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Tone Control cap/taper conundrum


tomteriffic

Question

Posted

I've had probably 20 Hamers through my hands over the years, from 1979 to 2008 models. One of the things I've liked about them is the usability and smooth taper of the tone control. But looking at it objectively, the behavior of the tone controls has been kind of hit-and-miss.

The current working dog fave is a 2005 Studio that I have tweaked very nearly to the way I like 'em. The last hitch is the tone control. It's one of those ones where most of the action is bunched up at one end of the dial. Not as bad as some I've seen, where there may as well be a switch instead of a pot, but it's still all below about 3 1/2 on the dial.

I checked the wiring and it appears to be all stock and unmolested. but the solder on the back of the tone pot case makes it impossible to discern the type (value and taper) that it is.

I like to set my tone at about a "5" default value and roll it up or down as the song/situation demands. Is there sometweak that could be applied to even this out?

OH, BTW, I'm aware that different amp input impedances can have an effect on tone control behavior, but this seems pretty consistent across several tube and hybrid amps.

2 answers to this question

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Posted

What kind and value of pot will vary depending on what you like.

Most Hamers use 500k audio (logrythmic) taper pots for both volume and tone. (it's actually their own custom taper - not sure what exactly, but i really like them for volume).

For tone, if you use a linear pot, you will get a more even control through the entire sweep of the pot. That's what i like, personally, but...

If you use a volume (log taper) pot, most of the control is between 7 and 10, that leaves 0 through 7 to dial in that "woman tone". Some folks like this. Personally, i've never been too fond of that tone, so i don't need 70% of my tone pot dedicated to dialing it in. B)

I also like smaller cap values - .010u or .015u as opposed to the "normal" 0.22u to .047u found in a lot of guitars. I *think* Hamer's older models used a 0.47u, but i'm not sure. Most of their newer Studios / Artists that i've had seems to have .010u. This makes the tone control more usable (for me) as i really don't like getting ito those dark areas that the bigger value caps will do.

Hope that helps. Have fun. :)

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