How to wire a tone control for guitar - Fix it Friday #8 AJG

[@duaneraymond4252]

This is the best video I've seen and I've seen PLENTY of them!!!

[@alexanderjamesINC]

I appreciate that.

[@erlingwesth8054]

Thanks Alexander, I truly enjoyed your video about the tone control. Very instructive for an amateur like me. I will soon have to install and wire a single coil p90 with 1 volume and 1tone pot, and your video helps me a lot. There are lots of videos about same topic on KZbin, but yours is just crystal clear.

[@alexanderjamesINC]

I am so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know that. Please let me know what other videos you would like to see.

[@anonymousforagoodreason2479]

That little diagram you drew for the capacitor fuckin saved me so much stress. My man! Thank you!

[@alexanderjamesINC]

You are very welcome. Thanks for leaving that comment. Made my day.

[@songman68]

Also depending on which lug you run the wire to from the volume, far right or far left lug. It will determine which way is up or down on that tone pot. I like to wire mine so when the pot is turned all the way down, the tone control is completely out of the circuit. To me it makes more sense at 0 the cap is out of the circuit at 10 that cap is fully engaged. Lots of people wire it the other way where 10 the cap is out of the circuit and 0 it is fully engaged. That is why you see many guitarists say I keep my tone control on 10 which means it is out of the circuit at 10. I keep mine on 0 which makes more sense to me since 0 means out of the circuit and 10 means fully engaged in the circuit.

[@alexanderjamesINC]

For sure. Whatever works for you.

[@thoughtprovoking001]

This is Gold. So clear and helpful. I'm wondering how i would modify this to make a bass cut instead of a treble cut though?

[@49coaster]

Very, very helpful, straight forward video !! Thank You

[@alexanderjamesINC]

You are welcome!

[@DougHinVA]

I subscribed because he is not digressing and is blunt! That is enough.

[@alexanderjamesINC]

I try and be straight to the point.

[@nathanreding8131]

Quick Question. Why do you wire the cap to the middle lug? Does it matter which lug you wire it to?

[@marctremblay5837]

That was a great video. Very informative. Do you have any info on fixing a tone control? I have an LP Junior and the tone control almost works as an on/off switch. There's no gradual difference and it just sort of kicks in when it's almost completely turned down.

[@alexanderjamesINC]

Email me through my website and I'll help you out. Sorry for the late reply.

[@STRUMMERBOY1975]

The capacitor on myvtine control is connected to the right lug(the tone control is face down)

[@sowhatsowhat4128]

i've heard that capacitors have an orientation for the mounting. can you explain that? please

[@oldgittarist]

Very helpful vid, thanks!

[@alexanderjamesINC]

Glad it was helpful!

[@scottfrazier6296]

Does it matter which leg of the capacitor goes in each spot can it be flipped?

[@jonathanbrooke4749]

Quick question- are both pots the same type or is the a specific one for tone and a specific one for volume?

[@jo.burgos]

Same. What makes it different is you add a capacitor to one pot - now its a tone control.

[@iamfromassam1256]

Sir please can you tell me that after this connection how can I connect this to the 3 way switch and to the jack

[@sinisterminister9920]

Very good very good, would you make a vid for push/pull tone control

[@alexanderjamesINC]

Sure, I can try when I find some time.

[@lohndavis3794]

It did help thank you 🙏

[@alexanderjamesINC]

You're welcome

[@jimnardi1094]

Thank You, Thank You, Thank you....Great little video. Got me to to finish line.

[@alexanderjamesINC]

I'm glad it helped.

[@clivetucker6204]

Very good díscription😊 on all

[@alexanderjamesINC]

Thanks a lot 😊

[@ManuelSanchez-oe3ns]

Thx

[@rainman3594]

What if you have two tone controls like on a stratocaster. How would you wire that to include the second tone control?

[@ck2music712]

I think you did a great job on that, hoss... Really simple to understand...

[@alexanderjamesINC]

I appreciate that!

[@Tecnologo5]

How can you know if the capacitor is in the right position?

[@danijelbrezec4570]

What setting for the temperature and solder do you use?

[@51MontyPython]

In which direction(s) is the current/signal in the circuit actually flowing? Which are the actual inputs and outputs? I'll never be able to understand this stuff unless and until somebody FINALLY explains this (like, at _ALL,_ much less properly). NOBODY ever does. I'm convinced that on one out here actually understands this themselves, or really knows what the heck they're doing.

[@DougHinVA]

I think you are close, but it is more about fellows who can do it, just do it repeatedly and they do not understand it to explain it.

[@51MontyPython]

@@DougHinVA True. Though I believe I do now more or less understand it (since posting that comment), after doing more research and thinking about it.

[@f1948s]

I think you may have confused some due to the fact that you used two different orientations of the potentiometers. The tone pot you were referring to it looking from the bottom and the volume you were referring to it looking at it as if it was upright. On the volume pot you did use the correct attachment for the ground but on the volume you actually attached the lead that went to the volume pot to the ground lead of the tone pot. Keeping the pots upright and numbering the leads from left to right as 1,2,3 helps to keep everything similar. Like keeping the #1 on both pots as the ground etc. Thanks for the video.

[@51MontyPython]

Which lug on the tone should he have connected to [which lug on] the volume?

[@loskiff]

I was triyng to think in terms of "where the current comes from". First, is the middle lug always the output pin? Because if it's so, than the tone pot work as an output putting current into the volume pot: my question is: Where the current that goes into the tone comes from?

[@51MontyPython]

I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WITH THAT QUESTION! Did you ever find the answer? I've searched high and low and there is absolutely NO resources which actually explain how the circuits work; what flows INTO and OUT from what and to where. NOTHING. And literally EVERY SINGLE video does it completely different!

[@jeffverive3596]

The input signal (current source) is connected to the end of the volume pot that is not grounded.

[@T1374]

Is this still required when writing in 50's style, or does the center lug being grounded cancel this out and the capacitor run to the volume?

[@dwatts100]

I have a Stacked Dual Concentric Potentiometer(POT) A100K. Is that a passive bass/treble tone pot that connects to an active preamp? I understand that the “A” is for audio/log taper (tone) and the “B” is for linear taper (volume).

[@alexanderjamesINC]

This could be. In what specific instrument are you referring to? I need to know more information.

[@dwatts100]

I have a Hohner a B Bass V. Each of the 6 lugs of the current bass/treble stack connects to a separate preamp circuit (I know, a little old school), which is mounted on the inside of the control cavity cover. The portion of circuitboard that holds one of the sets of lugs is broken, but not detached, so it still works. As of this response, I already replaced this stack with a new one but I also wondered if it could also be used as passive tone controls connected to the 2 independent pickup volume pots. That way if I wanted to permanently change the bass to passive only I wouldn’t have to add a second tone control. I would just use the stack. I realize that I could probably use master volume and blend pots, simply running a single tone pot off the volume the way you demonstrated.

[@curtiseverett1671]

Great vid thx

[@dap777754]

I just watched another fellow who says the orange drop capacitors have an orientation, and that should be figured into installation. Have you seen this? (he hooks leads up to his maxed out volume amp and figures out which leg ought to be grounded and which leg is hot). Just FYI. Comments?

[@alexanderjamesINC]

I have never heard of this. For electrolytic caps, there is definitely an orientation. For normal orange drops like this, I have never heard of checking orientation.

[@NandoLopesMusic]

Will this tone knob wiring cut the low or the high frequencies? Is there a way to cut the high ones? I'm building a stompbox and all the tutorials I saw on KZbin says this one will cut the low, but I want to leave the low and remove the high

[@AnupWee]

Great stuff man.. very helpful, thank you!

[@alexanderjamesINC]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ringosteve21]

Is the cap necessary? If I don't have one?

[@ringosteve21]

Active pickups, 1 volume, 1 tone, 3 way toggle. The tone is acting as a 2nd volume.

[@alexanderjamesINC]

If you want to wire a tone control, you need to have a capacitor.

[@sammanekshaw5730]

Thanks so much helped loads!

[@alexanderjamesINC]

Glad it helped!

[@AJHille]

what abt the 3rd lug of the tone pot? would you ground that one too ?

[@alexanderjamesINC]

No, don't ground that one.

[@AJHille]

@@alexanderjamesINC ok thank you

[@mariamachuca3993]

@@alexanderjamesINC Hi, why don't you ground that one but you do on the volume pot? 😅

[@alexanderjamesINC]

It's just how I and many others have wired tone pots. You may try grounding the lug but it may give you results you are not used to.

[@pmcm-ih1ep]

You sound like you know what you're doing as well as being a friendly enough chap to help someone out. The green capacitor in my tone pot is soldered to the left lug not the middle (looking at it like how you drew it) and the pickup wire had come off, (why I decided to fix it) I'm assuming it was soldered to the middle. Only the right side lug is clean of any soldering. Nearly every vid and diagram I've seen has the capacitor connected to the middle lug. Does it matter which lug it is connected. My guitar was new (well, was supposed to be) when I bought it. Has it just been wired in an unorthodox fashion or has it been wired wrong. Can you help here?

[@alexanderjamesINC]

Please send me an email through my website and I will try and talk you through it.

[@mikeburch1958]

Right on bro, u should seriously do This to make some bread !

[@MacedoinaChoirs]

I have a Kit Guitar with strat style Pickups. My tone doesn't work in neck and middle pickups. What can I do for it?

[@alexanderjamesINC]

Sorry for the late reply. Message me through my website. I will try and help you.

[@CALVGITAR]

👍👍☕

[@alexanderjamesINC]

Thanks for watching!

[@mpachuca1313]

♍️📐⚡️🎸🤘🕊️

[@EVMetal27]

Wired my guitar up exactly like this and it didn't work. Checked seymour duncans official diagram and it is way different. Don't waste your time with this video make sure to look at the wiring diagrams relevant to your hardware.

[@alexanderjamesINC]

I mean no disrespect but you may have done something wrong. Please check your grounds. There are numerous ways to wire up a tone pot, this is correct.