250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

[Gustaff]

Hi folks! The reason of asking is that I don't like my JB bridge because of too much trebbly thin sounds while in clean mode (which I play the most). As I read some opinions on the net, I'm planning to change 500k pots to 250k-s to smoothen the sound, which serve my neck Jazz pickup as well.

So, how 250k pots will work with Jazz model humbucker?

Thanks!

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

If they're too bright for you with 500k's, 250k's will work fine.

 

[John Wymore]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

How is your guitar wired? Same volume control for both pickups?

 

[blueman335]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

Hi folks! The reason of asking is that I don't like my JB bridge because of too much trebbly thin sounds while in clean mode (which I play the most). As I read some opinions on the net, I'm planning to change 500k pots to 250k-s to smoothen the sound, which serve my neck Jazz pickup as well.So, how 250k pots will work with Jazz model humbucker? Thanks!

I use 250K pots on all my bridge PU's, with .100 caps. Warms A5 magnet PU's nicely; but that's still not enough for the JB's dentist drill tone. A JB really needs a warmer magnet, to me anyways. For a lower PAF output bridge PU, I use an A4 magnet with 250K's.

What I do for a 2 or 3 pot guitar, is run the bridge PU to a 250K volume pot, and if there's a third pot, I make it the bridge's dedicated 250K tone pot. This makes it warmer, but still leaves plenty of bite.

The neck still needs brightening though, so I make the other pot a 500K neck volume. Sometimes I put a hidden 500K tone pot in the guitar control cavity, and put plastic wrap around it so it doesn't short anything out. It's not adjustable, but to adds to the tone, plus I never have the need to turn down the treble on a neck PU. 250k pots bleed some of the high treble to ground, and I think that's counter-productive in a neck PU, unless you want a dark muffled tone.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

Did you try lowering the screws on the pickup(s)? EQing your amp differently? Using the tone knob to roll off the highs a bit, and/or the volume knob (since in theory a half-volume 500k will sound like a full-on 250k)? Just wondering.

 

[Gustaff]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

Thank you all for your advices! but the question was about SH-2 Jazz model humbucker in the neck position. I'm planning to change pots for JB model, but these pots serve my neck humbucker too. and how they work with Jazz model?

my wiring is 2 humbuckers 1 vol 1 tone

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

Thank you all for your advices! but the question was about SH-2 Jazz model humbucker in the neck position. I'm planning to change pots for JB model, but these pots serve my neck humbucker too. and how they work with Jazz model?

my wiring is 2 humbuckers 1 vol 1 tone

Shouldn't really bother the Jazz that much.m I've never tried it, but it shouldn't bother it much.

I figured you could try making the JB less bright first, but oh well....

 

[Gustaff]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

so, it will be ok won't it? Jazz is smooth by nature and cutting it's highs won't bother it anyway. I'm even cutting it's tone on 500k pots to get a bit smoother sound.

any other opinions?

 

[LtKojak]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

If I was you, I'd keep the 500K pot and I'd roll a bit the tone control.

Or, try a 300K pot first; a 250K will muffle a bit too much the presence of the p'up...

What guitar is it anyway??? You didn't say...

HTH,

Pepe aka Lt. Kojak
Milano, Italy

 

[hanumanlangur]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

I have a similar guitar (RG, 1 volume, 1 tone) with a Jazz set, and I plan on changing the 500k tone pot to a 250k volume pot, to warm up and smooth out the bridge pickup.

IMO, having fundamentally good tone from both pickups is more important than being able to roll off a little high end with a tone knob.

 

[blueman335]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

Thank you all for your advices! but the question was about SH-2 Jazz model humbucker in the neck position. I'm planning to change pots for JB model, but these pots serve my neck humbucker too. and how they work with Jazz model?my wiring is 2 humbuckers 1 vol 1 tone

Like I said, use a 250K pot as the volume for the bridge, and make the other pot a 500K volume for the neck. If the bridge is still too bright, use a hidden 250K tone pot in the control cavity, wrapped in saran wrap or bubble wrap.

 

[uOpt]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

Gustaff, take a 500 Kohm resistor and clamp it across the pickup, in front of the poti. With the poti at position 10 that simulates what the guitar would sound like with a 250Kohm poti at position 10. So you can tell whether this does what you want before you start surgery.

Personally I think that you'd be better off not fiddling with the load (resistance) on the pickup, but try a small capacitor across the pickup to force the resonance frequency down. The resistor (or 250Kohm poti) only dampens your resonance peak. The capacitor moves your resonance peak to a new location but keeps a real peak. This usually comes out better, you don't just want to kill highs, you want to create some real sound ... somewhere.

 

[jeremy]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

the jb and jazz were originally used on a telecaster guitar with 250k volume and tone pots. worked back then, probably still work fine now

 

[Gustaff]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

blueman335
Either I didn't write clearly twice, or you can't understand, that there are only 2 (two) pots for both pickups, neck and bridge. 1 volume 1 tone. when I change pots for bridge pickup, that means that I'm changing for neck pickup as well

now I'll try to install 250k and if there's smth. wrong, I'll try to make more advanced wiring like uOpt adviced.

my guitar is Roland G-303

 

[hanumanlangur]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

blueman335 meant that you can go for a slightly different wiring scheme by taking out the tone pot and replacing it with a 250k volume pot for the bridge pickup, so each pickup can have its own volume pot that it sounds best with.

 

[Gustaff]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

I put 250k pots and I liked the result: JB got smoother and still has plenty of highs that are not disturbing my ears any more. Jazz pickup didn't bother at all. Everything remained nearly the same.

Can anyone tell me what happens physically when replacing 500k to 250k?

Thanks to everyone for your support and advices!

 

[uOpt]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

Can anyone tell me what happens physically when replacing 500k to 250k?

It is the same thing as adding a resistor to the low-pass filter that a passive guitar pickup is. Contrary to what people sometimes assume, the potentiometer at "10" is not out of the loop. Even with the potentiometer at "10", the way they are wired in a guitar the rated value of the poti is still "shortcutting" the pickup by that value. Removing the poti sounds different than running it at "10".

As a result, the height (not the frequency) of the resonance peak is reduced.

With pickups that have a very high resonance peak, such as Strat single, you actually must reduce the peak. If you would connect a Strat pickup directly to a low-impedance amp input (no poti in the guitar) the resonance peak completely dominates the output.

With any pickup, if the guitar itself is very strong around the same frequencies where the resonance peak is, you can get a similar overdose even from a "normal" pickup. However, it should be worth experimenting whether lowering the frequency (not the height) of the peak is a more rewarding thing to do (that's the capacitor in parallel to the pickup).

 

[Gustaff]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

thank you very much!

and why noise gets higher when you turn down your volume pot a bit? it's so nice to control drive with your volume knob, but then noise appears as you lower it...

one more question: I've heard things like linear, audio and logarythmic potentiometers. what do they mean and which ones can be used with guitar? I know that one of them begins lowering immediately and one of them makes reasonable lowering only after reaching it's 50%...

thanks again, in advance

 

[blueman335]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

blueman335
Either I didn't write clearly twice, or you can't understand, that there are only 2 (two) pots for both pickups, neck and bridge. 1 volume 1 tone. when I change pots for bridge pickup, that means that I'm changing for neck pickup as well

My point is that you don't HAVE to have one volume & one tone, just because the manufacturer wired it that way. You have two pots...make them both volume controls, and that way they can be different values. This is not rocket science. Look at a guitar's electonics & be creative...you can easily change ALL of it.

This forum is all about modifying stock guitars. And manufacturers usually wire guitars in the cheapest & most unimaginative way possible. Think outside the box.

 

[Gustaff]

Re: 250k pot with SH-2 Jazz

yes, that's the idea, but... I'm usin' tone control quite often