I've watched a few videos about the Yamaha Revstar guitars, but in
one by Phil McKnight he shows an old style small transformer in the control cavity and explains and demonstrates how this works to boost the signal when the relevant control is used.
I don't know of any other manufacturer that incorporates a transformer in a passively wired guitar in this way. I don't know enough about inductance, resistance, impedance, etc to know how an old style transformer used as a "step-up" might affect the signal. Phil McKnight's video gives a reasonable idea of the end results of the boost control when used even though I don't know from an electronic point of view the signal is being affected by the transformer wire coils, but I would have wondered about an EMF (or whatever the resultant interference would be called in this case) that might be problematic having a transformer in such close proximity to the other wired components.
I'm also curious to know if there have been any other production guitars using a step-up transformer this way.
Comments
https://reverb.com/item/5296200-gibson-les-paul-100-deluxe-2012-gold-top?utm_source=rev-ios-app&utm_medium=ios-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=5296200
flanging_fed “
Works ok for Brian May or jazz type tones, but isn't super useful in my experience
Also, an LC circuit - which this could also be if it contains a choke rather than a transformer - can boost a signal by up to 6dB at the resonant frequency, without any external power source. The energy is drawn from narrowing the bandwidth so other frequencies are reduced - which this could also be doing if it's rolling off top-end.
So it's not contravening the laws of physics.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein