Can Treble Bleeds Suck Bass/Fullness?

[Junk Yard Dog]

My tech installed treble bleeds on my Les Paul, for both humbuckers. It works as expressed: stays clear and clean when rolling back the volume. But, I feel like the bridge humbucker especially lost some overall bass and power.

Can treble bleeds contribute to some power loss? I feel like it lost a little bit of its balls. ??

 

[ChurchHill]

Basically, yes, that's been my experience, too. It depends a lot on the values of the capacitor & resistor used. What's happening is the capacitor is allowing the highs to go around the volume pots. When the volume is up full, there's no effect. When you lower the volume, since the highs are "bypassing" the volume, you're really just turning down the bass. Hope that makes sense.

I've seen some treble bleeds that work a lot better than others, but some of this is personal preference, too, combined with the values of the capacitor and resistor, as well as the value of the pot (depending on the model, between 300-500k for a stock Les Paul), and the dc resistance of the pickup. Hopefully, someone with more knowledge than me can suggest some better values. Personally, I just don't use them as I don't want my cleaner tones to cut quite as well as my full-on tone. YMMV, though, and lots of people swear by them.

 

[8len8]

Too much treble bleed is a bad thing. Everything in moderation.

 

[guitarnerdswe]

As said, when the volume is on 10, it doesn't change anything. Unless something is terrible wrong, it's all placebo.

 

[midnightlaundry]

Treble Bleed sounds like shrill dogshit.. Why the fuck wouldn't you do a 50's wiring in a Les Paul for God sakes??????

 

[scottosan]

Treble Bleed sounds like shrill dogshit.. Why the fuck wouldn't you do a 50's wiring in a Les Paul for God sakes??????

50s wiring is flawed as well for people that use the tone knob you experience volume loss. For me, I don’t use a tone knob at all, so the best solution is to not connect a tone control all. To me you get the best balance when rolling down volume and taper

 

[Tone Ranger]

The Kramer Assault I bought a few years ago had treble bleed. Hated it. Everything under full volume was shrill and icepicky.

 

[gibsonash]

+1 on 50's wiring for full sound ! treble bleed suck for sure

 

[supersonic]

I love treble bleed on my LP, only have it on the bridge P/U. You need to get the cap and resistor values right , then It is glorious,no mud.

 

[ChurchHill]

You need to get the cap and resistor values right , then It is glorious,no mud.

Yeah, that's really the trick, getting the values just right so that they work for you in your guitar.

 

[scottosan]

You need to get the cap and resistor values right , then It is glorious,no mud.

Yeah, that's really the trick, getting the values just right so that they work for you in your guitar.

I use the 150k/680pf. Ceramics can seem a little more shrill but are most commonly uses. I prefer films, but they take up more real-estate.

 

[Scumback Speakers]

+1 on 50's wiring for full sound ! treble bleed suck for sure

+2 here. I tried about 6 different cap/resistor values on various guitars, never was happy with the tone. I did 50's wiring on my guitars and let it go at that, happiness.

 

[zz666]

I spent about a year gigging with different values til I found the ones that worked, very happy.

 

[Junk Yard Dog]

+1 on 50's wiring for full sound ! treble bleed suck for sure

+2 here. I tried about 6 different cap/resistor values on various guitars, never was happy with the tone. I did 50's wiring on my guitars and let it go at that, happiness.

I spent about a year gigging with different values til I found the ones that worked, very happy.

Can you do 50's wiring on an H-H guitar, like a Tele? So one volume, one tone, and a 3 way?

I want to retain all the badassery of my H-H pickups, but retain more clarity when rolling the volume down for cleaner tones.

I played my Les Paul last night, which has the treble bleeds on bridge and neck, and they do sound great when volume is rolled down. Also, I feel like the punch of the humbucker was there, so maybe my initial perception was off.

Still, I'd like to know if 50s wiring provides better clarity when rolling down volume vs. treble bleed.

My tech said that when volume is up on 10, the treble bleed is not in use.

 

[scottosan]

+1 on 50's wiring for full sound ! treble bleed suck for sure

+2 here. I tried about 6 different cap/resistor values on various guitars, never was happy with the tone. I did 50's wiring on my guitars and let it go at that, happiness.

I spent about a year gigging with different values til I found the ones that worked, very happy.

Can you do 50's wiring on an H-H guitar, like a Tele? So one volume, one tone, and a 3 way?

I want to retain all the badassery of my H-H pickups, but retain more clarity when rolling the volume down for cleaner tones.

I played my Les Paul last night, which has the treble bleeds on bridge and neck, and they do sound great when volume is rolled down. Also, I feel like the punch of the humbucker was there, so maybe my initial perception was off.

Still, I'd like to know if 50s wiring provides better clarity when rolling down volume vs. treble bleed.

My tech said that when volume is up on 10, the treble bleed is not in use.

Yes you can and your tech is right. The 50'swiring is basically wiring yur tone pot to the center (wiper) instead of the outer lug. If you do use your tone know, you may experience a slight volume drop when rolling down the tone.

 

[zz666]

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