Kinda a random question for my own curiosity... I know the JB/Jazz work well with 250 pots. Do other humbuckers work as well? Or is it just these two?
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Humbuckes... 250 vs 500
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Re: Humbuckes... 250 vs 500
Depends on how warm you like your bridge PU's. Most guys use 500K's and dial down the tone pot. I use 250K's on most of my bridge HB's and leave the tone pot on '10.' I like warm, full-sounding bridge PU's. I also use 9 gauge strings and picks with sharp, beveled edges, both of which add some high-end."Completely Conceded Glowing Expert."
"And Blueman, I am pretty sure you've pissed off a lot of people."
"Wait, I know! Blueman and Lew can arm wrestle, and the winner gets to decide if 250K pots sound good or not."
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Re: Humbuckes... 250 vs 500
Originally posted by Steve R. View PostIt really depends on the particular guitar, too. While 250k pots might work fine in a bright strat, they probably wouldn't work out as well in a warm sounding guitar.
There are different schools of thought on relative EQ's : some like the contrast of a bright bridge and a warm neck. I've always found that frustrating for my entire life, and use pots and magnets to bring their EQ's closer together. The same guys that think that my bridge PU's are too warm, usually have neck PU's that I think are too warm. I use 1 meg pots on most of my neck HB's that are in LP's! As much anger and insults as my views have stirred up over the years (God forbid anyone should have a different opinion), it all comes down to a matter of taste and philosophies. Some players consider tone pots as something to be adjusted regularly. Great if that works for them. I look at them as something that shapes the tone by their inherent resistence (250K, 500K or 1 meg), and don't want to be fiddling with them when I plug in. I tweak my PU EQ's up front, individually and together, and don't have to constantly revisit that.Last edited by blueman335; 02-13-2014, 08:15 PM."Completely Conceded Glowing Expert."
"And Blueman, I am pretty sure you've pissed off a lot of people."
"Wait, I know! Blueman and Lew can arm wrestle, and the winner gets to decide if 250K pots sound good or not."
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Re: Humbuckes... 250 vs 500
IMO, every electric guitarist should do some experimenting with pots, tone capacitors, and modern wiring vs. 50's wiring to see what you like.
And be prepared to change your mind about what's best for you at any time.
What I like best seems to change every 10 or 15 years for me!
Personally, I can't see myself ever using anything other than 500K with any of my favorite humbuckers. Switching to 250K pots throws away treble and once that treble is gone it's gone...there's no way to get it back.
I used to think Jazz neck pickups were inherently to bright and to zingy because my Hamers came with them and that's how the Jazz sounded in my Hamers. Turns out that most Hamers have the tone controls attached to the output jack: the 50's mod. And that's why they were so bright and zingy.
If you're using 50's wiring and your guitar sounds to bright and zingy to you with 500K pots, switch to modern wiring to fatten it up and get a thicker warmer tone that way. Your guitar will sound like you put different pickups in it.
There's simple things you can do to change the tone of your guitar for the better without swapping magnets, swapping pickups or swapping pots.
You can brighten up a muddy guitar that needs more treble simply by putting your tone control after the volume control. Attach it to the output jack or the output of the volume control: the middle terminal. That's the 50's mod.
You can warm up a bright sounding guitar by doing the opposite: attach your tone control to the input of the your volume control - the same terminal your pickups are soldered to. That's Modern wiring.
And if you play a Les Paul with two volume controls and two tone controls you can make your neck pickup brighter and clearer by doing the 50's mod to it...and fatten up your bridge pickup by doing modern wiring to it.
And it's as simple as just moving the connection to your tone controls.Last edited by Lewguitar; 02-17-2014, 09:03 AM.“Practice cures most tone issues” - John Suhr
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