A Layman's Look at Tone Pots and Capacitors - Guitar Builder's Basics Podcast Ep 64

This episode is a quick layman's look at tone pots and capacitors in answer to a viewer's question on how they work, and, whether they make a guitar sound better?

Chapters
0:00 Introduction
2:24 Pots are built with a +/- variance
4:42 These things make a difference to the tone ......
5:25 Pots work by adjusting the amount of signal going through them
6:29 Capacitors - removes higher frequencies
8:26 Sound is subjective ..... experiment!
10:39 Conclusion
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Thank you again for all your support, we really appreciate it! – Ben
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[elbeeuk]

Love the knowledgable yet humble explanations you do. It's like watching Brian Wampler talk about pedals. You tell us what things do in an easy to understand way without saying "my way is always right". It's up to our ears but what you're saying is a bloody good grounding to understand what's going on.
Thanks for your vids . They're invaluable :)

[georgesmith]

I’ve watched dozens if not hundreds of videos on many many topics, and you, Ben Crowe, are by far my favorite host. The little joke you throw in, plus the fact that you are down to earth and admit when you mess up, then explain how to fix that and other mistakes.
So again, thank you for being you, and keep up the good work.

[juanarmengol]

Hi, Ben and Staff at Crimson guitars. I'm Juan Armengol and I started making my own electric instruments last April (2018). I live in Bogota, Colombia, South America. First of all I have literally devoured your videos on every topic I was able to get my eyes on - by the way, your channel has become my preferred online luthiery information source... GOOD JOB!!! I have built an electric tenor ukulele with local tropical woods, and since we don't have any mahogany nor rosewood available here, I've been forced to do some local tone woods research. By lots of trials I've found magnificent (sustainable sources and government regulated woods) which I'll be glad to tell you later about them. My ongoing project is an electric guitar with 3 hand-made by me (from the magnetic poles to the winding and pickup design itself) pickups (NECK:Single coil - MIDDLE: Single coil - BRIDGE: Humbucker)The guitar has a bolt-on neck including a very interesting double action truss rod designed by me - the whole neck turned out really good, and a well balanced body again hand made by me. My issue is that I want to have a 5 way Fender Strat style pickup selector, but I want a very specific configuration in order to have the pickups I want to hear. I want to have it wired in this fashion: 1st position (from the upper or north part of the switch) for the NECK Single coil Pickup ONLY - 2nd position for NECK + MIDDLE Single coil - 3rd position for MIDDLE ONLY - 4th position for BRIDGE Humbucker + NECK Single Coil and for the last selector position BRIDGE Humbucker ONLY, and finally I want to have just 1 volume and 1 tone control knobs. I have searched the Internet extensively but haven't been able to find a wiring diagram with this particular configuration and as you can deduct I'm not very good at wiring. Does any of your geniuses there at Crimson can hang me such a diagram? I woukd like to send you some pictures of my beautiful guitar (I call her LYNX G9+ since it's the 9th design the one I chose to build). Thank you for your excellent Internet material, your awesome workshop and your hard work there. I would appreciate very much if you can help me out with this issue. Best regards, Juan Armengol.

[JeffBarberDigideus]

Thanks for answering that Ben. I always thought pots worked by "cutting" the signal, so at zero volume, the pot is at full resistance and by varying it you allow through more volume, but with a tone control, you allow the full signal through and just cut the top end with a capacitor, which as you said can colour your sound.  So to my way of thinking, it follows that without a tone control, I can effect that tone more effectively on my amp by using the EQ.  This is why I tend to leave tone controls out on my guitars.  I also like that you pointed out that your cable can have a big difference on your sound.  Youre absolutely right!   Cheers!

[CJ-rfjm]

To clarify a bit about the capacitor thing.  is the cap along with the pot forms a filter that can either let higher or lower frequencies through depending how its setup.  So either high pass or low pass filter set to a perticular frequency (note) either above or below that the signal is passed or not.  glad you mentioned that the older vintage caps may not always be best.  Parts do age of course, values can drift over time or the materials can break down completely.  Some newer parts can also have tighter tolerances so they stick closer to the listed value.

[johnprince]

How do you know which pot ports to connect a capacitor? The Middle? the top port? Bottom port & ground to back ? Where should it go?

[TJEvans]

I wasn't going to respond because of the age of this video, but what the hell...

I've started building guitars recently. At first, I was using Obsidian Wire kits, because I had ZERO confidence in my soldering abilities. After about 2 months, I decided to try out a La Cabronita wiring for a telecaster build with Filtertrons. I got the S1 pot, and the 3 way switch, and looked up how to do it...I had to do my own soldering, and it's acceptable...not astounding, but it will do. The point of the La Cabronita is that there is no separate tone pot. You put 2 sets of caps in the circuit, to be engaged when the S1 switch is pressed in. It changes the tone of the signal ever so slightly. So you essentially have the neck pickup wide open, the bridge wide open, then each has a different "preset" tonal change with the switch engaged. I found it to be interesting, but rather useless, since I preferred the wide open sound.

I then started thinking about how I NORMALLY use a tone pot. The fact is, I don't. I always have it at 10, letting everything through that I can. I play at church every Sunday. My sound tech advised me years ago, to always have my tone pots wide open, and HE will adjust the tone at the board. I mean, he's a sound guy, I just pluck some strings.

then I started looking around at all of my equipment. I have a multi effect pedal, with Chorus, Reverb, and an EQ...each of those has their own tone adjustment. I have a tube screamer....with a tone adjustment. I have an amp modeler, with, you guessed it, a tone adjustment. Even my delay pedal has an ever so slight tone knob. All of that even BEFORE getting to an actual amplifier, with it's own tone adjustments.

long story I build a guitar, now, I only put in volume pots. To me, the tone adjustment has become extremely redundant, since there are about 10 different places in a chain of sound that it can be adjusted. I'm not sure if there has ever been a guitarist that needed to adjust their tone enough times during a show that the tone pot was absolutely necessary...in fact, I'd say that there are infinitely more guitarists that never touch their tone pot, and it's cranked at 10. The only change that I've seen most accomplished guitarists make is the whole guitar itself, for a different sound...

[PeterWasted]

To describe how a potentiometer works in a different way to Ben's description: There are three terminals. The outer terminals are connected to a long resistor which forms a near circle within the casing. The middle terminal is connected to a movable contact which moves when the potentiometer's shaft is rotated. When fully clockwise or anticlockwise the resistance of the pot is zero between the centre terminal and ONE outer while it will be at the stated pot value between the centre terminal and the OTHER outer.
The resistor can be made of several different materials all of which have slightly variable properties and that variability alters the actual resistance of the potentiometer.

Hope that helps.

[WholeLottaBulldog]

There is a definite, audible difference between tone pot in and out of circuit. I immediately preferred the more present and transparent tone with no capacitor. Great stuff Ben.

[michaelgarrett]

It's funny how you say crocodile clips because in the USA we say alligator clips.

[johndalopeamorjr]

What is the difference between 500k A and 500k B? Thanks

[emedentes]

Hi Ben - thanks for all your fine videos.  I wonder if you have any thoughts on sourcing pots that can be recessed such that the top of the knob sits flush with the guitar surface, and when pressed in a little "jumps up" so that you can access and adjust it as a normal tone/volume knob, then can be pressed flush again with a second push...  They seem to be hard to find, though I have seen them long ago on a guitar (though I can't remember what guitar it was...).  I'm designing a travel bass guitar and this is part of the spec given.  Cheers!  ps did you ever find your experienced luthier to join you?  I guess because the video is still up you have not... Rob

[majorwheelock]

what if you leave the capicitor out? I did this on one guitar and it is brighter and raw sounding. the tone knob still rounds the high end off. Is there any down side?

[bassworship]

I installed a preamp and pickups. The tone is incredible but all the knobs are working in reverse...help please.

[ReverenXero]

I assume that you are talking about pots for passive pickups? I am changing my Jackson soloist over from the 2 default passive humbuckers to 2 Seymour Duncan Blackouts that are active and they came with, what I have read that 25K pots are required rather than the 500K and 250K pots. True?

[jtjones]

So I have always wondered why worry about the tone capacitor and potentiometer, when we can adjust the frequencies of the guitar with the amp? Would it not make more sense to have a more complete tone coming out of the guitar and trimming it after, rather than using caps and pots to trim the tone in the guitar?

[RogerBarraud]

Ben, that's an excellent explanation.
[I'm an "electronics genius" 🙂... and I can say that you've covered the basics very well here. I'm not even going to bother nit-picking about a minor point or two (OCD successfully resisted! 🙂)].

[crobulari]

A cap across the PU O/P is just a top end cut varied by the resistance of the series pot. If you want full top end and still retain the tone control pot then open the pot and cut the track with a scalpel just immediately before the far end of the slider run with the pot turned up full. Then the pot will go O/C when turned up full and you will get full pick up output with no capacitor in circuit. (re assemble the pot cover). This mod works very well. Pots, use say 500K log (audio taper) for Vol and 250K Linear for tone.

[johnnygault]

Hi Ben
quick question ?....must be able to do
I have a 2015 gibson les paul deluxe
I was wondering if I could set the db boost to my favourite position then change it to a regular tone know
this is a guitar for life so don't care about devaluing the resale
I have scoured the net but cam up with nothing
thank you
John

[rodmills]

I have purchased two Humbucker's with quick click fittings on the end. Where can I purchase potentiometers that will click to them?.