The sound of a guitar depends on several indicators and characteristics - the type of wood , the quality of shielding , electronics , assembly , and fittings .
Unfortunately , the wooden parts of the guitar are extremely difficult to replace . Build quality in some cases can be slightly improved by replacing fittings or fasteners . Electronics can also be upgraded to better ones .
However , even high-quality and premium guitar electronics do not always meet the requirements that a guitarist makes of them . The most obvious and common problem with guitar sound is the clipping of high frequencies as the volume on the guitar is turned down .
Side note : some guitarists , on the contrary , prefer this feature of the volume potentiometer , which allows them to achieve a warm and low sound . Accordingly , increasing the volume makes the sound richer and brighter .
If you need high frequencies even at the minimum volume , loudness will help you .
What causes high frequencies to be lost ?
Almost all guitar electronics work on the principle of a low-pass filter ( LPF ).
The essence of the LPF is the cutoff of frequencies at a certain level :
In the case when the potentiometer knob is turned to the maximum position , the upper frequencies are practically not cut off , as they are outside the audible frequency range . If the potentiometer knob is turned to the minimum position , the resistance of the electrical circuit increases , which causes the upper frequencies in the audible frequency range to be cut off .
How to return the upper frequencies ?
Method one : use only high quality guitar cables that have low capacitance but high price .
Method two : use short cables , which , due to their design , have a low capacitance , but severely limit the musician ’ s movements .
The third way is the most effective , simplest and cheapest way : set loudness !
Loudness - elimination of the loss of high frequencies by using a capacitor in the circuit , which is soldered to the contactors of the potentiometer “ In ” and “ Out ”. This procedure will allow you to return the upper frequencies using the capacitance characteristics of the capacitor .
When choosing a capacitor , one rule must be followed : the higher the capacitance , the higher the frequencies .
Scheme No . 1 :
100-500 pF Capacitor – These are the most commonly found capacitors on Ibanez , PRS and some Telecaster models .
The optimal operating range is from 40 % to 100 % volume . Less than 40 % - the sound becomes quite ringing , which worsens the mix . Nevertheless , such a ringing and brightness of sound can become a definite feature .
Scheme No . 2 :
Ringing can be eliminated by adding resistors to the circuit , as shown in the figure above ( circuits 2 and 3 ), however , in this case , it is necessary to use other capacitors and resistors of certain parameters .
In the second circuit , a 560-100 pF capacitor and an 80-500K resistor are used , parallel connection . A similar scheme is used by manufacturers such as Seymour Duncan and DiMarzio .
Also in this circuit , it should be provided that the resistance of the resistor is in the range from 50 to 90 % of the resistance of the potentiometer , however , the capacitor in this circuit affects the dependence of the resistance on the angle of rotation of the potentiometer knob .
Scheme No . 3 :
Capacitor 1000 - 1200 pF , resistor 100-130K . Series connection , most often used in guitars with single type pickups .
In this circuit , there is no ringing nature of the sound and the dependence of the resistance on the angle of rotation of the potentiometer knob .
However , the volume in the range from 0 % to 30 % will increase much more slowly than in the previous two schemes .
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