250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

The Vault

The Vault

New member
Hey peeps.. so a couple days ago I installed a JazzN and '59b in my LP Studio. Currently, there are 500k pots and although it's a great combo, I'm wondering if maybe they aren't as clear as I assumed they'd be. I'm finding the Jazz to be a bit bright and boomy, and the 59 to be honky and shrill; both clean and with crunch. I'm wondering if I should try 250k pots instead?

The LP is dark sounding, and has an ebony fretboard.
 
Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

i'd stick with 500K pots for HB's - check the wiring again, measure the resistance of the volume pots and back of the neck pup (especially the bass side) and pull up the bridge pup closer to the strings
I like to have the same pickup in the bridge and neck position
 
Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

What Stef said.

Though I've had a '59b in the bridge of an SG (I know it's a dfferent beast but they piss on a lot of the same trees) and I much preferred it with 250k pots. I can't really comment on the Jazz as I've never used it but I'd be wary of using 250s on a neck humbucker in case it turned to mud. If you think it's too bright then maybe you could try 300k? Or maybe just roll that tone pot around a bit. :p

Love the avatar, by the way. :fing2:
 
Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

I use 250K's on almost all my bridge PU's, for the added warmth, LP's included. And 500K's on the neck PU's for the clarity and definition.

I also swap magents when the EQ's aren't quite what I want. Like most PAF's, the '59 is a little bright in the bridge slot. To fix that you have several options: 250K pots, an A4 magnet, an A2, or an A8.

I'd try an A4 in your JazzN to take off the shrill high end and add a little midrange for a fuller sound.

You have very good PU's, but like many of us (welcome to the club) we have to do a little tweaking to get what we want. Often when your knee-jerk reaction is to buy a new PU, you are faced with a new set of problems, or sometimes the old problems all over again. Work with what you have, and see what hidden potential it has, then decide.
 
Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

Do you guys think the caps are too strong at ? I attached a couple photos of each of the bridge and neck pots.

Do you guys see anything I can alter in the wiring at all?

Stef, not sure what you mean by "measure the resistance of the volume pots and back of the neck pup"

The 1st pic is the bridge pots, the 2nd pic are the neck pots, and the last pic is of all four pots.
 
Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

I had dimarzio 250K pot which measuerd 470K on the mmeter, some 500K - 550Kohm on the meter and 250K - around 190Kohm if I remember correctly. who knows what's in your guitar! just buy a cheap multimeter and it takes 5 seconds to measure the resistance.
25OK pots sounded like mud on the bridge position even in a bright squier (with a jb and 500T)

back off the neck pickup means push it down farther from the strings than bridge pickup, using bass and treble side screws and a god ole screwdriver, bass side even lower inside the body than treble side...SD specs are inside your manual or here on the sd website.
 
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Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

Go A4 for the Jazz and A4 or A8 in the '59. You could go A2 as well but the bottom end would be a little spongier.
 
Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

Stef said:
I25OK pots sounded like mud on the bridge position even in a bright squier (with a jb and 500T).
Click to expand...

Not quite. A lot of guys use 250K's on their JB's to tame the notorious high end, and some of us use them on just about all our bridge PU's. You can overdose on treble.
 
Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

The wiring on the pics looks okay for the Bridge.
However the neck might have have a problem.
Assuming that the white wire from the middle leg goes to the 3-way switch, I suggest you connect the cap to the middle leg.
The red and white wire from the neck PU are not grounded, are they? It looks a bit odd on the pics.
 
Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

blueman335 said:
Not quite. A lot of guys use 250K's on their JB's to tame the notorious high end, and some of us use them on just about all our bridge PU's. You can overdose on treble.
Click to expand...

it's not that simple - you can't use 250K pots and just add some treble to make it sound like 500K - it's not just simple eq-ing - the tone of HB's with two 250K pots is IMO and IME overcompressed and muddy in the bass, middle and treble...
I wonder what amp and speakers do you use? I bet the speakers are V30?
 
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Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

Stef said:
it's not that simple - you can't use 250K pots and just add some treble to make it sound like 500K - it's not just simple eq-ing - the tone of HB's with two 250K pots is IMO and IME overcompressed and muddy in the bass, middle and treble...
Click to expand...

But I don't want them to sound like 500K's. I want warmth. We all hear with different ears. I'm treble sensitive and can't stand thin, shrill bridge PU's. It's really annoying. I get compliments on my tones everytime I'm on stage, more than guys with much more expensive guitars. I'm doing something right.
 
Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

Guys can we please maintain focus on the thread please. I really need a hand figuring out this schematic.
 
Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

blueman335 said:
But I don't want them to sound like 500K's. I want warmth. We all hear with different ears. I'm treble sensitive and can't stand thin, shrill bridge PU's. It's really annoying. I get compliments on my tones everytime I'm on stage, more than guys with much more expensive guitars. I'm doing something right.
Click to expand...

again which amp?
 
Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

The Vault said:
Guys can we please maintain focus on the thread please. I really need a hand figuring out this schematic.
Click to expand...

what you need is a little more practice with the soldering iron - and be careful not to overheat and burn the pots when soldering the ground wires!
what's the problem with the schematic?
 
Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

The Vault said:
Ok.. all of a sudden the wiring I'm doing isn't working anymore (sigh). The JazzN P/u is a 4 conductor and the '59b p/u is single conductor. I used this wiring diagram.. what am i doing wrong?

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=2h_2v_2t_3w
Click to expand...

when you say the wiring isn't working anymore, do you mean you're not getting output, one of the pickups aren't giving output, you're getting buzzing/humming, etc. you've probably got a cold joint somewhere.

as far as tonality issues go, i think different magnets would suit you pretty well, a4s especially. it'll smooth out the boomyness in the neck and flatten out the honkyness in the bridge because of it's flatter-than-a5 EQ.
 
Re: 250k or 500k pots in a Gib LP?

Stef said:
what you need is a little more practice with the soldering iron - and be careful not to overheat and burn the pots when soldering the ground wires!
what's the problem with the schematic?
Click to expand...

I think I will A4 magnets, but I'm not sure where to get them.

I'm not too bad with the soldering iron. When I initially installed the PuPs, everything was ok. After posting this thread, I tried soldering a 250k pot in the bridge tone position, and sound stopped producing. I tried reinstalling the 500k pot to he same position, and still no sound. However, if I take the switch wire, and touch it to the ground, then the bridge pup makes sound, but it also cancels out the neck pup.

The different between the schematic and the plate that my pots are sitting on is that there is that Gibson LP "thing" sandwiched right in the middle of the plate, between all the pots.... WHAT IS THAT? Is that the ground from the input jack? There is no CD schematic on the website that takes that into account.
 
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