This month we're taking a look at the Fender Greasebucket tone circuit introduced in 2005 on several guitars in the Highway One series, as well as in various Custom Shop Stratocaster models. The Greasebucket name (which is a registered Fender trademark, by the way) is my favorite when it comes to Fender's habit of choosing cheesy marketing names for new products. But don't let the Greasebucket name fool youāyour tone will get cleaner with this modification, not greasy and dirty. I tried to find out who came up with this name, but it seems that this info is not documented, which is another Fender habit that began in the early '50s.
Here is what Fender says about the Greasebucket: "The Greasebucket tone circuit adds a new dimension to your tone, the effect is that when rolled down, the tone pot reduces the high frequencies, but does not add bass."
Okay, it sounds like this is worth trying out. In fact, many pro players swear by this tone circuit, and it indeed produces a different effect than the standard tone circuit we all know. But don't take the Fender description literallyāa Strat's standard Tone control does not add bass frequencies. With passive electronics, you can't add anything that isn't already thereāyou can only reshape the tone by attenuating certain frequencies, which makes others sound more prominent. Removing highs makes lows more apparent (and vice versa), and that's exactly what we have here: The standard tone control rolls off some high frequencies (depending on the capacitance of the tone cap), making the bass frequencies more prominent.
In addition, the use of inductors (which is what a pickup behaves like in a guitar circuit) and capacitors can create resonant peaks and valleys, further coloring the overall tone. Some people like this interaction, others don'tāit's purely subjective and a matter of personal taste.
Anyhow, the Greasebucket tone control is a cool way to roll off the highs and lows in your guitar while preventing your tone from getting muddy. This is especially helpful for creating sparkling clean tones, but it's also useful for overdriven sounds.
To convert your Strat's normal tone control to Greasebucket specs, you don't need much: 0.1 Ī¼F and 0.022 Ī¼F capacitors (Fender uses ceramic-disc versions), and a 1/4-watt 4.7 kĪ© resistor (Fender uses the metal-film type). If you want to convert both your Strat's tone controls to Greasebucket specs, obviously you'll have to double these parts.
The mod itself is relatively easy. Simply unsolder your tone pot and then connect the new parts as shown in the diagram. (Note that the resistor is soldered in series with the 0.022 Ī¼F cap.) The rest of the Strat wiring, including the volume pot, stays standard.
Fender's Greasebucket circuit in all its glory. (Seymour Duncan and the stylized S are registered trademarks of Seymour Duncan Pickups.)
This wiring diagram comes courtesy of Seymour Duncan Pickups and is used with permission.
This type of band-pass filter only allows certain frequencies to pass through, while others are blocked. The standard tone circuit in the Strat is called a variable low-pass filter (aka a "treble-cut filter"), which allows only the low frequencies to pass through while the high frequencies get sent to ground via the tone cap.
The Greasebucket's bandpass filter is a combination of a high-pass and a low-pass filter. This circuit is designed to cut high frequencies without "adding" bass. Mostly it has to do with that 4.7 kĪ© resistor wired in series with the pot, which prevents the value from reaching zero. You can get a similar effect by simply not turning the Strat's standard tone control all the way down. The additional cap on the wiper of the Greasebucket circuit complicates things a bit, because together with the pickups, it forms an RLC circuit (a resonant circuit comprising a resistor, an inductor, and a capacitor), but that's outside the scope of this column. But the Greasebucket has its own special sound, and I can only encourage everyone to try it. You'll be surprised at its flexibility and tone.
If you're adventurous, you can personalize the Greasebucket circuit with additional mods. For example, you can try different tone-cap values and materials. The 0.022 Ī¼F cap connected to the tone control is the standard configuration we all know from our Strat's tone control. But, as we've discussed several times in previous columns, there are tons of alternatives. You can try other values from 2200 pF up to 0.1 Ī¼F, and also different types of new, used, or new-old-stock (NOS) capsāsuch as metal film, film, paper in oil, waxed paper, and silver mica. Your choices are virtually unlimited.
We'll discuss more Strat modsāsuch as the Fender S-1 switching systemāin the coming months, so stay tuned.
[Updated 9/24/21]
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George Bensonās Dreams Do Come True: When George Benson Meets Robert Farnonwas recorded in 1989. The collaboration came about after Quincy Jones told the guitarist that Farnon was āthe greatest arranger in all the world.ā
On that recommendation,Benson tapped Farnon for a 1989 recording project encompassing the jazz standards āMy Romanceā and āAt Lastā next to mid-century pop chestnut āMy Prayer,ā the Beatlesā āYesterday,ā and Leon Russellās āA Song for You,ā among others.
Across the album, Bensonās voice is the main attraction, enveloped by Farnonās luxuriant big-band and string arrangements that give each track a warm, velveteen sheen. His guitar playing is, of course, in top form, and often sounds as timeless as the tunes they undertake: On āAutumn Leaves,ā you could pluck the stem of the guitar solo and seat it neatly into an organ-combo reading of the tune, harkening back to the guitaristās earlier days. But as great as any George Benson solo is bound to be, on Dreams Do Come True, each is relatively short and supportive. At this phase of his career, as on 1989ās Tenderlyand 1990ās Count Basie Orchestra-backed Big Boss Band, Benson was going through a jazz-singer period. If thereās something that sets the ballad-centric Dreams Do Come Trueapart, itās that those other records take a slightly more varied approach to material and arranging.
When it was finished, the Benson/Farnon collaboration was shelved, and it stayed that way for 35 years. Now released, it provides a deeper revelation into this brief phase of Bensonās career. In 1993, he followed up Big Boss Man with an updated take on the smooth, slick pop that brought him blockbuster fame in the previous two decades and delivered Love Remembers.
Love is Blue (feat. The Robert Farnon Orchestra)
This kind of stylistic jumping around, of musical discovery, is a thread through Bensonās legendary career. From his days as a young child busking in Pittsburgh, where his favorite song to play was āOn the Sunny Side of the Street,ā he evolved through backing Brother Jack McDuff and leading his own organ combo, into his soulful and funky CTI Records phase, where he proved himself one of the most agile and adroit players in the jazz-guitar game. He eventually did the most improbableāand in anyone elseās hands thus far, impossibleāfeat and launched into pop superstardom with 1976ās Breezinā and stayed there for years to come, racking up No. 1 hits and a host of Grammy awards.
At this moment, deep into his career at 81 years old, Benson continues to dive into new settings. While anyone observing from the sidelines might conclude that Benson has already excelled in more varied musical situations than any other instrumentalist, he somehow continues to discover new sides to his musicality. In 2018, he joined the Gorillaz on their technicolor indie-pop single āHumility,ā and in 2020 he tracked his guitar onBootsy Collinsā āThe Power of the One.ā Benson assures me that not only are there more recordings in the archive that heās waiting to reveal, but there are more wide-ranging collaborations to come.
On Dreams Do Come True, Benson covers classic jazz repertoire, plus he revisits the Beatlesāwhose work he covered on 1970ās The Other Side of Abbey Roadāand Leon Russell, whose āThis Masqueradeā brought Benson a 1976 Grammy award for Record of the Year.
PG: The range of songs that youāve played throughout your career, from your jazz records to 1970ās The Other Side ofAbbey Road or 1972ās White Rabbit album to 2019ās Chuck Berry and Fats Domino tribute, Walking to New Orleans, is so broad. Of course, now Iām thinking about the songs on Dreams Do Come True. How do you know when a song is a good fit?
George Benson: Well, you canāt get rid of it. It stays with you all the time. They keep popping up in your memory.
All the stuff that Sinatra did, and Nat King Cole did, and Dean Martin, thatās the stuff I grew up on. I grew up in a multinational neighborhood. There were only 30 African Americans in my school, and they had 1,400 students, but it was a vocational school.
I remember all that stuff like yesterday because itās essential to who I am today. I learned a lot from that. You would think that would be a super negative thing. Some things about it were negativeāyou know, the very fact that there were 1,400 students and only 30 African Americans. But what I learned in school was how to deal with people from all different parts of the world.
After my father made my first electric guitar. I made my second oneā¦.
You made your second guitar?
Benson: Yeah, I designed it. My school built it for me. I gave them the designs, sent it down to the shop, they cut it out, I sent it to the electric department, and then I had to put on the strings myself. I brought my amplifier to school and plugged it in. Nobody believed it would work, first of all. When I plugged it in, my whole class, they couldnāt believe that it actually worked. So, that became my thing, man. āLittle Georgie Bensonāyou should hear that guitar he made.āāI can let my mind go free and play how I feel.ā
George Benson's Gear
The Benson-designed Ibanez GB10 was first introduced in 1977.
Photo by Matt Furman
Strings & Picks
- Ibanez George Benson Signature pick
- Thomastik-Infeld George Benson Jazz Strings
Accessories
- Radial JDI Passive Direct Box
So, your environment informed the type of music you were listening to and playing from a young age.
Benson: No doubt about it, man. Because remember, rock ānā roll was not big. When the guitar started playing with the rock bands, if you didnāt have a guitar in your band, you werenāt really a rock band. But that was later, though. It started with those young groups and all that hip doo-wop music.
I was known in Pittsburgh as Little Georgie Benson, singer. Occasionally, I would have the ukulele or guitar when the guitar started to get popular.
Whatās your playing routine like these days? Do you play the guitar every day, and what do you play?
Benson: Not like I used to. Out of seven days, I probably play it four or five days.
I used to play virtually every day. It was just a natural thing for me to pick up. I had guitars strategically placed all over my house. As soon as I see one, my brain said, āPick that up.ā So, I would pick it up and start playing with new ideas. I donāt like going over the same thing over and over again because it makes you boring. I would always try to find something fresh to play. Thatās not easy to do, but it is possible.
Iām looking for harmony. Iām trying to connect things together. How do I take this sound or this set of chord changes and play it differently? I donāt want to play it so everybody knows where Iām going before I even get there, you know?
āI wasnāt trying to sound loud. I was trying to sound good.ā
How did you develop your guitar tone, and what is important about a guitar tone?
Benson: Years ago, the guitar was an accompaniment or background instrument, usually accompanying somebody or even accompanying yourself. But it was not the lead instrument necessarily. If they gave you a solo, you got a chance to make some noise.
As it got serious later on, I started looking for a great sound. I thought it was in the size of the guitar. So, I went out and bought this tremendously expensive guitar, big instrument. And I found that, yeah, that had a big sound, but that was not it. I couldnāt make it do what I wanted it to do. I found that it comes from my phrasing, the way I phrase things and the way I set up my guitar, and how I work with the amplifier. I wasnāt trying to sound loud. I was trying to sound good.
George Benson at Carnegie Hall in New York City on September 23,1981. The previous year, he received Grammy awards for āGive Me the Night,ā āOff Broadway,ā and āMoodyās Mood.ā
Photo by Ebet Roberts
When I think about your playing, Iām automatically thinking about your lead playing so much of the time. But I think that your rhythm playing is just as iconic. What do you think is the most important thing about rhythm guitar parts, comping, and grooving?
Benson: That word comp, I finally found out what it really represents. I worked with a man called Jack McDuff, who took me out of Pittsburgh when I was 19 years old. He used to get mad at me all the time. āWhy are you doing this? Why are you doing that? I canāt hear what youāre playing because you play so lowāābecause I used to be scared. I didnāt want people to hear what I was playing because then they would realize I didnāt know what I was doing, you know? I would play very mousy. He said, āMan, I donāt know if you play good or bad because I canāt hear you. Man, play out. People donāt know what youāre playing. Theyāll accept whatever it is you do; theyāll think you meant to do it. Either itās good or bad.ā
So I started playing out and I found thereās a great truth in what he said. When you play out, you sound like you know what youāre doing. People say, āOh wow, this cat is a monster.ā It either feels good and sounds good or it doesnāt. So, I learned how to make those beeps and bops and things sound good and feel good.
The word comp comes from complementing. Whoeverās coming in to solo is out front. I gotta make them sound good. And thatās why people call me today. I had a record with a group called the Gorillaz. Thatās the reason why they called me is because they realized that I knew what to do when I come to complement somebody. I did not have a lead role in that song. But I loved playing it once I found the space for me. I said, āMan, I donāt wanna just play it on an album. I wanna mean something.ā
I did something with Bootsy Collins, who is a monster. I said, āWhy is he calling me? Iām not a monster, man.ā But he heard something in me he wanted on his record, and I couldnāt figure out what it was. I said, āNo, I donāt think I can do it, man. I donāt think I can do you any good.ā He said, āTry something, man. Try anything.ā So I did. I didnāt think I could do that, but it came out good. Now Iām getting calls from George Clinton.
You worked on something with George Clinton?
Benson: Not yet, but thatās what Iām working on now, because he called me and said, āMan, do something with me.ā
Thatās not going to be easy. You know, I gotta find something that fits his personality, and where I can enhance it, not just throw something together, because that wouldnāt be right for the public. We want something musical, something that lasts for a long time.
āI can let my mind go free and play how I feel.ā
In the liner notes for Dreams Do Come True, you say that thereās always more to be discovered. You just mentioned the Gorillaz, then Bootsy Collins and George Clinton. You have such a wide, open exploration of music. How has discovery and exploration guided your career?
Benson: Well, this is the thing that we didnāt have available a few years ago. Now, we can play anything. You couldnāt cross over from one music to another without causing some damage to your career, causing an uproar in the industry.
When Wes Montgomery did āGoing Out of My Headā and Jimmy Smith did āWalk on the Wild Side,ā it caused waves in the music industry, because radio was not set up for that. You were either country or jazz or pop or blues or whatever it was. You werenāt crossing over because there was no way to get that played. Now there is.
Because Iāve had something to do with most of those things I just mentioned, my mind goes back to when I was thinking, āWhat if I played it like this? No, people wonāt like that. What if I played it like this? Now, they wonāt like that either.ā Now, I can let my mind go free and play how I feel, and they will find some way to get it played on the air.
YouTube It
George Benson digs into the Dave Brubeck-penned standard āTake Fiveā at the height of the ā80s, showing his unique ability to turn any tune into a deeply grooving blaze-fest.
