Sometimes a tone control matches perfectly with a set of pickups, whether it’s getting the perfect capacitor value, pot taper, or a myriad of other factors. Our Reactive Tone Control guarantees this magic every time. There is also a difference in the way a passive coil interacts with a standard tone control, vs a low impedance buffered signal. With our Reactive Tone Control, this expressive interaction is taken to the next level in a way that sweeps through many more sonic textures than just a simple treble roll off.
On vintage, passive pickup systems, the effect of the tone control was often not limited to simply rolling off the “high-end”. Those classic tone circuits frequently had the tendency to morph and shape the sound in interactive ways, allowing for cocked wah-type effects, or fully rolled off for the elusive “woman tone”. With the Fluence Reactive Tone module, we’ve brought this flexibility and functionality to active tone circuits.
Starting from fully clockwise, the upper adjustment range precisely attenuates the treble frequencies while leaving the midrange intact. As the control approaches full counterclockwise, the response shifts to resonate with the main tone capacitor, creating a dark vocal tone. This action will feel very vocal and usable to those accustomed to tone controls of traditional passive pickups.
The wiring method is similar to a volume control in that there is an input and an output. From a signal flow standpoint, placing the tone control before the volume is recommended so that the volume can be adjusted without affecting the tonal response This is unlike many passive tone control wiring schemes, but should produce the optimal result, although other wiring schemes and experimenting are encouraged.
Similar to tone controls for passive pickups, if the reactive tone control needs to follow a volume control (such as with a dual volume / single tone configuration) the tone control will operate in the optimal fashion when the volume control is at maximum. The reactive tone circuit is tuned and optimized for pickups with a 2k output impedance.
Even more expressive and interactive than a vintage passive tone control.
Usable on any and all Fluence products.
In the bag:
- Reactive Tone Control Module
- .47uF Capacitor
- Installation Guide
