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Topic: Anti-fingerpick capacitor for six-string? |
David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 6 Mar 2006 3:50 am |
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I am going to be building up another Warmoth custom six-string this summer, and I am looking for a specific tonal tweak. I have been playing with a thumbpick and metal fingerpicks a lot on regular guitar lately, and they both thin the tone out compared to a flatpick and add an annoying click. The fast way to get rid of it is to turn the tone control on the guitar down to 3 or so, but of course this wipes out some desirable frequencies too. I can eliminate the click using a slower attack time on my rack’s compressor and fiddling with the graphic EQ, but I am wondering if there is some kind of quick fix I can wire to a switch right on the guitar. Is there some kind of shunt to a particular capacitor that would take off the very high-end click without frying my upper midrange frequencies too? I really don’t want to have to reset the whole rack every time....  |
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Jennings Ward
From:
Edgewater, Florida, R.I.P.
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Posted 6 Mar 2006 12:37 pm
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IF YOU CAN FIND ANY " PLASTIC " PICKS, THAT WILL MAKE A BIG CHANGE,,,YOU MAY OR MAY NOT LIKE THE SOUND YOU GET.....# 2,,TRY TO USE THE EDGE OF YOUR PICKS, AS OPPOSED TO THE FLAT OF THE PICK.....# 3,, THERE IS NO
" GIMMICK " I KNOW OF THAT WILL DO WHAT YOU ARE REQUESTING....
JENNINGS U PK;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
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EMMONS D10 10-10 profex 2 deltafex ne1000 pv1000, pv 31 bd eq, +
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Jim Bates
From:
Alvin, Texas, USA
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Posted 6 Mar 2006 12:47 pm
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Try some brass fingerpicks. Dunlop has them; also some other higher priced brands are on the market. Brass picks will stop or almost stop the intial 'click' you are getting.
Thanx,
Jim |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 6 Mar 2006 1:39 pm
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Well, the smaller you go in cap value, the higher the roll-off frequency. .047uF is a broad treble cut that many are used to. .022uF retains more mids when highs are dumped. You could experiment with a .01uF on down to .005 maybe. Maybe see what a .002 does. Let us know.
Brad
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 6 Mar 2006 1:53 pm
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| That's good info. I could definitely see you finding a solution along those lines. Another thing you might look at is an eq unit---either something like a 10 band graphic or a parametric---I have an old Boss PQ-4 (standard stomp box size) that is quite flexible. |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 7 Mar 2006 1:27 am
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I'm used to the .022 capacitor sound, it sounds like I'll try a smaller one. I have a .022 on my Warmoth Tele currently and I could do the soldering research right now. What's a source, and an identity, of some good, "musical" capacitors?
There's a section of a Jerry Garcia interview from "Guitar Player" excerpted in "Secrets from the Masters." He talks about a tonal rolloff that puts a cello tone at the bottom end of the knob's range, and says it's a match between pot and cap, but no specifics. I have a few 6 and 7 band graphic equalizer stompboxes that are what I'm using for a semi-quick fix, but of course they add one more source of "transistor-tone" to the mix. I'm looking for an entirely passive solution that comes right through the cord. I'll try some brass fingerpicks too. |
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David Spangler
From:
Kerrville, TX USA
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Posted 7 Mar 2006 8:31 am
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You didn't mention if you are using single-coil or humbucking pickups.
A trick I have used is to wire a .001uF cap across the outside terminals of the volume pot. If you are using single-coil pickups with 250K pots, you can wire a 100K reistor across the same terminals.
If you are using 500K pots with humbuckers, try 250K pots instead (a la Benedetto). A variation is to wire a 500k resistor across the volume pot outside terminals to see if it helps.
There is a new product on the market at: http://www.stellartone.com/Index.asp
that is really a variable tone control with steep rolloff (kinda pricey).
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David Spangler |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 7 Mar 2006 6:40 pm
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| Quote: |
| What's a source, and an identity, of some good, "musical" capacitors? |
Since you're not using that capacitor to transfer the signal, but merely to shunt some of the highs to ground, an old cap will work. (The stuff actually going through that cap won't be heard, anyway.) |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 8 Mar 2006 2:59 am
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I asked Brad Sarno about some sources and he referred me to: http://www.angela.com/
On their site, I found a recommendation to use a .015 instead of the usual .022, to wit:
quote:
630V Angela Copper Foil Paper In Oil Signal Capacitors
.015/630VDC, 25x14mm. NEW VALUE! I like the .015 value for 'woman tone' from humbucker and P-90 equipped guitars. Try this in place of a .022, roll the tone control back all the way and prepare to be knocked out.
This sounds very similar to what Garcia was talking about with the "cello tone" found all the way at the bottom end of the tone control, rather than the usual, useless muffled thud found down there.
~"Oh, A-Solderin' We Go..."~
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"The sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his own room." - Pascal
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