Wow is it really that simple? This looks like what I'm after. Will this really work? If so I could even use the two volumes as an eq more or less, with the neck vol being bass, and the bridge being mid/high.
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Built in crossover for neck and bridge pickups
- Thread starter GunsandGuitars
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I can only say that this is essentially what I've got going on my Hofner, and it works great. The only catch I can envision is if you have single coil pickups, the .01uF cap will flip the bridge pickup (electrically), so you won't have humbucking with both volumes up. I'd suggest giving it a whirl with alligator clips--then you can try out different cap values, and you can also decide whether you want to hardwire the caps in or put them on switches for more options.
(One other idea is to put your tone knob in place of the .1uF cap, which would allow you to control the amount of treble cut on the neck pickup.)
Using humbuckers most likely. Definitely for the neck, probably also for the bridge, but depends on if I need lower output to blend compressed with the neck. But I can always wire a humbucker in parallel if I need to.
So for that wiring diagram, would the resistors for the filters be the volume pots? I'm wondering because of the formula I need to use to calculate the frequency cutoff. The formula is f=1/(2ñRC). Sorry pretend ñ=pi, that's the closest symbol I have on my phone keyboard. So if the resistor is the volume pot, then I'd use 500kohm as the resistance in that formula. If not, what value do I use for the resistor in that formula? Or does this formula not apply?
I think I can't use that formula...I would end up with the same size capacitor for the HP and LP if I wanted the same crossover point, the only difference them being wired in series vs parallel. That doesn't seem right to me
This is getting out of my depth--I can attest that this work in practice, but I can't explain or extrapolate the theory.
I seriously appreciate all your help. You've given me a great direction to move in. At least now I can swing by radio shack and grab some capacitors to tinker with
Sure thing! I hope this simple circuit delivers what you're after. And I'll be curious to see how it turns out.
when I get around to this project I'll post my results...even if it sounds like shizzle haha
Okay guys, it took a LOT of R&D (trial and error, more errors than anything...) but I finally got this figured out. I'll post a wiring diagram of what I came up with if you guys want, but basically I figured out how to make it a master volume and a tone/blend setup (nice and simple). I recorded the same lick before and after the mods. Before is with a 3 way switch in the middle position (both pickups), after is with the tone/blend pot in the middle position with the built in crossover (set to about 150hz). I alternated every two measures, before/after/before/after...etc so you can really hear the difference it makes. It almost sounds like I'm engaging a preamp or using active pickups with the extra frequency respond I get with the crossover. Anyway, enough blabbering, just listen. I'm very happy with the results!
This is the test bass. The “Mod bass kit” from thefretwire.com, both pickups sounded good enough on their own, but together they lost a ton of sound because of the phase cancelation. This “crossover” between pickups fixed it good!
Nice! I wonder why this kind of thing isn't more standard, given its simplicity (and how good it sounds). As far as I know, the G&L SB-2 is the only bass that uses a bridge pickup as a treble control (in place of a tone control); your circuit takes that concept to the next level.
How did you settle on those cap values? (Trial and error, I assume--but what made them your final choices?)
How did you settle on those cap values? (Trial and error, I assume--but what made them your final choices?)
Yes it was a lot of trial and error, and I’m not necessarily convinced these will be universal cap sizes for all pickups. These are just what sounded best to my ears, it placed the crossover frequency around 150hz for these pickups. But pickups with different output and different frequency response might respond differently. For future builds I’ll probably rig up a switch with several different cap values to find the sweet spot for different pickups, even pickup placement.
I was having trouble listening to the clip I uploaded on my phone both thru the app and the mobile site. so for anyone else that might be having that issue, I uploaded the sample to youtube here:
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