Varitone Switch

[Nodd]

Having recently acquired a Squier Precision Special as my 'laboratory' bass
and having already fitted a new scratchplate (BassDoc) and chrome pick up cover.
I though I'd make my first foray into a change in the control cavity....

I had been looking at and listening to the various options available on the "Varitone" type switchable tone control front.
as is usual with the F-Type basses the tone control is pretty useless, both on my Squier and my P.
I wasn't going to flash the cash on a Stellartone but thought I'd try one of the cheaper options.
I decided to try this:

6 position VARITONE switch for guitar and bass

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251515829199?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649"]http://www.ebay.co.u...984.m1439.l2649[/url]

not much of a gamble at £14.99, no battery - passive.
Installation looked relatively straight forward.

However, it took a fair bit of finessing to make it fit in the cavity.
Not the fault of the unit,
rather that the space available was tight, too shallow
and wouldn't allow me to line it up with the existing position on the pick guard.
So some delicate filing of the pot, a bit of digging out of the cavity...and some elongation of the pick guard hole later
and its in!
The actual replacement of the component was easy, solder off the old, solder in the new. No Battery

It has definitely improved the options.
There are 6 settings - one being bypass.
At least four of them are useful, its surprising the different sound characteristics available from it.
Yes, it also affects the output level but that can be trimmed on the Vol. controls.

The seller was really helpful as I figured out the fitting issues, and I've given him some feedback.
Now, should I add one to my Fender P?
Although I won't if it means working on the cavity.

[Greggo]

What does this switch do? What are the sounds from it? Sounds interesting.

[dannybuoy]

They use different combinations of capacitors and resistors to apply a different range of treble roll-off than possible with a standard tone control. So instead of having a lot of your midrange disappear when you roll off the tone control for example, you could have a fixed preset with a sharper roll-off, allowing you to remove highs without impacting the mids as much.

These are a much cheaper option than the Tonestyler though, tempted to pick one up now!

[Shaggy]

Reviving an old thread about varitones, rather than starting a new one - just wondering if any BCers are fans of them? (Or otherwise.....  )

My only previous experience was on a BC Rich CS NT Eagle bass, which rather bizarrely had a 9V active output boost with  passive Varitone, which to be honest I wasn't too impressed with and usually left on "bypass".   Generally I prefer passive basses anyway, and rarely touch the treble roll-off tone control. 

However, I was recently looking for a decent wiring harness to put in my latest bitsa P bass build, and bought one off this forum from (top fella) greenolive, which had an integral Tonestyler Varitone:    http://www.stellartone.com/Page.asp?NavID=313 - replacing the tone control, with the standard tone control on a stacked double pot with the volume control.   Thought I'd give it a go, especially as it was only a couple of quid more than a standard P harness, and the components were top notch.

Have to say I'm knocked out by how good it is; the darker settings give a thick, punchy bass and midrange with all of the growl and clarity intact and none of the woolly mushiness of a standard passive tone - really usefully sculpts the sound.   Wonder why varitones aren't more widely used?   

[Shaggy]

Do I get a prize for "least interesting thread of the week"?

[NancyJohnson]

When Neephid was doing his Gibson Ripper Rescue, he installed a Varitone on that. 

If I can throw in my 2cents here, I own a guitar with a six position Varitone on it.  It is an interesting thing; way more so than a straight tone knob.  Generally, I'll just leave it #1 position (Open/Bypass), but the other five settings give a tremendous amount of variety.  Interestingly, some outboard effects that sound terrible in position #1 sound fantastic in different positions, so it can open up for a bit of experimentation.  I love #6...it just squeezes the output and the guitar sounds like shortwave radio.  Great for introductions.

P

 

Position 1: Bypass,
Position 2: 5db at 1950hz,
Position 3: 12db at 1100hz,
Position 4: 16db at 620hz,
Position 5: 18.5db at 360hz,
Position 6: 21db at 120hz.

[EliasMooseblaster]

On 3/16/2018 at 19:52, Shaggy said:

Have to say I'm knocked out by how good it is; the darker settings give a thick, punchy bass and midrange with all of the growl and clarity intact and none of the woolly mushiness of a standard passive tone - really usefully sculpts the sound.   Wonder why varitones aren't more widely used?   

They were de rigeur on a lot of the early Gibson designs - there are many people on this very forum who'll tell you that any SG bass reissue isn't worth its salt unless it has the varitone fitted (or at least the bass choke option). I do wonder if their lack of uptake elsewhere correlates at all with Gibson's general struggle to produce commercially successful basses - the Thunderbird, after all, only has a passive tone control.

[Mathieu Therrien]

On 19/03/2018 at 08:27, NancyJohnson said:

When Neephid was doing his Gibson Ripper Rescue, he installed a Varitone on that. 

If I can throw in my 2cents here, I own a guitar with a six position Varitone on it.  It is an interesting thing; way more so than a straight tone knob.  Generally, I'll just leave it #1 position (Open/Bypass), but the other five settings give a tremendous amount of variety.  Interestingly, some outboard effects that sound terrible in position #1 sound fantastic in different positions, so it can open up for a bit of experimentation.  I love #6...it just squeezes the output and the guitar sounds like shortwave radio.  Great for introductions.

P

 

Position 1: Bypass,
Position 2: 5db at 1950hz,
Position 3: 12db at 1100hz,
Position 4: 16db at 620hz,
Position 5: 18.5db at 360hz,
Position 6: 21db at 120hz.

Hi Nancy,

I have a problem with my varitone 6 positions on my Ripper 2009. Can you find me the diagram please? Gibson don't have it anymore. I would like to know what your contact did to fixthe problem.

Please, I need your help.

Thank you! 

Edited March 30, 2021 by Mathieu Therrien

[NancyJohnson]

40 minutes ago, Mathieu Therrien said:

Hi Nancy,

I have a problem with my varitone 6 positions on my Ripper 2009. Can you find me the diagram please? Gibson don't have it anymore. I would like to know what your contact did to fixthe problem.

Please, I need your help.

Thank you! 

If you haven't already done so, I'd shoot a message to @neepheid about the varitone; mine isn't fitted to a bass, it's on an Epiphone Phant-o-Matic guitar:

You've not been specific about what the issue is, but maybe if it's a general fault with an existing one, rather than repair, just consider replacing it.  They are available easily enough (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-position-VARITONE-switch-for-guitar-and-bass-Longer-Thread/254905423963?hash=item3b598c185b:g:v6AAAOSwH2VcBFiW).

 

[Mathieu Therrien]

Hi Nancy,

You said in your message that a friend of you put it on is reissue Ripper 2009, Is it correct?

I realy  need a photo or a diagram of is manner to plug it. 
 

sorry for my bad english 

thank you

Edited March 30, 2021 by Mathieu Therrien

[Mathieu Therrien]

3 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

If you haven't already done so, I'd shoot a message to @neepheid about the varitone; mine isn't fitted to a bass, it's on an Epiphone Phant-o-Matic guitar:

You've not been specific about what the issue is, but maybe if it's a general fault with an existing one, rather than repair, just consider replacing it.  They are available easily enough (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-position-VARITONE-switch-for-guitar-and-bass-Longer-Thread/254905423963?hash=item3b598c185b:g:v6AAAOSwH2VcBFiW).

 

 

Hi Nancy,

You said in your message that a friend of you put it on is reissue Ripper 2009, Is it correct?

I realy  need a photo or a diagram of is manner to plug it. 
 

sorry for my bad english 

thank you

[NancyJohnson]

44 minutes ago, Mathieu Therrien said:

Hi Nancy,

You said in your message that a friend of you put it on is reissue Ripper 2009, Is it correct?

I realy  need a photo or a diagram of is manner to plug it. 
 

sorry for my bad english 

thank you

It was Neephid (a member here) who renovated a Ripper.  Send him a message!

@neepheid. 

[Geek99]

1 hour ago, Mathieu Therrien said:

 

 

Hi Nancy,

You said in your message that a friend of you put it on is reissue Ripper 2009, Is it correct?

I realy  need a photo or a diagram of is manner to plug it. 
 

sorry for my bad english 

thank you

Your English is fine, stop apologising for it. You are allowed to apologise for Macron though 

[neepheid]

I think that's my name been mentioned three times

Unfortunately I've never wired a 6 position Ripper, only the original 4 position one. Also, the term "varitone" is a little misleading here - in a Ripper (4 or 6 position) it has nothing to do with tone - it is just a pickup switch.  "Varitone" as I understand it is a way of switching in different caps or whatnot to alter the tone of whatever is going through it, but happy to be corrected on that one.

The only thing I've managed to find so far is Gibson's description of what the 6 positions do:

The new six-position selector knob lets you dial in six very different tone selections. In position one you get the bridge pickup only. Position two gives you the second coil of the neck pickup and the first coil of the bridge pickup. Position three delivers the first coil of the bridge pickup. Position four dials in the second coil of the neck pickup. Position five gives you the first coil of the neck pickup and the second coil of the bridge pickup. And the sixth position gives you only the neck pickup. 

So, assuming we're talking (from the neck down) it's neck coil 1, neck coil 2, bridge coil 1, bridge coil 2, we can translate from Gibsonspeak as follows:

Position 1 - bridge only (both coils)
Position 2 - both pickups (single coils, inner)
Position 3 - bridge only (coil 1 only)
Position 4 - neck only (coil 2 only)
Position 5 - both pickups (single coils, outer)
Position 6 - neck only (both coils)

I am assuming that all wiring is parallel.  That's a lot of assume, sorry.  You're going to need someone who knows a lot more about electronics and wiring than me, but a wizard should be able to translate the above into switch wiring.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Matt

[Mathieu Therrien]

Thank you

[andruca]

I've swapped the VVTT layout in my Star Bass to VVT plus a rotary switch to change tone cap value. REALLY USEFUL. In my case it was homemade (some 2€ total). The usual 47nF is too damm dark for any passive bass I've owned. My preferred zone usually lies between the 20nF and 32nF positions.

Edited March 31, 2021 by andruca

[Guest]

On 18/03/2018 at 15:15, Shaggy said:

Do I get a prize for "least interesting thread of the week"?

Is three years too late to be saying, not at all?

I'm now daydreaming of adding a push/pull switch to a tone knob, to give an alternative tone cap value, as just two options would be enough for me 😌

[Owen]

I am almost certain that Kiogon has something like this ready to go in a box.

[itu]

Yes, @KiOgon has done this type of switch. Please ask him.

[durhamboy]

I've used a couple of the varitone's from Bloodstone in the UK, , 6 position and nicely put together. Not expensive either, even when shipping to Australia. I've wired them after the existing tone pot, as opposed to instead of. The lengthy instructions from the maker explains the variations in effect for those options.  Given position one on the varitone is strait through, no load, the controls can operate as normal when required.

[KiOgon]

5 hours ago, Ricky Rioli said:

I'm now daydreaming of adding a push/pull switch to a tone knob,

2 hours ago, owen said:

I am almost certain that Kiogon has something like this ready to go in a box.

 

1 hour ago, itu said:

Yes, @KiOgon has done this type of switch. Please ask him.

to give an alternative tone cap value, as just two options would be enough for me 😌

@Nodd, @Greggo,

Hi guys,

Yes I do a simplified - but adequate and very affordable version 😎

4 position rotary switch, fits in a 3/8" 'pothole' and gives you; 1 Kill, 2 By-pass, 3 33nF, 4 100nF

Other cap values can be used, but those give a good differential and I think cover most needs.

Solderless installation, screw terminals, can replace a tone pot, standard P-bass knob fits or Chicken Head.

PM me if interested please.

Cheerz, John

 

Edited March 31, 2021 by KiOgon
smelling pisstakes

[Nodd]

Well, I'm back on this topic.

I'm planning on adding a tone selector to my Fender P.

Just not 100% sure on the cabling connections, can anyone help.

Or should i get our man Klogon to sort me a loom?

Thanks, Nodd

 

[Woodinblack]

I assume you are also removing the tone, so connect the black wire to the existing green wire, and connect the red wire to where the white wire on the tone connects (or indeed, to the white wire)

[Nodd]

As you assumed , I will be swapping out the tone for the varitone.

I thank you very much for your prompt and helpful reply.

Cheers, Nodd