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I'm trying to mod my Jazz bass in the following manner:
- A concentric pot for neck & bridge volume
- A simple 2 or 3 position varitone (it seems that most people end up having 2 or 3 favourites positions, so I figure why not just design it that way from the ground up?)
- A push-pull pot to switch between parallel-series pups & to blend the varitone & non-varitone signals
My plan is to jerry-rig an external varitone and experiment with different caps (and possibly different inductors) until I find the 2 or 3 configurations that work best for me & then build it permanently in the bass.
These are my questions: (I would also gratefully accept any constructive comments, tips, criticisms, etc.)
1. As far as I can figure with my painfully limited understanding, the interaction between the capacitor & the inductor creates a resonance frequency (usually in the midrange). Since the varitone is connected in parallel with the pickup signal & outputs to ground, this boosted midrange would be removed from the signal going to the amp, thereby creating the midrange notch. Is this in fact how a varitone works?
2. In my test bed varitone, will the capacitance of the guitar cable affect the tone to the point that my tests won't accurately give the sound of the varitone once it's in the bass?
3. One way of having a bypass would be to leave the 1st position on the rotary switch unconnected to the pickup wiring. (Correct???) It seems to me that if I connected the varitone to a no-load 550K audio pot in parallel with the pups (in other words a normal tone control except for the varitone replacing the cap), I would not only have my true bypass but I would also have my blend from 0% to 100% varitone. Is this correct?
4. I have read people advise placing a resistor before the varitone to widen the notches. Does this work & why does it work?
Any and all help with this is greatly appreciated.
- A concentric pot for neck & bridge volume
- A simple 2 or 3 position varitone (it seems that most people end up having 2 or 3 favourites positions, so I figure why not just design it that way from the ground up?)
- A push-pull pot to switch between parallel-series pups & to blend the varitone & non-varitone signals
My plan is to jerry-rig an external varitone and experiment with different caps (and possibly different inductors) until I find the 2 or 3 configurations that work best for me & then build it permanently in the bass.
These are my questions: (I would also gratefully accept any constructive comments, tips, criticisms, etc.)
1. As far as I can figure with my painfully limited understanding, the interaction between the capacitor & the inductor creates a resonance frequency (usually in the midrange). Since the varitone is connected in parallel with the pickup signal & outputs to ground, this boosted midrange would be removed from the signal going to the amp, thereby creating the midrange notch. Is this in fact how a varitone works?
2. In my test bed varitone, will the capacitance of the guitar cable affect the tone to the point that my tests won't accurately give the sound of the varitone once it's in the bass?
3. One way of having a bypass would be to leave the 1st position on the rotary switch unconnected to the pickup wiring. (Correct???) It seems to me that if I connected the varitone to a no-load 550K audio pot in parallel with the pups (in other words a normal tone control except for the varitone replacing the cap), I would not only have my true bypass but I would also have my blend from 0% to 100% varitone. Is this correct?
4. I have read people advise placing a resistor before the varitone to widen the notches. Does this work & why does it work?
Any and all help with this is greatly appreciated.
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