter to install on my guitar using a concentric potentiometer. Would I be able to get the exact same effect with the modification you use?

[cameronscorner1]

your videos are fantastic. thanks for sharing your knowledge. Question, if I install a blender and don't use a "No Load" pot, what kind of results can i expect? also, I already have a toggle switch that i had used to "turn on" the Neck pup. Was thinking about going with master tone control and blender, then use the toggle switch (or swap for push button) to bypass tone if desired... does this sound stupid? thanks again

[anonymityrocks]

Great vid. I wish more "how to" vids on youtube were as articulate as yours. Thanks

[TonyFeral]

can i do something like this with a volume pot.

[johnplanetz]

@TonyFeral - no. this won't work with a volume pot, since a volume control is wired as a voltage divider and needs both sides of the pot.

[I4L3XXI]

Yo, great video, i have a question, i have recently installed new di marzio pickups to my guitar, and i am getting noise coming from the bridge pickup when the one ps up full, and the noise stays there even if i touch the strings which i think rules out a grounding issue, any ideas? thanks dude!

[RocknLester2011]

John, this is really cool stuff here! Ive been tinkering with different values on pots all the way upto 2 megs taken from an oldGibson tube amp, I never knew it was possible to do this mod! Thank you for taking the time to show us this!

[KIDWICKED369]

can you do this with a bypass switch? if so could you give an idea of how to wire that?

[johnplanetz]

@KIDWICKED369 - just add a SPST switch between the cap and ground, or you could use a push/pull pot. When the switch is open, the cap will be disconnected from ground. With the switch closed, the cap will be connected (via the pot) to ground. You can check my blog at planetz on 2/16/11 for a tutorial on push/pull pots.

[DaMusicMan203]

hey man i have a question, if i just take the tone pots off completely, will that make it bypass?

[johnplanetz]

@DaMusicMan203 - yes.

[SamwiseGUITAR]

Hi John,

This is great! What exactly does this do to the sound? Can I use this for both volume and tone pots? Thanks so much!

All The Best,

Sam

[johnplanetz]

@SamwiseGUITAR - it removes the tone cap load to ground, which can brighten up the sound a bit. You can hear the subtle difference in the before/after in the video. You cannot use this mod with a volume pot, since that's wired as a voltage divider and needs both sides of the pot.

[wedel219]

Hey, John. I saw on GPR that they sell no load pots. Would you recommend buying a pot made to be no load already, or to just do the mod to a regular pot?

[johnplanetz]

@wedel219 - If you already have a pot, then the mod is easy enough to do. But if you need to buy a pot anyway, and you want it no-load, then fender and CTS make them, available as you saw at Guitar Parts Resource, as well as at AllParts, GuitarElectronics, etc

[hotgluefingerboard11]

Dude, I freaking love your videos. Did you go to school for this? Were you someone's apprentice? I would love to know how to obtain this much information

[johnplanetz]

@hotgluefingerboard11 - nothing formal- just lots of experimentation, reading, exploring. i have some tips and book recommendations at the FAQ at my blog at planetz, if you're interested.

[hotgluefingerboard11]

@johnplanetz I will definitely check it out. Thanks again man

[Edwinthe7th]

I've heard that you can do the same thing just by aplying a little finger nail polish to that same spot. Is that true?

[johnplanetz]

@Edwinthe7th - yes, that'll work.

[johnplanetz]

@jumpinhowlin - try with good speakers or headphones and listen for a slight change in the brightness.

[david99soad]

so basically you've integrated a switch in it and when it's 'on', it varies the resistance. right?

[johnplanetz]

@david99soad - that's one way of looking at it, yes. when the pot wiper falls into the cut trace, it essentially switches the tone pot off, out of the circuit 

[Subspace2003]

It is nice idea but using high quality paper oil insulator capacitor is better way for the sound. This Epiphene 0.022 cheap cap's insulator is mylar film.

[UbicuoTheOld]

man i wish i could do a MATRIX and upload all the knowledge in your head into mine, i just put TEXAS SPECIALS, in my strat .... much better sound but i got a hum & i'd like to completely gut the old electronics with new ones

[johnplanetz]

@UbicuoTheOld - does it hum in all switch positions, or does it go away in the combined middle positions, and does it change when you move the guitar to a different position? (single coils do pick up EMI noise). if it's constant or only with one pickup, it could be a bad ground wire connection. check my video on guitar ground noise problems. matrix braindumps would be great- "i know kung fu!" :)

[97warlock]

hey, U seem VERY knowledgable with this stuff.............Im considering going from a 500k Vol pot.....to a 1meg Vol pot. whats stopping me is Ive HEARD its a bit trebly. Any advice on this? HOW much more trebly is a 1 meg vs a 500k??

[johnplanetz]

@97warlock - the 1meg pot will load the pickups less, resulting in a slightly brighter sound. the taper will also feel a bit different when turning the knob. hard to quantify exactly, as it really depends on the pickups and the rest of the circuit. I'd say noticeable, but not extremely different. i suggest you buy some pots for a few bucks, and use alligator clip leads to do the experiment for yourself.

[guitarnub3]

can i bypass my tone control using a dpdt switch? and if so can you send me a diagram?

[muaythai4lifelife]

Thanx for everything :)

[muaythai4lifelife]

where can i found a ready to install no load tone reverse log type?

[johnplanetz]

@muaythai4lifelife - Fender makes no load tone pots, but they are not reverse log.

[muaythai4lifelife]

what did you say at 0:23 ? -this is something you "can" or "can't" do with a no load potentometer-

thanx!

[johnplanetz]

@muaythai4lifelife - CAN! :)

[cryglory]

Hey pal thanks for the vids,

I need some of your advice,

i installed new noiseless pickups, i used the strat stock pots 250k. recently i changed them to 500k for volume and tone. now im getting a grounding hum...

i switched back to the 250ks and now im still getting the hum... any help?

does the quality of wire that i use have anything to do with the hum?

thanks bud

[johnplanetz]

@cryglory - sounds like you have a loose or broken ground connection there. see my video "Guitar Ground: Dealing with ground noise problems" for an explanation on how to diagnose and fix it.

[cryglory]

@johnplanetz

thanks !!

[grampsamps]

Bourns are pretty crappy pots, as a builder I have used most everything out there and always come back to Alpha or CTS.

[brownbigb]

hmm. it is not really the high end that changes, instead you are dropping out some low end when the cap is out. the guitar sounded better with the cap in

[sky01100111]

AWESOME VIDEO ! THANKS MAN !

[francoprs]

Thanks to you for a really informative video.

[adrs2]

for adjusting the proper resistive load I use a pot 1 or 2Mohm from signal to ground like tone pot, but without capacitor. Then I adjust it with flat eq on my amp, to sound fat, and move treble around on my amp to see if it's useful - maxed treble cannot sound ice picky and painful for ears, but usable. After proper adjustements i detach this pot and measure its resistance. -> then add proper overall resistance using pots and fixed resistors. This way You can make your guitar sing your own way.

[johnplanetz]

@adrs2 - great suggestions, i'll give this a try sometime!

[adrs2]

i prefer guitar tone with a proper external load because then the guitar can be properly balanced. Adding additional capacitors 100pf - 2nF between ground and signal is very nice, because often overall capacitive load (low capacitance cables, some amps) is insufficient, leaving your resonnant frequency up in bats echolocation range. Then your guitar sounds thin with normal treble, and muddy with low treble. Adding permanent capacitive load moves resonnant pick downwards for warmer, deep sound.

[mjerf]

Hi.

Is it worth bypassing the volume pot to?

I know you have to do it with a seperate switch but i haven´t found any information whether it makes any difference in the tone.

Great videos you have, i´ve learned more from you than i did from my electronics teacher=)

[johnplanetz]

@mjerf - adding a switch to bypass a volume pot will reduce the load on the pickup and brighten up the sound a bit. If you don't use your volume knob much, it might be worthwhile. You can see/hear in my video "Epiphone P-90 Pickup Experiment", it defintely brightens up the sound to connect the pickup directly to the jack.

[baranismen]

whats the difference between this and removing completely the tone pot from the circuit?

[johnplanetz]

@baranismen - when a no-load pot is turned up to 10, it's the same as removing the tone pot completely from the circuit. however, if you start turning it down again, the tone pot is re-engaged and useful for shaping the tone of your sound.

[nymetsrock]

hi, i performed this mod using a flat head screwdriver as the scraper, and i soldered it back in, and now when i play no sound comes out. Both of the potentiometers i installed so i do know how to do it, so I'm wondering why the sound won't come through. I'll go through the electronics and look them over but would any mistake cause this to happen?

[johnplanetz]

@nymetsrock - you're doing this on your tone pot, not your volume pot, right? If so, must be a wiring mistake-- double check with a multimeter if you've got one. (You can't do this mod on a volume pot).

[nymetsrock]

@johnplanetz I used the tone pot, i found what the problem was, thank you though

[jimmytimmyish]

Potentiometers

[tweedman1975]

I bought a Seymour Duncan SSL-1 and replaced one of the single coils from a double neck lap steel guitar.

I`ve soldered the pickup wires on the same place that was the stock pickup, but it seems the sound from the Seymour is weaker than the other (cheap) pickup, specially with the Tone pot turned off. I`ve already tried inverting phases.

I can`t say what kind of pots are used, but they are smaller than my other guitars.

Replacing the cheap Tone pot for a big one could solve this problem?

[johnplanetz]

@tweedman1975 - "weaker" can mean a lot of things, so I'm not sure what you're hearing. It could be that the new pickup isn't as hot as the other pickups. Or it could be an issue with wiring, etc. How does the pickup sound when wired directly to the output? (disconnect it and try with alligator clips). If that sounds ok, then try it through one of your current volume pots.  Then add on the tone, etc, until you identify the issue. Alligator clips are great for this kind of experimenting.

[mongoose979]

you're a genius . . .

[PhuckHue2]

I use a tone pot bypass switch. I had to drill another hole for the switch but I didn't want to risk tearing up a tone pot

[johnplanetz]

Sure, that works.

Depending on your skills with a drill, some would see drilling a hole in the top as a bigger risk than tweaking a $5 pot :)

Another choice to avoid drilling the top or tearing up a pot is to replace the pot with a push/pull.

[fishfrizbee]

Hey Man How about a Kill Pot Tutorial People Need it

[johnplanetz]

I assume you mean a push/pull volume pot to cut the volume when pushed (or pulled)? If so, it's on my list to-do (eventually!)

[ibzmav]

5 starts for a very well explained video!

Thanks for the effort :)

[InFuriatedShadows]

Should this be done to a volume pot too? :P

[johnplanetz]

No, it won't work. See a few comments down for an explanation.

[johnplanetz]

This has become a frequently asked question. I just added a popup message at the end of the video about it.

[erikmilan1987]

Thats a really easy mod to a pot without buying those Fender no load pots... i got 3 little questions

1. Why you didnt scrape the carbon exactly on the spot that the pot stopped but a little more to your left ?

2. Its this recomendable to do on the volume pots as well ?

3. (off topic) Does a shielding a guitar with copper tape helps at all with noise if your power source its not grounded (Most power sources in my country dosent have ground)

Great videos bro !, i subscribed !

[johnplanetz]

1.Depends at what point on the knob you want it to go no-load. If you look at the numbers on your knob, you could say you want it to change at 9 or between 9 and 10, or whatever. If you only scrape at the very end, you may sometimes not quite engage no-load when you turn it up, if the wiper doesn't make it all the way to the end of the track.

[johnplanetz]

2. No good for volume. Cutting the trace on a tone pot works ok because youre only using one side of the pot (one side lug and the center lug) as a variable resistor. The other side lug of the pot is rendered useless (open circuit) because of the cut trace.

A volume pot is wired as a voltage divider, with one side variably connecting to ground, and the other side variably connecting to the output. So it wont work if the trace is cut.

[johnplanetz]

3. Yeah it would probably help a bit, but don't expect any miracles. I haven't tried it myself. Maybe someone else can comment.

[stratthead]

You rock!

[putzoc]

You can also do that by putting nail polish on the end section instead of scraping it away. The effect is the same, only it is reversible

[johnplanetz]

I find the nail polish approach can be a bit messy, especially in pots like the Bourns where the shaft is crimped to the plastic disk. I also worry a bit about the nail polish eventually failing under the wiper and needing to be reapplied (tho I've never seen that happen so I'm probably worrying too much). I think the permanence of scraping is one of its benefits.

But if you're unsure whether you'll like the results, then nail polish is a good way of trying it with the ability to reverse it!