With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

[FuseG4]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

With brighter pickups like BBpros I'm glad to have the stock 300K pots. Even in the neck.

But whenever I switch pickups I'll be going to 500K pots, and yes I'm strongly considering a PG set.

[blueman335]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

See what I mean!

I never found the PG "bright"...it has the same clarity that PAF pickups are known for but I never heard any sizzle folks talk about...

500k pots are the ticket with PAFs!

Since you're asking for responses, I've got 250K's on all my bridge PAF's (500K always on the neck). PGB was a little 'toppy' for me, and '59B with the stock mag and 500K's is enough to break a wine glass. So I use a UOA5 and 250K's on my '59B's; much easier on my ears. Instead of being thin, it's got body and punch. Bridge '57's can have a weird high end in some guitars; treble's there, but in the background, I call it 'ribbony'. The top is rounded like a butter knife. I couldn't get enough bite even with 500K's; I need a little bit of that steak knife edge at the very tip. So although it defies the common assumptions, an UOA5 with 250K's actually gave a sharper high end (Great Caesar's Ghost!). Had the same thing happen with a CC and A2 498T; didn't enough have treble with 500K's, so I reversed that and went with a brighter magnet and warmer pots, and got more treble.

I'm also doing some things that offset the warmth, like using 9's and a beveled edge pick. With 11's and a typical pick, my guitars would probably be too dark, even for me. There's a lot of variables that go into this, more than just pots. I've struggled for years with A2's because they often don't have a sharp enough high end for me, even with 500K's. Yet somehow using UOA5's and 250K's for more bite makes women faint and children cry.

On the other hand, for the neck I find PGN's, 490R's, and neck '57's to be lacking in treble. Just too warm and rounded, too smooth. I put an A3 in the PGN and an A5 in the '57. Gave them a more aggressive sound, and better definition. Once again I walk to the beat of a different drummer.

[bungalowbill]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

I gotta try a Pearly Gates. Almost had one a little while back, but the Post Office lost my money order! Glad the 500K worked in your strat Bungalow Bill. I know it was my post that started all this stuff, but it worked for me. These two guitars are the anomaly I guess. I wouldn't put 250k pots in my other humbucker guitars, but these needed it.

You really ought to try a PG.....it is the best all around humbucker i have ever used....it does a lot of styles in a grand fashion.

[guitarkid]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

On Saturday, Matt Martin put one of his 550K wiring harnesses in my Peacock Les Paul with the C5/Jazz combo in it. It completely opened it up. It sounds absolutely fantastic now. Besides sounding waaaaaay better than it did, the taper on these pots is absolutely fantastic!! I'm going to put these pre-wired harnesses in all of my Gibson Les Pauls. I just can't believe how much it opened up. It's like I took ear plugs out of my ears or something.

https://www.martinsixstringcustoms.c...ss/prod_9.html

+1

I can confirm that it sounds AMAZING! I'm going to order some of his harnesses for my guitars too.

[CTN]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

funny how a few hundred kohms can make such a huge difference.

I tried a 500K vol on the TB6 in my ibby. It just wouldn't do. I kept hearing that the TB6 was supposed to be like an unrelenting banshee scream, and with the 500K, it sounded like a slightly beefed up JB, but not much more. treble response was smooth and warm, mids and lows were relaxed and unimposing. my Ibby is also basically a big slab of dark-sounding mahogany, so it tends to be very picky about pickups and control values.

switched the vol control to 1 meg, and it made all the difference. Thick, beefy but tight lows, fat, barking mids, absolutely screaming upper mids and harmonics, and scorching treble. Man, it was like the earth was torn apart and hell revealed in all its fiery, lava filled glory.

All because of a few hundred kilo-ohms.

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

Very slick looking harness, but $75 ???

They are VERY NICE harnesses!

Custom pots and super high quality caps.

[crusty philtrum]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

There's a guy around here somewhere who wrote a thread about his experiments with paralleling 500k pots with resistors of various values to lower the load seen by the pickup to any value (he included the pot values that could be created using regular resistor values), and comments about how that may or may not noticeably change the taper (little noticeable effect as i recall).

I think he did that because he was fine-tuning the response of the pickups in a guitar he built.

[JOLLY]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

Very slick looking harness, but $75 ???

Actually, that's a great price, especially when you consider the quality of work you're getting from Martin Six String Customs and the quality of the custom pots and caps you're getting. Like I said earlier, I'm going to put them in all of my Gibson Les Pauls, and most likely my other Gibsons as well. I'm honestly amazed at what a huge difference in tone that the harness has given me. The sound of that guitar is most definitely waaaaaay better. For what I've gained tonewise in that guitar, the price is a steal.

Once again, I don't think $75 is a bad price at all. I just saw the other day where someone had posted a wiring harness that they bought for their SG Classic. It was a little over $120.

[Aceman]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

See what I mean!

I never found the PG "bright"...it has the same clarity that PAF pickups are known for but I never heard any sizzle folks talk about...

500k pots are the ticket with PAFs!

Yep.

250-300k for Ceramic screamers only (or a JB)

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

There's a guy around here somewhere who wrote a thread about his experiments with paralleling 500k pots with resistors of various values to lower the load seen by the pickup to any value (he included the pot values that could be created using regular resistor values), and comments about how that may or may not noticeably change the taper (little noticeable effect as i recall).

I think he did that because he was fine-tuning the response of the pickups in a guitar he built.

Was it my tutorial?

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/pots.htm

[AniML]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

Actually, that's a great price, especially when you consider the quality of work you're getting from Martin Six String Customs and the quality of the custom pots and caps you're getting. Like I said earlier, I'm going to put them in all of my Gibson Les Pauls, and most likely my other Gibsons as well. I'm honestly amazed at what a huge difference in tone that the harness has given me. The sound of that guitar is most definitely waaaaaay better. For what I've gained tonewise in that guitar, the price is a steal.

Once again, I don't think $75 is a bad price at all. I just saw the other day where someone had posted a wiring harness that they bought for their SG Classic. It was a little over $120.

I cannot deny from the link, the guy's soldering is nothing short of artwork, just beautiful.

As for the pots, the page says they are ~550K. Are they really anything more than hand-picked CTS pots that are 10% over?

Caps... a war could start over whether PIO caps vs poly vs "xyz" make a difference. Personally I have never tried PIO, so I cannot offer any opinion from lack of experience. I have read mixed opinions and claims

I'm just wondering if you went from the poorly spec'ed Gibson stock parts straight to this harness or did you first try properly spec'ed "everyday" pots and non-PIO caps, and found the harness to be superior

In any event, I could see using this harness with a clear cover over your control cavity - easily among the nicest soldering work I have ever seen. But I'm interested to know if it is truly better than proper off the shelf parts.

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

I cannot deny from the link, the guy's soldering is nothing short than artwork, just beautiful.

As for the pots, he says they are ~550K. Are they really anything more than hand-picked CTS pots that are 10% over?

Caps... a war could start over whether PIO caps vs poly vs "xyz" make a difference. Personally I have never tried PIO, so I cannot offer any opinion from lack of experience. I have read mixed opinions and claims

I'm just wondering if you went from the poorly spec'ed Gibson stock parts straight to this harness or did you first try properly spec'ed "everyday" pots and non-PIO caps, and found the harness to be superior

In any event, I could see using this harness with a clear cover over your control cavity - easily among the nicest soldering work I have ever seen. But I'm interested to know if it is truly better than proper off the shelf parts.

Ah yes the whole guitar cap war opinion thing....Lol....Since the cap(s) shunts highs to ground...Any good cap is a good cap..... ;o)

[JeffB]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

Actually, that's a great price, especially when you consider the quality of work you're getting from Martin Six String Customs and the quality of the custom pots and caps you're getting. Like I said earlier, I'm going to put them in all of my Gibson Les Pauls, and most likely my other Gibsons as well. I'm honestly amazed at what a huge difference in tone that the harness has given me. The sound of that guitar is most definitely waaaaaay better. For what I've gained tonewise in that guitar, the price is a steal.

Once again, I don't think $75 is a bad price at all. I just saw the other day where someone had posted a wiring harness that they bought for their SG Classic. It was a little over $120.

I think you will be amazed at how much less congested and open your guitars will sound plugged in John. Even your epis will benefit as the cheapy harness and 500K pots suck tone as well. Some humbuckers and guitar combos sound better with lower value pots, but IME they are the rare exception, not the rule. As mentioned, PAFs in particular will really open up and give you alot of dynamics.

[ErikH]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

Dammit. Now all this talk has me thinking about swapping out the 300k's in my SG Classic for 500k's. GRRRRR!

(I don't need to. I don't need to. I don't need to.)

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: With all the 250k and 500K hoopla....

Dammit. Now all this talk has me thinking about swapping out the 300k's in my SG Classic for 500k's. GRRRRR!

(I don't need to. I don't need to. I don't need to.)

Change em,change em,change em! ;o)