Home of Tone 'treble bleed' kits - Various types
Please use the tabs below to read through the information about this product.
About
These Treble Bleed kits are made using high quality components and are soldered here at the Home of Tone. I have been trying to put together a good collection of popular treble bleed cap and resistor combinations for those that are either experimenting with treble bleed kits or already have a specific requirement in mind. Hopefully the spec you require, is catered for here.
Soldered using R-Tech Premium Lead-Free (Sn95.5Ag3.9Cu0.6) 22swg Solder wire.
RoHS Compliant components used throughout, including the solder and heat shrink tubing supplied with the kit. If you need to see any of the compliance certificates, do please just ask and they'll be forwarded to you.
How to install
Treble bleed kits are a simple mod, and very easy to wire in. They simply wire on the input and output lugs of your guitar's volume control pot and the result is a smoothed out treble and a more uniform tone from 1 to 10. Reducing the otherwise natural treble drop out as the volume pot rolls off. But different values or wiring style can vary in it's response and which is the 'best' truly is personal taste, based on your signal chain, and even cable lengths used though I'm afraid! I have written a blog article on the subject, which may well help you find the right one for you or help in your experimentation. There is also a brief description of each below. You can read that main article HERE
How many do I need?
These are listed individually. If you purchase one Treble Bleed 'kit' you will receive one cap and resistor, pre soldered and ready to solder onto your volume pot. So if for example you have a Les Paul that has two volume controls and you want one on each volume, you will require x2 Treble Bleed Kits if you wish to have them on both volume controls. If you have a Telecaster or a Stratocaster that only has one volume control for example, you will just need to purchase x1.
How do they work?
The treble bleed mod takes the 'high' treble tone frequencies out of the circuit at the volume pot, and puts them back in the circuit as the signal leaves the volume pot. This means the treble frequencies are prevented from naturally bleeding out of the circuit as your turn your volume pot down.
How can I choose the right spec for me?
I'm not going to sugar coat it, this is a tricky thing to answer, our personal preferences ultimately are the deciding factor, so what's right for one player, might not be right for another. But that's just the subjective side of it, the pratical side of it takes into account the length of the instrument cable(s) and material of the cable that you are using (as they too have a capacitance), volume pot value/spec (250k, 500k, 1MEG etc), your signal chain, pickups, gain levels etc, all do ultimately influence how a particular treble bleed may suit your requirements.
You can use just a capacitor on it's own between the input and output lugs on your volume pot, some guitar manufacturers supply exactly that pre-installed on many production guitars, but more often than not, that may be a little 'extreme' for most applications, and the handling of the treble frequencies through the sweep might not be totally pleasing to the ear. Many players finding that a cap only treble bleed, (a common value for this is a .001uF for example) sounds too 'thin' through the sweep, not usually a very desirable sound for us fussy guitarists huh. That's why you'll usually see resistors included on a treble bleed cap too, either in parallel, in series or a combination of both. This can help tame and 'balance out' so to speak the way the frequencies are handled, but it's not all great news, as the wrong spec could also cause un-desirable results, subjectively of course.
If you're mostly playing at home, therefore more than likely using a shorter cable length, then you may want to try out a treble bleed with a cap somewhere in the region of 560pF or 680pF for example sake. Loosely to help match up to the 'shorter' instrument cable length capacitance which does influence the functionality here. Longer cable lengths, 30ft for example, more gig friendly cable lengths etc, you might be looking somewhere in the region of a .001uF or .0012uF for the same reasons as above. I will note that most manufacturers that pre-intall a treble bleed on their intruments will likely be using a cap value around this kind of spec. Then resistor choice might be more based upon the pot(s) in your guitar, single coil equipped guitars that more than likely have 250k pots installed might better suit resistors around the 120Kohm region, whereas a humbucker or P90 equipped guitar with 500k pots installed might better suit resistors around the 150-300kOhm region, again with many other factors to consider of course. Additional series resistors can help further refine the response through the sweep, if you find a single resistor in parallel not quite suiting your requirements. So that might help in narrowing down the choice of specs to suit your requirements first. But it's also worth having a look to see if the guitar manufacturer or pickup manufacturer for example have a recommended spec, they may have done some testing to find a particular value that suited their design/specs well, I've noted what some of those might be in the lists below too if that helps further.
For some specific applications, due to cable lengths, due to exact pot specs, due to the signal chain (clean, gain levels, amounts of pedals etc etc) you may find that a parallel wired resistor has an un-likable change to your actual pot taper, this is also an example where perhaps an alternative like a series wired, or parallel and series wired combination may suit. Sometimes I'm afraid it can involve some experimentation to find the perfect spec for you. But I hope this info helps, and the brief run-down below on which guitar and/or pickup brands use and recommend as a further guide/baseline reference to start the experiments off with.
Spec Options
.001uF cap & 120kOhm resistor (Parallel) - This is a solid choice for most players and guitar types. To make things a bit easier, I have been offering this as the standard choice in my wiring harness kits for years and customer feedback has been great.
.001uF Capacitor & 100kOhm Resistor (Parallel) - Popular choice on Seymour Duncan wiring diagrams for their pickups
.001uF cap & 150kOhm resistor (Parallel) - Popular choice on TV Jones wiring diagrams for their pickups (Photo of this spec to follow)
.0012uF Capacitor & 130kOhm Resistor (Series) - The popular 'Kinman' mod. (to install, position the resistor lead out side on the input lug of the volume pot)
.0012uF Capacitor & 150kOhm Resistor (Parallel, with an additional 20kOhm resistor in Series) - Commonly seen in factory Fender instruments for example. (to install, position the series resistor lead out side on the input lug of the volume pot)
560pF Capacitor & 300kOhm Resistor (Parallel) - Popular choice on DiMarzio wiring diagrams for their pickups
680pF Capacitor & 150kOhm Resistor (Parallel) - Commonly seen installed on Suhr instruments
680pF Capacitor & 220kOhm Resistor (Parallel) - This spec was seen on the original run of Tom Delonge Signature Fender Stratocasters. I have been using this spec on my Delonge pre-wired volume pot kits, but thought it might be useful to offer it separately.
Ordering/shipping
Local pickup - If you are local and wish to collect any items or order in advance for collection on a specific day, then you can still place an order online and select local pickup at the checkout. Or drop me a message and I'll reserve the items ready for your visit.
For online ordering and dispatch - In stock, non made to order items are processed and dispatched 4 days a week; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.
For orders that are placed on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday I have an order cut off time of 14:00GMT (with Royal Mail shipping services only) to allow me chance to process, pack and dispatch your order same day.
For non dispatch days (Saturday, Sunday, & Thursday) there is no order cut-off time, and these will be processed, packed and shipped on the closest following dispatch day.
I will always endeavor to fulfill orders as quickly as I can and if you have specific requirements for a delivery date please do let me know and hopefully I can help.
If you have more queries regarding order placing, processing, fulfillment or general shipping then please see the FAQ page HERE
Please use the tabs below to read through the information about this product.
About
These Treble Bleed kits are made using high quality components and are soldered here at the Home of Tone. I have been trying to put together a good collection of popular treble bleed cap and resistor combinations for those that are either experimenting with treble bleed kits or already have a specific requirement in mind. Hopefully the spec you require, is catered for here.
Soldered using R-Tech Premium Lead-Free (Sn95.5Ag3.9Cu0.6) 22swg Solder wire.
RoHS Compliant components used throughout, including the solder and heat shrink tubing supplied with the kit. If you need to see any of the compliance certificates, do please just ask and they'll be forwarded to you.
How to install
Treble bleed kits are a simple mod, and very easy to wire in. They simply wire on the input and output lugs of your guitar's volume control pot and the result is a smoothed out treble and a more uniform tone from 1 to 10. Reducing the otherwise natural treble drop out as the volume pot rolls off. But different values or wiring style can vary in it's response and which is the 'best' truly is personal taste, based on your signal chain, and even cable lengths used though I'm afraid! I have written a blog article on the subject, which may well help you find the right one for you or help in your experimentation. There is also a brief description of each below. You can read that main article HERE
How many do I need?
These are listed individually. If you purchase one Treble Bleed 'kit' you will receive one cap and resistor, pre soldered and ready to solder onto your volume pot. So if for example you have a Les Paul that has two volume controls and you want one on each volume, you will require x2 Treble Bleed Kits if you wish to have them on both volume controls. If you have a Telecaster or a Stratocaster that only has one volume control for example, you will just need to purchase x1.
How do they work?
The treble bleed mod takes the 'high' treble tone frequencies out of the circuit at the volume pot, and puts them back in the circuit as the signal leaves the volume pot. This means the treble frequencies are prevented from naturally bleeding out of the circuit as your turn your volume pot down.
How can I choose the right spec for me?
I'm not going to sugar coat it, this is a tricky thing to answer, our personal preferences ultimately are the deciding factor, so what's right for one player, might not be right for another. But that's just the subjective side of it, the pratical side of it takes into account the length of the instrument cable(s) and material of the cable that you are using (as they too have a capacitance), volume pot value/spec (250k, 500k, 1MEG etc), your signal chain, pickups, gain levels etc, all do ultimately influence how a particular treble bleed may suit your requirements.
You can use just a capacitor on it's own between the input and output lugs on your volume pot, some guitar manufacturers supply exactly that pre-installed on many production guitars, but more often than not, that may be a little 'extreme' for most applications, and the handling of the treble frequencies through the sweep might not be totally pleasing to the ear. Many players finding that a cap only treble bleed, (a common value for this is a .001uF for example) sounds too 'thin' through the sweep, not usually a very desirable sound for us fussy guitarists huh. That's why you'll usually see resistors included on a treble bleed cap too, either in parallel, in series or a combination of both. This can help tame and 'balance out' so to speak the way the frequencies are handled, but it's not all great news, as the wrong spec could also cause un-desirable results, subjectively of course.
If you're mostly playing at home, therefore more than likely using a shorter cable length, then you may want to try out a treble bleed with a cap somewhere in the region of 560pF or 680pF for example sake. Loosely to help match up to the 'shorter' instrument cable length capacitance which does influence the functionality here. Longer cable lengths, 30ft for example, more gig friendly cable lengths etc, you might be looking somewhere in the region of a .001uF or .0012uF for the same reasons as above. I will note that most manufacturers that pre-intall a treble bleed on their intruments will likely be using a cap value around this kind of spec. Then resistor choice might be more based upon the pot(s) in your guitar, single coil equipped guitars that more than likely have 250k pots installed might better suit resistors around the 120Kohm region, whereas a humbucker or P90 equipped guitar with 500k pots installed might better suit resistors around the 150-300kOhm region, again with many other factors to consider of course. Additional series resistors can help further refine the response through the sweep, if you find a single resistor in parallel not quite suiting your requirements. So that might help in narrowing down the choice of specs to suit your requirements first. But it's also worth having a look to see if the guitar manufacturer or pickup manufacturer for example have a recommended spec, they may have done some testing to find a particular value that suited their design/specs well, I've noted what some of those might be in the lists below too if that helps further.
For some specific applications, due to cable lengths, due to exact pot specs, due to the signal chain (clean, gain levels, amounts of pedals etc etc) you may find that a parallel wired resistor has an un-likable change to your actual pot taper, this is also an example where perhaps an alternative like a series wired, or parallel and series wired combination may suit. Sometimes I'm afraid it can involve some experimentation to find the perfect spec for you. But I hope this info helps, and the brief run-down below on which guitar and/or pickup brands use and recommend as a further guide/baseline reference to start the experiments off with.
Spec Options
.001uF cap & 120kOhm resistor (Parallel) - This is a solid choice for most players and guitar types. To make things a bit easier, I have been offering this as the standard choice in my wiring harness kits for years and customer feedback has been great.
.001uF Capacitor & 100kOhm Resistor (Parallel) - Popular choice on Seymour Duncan wiring diagrams for their pickups
.001uF cap & 150kOhm resistor (Parallel) - Popular choice on TV Jones wiring diagrams for their pickups (Photo of this spec to follow)
.0012uF Capacitor & 130kOhm Resistor (Series) - The popular 'Kinman' mod. (to install, position the resistor lead out side on the input lug of the volume pot)
.0012uF Capacitor & 150kOhm Resistor (Parallel, with an additional 20kOhm resistor in Series) - Commonly seen in factory Fender instruments for example. (to install, position the series resistor lead out side on the input lug of the volume pot)
560pF Capacitor & 300kOhm Resistor (Parallel) - Popular choice on DiMarzio wiring diagrams for their pickups
680pF Capacitor & 150kOhm Resistor (Parallel) - Commonly seen installed on Suhr instruments
680pF Capacitor & 220kOhm Resistor (Parallel) - This spec was seen on the original run of Tom Delonge Signature Fender Stratocasters. I have been using this spec on my Delonge pre-wired volume pot kits, but thought it might be useful to offer it separately.
Ordering/shipping
Local pickup - If you are local and wish to collect any items or order in advance for collection on a specific day, then you can still place an order online and select local pickup at the checkout. Or drop me a message and I'll reserve the items ready for your visit.
For online ordering and dispatch - In stock, non made to order items are processed and dispatched 4 days a week; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.
For orders that are placed on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday I have an order cut off time of 14:00GMT (with Royal Mail shipping services only) to allow me chance to process, pack and dispatch your order same day.
For non dispatch days (Saturday, Sunday, & Thursday) there is no order cut-off time, and these will be processed, packed and shipped on the closest following dispatch day.
I will always endeavor to fulfill orders as quickly as I can and if you have specific requirements for a delivery date please do let me know and hopefully I can help.
If you have more queries regarding order placing, processing, fulfillment or general shipping then please see the FAQ page HERE