A wider tone control on strat pickups

[unguitar]

Hi,
finally I have the 3 strat type installed on my Klein.
I just wanted to ask about adding some more controls beside the tone filter that comes with them.
I would like to check if there is the chance to have some control over mids.
I find that when I set the tone to the flat position to get the right balance between highs and lows I am missing some useful mids as well.
So, I'd like to know if there is something I can add ( or modify) to get more control over the tone shaping.
A separate low/mid/high control would be the best I think.
 
Any tips for me ?
 
Thanks a lot,
Luca

[lbpesq]

Luca:
 
You may be misunderstanding the tone control on the Alembic pickups.  I have these on a Fender Strat 12.  The tone is actually a low pass filter.  Fully rotated to the right, the 10 position, the full signal from the pickups is being out-putted.  As you rotate the filter counter-clockwise you are cutting off the signal from the high end down, and alowing all frequencies below the cut-off point to pass through.  Experimenting with the filter will reveal that it is VERY sensitive.  A very small adjustment can make a surpprising difference in the guitar's tone.  Another variable you can tweak with is the gain of the preamp.  There should be a trimpot on the circuit card that can adjust the preamp gain.  Make VERY small adjustments as you experiment with this.  One mod you can do that will add a lot to the Alembic electronics is to add a Q switch which will boost the frequency at the cut-off point at which the lowpass filter is set.  You might want to call Mica or Val and ask about the Q switch mod or any other questions you may have.
 
Bill, the guitar one

[unguitar]

Hi Bill,
it seems we guitar players are a small minority on this forum, so thanks twice for your help...
I know about the bass pass filter, my only problem is its response/curve: I think the filter is set to start very high in Hz, so that when it comes to the heart of guitar frequencies the spot where you can move is really small.
I think this filter should be the same that is found on basses; there it make sense to have it open this much in the high end as that is the frequency where you can help slap dynamics and harmonics to come out from a bass, where you have to gain high frequencies because there are no string notes that are close to be so high in pitch.
On guitar we have notes that are playing in that freq. range so that the filter open means to have the whole notes come out very clear and bright, sounding as there was a piezo pickup.
I am thinking about a filter that cuts the highs with a longer curve, allowing you to reach the position you get with the bass pot at 1/2 of its range with a more subtle passage.
Still think that these pickups would need some mid boost.
I read some docs about the Q-switch and I don't think it will be a solution for what I'm looking for.
As I understand it is a boost which acts on a frequency positioned at half between the current high cut and the bass.
This means that to choose its operating position you have to cut highs accordingly.
This means that to have the desidered mid boost could mean that you are having too much or too little highs.
I want to choose the mid boost range and its Q possibily ( Q here is not the dB value but the size or the affected frequencies around its center).
So, I am open to any suggestion, I just wait for them !
thanks,
Luca

[jazzyvee]

I'll be watching this discussion as I also have alembic strat pickups in my fender strat and there are some strange things going on with the sweep in the filter. Also, the battery went flat in a few weeks so there may be a short somewhere.

[lbpesq]

Luca:
 
One other thought you might want to consider.  Have you ever tried an SF-2?
 
Bill, tgo

[unguitar]

Hi Bill,
no, I don't.
I own a wonderful and very old Preamp though...
I don't want to have any other rack things in my setup so I am looking for an on-board solution.
Thanks anyway,
Luca