Learning how Tone control works.

[Pex657]

I think I have figured out how the volume control works on a pedal, and now it is time to learn how tone control works, before I move on to overdrive. Is there a schematic with just a tone control so it will work(no mods or anything, just bare bones). I have found some tone control schematics but they were for amps, such as this one:

If I wire this into a pedal or would it have to be changed?(in my thinking a amp is pushing much more power through it)

If any one can help with links on how tone works and is built and modified I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,
-Pex657

[brett]

Hi.
For a really simple tone control, check out the big muff pi.
The signal is split in two, then one half has the treble cut and the other half has the bass cut.
The tone pot blends the two signals back together.  Equal mix = no change, unequal mix = treble cut or bass cut.

It is also very easy to incorporate into stompbox circuits (eg see the whisker biscuit).

cheers

[Pex657]

I cropped this from the schemetic and added where the input and output should be(at least i think that is where they go)

How would I add bass, mid, and low?

[Processaurus]

http://www.duncanamps.com/tsc/index.html

Duncan Tone Stack Calculator

This is a good learning tool for understanding some common tonestacks, including the big muff type.  Its a simple simulator that shows you frequency response of tone circuits as you change the knobs, as well as what changes when you alter component values in the schematics for each one.  The big muff one is great, because you can see visually how it gives a mid notch, and by altering the capacitors to alternate values how the mid notch moves around, gets deeper, or disappears.  For example the Way Huge "Swollen Pickle" pedal is a Big Muff, but where the 10nF cap in the tonestack was changed to a 33nF cap, moving the mid notch down from around 1kHz to 700Hz and making it deeper, giving the fuzz a fairly different, more heavy metal kind of character.

Have fun

[Processaurus]

I cropped this from the schemetic and added where the input and output should be(at least i think that is where they go)

How would I add bass, mid, and low?

You'd want to use a different design.  The Big muffs charm is that it is one knob, that can give you access to a Bass boost, mid notch, and nasal treble boost all in one knob.  You can see that illustrated well with the simulator thing.

[wampcat1]

I think I have figured out how the volume control works on a pedal, and now it is time to learn how tone control works, before I move on to overdrive. Is there a schematic with just a tone control so it will work(no mods or anything, just bare bones).

In it's most simplest form, a bare bones tone control:


For the volume, think of it this way. A volume control is like a brake pedal on a car. Imagine the gas pedal is stuck wide open. Push the brake to go slower, right? For pedals, turning the knob starts to send more and more signal to ground, which 'puts the brakes' on the signal.

Hope that helps!

Brian

[Pex657]

The signal is split in two, then one half has the treble cut and the other half has the bass cut.
The tone pot blends the two signals back together.  Equal mix = no change, unequal mix = treble cut or bass cut.

Is this how all tone pots work, or just the Muff one?

For the volume, think of it this way. A volume control is like a brake pedal on a car. Imagine the gas pedal is stuck wide open. Push the brake to go slower, right? For pedals, turning the knob starts to send more and more signal to ground, which 'puts the brakes' on the signal.

You have one for tone?  Thanks for that, that makes it alot easier to understand.

[wampcat1]

For the volume, think of it this way. A volume control is like a brake pedal on a car. Imagine the gas pedal is stuck wide open. Push the brake to go slower, right? For pedals, turning the knob starts to send more and more signal to ground, which 'puts the brakes' on the signal.

You have one for tone?  Thanks for that, that makes it alot easier to understand.

Sure...another corny "wampler quote"... here ya go...

A tone control can also be called a 'low pass' filter. In other words, the lows pass on through, while the highs get filtered. Think of it this way...imagine that naggin' wife yippin' and yappin'. If you stick a sock in her mouth, you would still hear the mumbles, or at least the lower frequencies of her yapper, but not the highs which is what you would need to hear what the heck she's complaining about this time. Now assume the sock has a knob on it. The more you turn the knob, the more the sock drowns out the noise.

Ok, bad analogy, I know... 

Take care,
Brian

(by the way, my wife is WONDERFUL... this is all just hypothetical) (in case she's reading!  )

[Pex657]

If i use the bare bone schematic, but instead of grounding, it run it through another pot with a different value capicator, then ground, is that how the treble, mid, and bass are made?