banner

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

    Hi all,

    I'm planning on installing a P90 into the neck position of my telecaster but I'm not sure what kind of potentiometers to use. I've seen some mixed opinions on what kind of pots to use with P90s, but I haven't seen on what kind to use with a master volume and master tone. Obviously a 250k would work best with the single coil in the bridge, but I don't know how compatible it would be with the P90 at the same time.

    Second, I know nothing about tone capacitors other than how to install them so if you have any suggestions for what kind would work best, that would be much appreciated.

    Unfortunately, SD does not have a wiring diagram for this pickup configuration so, again, if anyone knows where I can find one that would be great. I found one on the Fralin Pickups website but they don't specify what kind of pots or caps are recommended.

    Thanks so much!

  • #2
    Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

    I use 250k pots for P90s, but it is really up to you. I'd test with either, since they are so cheap. As far as a cap, 47 would be my pick, which it might already have.
    Administrator of the SDUGF

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

      How come you suggest 47 for the cap? I saw on another post that someone had a 47 cap installed and responses suggested they bring it down to 22, just wondering why.

      Thanks

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

        One more thing; I've been looking around the web for answers and apparently Gibson used 300k pots for p90s, which I didn't know existed, do you think that would be a safe middle ground between 250k and 500k?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

          Start off with 250k and a 0.047uf (47nf) tone capacitor. Make sure not to get it mixed up with 0.470uf (470nf) because that would be like using a 1mm to a 1cm pick. That is what Leo Fender and Bill Carson came up with. How cheap capacitors are in Thailand and how well polyester capacitors handle heat go nuts. The only reason we pay ridiculous amounts of money for capacitors are accuracy or if they are vintage (new old stock) such as never used USSR military capacitors or bumble bees. All the demos I saw on youtube when I believed material aside from ceramic made a difference they usually had one of each capacitor and never bothered measuring them, just plopped them in or put it on a rotary switch and played the same chords or smoking hot riff over and over again. So there is nothing wrong with polyester capacitors the only people that will tell you differently are snake oil salesmen trying to hock a super expensive "premium" wiring. The only premium pot that isn't a push pull , blend or concentric I really recommend is the Fender no load pot.

          if I learned anything tone chasing it's find what works for you. who knows it could be 500k pots and a 0.01uf tone capacitor wired 50s style.

          another way to fine tune your tone without getting into magnets is trying different string materials. Back in the 50s people used pure nickel strings for more warmth , now there is stainless steel for extra brightness. Just about every big string maker has a chart on their websites to see.Luckily picks are dirt cheap I remember my last online order I bought about 10 different types of picks and tried them all out. What we realize is everything affects our tone.

          here is a great video on the subject picking pots and capacitors , Dylan has a ton of great videos to really understand what is going on under the hood of a guitar. Another I really liked watching was CSGuitars or wills easy guitar.
          Last edited by shadowfire90; 12-12-2019, 01:49 AM.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

            IMO, it makes the most sense to just go with the stock wiring first, and see what happens. Then, if it's unsuitable, you can make changes later.

            If, in the end, you do decide that 500K would be better for the neck pickup, then go with a 500K master volume. Even with the 500K pot, you can always use certain electronics components internally to tamp down your bridge pickup and simulate just it going through a 250K pot. But if you use a 250K master, you can't use said components to make the P90 sound like it's going through a 500K pot.
            Last edited by ItsaBass; 12-12-2019, 03:03 AM.
            Originally posted by LesStrat
            Yogi Berra was correct.
            Originally posted by JOLLY
            I do a few chord things, some crappy lead stuff, and then some rhythm stuff.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

              I suggest 47, because it still is a single coil pickup, and I use my tone knobs a lot. I suggest you have a few different values on hand and swap them out, but start with whatever is in the guitar first. Pots and caps are some of the cheapest parts, and while I might tell you what I would use, sometimes you don't know until you try. Yes, I've heard of 300k pots, but they are not as easy to find...and I bet I couldn't hear the difference between 300 and 250, especially with 10-20% tolerance.
              Administrator of the SDUGF

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

                I’d use 250k pots and a .022uF cap.


                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

                  Okay, so some recommend I use .047uf so why do you recommend using .022uf caps rather than .047uf? I'm trying to gather as much information as possible from both schools of thought, thanks.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

                    It's just that the 47nf is fatter while the 22nf is creamier. Whichever you prefer.
                    The things that you wanted
                    I bought them for you

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

                      Try both, as they are cheap enough to try. I like the tone knob to get pretty dark when turned down. Some don't use the tone knob at all.
                      Administrator of the SDUGF

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

                        Originally posted by Clint 55 View Post
                        It's just that the 47nf is fatter while the 22nf is creamier. Whichever you prefer.
                        the problem with that is when you turn the tone down it’s total mud.

                        I actually prefer .01uF. Sounds like a cocked wah.

                        The cap does nothing when the control is on 10.


                        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?



                          Use a 500K pot and wire a resistor to drop the value to 250k when you switch to the tele bridge.


                          This gives you a powerful, bright neck sound . . . and exactly the bridge sound that you know and love.



                          Originally posted by DavidRavenMoon View Post
                          The cap does nothing when the control is on 10.
                          I've found that this is true for 500k pots (at least I don't hear a difference). With 250k pots, I can hear a very slight difference with cap values (lower value are a tad brighter, higher values a tad darker), even with the tone on 10 when swapping them in the same guitar. Just run some wires out of the control cavity and you can keep clipping different ones in to compare.
                          Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

                          Originally posted by Douglas Adams
                          This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

                            Originally posted by Mincer View Post
                            Try both, as they are cheap enough to try. I like the tone knob to get pretty dark when turned down. Some don't use the tone knob at all.
                            Its easy to try different tone caps.

                            It's tight space in a tele cavity so I solder tack 2 stripped alligators in place of the capacitor, put the guitar back together and switch caps until I find the one that sounds best for that particular guitar.

                            Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk
                            What's so Funny about Peace Love and Understanding?

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: What Kind of Pots and for a Tele with a Neck P90?

                              Originally posted by Mincer View Post
                              Some don't use the tone knob at all.
                              I don't use tone knobs on any of my neck pickups on my guitars .
                              To me there already dark enough and I don't need them darker sounding , some of my guitars have them and I just disconnect them internally .
                              I do prefer them for the middle and bridge pickups though .

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X