Sept.

4, 1956

2,761,921

G. H. KUHL
TONE CONTROL CIRCUIT

Flled May 20

1952

HA

l 1*, '

III

8660276 7% (21%,

I);M4
35%;}?

United _S_tates Patent O?iice

1.

2,761,921
E'atentied Sept. 4, 1,956
21

A signal, as from the transducer" (not shown) may be

fed into the input terminals 10 and 1-1-. This signal is
coupled through a capacitor 12 toithegrid-13 of the tube
14 which is shown here as a triode, butm-ay be a tetrode

2,761,921;

or a pentode. This tube with its: associated circuits ampli

?es the signal and'serves toisolate- the transducer from
the rest of the system. [prefer to: use this stage, but it

TONE. comoncmcmr

George H.Ki1hl, Glen Ellyn, Ill.

could be eliminatedand; the input signallfed' directly into

ApplicationiMay 20,1952, Serial'No. 288,830

6

(Cl. 179-111)

the next tube.

1O

The output of the tube 14=is cou'pledthroughthe-capac

itor 15 and resistor: 16: to the.- grid 17 of the tube'18
which is also shown asaatriode, buttmightrbe atetrode or
a pentode. Also connectedi tothe- grid 17' are a second

resistor 19, and areactive elementconsisting" of a. ?rst

This inventionv relates: to audio frequency ampli?ers, 15 capacitor 20 and a second' capacitor 21', all in series. The
and more particularly to. almanually adjustable circuit
second capacitor 21 is eifectively'returnedto the cathode
for modifying the frequency'response' of such an ampli?er.
22 of the tube through groundand the cathode bias re
In designing ahigh ?delity audio'ampli?er particularly
sistor 23. A variable resistor'24 is connected in parallel
for use in the reproduction of. recordings, a number of
with the capacitor 20.

dit?culties are encountered; The various manufacturers 20' The circuit composed oftresistors' 16 aud19'and ca
of recordings each use. a different frequency-amplitude
pacitor 20 and 21 forms a voltage: divider, which has a.
curve in cutting their recordings:. The. frequency-ampli
de?nite frequency responseicharacteristici and which is par
?er characteristic, of. diiferentcommercial recordings, par
tieularly adapted for- improving the low frequency re:
ticularly at the lower audio frequencies, may vary over
spense of the ampli?er withoutsoverraecentuating the very
a considerable range. Generally,.the low frequencies, as 25 low frequencies. If the resistor 16 $270,000 ohms and
the range from 20 cyclespersecond to.400 cycles per sec
i9 is 27,000 ohmsand the capacitor 20 is-.0l microfarad
end are attenuated to a greater. or lesser extent. Further
and 21 is .03 rnicro-farad, the circuit will accentuatea Wide
more, most transducers or pickup units do not. have a
band of low audio frequencies; giving. a relatively ?at
straight line frequencyv response characteristic. As a
response from 20cycles perzsecondto 200 cycles per sec
result, the input signal tothe-ampli?er (theoutput signal 30 ond, and then tapering, 01f: gradually. untilit levels-'oti
of the transducer) willfnot be a true replica of the original
at about 1,000 cycles per second. The-resistor 19 prevents .

recorded sound. This situatiorris particularly trouble

the higher audio frequencies from being lost entirely.

some in connection withmusical recordings where many

The variable resistor 24sinrparallel-with" the " capacitor

of the frequencies present lie. in the relatively low audio

20 provides av means fortvaryingdhe efrectivecapacity in

35 the circuit and thus controlling; the: frequency response

frequency range.

Many so-called bass boost circuits have been de

vised, but generally their frequency response charac

teristic is such that the very low audio frequencies (20 to
50 cycles per second) are overly accentuated or ampli?ed
to the point where. theybecome objectionable; I have
devised and am herein: disclosingand claiming a man

ually adjustable circuitfor'.v modifying the. frequency re

sponse of an ampli?er which overcomes these dif?culties.

One object ofthisinvenu'onisto providea. manually

adjustable circuitfor modifying theifrequency response
of an audio ampli?er.- Another' objectis toprovide such
a circuit which will accentuate particularly a band. of

frequencies including; the. loW audio frequencies and the

lower portion of the middleranges of..audio frequencies.

characteristic. With the circuit valuesgiven-above a value

of 100,000 ohms and has-been found satisfactory to en
able this resistor to have azfullrangeof. control: - When

the maximum value ofrzthis- resistor is-in.the circuit; it

has no effect but appears. as,anopen-circuitincomparison

with the reactance of the. capacitor. 20.at these frequen

cies. As. a result, the
effective capacity is. in
the circuit and.a Wide handoflow. audio frequencies. is
accentuated as already explained. Asitheportion of the

resistor 24 in the circuit is reduced, the eflectivecapacity

in the circuit will increase and the higher portion. of
the band of low audio frequencies will be partially at
tenuated.

When the resistor 24 is reduced to zero, .the

capacitor 20'will be short circuited, and.a maximum ca
A further object. is. to .providesuchacircuit which will not 50 pacity will be in the circuit. Witli these conditions only
overly accentuate the very low. audio; frequencies. Yet
a relatively narrow band of'very low frequenciesiasfrom
another object is-to provide such acircuit which includes a
20 to 50 cycles per" secondwillbe" equally accentuated;
resistor in series. withareactive elementand a variable
the response of the circuitwil'l then fall otfigradually
resistor in parallel with. the reactive element. Yet a fur- I . until it levels o?lat ab0ut1,000~cycles=per second. At no
ther object is .to provide a vacuumiube ampli?er with '
time however are the very low audiofrequeneies overly
a manually controlled circuitformodifying.the'frequency
accentuated so as-to beobjectionable.
response characteristic asdescribed and Whichincludes a
The resistor 2Slpr0vides a direct current path from
resistor between theinputcircuit and. the. grid ofv the
the grid 17 through-ground b'acktothecathode 22', and .
vacuum tube, a reactive element. between. the-grid. and
should have a relativelyhighresistance, as 250,000 ohms.
the cathode. of the tube and;a variableresistorin parallel
Itmay also be made variableito'iprovidea'further:control
with the reactive elementsv Andanother, object isv to pro
over the frequencyv response ofxthe: ampli?er.
vide an ampli?er which incorporatessucha-manually con
The output of the tube 18 is coupled through thezca=
trolled circuit with either a.conventional bassboost cir
pacitor 26'and. resistor. 27 to: theagn'd 2810f the tube. 29
cuit or a conventionaltrebleboost circuit, or both. And
again shown as a triode,salthough'.aztetrode onrarpentode
. a further objectis toprovideatwo stage. mpli?er, com
would be satisfactory. Thezresistorst 30; 311- and-32am
prising two vacuum tubes connected in cascade,.each tube
capacitors 33 and-34rcooperatetwitlr resistor to form
having a manually controlled circuit for modifyingithe
another manually variableecircuit. forv controlling the fre
quency response, which operates in the-same manner. as
frequency response characteristic. as describedconnected
between the grid-andthe cathodethereof.
the circuit previously; discussed.. (These. circuit elements
Further objects andradvantagesuwill appear more fully 70 may have the samevaluesv as the correspondingelements
from the speci?cationandifromihe drawings, of which
in the previous-circuit: resistor, 27,170,000 ohms; 30,
Fig. l is a schematic drawing_.-of ray-invention.
27,000 ohms;..31, 100,000'ohms; 732,250,000. ohms; ca

2,761,921 .

.ipacitor 33, .01 microfarad; v34, .03 microfarad.) By

vconnecting two such circuits in cascade as shown, the ef
fectiveness of this arrangement is greatly increased and a
v very satisfactory control overthe total frequency response
> is provided. Resistors24 and31 may be ganged together
soas to be operated by a singlev control if desired.

The output of the tube 29 is coupled through capacitor

35 to a conventional treble control composed of capaci
- tors 36 and 37 and a variable resistor 38; and a conven

tional bass control composed of capacitors 39 and 40, re

sistors 41 and 42 and variable resistor 43. The output
of the ampli?er appears across terminals 44 and 45 and
may be further ampli?ed in: a conventional audio am
' ,pli?er (not shown) and then fed to a loudspeaker.
, The combination of two stages of ampli?cation each
having a manually'adjustable circuitfor accentuating a

.band of relatively low audio frequencies with circuits,

providing conventional bass and treble boost provides a
very versatile ampli?er which may be adjusted to compen
sate for any distortion introduced by the manufacturer of.
the record or by the non-linear characteristic of the
transducer.

boostcircuit operatively connected with the output of said

vacuum tube.

,.

3. In an audio frequency ampli?er having an input

circuit, and a vacuum tube with at least three elements,

including a cathode, a grid and a plate, operatively-con

nected to amplify a signal, a manually variable circuit for
modifying the frequency response of the ampli?er, com- '

prising: a ?rst resistor connected betweensaid input cir

cuit and the 'grid.of' said tube; a second resistor con

nected to the grid of said tube; a?rst capacitor connected

in series with said second resistor; a second capacitor '
connected in series with said ?rst capacitor and returned ~

to the cathode of said tube, connecting the series com

bination of said second resistor,"?rst capacitor and sec-,'

ond capacitor between said grid and cathode; a variable

resistor connected in parallel with said ?rst capacitors;
a circuit including resistance means providing a path for
direct current from said grid to said cathode; a conven

tional treble boost circuit operatively connected with the

output of said tube; and a conventional bass boost circuit

operatively connected with the output of said tube.

4. In an audio frequency ampli?er having an input cir

' cuit, a ?rst vacuum tubewith at least three elements,

including a cathode, a grid and a plate, and a second vacu
in the art, in order that there will be no question as to 25 um tube with at least three elements, including a cathode,

Many of the circuit elements have not been given

values. Although these should be apparent to oneskilled
the operativeness of the disclosure, all elements have been
assigned a reference numeral and workable values there

a grid and a plate, operatively connected in cascade to

amplify a signal, a manually variable circuit for modi

fying the frequency response of the ampli?er, compris

'
. '
ing: a ?rst resistor connected between said input circuit
Tube 14, type 6P5, triode; 18, type 617, triode con
30 and the grid of said ?rst vacuum tube; a second resistor
nected;-and 29, type 617, triode connected.
connected-to the grid of said ?rst vacuum'tube; a ?rst
Resistor 23, 5,600 ohms; 38, 3 megohms; 41, 300,000
capacitor connected in series with said second resistor;
ohms; 42, 30,000 ohms; 43, 3 megohm's; 46, 500,000

for are listed below:

a second capacitor connected in series with said ?rst ca-- .

ohms; 47, 100,000 ohms; 49, 18,000 ohms; 51, 100,000
ohms; 53, 2,700 ohms; 55, 50,000 ohms; and 56, 22,000 35 pacitor and returned to the cathode of said ?rst vacuum
ohms.

'

Capacitor 12, .OSVmicrofarad; .15, .05 microfarad; 26,

.05 microfarad; 35, .05 microfarad; 36, .0005 microfarad;

tube, connecting the series combination of said second

resistor, ?rst capacitor and second capacitor between said
grid and cathode; a variable resistor connected in par

allel with one of said capacitors; means providing a high

37, .0025 microfarad; 39, .001 microfarad; 40, .01 micro
farad; 48, 30 microfarads; 50, 25 microfarads; 52, 30 40 resistance return path for direct current from the grid to
the cathode of said ?rst vacuum tube; a ?rst resistor con
microfarads; and 54, 25 microfarads.
nected between the output of said ?rst vacuum tube and
The plate supply voltage, 57, may be 300 volts.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments

. of my invention, it is to be understood that it is capable

of many modi?cations. Changes, therefore, in the con

struction and arrangement may be made without depart
ing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed
in the appended claims.

I claim:
1. In an audio frequency ampli?er having an input _ *

circuit and a vacuum tube with at least three elements

including a cathode, a grid and a plate, operatively con

nected to amplify a signal, a manually variable circuit

for modifying the frequency response to the ampli?er

comprising: a ?rst resistor connected between said-input '

circuit and said grid; a second resistor connected to said

grid; a ?rst capacitor connected in series with said sec
ond resistor; a second capacitorconnected in series-with
said ?rst capacitor and returned to the, cathode of said

.tube, connecting the series combination of said second

resistor, ?rst capacitor and second capacitor between
~ said grid and cathode; a variable resistor connected _'in

parallel with one of said capacitors; and a resistive re

turn path for direct current from said grid to said cath
ode.

'

'

2. In an audio frequency ampli?er having an input

circuit and a vacuum tube having at least three elements,

the grid of said second vacuum tube; a second resistor

connected to the grid of said second vacuum tube; a ?rst
capacitor connected in series with said resistor; a second

capacitor connected in series with said ?rst capacitor and

returned to the cathode of said second vacuum tube,
connecting the series combination of said last mentioned

second resistor, ?rst capacitor and second capacitor'be

tween the grid and cathode of said second tube; a vari
_ able resistor connected in parallel with one of said last
mentioned'capacitors and varied as a function of said

?rst mentioned variable resistor; and means providing

a high resistance return path for direct current from the ,

grid to the cathode of said second vacuum tube.

" 5.1m an audio frequency ampli?er having an input
circuit and a vacuum tube with at least three elements.

including a cathode, a grid and'a plate, operatively con

nected to amplify a signal, a manually variable circuit
for modifying the frequency response to the ampli?er,
comprising: a ?rst resistor connected between said input
circuit and said grid; a second resistor connected to said
grid; a ?rst reactive element connected in series with
said second resistor; a second reactive element connected
in series with said, ?rst reactive element and returned to
the cathode of vsaid tube, connecting the series combina
tion of said reactive element and second reactive ele
ment between said grid and cathode; a variable resistor

including an input elementand operatively connected to

connected in parallel with'one of said reactive elements;
amplify a signal, a manually variable circuit for modify;
and a high resistance path for direct current from said
ing the frequency response of the ampli?er comprising: 70 grid to said cathode.
. '
' a resistor connected between said input circuit and the.
6. In an audio frequency ampli?er having an input cir
input element of said vacuum tube; a reactive element
connected between said one elementand another element
of said vacuum tube; a variable resistor connected in par
allel with said reactive element; and a conventional bass

cuit, a ?rst vacuum tube with at least three elements, in

cluding a cathode, a grid and a plate, and a second vacu
um tube with at least three elements, including a cathode,

a grid and a plate; operatively connected in cascade to

"

2,761,921
amplify a signal, a manually variable circuit for modify

ing the frequency response of the ampli?er, comprising:

a ?rst resistor connected between said input circuit and
the grid of said ?rst vacuum tube; a second resistor con
nected to the grid of said ?rst vacuum tube; a ?rst capaci
tor connected in series with said second resistor; a second
capacitor connected in series with said ?rst capacitor
and returned to the cathode of said ?rst vacuum tube,

connecting the series combination of said second resistor,

?rst capacitor and second capacitor between said grid and 10

6
ode; a variable resistor connected in parallel with one of

said last mentioned capacitors and ganged with said ?rst

mentioned variable resistor; and means providing a high
resistance return path for direct current from the grid
to the cathode of said second vacuum tube.

References Cited in the ?le of this patent

UNITED STATES PATENTS

2,182,328
2,217,178
2,256,057
2,361,602
2,547,251
2,646,468

Weinberger __________ __ Dec. 5, 1939

cathode; a variable resistor connected in parallel with

Masters ______________ .._ Oct. 8, 1940
one of said capacitors; means providing a high resistance
Roberts _____________ _._ Sept. 16, 1941
return path for direct current from the grid to the cath
Clark _______________ __ Oct. 31, 1944
ode of said ?rst vacuum tube; a ?rst resistor connected
Bonadio ______________ __ Apr. 3, 1951
between the output of said ?rst vacuum tube and the grid
Hanert ______________ __ July 21, 1953
of said second vacuum tube; a second resistor connected
OTHER REFERENCES
to the grid of said second vacuum tube; a ?rst capacitor
Publication:
Audio
Engineering, vol. 35, issue 8, Aug
connected in series with said resistor; a second capacitor
ust 1951, pages 15, 47, by Brooks.
connected in series with said ?rst capacitor and returned
Review of Scienti?c Instruments, March 1948 issue,
to the cathode of said second vacuum tube, connecting 20
Simple RC Equalizer Circuits, page 196.
the series combination of said second resistor, ?rst ca

pacitor and second capacitor between said grid and cath