Basic Guitar Electronics I - Volume and tone control

Basic connection of potentiometers and capacitor to create volume and tone control in electric guitars

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• guitar
• electronics
• wiring
• potentiometer
• capacitor
• switch
• solder
• schematic
• diagram
• diy
• single
• coil
• humbucker

[MitjaShi]

About the diagram you showed in this video. Is this the modern wiring scheme (lowering volume also cuts treble) or the 50s wiring scheme (lowering volume doesn't affect treble)?

[aaronstonebeat]

@MitjaShi

In this schematic lowering the volume will affect tone because part of the resistance of the potentiometer is in series with the hot side of the circuit when the volume is less than 100% up.

To prevent this you could use a 'treble bleed'.

[MitjaShi]

@aaronstonebeat thanks for the clarification!

[aaronstonebeat]

@MitjaShi

There is one hot lead from each of the volume controls to each tone control; if you cut those the tone controls are out of the circuit. Don't worry about the ground connections (or perhaps capacitors between the tone control and the casing of the volume control, depending on how things are connected). Disconnect those two wires and you're good to go; if you want to go back to having tone control there is only one wire for each set of controls to reconnect.

[muaythai4lifelife]

Thank you!! :) I'm making a luthier building a left handed guitar and I have to tell him the specs I want.

After many researches I found out I need antilogarithmic / reverse log potentiometers and wire them in a reverse way ( opposite from a right handed guitar configuration ).

If I won't use reverse log pots and use standard right handed pots and wire them reversed the result would be awful.

Awful because the response of the pot would act almost as an "on off" switch.

You can test it with a m

[aaronstonebeat]

@muaythai4lifelife

Yes, you need a 'mirror image' pot. I'll try to explain it as simple as possible with images of life like pots and connections.

Thanks for the idea, it will be a nice and useful addition to my videos.

[eananstrain]

great video thanks, id never looked inside a guitar before and was able to install a new volume pot on an older guitar tha had it volumepot ripped out ages ago. very clear, thanks a million!

[RagMama123]

Great video! Nice and clear. Also, your diagrams are very well done.

Thanks,

Rick

[muaythai4lifelife]

Hi, a question for you. Many famous guitarists at one point decide to disconnect their tone potentiometer on the bridge pickup to get more sound ( as a tone & cap could suck high freq. even all the way open )

With a stock SG, how many connections must be unsoldered to properly do that?

Thanx!

[muaythai4lifelife]

@aaronstonebeat thanx so much to you :) it will help a lot og left handed guitarist, trust me :)

uh another bad point is that you can't correct do volume swells with a stock-standard right pot ( left handed wired ).

take care!

[muaythai4lifelife]

You can test it with a multimeter.

The bad point is that guitar companies use STD pots for left handed guitars :(.

Fortunatelly CTS still makes reverse log pots! Also called vintage pots.

I have problems making/explaining my luthier how to set up the wirings for both Volume, Tone ( capaciors) controls.

Thanx in advance!!

Cheers!