Changing POTS

[sifukev]

I am changing the pots in my les paul copy guitar, for the JB pickup to reduce the brightness. Question though..... do I change the pots in the volumes, the tones, in all of the above..... Also, do I do it for both pickups even though the neck tone is fine?

[mjsever]

Re: Changing POTS

You only need to change the volume pot. However, I was just reading a post today that said that you probably don't want to use two different pots as when you use them together you'll get an undesirable combination that will sound like you're using an even smaller pot. Apparently if you have a 250k and a 500k pot and you're using both pickups and volume controls, it will look electrically like it's all going through a 166k pot.

[ArtieToo]

Re: Changing POTS

Apparently if you have a 250k and a 500k pot and you're using both pickups and volume controls, it will look electrically like it's all going through a 166k pot.

Heh-heh . . . I love it when people are actually paying attention.

[Kent S.]

Re: Changing POTS

You might want to try changing the bridges tone pot down to a 250k, as that will warm it up a bit, and the bridge will still have the 500k load at it's volume, so that won't change. That and say maybe going with a larger cap, with a resistor between ground and the wiper of the tone pot (assumming standard LP wiring) to limit th overall roll-off when all the way down (you do have a bigger cap.;so it would bleed more highs off in conjunction with the lower pot value. Although just the pot cahnge alone might help you out.

[sifukev]

Re: Changing POTS

Would changing the volume from 500k to 250k lower the output of my guitar?
Would changing the tone pot be a better idea? I don't want to bleed too many highs off.... I just want more presence of the other frequencies (Bass and Mids). Right now the highs are a little annoying.... so I need to round it off a little bit at the top. But I still like to be able to cut through the mix....

Thanks Guys,
Kevin

[Kent S.]

Re: Changing POTS

Would changing the volume from 500k to 250k lower the output of my guitar?
Would changing the tone pot be a better idea? I don't want to bleed too many highs off.... I just want more presence of the other frequencies (Bass and Mids). Right now the highs are a little annoying.... so I need to round it off a little bit at the top. But I still like to be able to cut through the mix....

Thanks Guys,
Kevin

It would be a tad lower, but I doubt you'd ever notice it,to tone pot would be a good place to start.

[sifukev]

Re: Changing POTS

If I was going to do either the Volume pot or the tone pot..... which one would have the greater effect?

[mjsever]

Re: Changing POTS

I'm copying a post I put about another very similar issue- this seems to be a very hot topic lately, and maybe this could be of some use to you.

I installed a JB/Jazz combo into my guitar earlier this year and found it overly bright in all pickup combinations, and my guitar got completely lost in the mix. I also have 500k pots, and a naturally bright guitar (your LP would probably be warmer sounding). Thanks to the many helpful people in this forum, I was given some advice to try 250k pots instead. But what if I went through all the trouble and still didn't like it?....

There is a quick way to simulates how this 500k to 250k change would sound. Get a resistor between 500k and 800k (or solder two together- Radio Shack didn't have the exact value I was looking for so I had to improvise), then unscrew the end of the cord that goes into your guitar. Take this resistor and electrical tape it across the two connections and play! This is how your guitar will sound if you replace the volume pot. You don't even have to take your guitar apart! I tried this and I liked the sound a TON better- less ice pick highs and much more warmth, yet it still had the responsiveness and tight bass end I was looking for.

If you like this sound, you can simulate the replacement of your volume contol by bridging your volume pot with a resistor (it will alter the taper of your volume, but if you're on 10 all the time who cares?). Here is an excellent tutorial that I followed: http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/potm.htm. Full disclosure: I just tried this on both volume controls and my guitar was sorta shorting out in practice last night- my neck pickup volume was 1/2 that of the bridge. I'm not sure if it's something associated with the setup or because I'm an amateur solderer, but I'm trying to move the resistor around to prevent it from hitting some of the other exposed wires. I hope I can fix it by this Saturday's gig... I don't want to use my backup guitar! I want to use my new pickups! Okay, enough whining...

There is also a nice little summary on SD's site about pot values and how they affect your tone: http://www.seymourduncan.com/websit.../techtips.shtml [check the very bottom of the page]. According to their chart, the 500k to 250k switch will round out the tone a little, evening out some of the frequency discrepancies while maintaining the basic tonal characteristics of the pickup.

[sifukev]

Re: Changing POTS

Did you change the volume pots, the tone pots or all of the above?

Actually My LP (copy) is a bright guitar, It's made out of alder or poplar.... very light, making it very bright..... so I need to warm down the pickups....

[mjsever]

Re: Changing POTS

In case you're replying to my statement... I did not replace the tone pots-- I just soldered resistors across my volume pots to simulate a switching of volume pots. It definitely cut down the super high-end brightness. The JB is still a mid/upper-mid range pickup, but the whole tonal character was smoothed out. It's a much more usable and better sounding pickup than before.

If you're not replying to my statement, um, please carry on...

[Kent S.]

Re: Changing POTS

Would changing the volume from 500k to 250k lower the output of my guitar?
Would changing the tone pot be a better idea? I don't want to bleed too many highs off.... I just want more presence of the other frequencies (Bass and Mids). Right now the highs are a little annoying.... so I need to round it off a little bit at the top. But I still like to be able to cut through the mix....

Thanks Guys,
Kevin

As another option, just leave the pots as is, and solder a 1,000pF or so capacitor (maybe from say 500pF to a max of 1,500pF) from hot to ground. The caps are cheap, you can get a selection of values, and it shifts your pups resonant Fc peak lower ... so you still have cut (a little boost even while pulling back the upper highs),if you get the cap to large it will cut to much of the highs. If you need to effect the entire instrument then that's a good route to go also.

[sifukev]

Re: Changing POTS

Where can I get a 1000 pf capacitor? and that goes from the ground to the hot lead (where the lead is sodered onto) on the pot? Do I solder the lead and the capacitor together on the pot?

[sifukev]

Re: Changing POTS

I Just Changed The Pots For My Jb And ................wow.....

I Went From 500k To 250k And It Warmed Up The Tone...... Now I Really Do Have Tone.

All I Did Was Changed The 1 Volume For The Bridge (jb). I Left Everything Else. The '59 Sounds Crisp And The Jb Sounds Scorching Without The Shrills. It Is Still On Harmonic Overload Too :-d

Amazingly The Combination Sounds Sweet Too (a 500k With The 250k) The Only Thing Is That It Is Just A Little Lower In Volume (about Like Going From 10 To 8 On The Volume Knob).

You Guys Are Awesome.... Thanks For All Your Help And Input

Thanks,
Kevin

[Kent S.]

Re: Changing POTS

Where can I get a 1000 pf capacitor? and that goes from the ground to the hot lead (where the lead is sodered onto) on the pot? Do I solder the lead and the capacitor together on the pot?

By the time that I responded to this, you have already done the pot change ... so, just the follow up, the cap can be gotten from any electronics supplier, and quite a few guitar parts sites (Radio Shack should carry it, you could grab on on-line, or at the store). The cap would go from the hot connection on the output jack directly to the ground of the input jack ... It doesn't have to go right there, but that's where it is .... generally anywhere that there is ground(a pot back), and where there is the hot signal (output from pup selector switch, or CW lug of the volume pot or the wiper of it. In essnce you a rigging up a *tiny tone knob a zero* type of thing so you want to start with a small value cap. and work your way down. you can get super techy with it, but generally there is no need ... G&L does this trick on there S-500 s to warm them up a bit (or at least they did, it's on there schematics), you might want to start with a 500pF cap first, because you are dealing with humbuckers. Like I said though, by the time I've posted this folow up, your already got the situation handled. Glad you got the tone you were looking for ...