Tone Control A tone control circuit is used to adjust the gain or attenuation of certain range of frequencies. Tone control circuits can be made up of active devices and / or passive devices. Below is a diagram showing a Baxandall tone control circuit, which has an input signal coming from the output of an emitter follower amplifier (Q1). The output of the tone control circuit is fed to an amplifier with Q2 as the active device. Vcc To input device To next amplifier stage Q1 Q2 Bass Control Treble Control R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 C1 C2 C3 C4 Tone Control The bass control is used to adjust the gain or attenuation of low frequency signals (signals with frequency below the center frequency of tone control circuit), while the treble is used to control the gain or attenuation of high frequency signals (signals with frequency above the center frequency of tone control circuit). Below is a circuit showing the bass control adjusted for maximum boost. To input device To next amplifier stage Q1 Q2 Bass Control Treble Control R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 C1 C2 C3 C4 Vcc Tone Control When the bass control (R2) is set for maximum boost of bass frequency signals, the following conditions apply: C1 is effectively shorted. As far as bass frequency signals are concerned, C1 and C2 are open circuits and bass frequency signals effectively pass through R1, R2 and R3 only. The voltage of bass frequency signals appearing at the left endof R4 and at the base of Q2 will be at its maximum, thus the total gain for bass frequencies will be at its maximum. As far as treble frequency signals are concerned, R2 is not present because they pass through C1 and C2 only. Any adjustment on R2 does not affect the treble frequency signals. Tone Control The figure below shows the bass control adjusted for full cut. When the bass control (R2) is set for full cut of bass frequencysignals, the following conditions apply: C2 is effectively shorted. The voltage of bass frequency signals appearing at the left end of R4 and at the base of Q2 will be at its minimum, thus the total gain for bass frequencies will be at its minimum. To input device To next amplifier stage Q1 Q2 Bass Control Treble Control R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 C1 C2 C3 C4 Vcc Tone Control Below is a circuit showing the treble control adjusted for maximum boost. Bass frequency signals do not pass through R5 because they are effectively blocked by C3 and C4. When R5 is adjusted for full boost, voltage of treble frequency signals appearing at the base of Q2 will be at its highest, resulting tomaximum total gain for treble frequency signals. To input device To next amplifier stage Q1 Q2 Bass Control Treble Control R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 C1 C2 C3 C4 Vcc Tone Control Below is a circuit showing the treble control adjusted for full cut. When R5 is adjusted for full cut, voltage of treble frequency signals appearing at the base of Q2 will be at its lowest, resulting to minimum total gain for treble frequency signals. To input device To next amplifier stage Q1 Q2 Bass Control Treble Control R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 C1 C2 C3 C4 Vcc