500k pots in a strat

Seraphial

Seraphial

New member
Hi all

Have a very dark strat and wanted to open it up a bit (say 20%) - have done the usual stuff (adjusting the SSL1 heights, new strings, new block, etc) so going to try 500k pots. Can anyone help with a few questions?

- 500k seems to be the ticket, though I have seen some people mention 1meg pots too. Might make the bridge way too bright though. Anyone else tried it?
- Is it JUST the tone pots I should change? Just the one neck/middle tone pot? Or everything? (I heard some people say just the tone pots, leaving the volume at 250k, though I don't really need more brightness in the bridge, which is linked to one tone pot)
- Should I use a no-load? Any benefits?
- What caps do you recommend?

Thanks
 
if the strat is really dark all around, then i agree, swap the volume pot for 500k and leave the rest the same. are all the pups too dark or just one or two? is there a tone control wired to the bridge pup?

i dont usually like 1meg pots or no load pots
 
I run an SSL-5 in the bridge of a strat without a tone pot to brighten it up and it works well. There's not much sonic difference between no-load and 1 M pot, so it just comes down to personal preference. You can always access the same tone as before by rolling the tone pot back a bit to a lower resistance value

It's also worth checking the value of your 250k volume pot with a multimeter. They vary a fair amount (usually +/- 20%). If the value is low (220k or below) I'd replace it with a pot that measures at least 250k or even a little bit higher (maybe up to 270k) and see if that brightens up the guitar. I wouldn't stick a 500k pot here though, that will change the character of the pickup a lot and can make things a bit screechy.

The type of capacitor you use doesn't make any difference to sound, but the value will. I like a .15 or .22 on the bridge and .22 or .33 everywhere else usually. Caps are cheap, get a couple and experiment.
 
I tried 500k pots for single coils. It sounded horrible. Nothing like a single coil. It sounded like the crappiest humbucker.

try 300k. Try also raising the single coils closer to the strings.
 
esandes said:
I tried 500k pots for single coils. It sounded horrible. Nothing like a single coil. It sounded like the crappiest humbucker.

try 300k. Try also raising the single coils closer to the strings.
Click to expand...

I only own one guitar with single coils. For nostalgia. I looks like Blackmore's Tobacco Sunburst Strat. I never play it. Ever. For the reason you just stated
 
500k volume and leave the tones the same should do the trick. If it were me I would put a 330k volume and 250k no load tone. Just the right amount of brightness.
 
I ran an SSL 1,1,5 pickguard with only a 500k volume and no tone for a little while. Sounded pretty good in a ice pick kinda way. I had 1 meg in there once and that was just ridiculous. 300 or 330k volume with a 250k no load tone will give you a tad bit of extra bite, but with the ability to get balanced sounds if you roll either or both knobs back.
 
I have used 250k Volume control and 500k tone controls in a Strat. With 500k volume you will loose more high frequencies when the volume control is rolled off, so its better to keep the 250k volume IMO.
 
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