can pot and cap be switched on tone control?

I am fixing the wiring on my bass guitar and the tone control may be miswired. The how-to websites have it going

signal-> pot -> capacitor -> ground

and mine is wired

signal -> capacitor -> pot -> ground

are these equivalent circuits?

Thanks rK

Reply to
rabbitkiller
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No.

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-- Les Cargill

Reply to
Les Cargill

Depends where you take the signal from to the next stage.

If you have simply the series connected pot & cap shunting the signal on its way to the next stage then it doesn't matter whether the pot or cap is grounded.

Frankly I don't see the signal being taken from the junction between the pot & cap in this application.

Reply to
Ian Field

I agree with Ian on this unless you can provide a schematic that would cause me to change my mind.

Tom

Reply to
Tom Biasi

There is the difference with my configuration the output signal isn't taken out of the middle of the R/C junction:

Signal from Volume Pot --> Output Jack (Branch 1) | --> Capacitor --> Tone Pot --> Ground (Branch 2)

I should tell you that the tone control seemed to work like this.

Reply to
rabbitkiller

You are right; the signal does not come out of the middle of the R/C junction. Here is a more complete description:

Signal from Volume Pot --> Output Jack (Branch 1) | --> Capacitor --> Tone Pot --> Ground (Branch 2)

I should add that the tone control seemed to work with this configuration, though I don't have the greatest ear and couldn't tell if it was optimal.

Reply to
rabbitkiller

Here is what I have in my bass guitar: Sorry for repeating it so much:

Signal from Volume Pot --> Output Jack (Branch 1) | --> Capacitor --> Tone Pot --> Ground (Branch 2)

And here is a typical schematic of an electric guitar:

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A lot of other sites have an identical configuration for the tone. Musicians are not Electrical Engineers, however, and I wouldn't be surprised if one person got it to work and everyone else copied it.

Note there is nothing connected to the node between R and C which makes it different from the wikipedia, RC filter.

Leif

Reply to
rabbitkiller

If the pot and the cap are in series then it doesn't matter which comes first.

Tom

Reply to
Tom Biasi

Probably worth adding; the only reason its that particular way round in the guitar schematic is the convenience of soldering one end of the cap to the pot body - which is clamped to the finger plate screening foil by the spindle nut.

Reply to
Ian Field

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