Replacing Tone pot on guitar with a switch?

[garfo]

Hi guys, this is not a pedal enquiry, but it's actually something I'd like to lear about to end up using on a circuit.
I would like to drop the "Pot + Cap" tone system on a guitar and replace it with a switch(not sure which). The idea is to drop the potentiometer completely and instead have a 3 position switch(maybe on/on/on or on-off-on?) with two caps.
I'd like to have position 1: No cap( full sound); Position2: C1; Position 3: C2.

Is there a simple way of doing this using a 3 position spdt switch?
Any help would be appreciated.

[Aleph Null]

Having pondered this for a while, I can say confidently, that you won't be able to make that work with an SPDT switch of any kind. The simplest solution is to use an on-off-on switch and have the tone bypass in the middle position. You might be able to get the off position with a DPDT, but I'm not sure exactly how yet.

[Aentons]

I don't think there is such a thing as an on/on/on spdt. For an on/off/on the center off position would have to be no cap setting

[davent]

If you're taking out the pot why not use a rotary switch in the spot for the switching you want to do, a rotary switch set up for three positions gives you four poles to play with and doesn't take any more room then a 24mm pot.

[mauman]

This should do it, using an SPDT on/off/on. 

[mauman]

Here's a different approach, keeping the Tone pot but allowing you to switch between two different cap values.  Switch open = Cap 1, switch closed = Cap 1 + Cap 2 (cap values add when in parallel.)   I like values in the range of 3 to 10 nF rather than the traditional 22 or 47 nF, the treble rolloff is more subtle, and you can get a nice resonant peak in the midrange with the Tone pot all the way down. 

Examples: both caps = 22 nF, you'd have 22 and 44 nF, just about the two traditional values.  Or 1 = 10 nF and 2 = 20 nF, you have 10 and 30 nF. 

An SPST switch will do it. Or you can use an on/off/on SPDT and add a third cap for a total of three values.

[Aleph Null]

If you're taking out the pot why not use a rotary switch in the spot for the switching you want to do, a rotary switch set up for three positions gives you four poles to play with and doesn't take any more room then a 24mm pot.

I did this with an eleven way switch and detailed the process here. There are some non-obvious issues that arise. It might be worth looking at, if you decide to go that route.

[Chisililly]

Tweaking your guitar's electronics can be a fun experiment. To replace the tone pot with a switch and caps, you're on the right track with a 3-position switch. You'll want a DPDT (Double Pole Double Throw) switch, commonly used for this kind of mod.Position 1: Connect the signal directly for that full sound.Position 2: Engage C1 cap for a certain tone color.Position 3: Engage C2 cap for a different vibe.For more insights on guitar mods and accessories, you might wanna check out ironageaccessories.com. They've got some cool stuff to explore.

[jwin615]

Keep in mind deleting the tone pot entirely prevents the sweep function. You'll essentially have tone up and tone down.(CW and CCW)
You can always take the out of your pickup switch and run it to the output jack. Then chop a cable and breadboard everything. Use a piece of cardboard to hold prototypes. Once you have a couple or more working prototypes, interface a switch to flip between them.
If you find a handful of RC presets you like, build those on a rotary switch. Fuzzdog have a few rotary PCBs iirc.
Not much to add other than that.

Oh, unless.someone can get me some frequency variable chebychev high pass filters that run run on 9v.
I want a dual concentric HP LP pot with 2nd order or better high pass.

[gordo]

Damn, I was going to question doing this from a usability standpoint and I realized it's something my dad might have said.

So I'll retract.  I think it's worth exploring but I suspect if you ever use a tone control (and I never did till I owned a Telecaster and a Yamaha Ty Tabor) that you'll settle on a single capacitor and then want to make it more/less and go back to a pot.  Might take a very long time though so explore away.  I'd go with a rotary control and set it for as many positions as you need.

[jimilee]

Damn, I was going to question doing this from a usability standpoint and I realized it's something my dad might have said.

So I'll retract.  I think it's worth exploring but I suspect if you ever use a tone control (and I never did till I owned a Telecaster and a Yamaha Ty Tabor) that you'll settle on a single capacitor and then want to make it more/less and go back to a pot.  Might take a very long time though so explore away.  I'd go with a rotary control and set it for as many positions as you need.

This. BB kings Lucille had a rotary, along with various other Gibsons.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk