my darn tone knobs

[windycityblues]

I just finished building a guitar that is wired EXTREMELY similarly to a les paul (also uses treble bleed circuits) and Im having a problem with the tone controls. Each tone pot affects both pickups. For example, the treble tone pot affects both the neck pickup and the bridge pickup and some with the rhythm tone pot. Has anybody had to solve this problem before, or does anybody have any idea what the problem might be? Im better at building guitars than wiring them. It would be really helpful for me to have a few suggestions to work off of before I dig in with my soldering iron trying to solve the problem. Thanks in advance. -Alex

[Steve Conner]

Isn't that just how the Les Paul wiring works, when both volumes are turned up full?

[pdf64]

Yes, if both pickups are selected. But if, eg the bridge pickup is selected, then the neck pickup tone control setting shouldn't affect it.
It would be helpful if you could draft out how it's been wired and post it on the net somehow.
Pete.

[Jazz P Bass]

Each pickup/ volume / tone control should be wired as a separate circuit.
Mybe something is amiss in the switch wiring.

[Mark Hammer]

I'm afraid that unless you do something like run a fixed resistor from the Volume pot wiper to the output jack - which will load that sucker down a LOT - it's just the way the thing works, I'm afraid.

Consider what the scenario is with both volume pots up full. Both wipers are connected to the output jack, and with both pots up full, those pots are essentially mimicking two 500k (or whatever you use) fixed resistors, each stradding the output and ground. The Tone pots are tied to the input lugs of the Volume pots, but when the Volume pots are up full, that means there is zero ohms between the input lugs of the volume pots and between them and the output jack. In other words, at max volume, the Tone pots are effectively wired up as two parallel path to ground for treble to bleed through.

Now, once yo turn down one or both of the Volume pots a bit, and insert some of the pot resistance between the input lug and respective wiper of the pot, then the Tone pot for that pickup starts to become somewhat isolated from the other Tone pot, and have a relatively independent effect. But of course, the penalty for doing that is a bit of pickup loading and loss of signal level.

Small wonder that Fender pretty much stuck with shared Volume and Tone all these years. Particularly since the earliest LP players would have welcomed loading and more velvety tones coming from the interaction of the pots. A country picker playing a Fender wouldn't have been quite as hospitable to it.

[big_teee]

On the StewMac pickup Instructions, It gives 3 different ways to wire a LP.
Modern, 50s, and independent.
Heck I would try them all.
STEWMAC.COM : Instructions for Golden Age Parsons Street Humbuckers
Myself I like the modern, and use the Seymour Duncan layout.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/support...ic=2h_2v_2t_3w
Good Luck,
T

[David Schwab]

Passive tone controls will always affect both pickups. And on a Les Paul, turning down one volume will turn off both pickups.

[Jag]

Passive tone controls will always affect both pickups. And on a Les Paul, turning down one volume will turn off both pickups.

For standard Les Paul wiring method, when set to the middle position on the selector, this is true. When set to the bridge position, the neck controls are out of the circuit so, do not affect the signal. Likewise, when set to the neck position, the bridge controls are out of the circuit and do not affect the signal.

[David Schwab]

For standard Les Paul wiring method, when set to the middle position on the selector, this is true. When set to the bridge position, the neck controls are out of the circuit so, do not affect the signal. Likewise, when set to the neck position, the bridge controls are out of the circuit and do not affect the signal.

Yes, I meant when both pickups are selected.