500k or 205k

[Travis Cassidy]

I know this is a matter of personal preference but i have to ask because after watching countless hours of videos i am still undecided so im coming to your guys for your recommendation. I have a 2003 fender highway one strat with 2 tone and 1 volume knob that I am putting a vintage hot stack plus (stk-7) in the neck....a vintage rails (svr-1) in the middle......and a hot stack plus (stk-s9b) in the bridge. what i dont know is if i need to use 250k or 500k potentiometers in the tone and volume. or should i (or can i) run 1 500k and 1 250k in the tones? and what about the volume? 250k or 500k? now from what i can tell .022 cap's are used with 250k pots but im looking for a rocking slightly gainy sound but still some good clean highs on my neck pickup. would the .047 cap be better for what i need? i play country and blues but i mostly play fill ins and rythem. any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[njstoehr]

Re: 500k or 205k

I would suggest that you start with what you have in the guitar. You never know what it will sound like until you try. Typically, 500k is used with humbuckers and 250k with single coils. That said, the differences between the two with the same pickups can be noticeable or subtle. So I guess it is best to say that it really all depends.

Pots are cheap so grab a few 500k pots to hold onto. If the all 250k setup is lacking some clarity or sparkle (read high end) than swap out the volume for a 500k and give it a play for a while. This may be all you need. If it is still lacking, then go after the tone pots. It has been my experience that the volume pot makes the biggest difference when swapping form 250k to 500k. The tone pots affect things too, but to a lesser degree.

As for cap values, this too is a subjective thing. I personally prefer .022uf in all my guitars as a starting point. The higher the value the more high end roll off you have when you turn the tone knob down. Most of the time, I find a .047uf cap to make the tone way too muddy (even with bright single coils). But you may like it. Again, as a general rule, .022uf for humbuckers (some, myself included with go as low as .015uf for the neck), .047uf for single coils. But I break this rule all the time because I wire it up to please my tonal wants.

Best thing to do is get some extra components and change things a little at a time until you dial in exactly what you are looking for from the guitar. It's all a part of the quest.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: 500k or 205k

I agree, try it as-is first. Don't assume you have to replace pots, find out if you actually need to. There are no hard-and-fast rules about pots and caps, it really depends on the guitar's tonal personality, the player's playing technique, amps, pedals, personal taste, the list is endless.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: 500k or 205k

You say you..."know this is a matter of personal preference". So, make it a matter of personal preference. Try a few things (as has been suggested) and see what you like.

When you roll off the tone knob, if you lose too much of the high end, use a smaller sized cap (.022uf or .015uf, or even .010uf) and see what sounds best to you.