Deadpool_25
Fractal Fanatic
A post on another forum got me looking a little into how amp tone stacks work. From what this article says (seems legit, but I don't know for sure), amp tone controls in a Bassman-style circuit (which apparently is quite common) don't necessarily work all that intuitively.
- Treble actually reduces bass and mids*
- Bass actually reduces mids and treble*
- Mid is actually a volume boost, boosting all frequencies
*Perhaps with a corresponding overall gain boost to make up for the loss of volume from lowering a section of the frequency curve.
Here's a quote from the linked article about this type of circuit:
"From a perfectionist/engineering standpoint, there is a lot wrong with this circuit. The controls are complexly interactive. There is no really flat setting, as there is a residual midrange scoop unless the Treble and Bass controls are fully down. The action of the Bass control is very uneven for normal taper controls. While the Mid control appears to affect only the mids, it is actually a form of volume control that affects all frequencies, but is the only control that also affects mids. Although it has several imperfections, this tone stack actually helps some of the quirks of guitar, so it works well."
Does boosting the mids actually work more as a volume boost than a tone-shaping tool?
Do amp manufacturers usually compensate for these things with hardwired EQ (high/low pass filtering?) before it even hits the tone stack?
Maybe this is all old news to you guys, but I did find it interesting.
- Treble actually reduces bass and mids*
- Bass actually reduces mids and treble*
- Mid is actually a volume boost, boosting all frequencies
*Perhaps with a corresponding overall gain boost to make up for the loss of volume from lowering a section of the frequency curve.
Here's a quote from the linked article about this type of circuit:
"From a perfectionist/engineering standpoint, there is a lot wrong with this circuit. The controls are complexly interactive. There is no really flat setting, as there is a residual midrange scoop unless the Treble and Bass controls are fully down. The action of the Bass control is very uneven for normal taper controls. While the Mid control appears to affect only the mids, it is actually a form of volume control that affects all frequencies, but is the only control that also affects mids. Although it has several imperfections, this tone stack actually helps some of the quirks of guitar, so it works well."
Does boosting the mids actually work more as a volume boost than a tone-shaping tool?
Do amp manufacturers usually compensate for these things with hardwired EQ (high/low pass filtering?) before it even hits the tone stack?
Maybe this is all old news to you guys, but I did find it interesting.