Bourns pots VS CTS?

[BloodRose]

Better?? Worse?

Ive almost always used CTS or Gibson pots when making changes. Bourns seems to be the hot brand right now. Are they better than the others or just the hot ticket cuz of the low friction EVH one?
Funny, I always hated easy spinning pots cuz to me they seemed "worn out" and Im so picky about things being new.. But, now I see I need to be able to roll of the vol quick.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

I like the bournes plastic case pots, but the others are super tight and don't turn easy. Maybe the Duncan pots are better, don't know. CTS and dimarzio branded CTS are the best of the rest. Gibson pots are made by CTS too, but they're different, I HATE them. The tabs pull off super easy if youre not careful.

 

[formula73]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

I think Gibson pots are made to LOOK like CTS. On one of those corksniffer LP forums, a guy did a side by side disassembly. The innards are different, too. Gibson is much flimsier than CTS.

 

[Artie]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

They're both quality pots. You won't hear a difference in either. However, Bournes is offering their series 87 & 95 in plastic elements. Those are "supposed" to be superior. They have much lower dynamic noise, but I'm not sure you'd hear it in a guitar application.

Still, I'm gonna try both.

 

[wolf5150]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

i'm having the bourns 87 vintage pot installed in my Anderson on fri as part of a complete re wire . I'll let you know how it works. The only complaint i have is the solder tags are just pieces of wire. My tech reckons its designed to attach to a circuit board , not a guitar and they are simply looking to sell more. Lol.

 

[Artie]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

Those aren't "pieces of wire".

They're "hook" terminals. Like the old days. Thus, the "vintage" moniker.

 

[wolf5150]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

sure look like pieces of wire to me . Lol. I did ask the tech if they're ok to solder to and he said the only thing is that it won't be as neat .

 

[Stratman]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

Hook wires

Make sure you understand the 1, 2, 3 wiring and always use a ground lug

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

I have an EVH Bourns and CTS in one guitar (both 500k). I went for the EVH as a volume because I like 'em loose. It's good except the holes in the lugs are a bit small for the amount of wires that need to go into some of them, and the one I got was a bit scratchy out of the box around 0-2; I need to try some contact cleaner, as it sometimes bleeds on 0.

Can't really rate the CTS as it's a tone pot but both seem nicely made, maybe the CTS more so - you get more washers and nuts with it certainly. The EVH is annoying as it only comes with a solid shaft.

I wonder what the SD Yngwie pots are like.

 

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

I recently got a guitar from someone here who put CTS pots in a squier. The pots in the squier are more responsive than the ones in my Gibson.

 

[appar111]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

I have an EVH Bourns and CTS in one guitar (both 500k). I went for the EVH as a volume because I like 'em loose. It's good except the holes in the lugs are a bit small for the amount of wires that need to go into some of them, and the one I got was a bit scratchy out of the box around 0-2; I need to try some contact cleaner, as it sometimes bleeds on 0.

Can't really rate the CTS as it's a tone pot but both seem nicely made, maybe the CTS more so - you get more washers and nuts with it certainly. The EVH is annoying as it only comes with a solid shaft.

I wonder what the SD Yngwie pots are like.

They're really good. Even taper all the way from 0 to 10, and super loose feeling like the EVH's. Designed more for lighter strat knobs-- with metal knobs if you flick it all the way up fast, it can hit the end of the travel and bounce back. But for light knobs like strat knobs and gibson style knobs, they rock! Well worth the $12 a pop I paid for them. I've got a 250K in a strat and a 500K in my humbucker tele. Good stuff!

Next ones I want to try are the Duncan Smooth Turning pots. Not quite as loose as the YJM pots, but same taper from what I've heard from Duncan (I think Evan?)

 

[wolf5150]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

The malmsteen ones are split shaft unlike the evh ones. That's the only difference. Both sound and feel fantastic. I have both.The smooth turning duncan pot packed up on me after a month. Not impressed with that one, which is why i'm replacing it with the bourns vintage.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

my favorite pots that ive ever tried are from hamer guitars. i think they are custom taper cts

 

[Strat111]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

I'm using the 500K EVH pots in my old American Kramer w/humbuckers, and they are great. I did have to use metal knobs due to the straight shaft instead of the split shaft. I do have a Duncan YJM volume pot that I want to install in my Strat, but at this time, the CTS pot that is in there, is working fine.

 

[RayBarbeeMusic]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

Equally crappy. I find the whole CTS/Bourns thing amusing, since neither of them are very good pots nor are they very close to spec.

 

[wolf5150]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

What pots would you suggest then Master Yoda ?

 

[formula73]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

What pots would you suggest then Master Yoda ?

Indeed...

???

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

really, first I ever heard crappy..?? pcorn:

Thanks all! The bournes with the plastic.. those prone to melting with a soldering iron? How do ya ground them? I always have a hard time getting a ground to hold on the back of a pot (yeah even rough em up) and have even ruined a pot or two cuz of over heating them trying to get a ground on

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

Bournes are always dead on in my experience, as are the Dimarzio's, which are just CTS pots. I've never even bothered with testing CTS pots. Maybe Ray likes Alpha's.

On the Bournes pots with the plastic cases you use a washer with a hook on it to attatch your ground to. It grounds the shaft of the pot. They can be a pain in the ass to wire, and they cost more... I haven't decided if they're worth it yet or not, but maybe they are, I just ordered some more.

 

[RayBarbeeMusic]

Re: Bourns pots VS CTS?

As cheap pots go, Alphas tend to be more on spec in terms of actual resistance. Bourns trend at least 10% less than stated, CTS the mean is more like 5% low.

Based on the many, many pots I see in guitars and amps, and what I have to replace/repair and what I don't, of those 3 (and mind you I'm not thrilled with any of them) Alphas crap out the least and are closest to spec. They are also standard issue on far more high end amplifiers than CTS or Bourns, so ponder that one. The only people that get excited about CTS or Bourns are guitar players who frequent the internet. Boutique amp builders use Alpha.

If you want a pot that specs the stated value, buy 5 alphas or 10 CTS or 20 Bourns and sort through them to find the 1 or 2 that is at least the stated value. That is exactly what I do. Getting bent out of shape over whether Bourns or CTS or Alpha are "best" is like choosing which dog turd to make soup from.

If you want to spend money on pots that are actually better, not just spend $50 on some CTS pots someone sorted through for you, buy the 1W or 2W mil spec pots. They are honestly good pots, not just internet hyped over marketed cheapo pots. They will cost you $9-$11 each, depending on where you go and what you want.

Are those necessary for guitar? No. But if you have it in your head that you need super duper pots, those are honestly super duper, so if you must spend money on that, spend it on something real. Otherwise, if you need a 500k pot, find a CTS/Bourns/Alpha that actually is 500k and call it a day, don't sweat which is better. They are all worse than each other.