Varitone Electronics Worth It?

Livewire · #1 01-24-2011, 07:53 AM

Hey guys, I was wondering what you guys thought of varitone electronics for a passive J and P bass. In my J I have delanos and in my P nordstrands. I'd love to add some flexibility to them. How much of a change would I see if I dropped varitone electronics in my J and P? There's a youtube clip of a J with varitone electronics and I wasn't that impressed, actually the bass sounded better when the electronics were bypassed. Any opinions? They're about $100, so it's not something I could just put in the back of my closet if I don't like them. Thanks

MichaelVee · #2 01-24-2011, 08:43 AM

I have had some experience in the past with two different varitone controls. These were put together on two different occasions by Stan Hinesley of HAS Sound, who isn't making them currently except possibly by special order, AFAIK.

This is all based on my opinion of those units, and I realize that there are a few other builders of varitones out there. Actually, anyone who is skilled with tone circuit components can put a varitone together.

Although Stan's control was well-made and high-quality, I have to say that I didn't find it that useful in a straight volume/volume/varitone configuration as the main tone shaper, at least not the choice of tones that was included. I probably liked only 2 of them, the rest were pretty nasal or out-of-phase sounding, and another is a non-filtered, straight tone.

Possibly in a more elaborate wiring harness, a varitone could be more useful, but I wouldn't recommend one as your main tone control. There's just not enough tonal variation possible. If you also added a regular passive tone control, that could be a much better combination- V/V/Varitone/T.

Also, if you could work with someone who builds varitones, and could be involved with the design process, selecting the components for the settings that sounded best to you, that would be better than buying a pre-set varitone. Still, though, that's only 5 or 6 tone choices. However, if you are a player that only needs 2 or 3 main tones for your gigs, then hey, you could go with a well-designed Varitone, vary your sounds with the pickups and your amp controls, and could have a perfect setup.

A well-thought out control harness will give a lot more tonal options than a V/V/Varitone setup. I love the flexibility, for example, of my G&L L-2500s.

Tell us about the varitone you are thinking about using. Who built it/is building it for you if you go that route?

**line6man** · #3 01-24-2011, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Livewire

They're about $100

Make one yourself.
All you need is a rotary toggle switch and a handful of capacitors. Possibly an inductor, too.
It should cost no more than $15-$20.

Livewire · #4 01-24-2011, 12:16 PM

I also found that video on Youtube very nasal sounding in all positions. Looks like the only real solution is getting a preamp and battery to make the bass better.

scotch · #5 01-24-2011, 12:20 PM

I LOVE Varitone on my passive basses! I built an outboard box recently with some scrap wood, copper shielding and a circuit from HAS.

There are good quality clips showing how it sounds with my passive p-bass (scroll to bottom of 1st post):

Custom outboard tone control

scotch · #6 01-24-2011, 12:23 PM

I generally don't use it for live shows, but it is my "secret weapon" in the studio! Producers actually request that I bring it, it can make a huge difference in a track.

electracoyote · #7 01-24-2011, 12:24 PM

I have one on a custom-made passive J bass. I love it. Six positions, when combined with clever tweaking of the Jazz's standard VVT controls you get several more very useable tones. I'm not sure a varitone would work quite as well on a single-pickup bass.

scotch · #8 01-24-2011, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by electracoyote

I have one on a custom-made passive J bass. I love it. Six positions, when combined with clever tweaking of the Jazz's standard VVT controls you get several more very useable tones. I'm not sure a varitone would work quite as well on a single-pickup bass.

Works GREAT on a single p pup! See link above with sound clips.

The first couple of positions on mine (without the choke engaged) are a little bit nasal, but still pretty cool for certain genres. The last few positions, though, are magic! I think the clips I posted show how you can turn a typical gnarly p-bass into an sg bass with flats with the turn of a knob! (the tone anyway)

electracoyote · #9 01-24-2011, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scotch

Works GREAT on a single p pup! See link above with sound clips.

Oh cool! I stand corrected...

BassLife77 · #10 01-24-2011, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Livewire

I also found that video on Youtube very nasal sounding in all positions. Looks like the only real solution is getting a preamp and battery to make the bass better.

I made a 12 position Varitone box for around $10 and it sounds GREAT! the guy on youtube has a crappy recording because my Varitone doesn't sound anything like that. I don't think he has an inductor either which makes a huge difference in the tone. the rotary knob and caps are pretty cheap so $100 for a Varitone is a huge markup

i_got_a_mohawk · #11 01-24-2011, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

Make one yourself.
All you need is a rotary toggle switch and a handful of capacitors. Possibly an inductor, too.
It should cost no more than $15-$20.

+1

miner49er11 · #12 01-24-2011, 05:18 PM

Can anyone compare a Varitone, just a plain all capacitor version or one with an inductor, to a Stellartone Tonestyler? I know how expensive the Tonestyler is. All I'm interested is a sound comparison. ...on the other hand, might it be worth the money? Heaven knows we spend money on various pedals that easily cost as much, and are used infrequently...

mellowgerman · #13 01-24-2011, 06:20 PM

I wired mine (varitone plus -- 9 or 10 voices and a blend knob) into a passive varitone box so I can use it with all my guitars and basses. I find that it's especially great to put in front of a fuzz for some extra character options. Just with a guitar/bass and amp setup, it'll work better with some and not so well with others IME. Plays nicely with Darkstars/bisonics

**line6man** · #14 01-24-2011, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miner49er11

Can anyone compare a Varitone, just a plain all capacitor version or one with an inductor, to a Stellartone Tonestyler? I know how expensive the Tonestyler is. All I'm interested is a sound comparison. ...on the other hand, might it be worth the money? Heaven knows we spend money on various pedals that easily cost as much, and are used infrequently...

When you are dealing with a few microAmperes current at a few hundred milliVolts to a couple of Volts tops, the composition of the capacitors used really won't matter, so long as you have a good tolerance, so they actually match the value they are rated for.

There should be no difference between various Varitones, if you use good caps.

MichaelVee · #15 01-25-2011, 06:12 AM

Livewire- so far, you've gotten several people advocating you build your own varitone. That does take some skills with a soldering iron. I can solder well enough to change out pickups and pots, but I don't know if I could build up a varitone from scratch. You may be the same way and not enough of a hobbyist to want to build one, you might be thinking in terms of buying a prebuilt one and just wiring it in.

Again, though, are you considering using it for your only tone control? I'm not sure if there is any emerging consensus among the people who've posted, but I don't think you'd want to rely on a varitone as your only tone control- not even if it was a very good one that matched up well to the pickups in the bass you would put one in. I still say you probably would need more options.

And again, as with all this stuff, YMMV in that some of these guys who like the varitone in their bass may have additional tone control options, or the particular varitone they are using matches very well to their pickups, or they don't need very many options other than two pickup blend (assuming that configuration) and the 4-5 settings on the varitone.

I wouldn't want a one pickup bass with just a volume control and a varitone. I think a two pickup bass, with blend or separate volumes, would be the minimum. That's IMHO.

madmatt · #16 01-25-2011, 08:31 AM

A varitone is great so long as you know what you are getting into. I mean you can't expect it to replace a pre-amp circuit.

levis76 · #17 01-25-2011, 11:06 AM

I built a cap only varitone setup for my bass once. I found that I only used two settings, bypass and position 3 which was .047. So I went back to a standard setup with a .047 cap and it's great, but I am going to convert it from the stock V/B/T to V/V/T. The p'ups are pretty even as far as output, but I prefer to have independent control.