500K with good taper needed

[gypsy]

I've got a Gibson custom shop Les Paul. It had CTS linear pots 500K. It's basically on or off, no nice even taper. So I put CTS audio pots in there and they still jump too much for me.

I notice 500K pots tend to do this with humbuckers. They never have a nice taper like 250K. Why is that?

But I have noticed some guitars like Ernie Balls and PRS's have pretty good taper with their humbucker guitars. I'm trying to find some Ernie Ball pots, but not having any luck. Anyone know what kind PRS uses?

 

[NathanCahill]

Re: 500K with good taper needed

If you have tried both 500K audio taper and Linear taper I think you are stuck. The 250K or 500K Should not have anything to do with the taper. The resistance however will affect the tone. 250K is normaly used for Single coils and 500K for humbuckers, this can be changed to your personal prefferance though.

 

[gypsy]

Re: 500K with good taper needed

No, it's known that different brands DO have different tapers. All pot is not created equal.

I'm trying to find out which ones have the better performance. I understand CTS is the best currently built, but they suck for actual use.

 

[rspst14]

Re: 500K with good taper needed

You might want to try the pots Hamer uses in their American-made guitars. They are custom tapered, and made exclusively for Hamer. There is a smooth increase in the signal from 1-9, and then a boost when going from 9 to 10, which is useful for soloing. You should be able to get them through Hamer's parts department, but if not, Greg at BCR music has them in stock, www.bcrmusic.com.

Ryan

 

[gypsy]

Re: 500K with good taper needed

Thank you, I'll definitely check them out!

 

[Curly]

Re: 500K with good taper needed

I agree, the Hamer pots are cool

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: 500K with good taper needed

The Hamer pots work fine but the REAL secret as to why Hamers sound so good is the way the single tone control is connected. The tone control is connected to the output jack instead of to the top (input) of the volume pot. Yep: the 50's Mod.

As for trouble with the taper of 500K pots used for humbuckers, I think it might be the diff between humbuckers and single coils you're hearing as much as anything.

Try the 50's mod on your guitar...it'll help even things out.

Lew