Does brand of pot matter?

dg27

dg27

New member
I'm getting the parts together for a custom bass build that will include two SCPBs (Custom Shop matched pair). I will have two volumes and one tone. The tone will be a DPDT. I have this on another bass and love it.

I know I need 250K pots for the volume, but does the brand of pot matter? I see CTS a lot and then so-called "special" CTS pots available at some vendors.

I want to use the absolute best for this because this build has been delayed a long time.

dg
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

It kind of matters. CTS are great, so are the push/push and push/pull pots sold by companies like warmoth. That being said there are other good brands available too but some of the inexpensive and cheaper brands will have things like scratching noises audible through your amp when you turn them. Other brands fall apart over time too because they do not have a good clamp to keep them together along the top.
 
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Re: Does brand of pot matter?

The difference to the special guitar editions is not quality. It is a custom taper. CTS will give you any taper you want as long as you order a large enough batch.
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

uOpt said:
The difference to the special guitar editions is not quality. It is a custom taper. CTS will give you any taper you want as long as you order a large enough batch.
Click to expand...

Thanks to both of you for your replies. I might leave this up to my tech...

dg
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

CTS and Alpha are probably the most common pot brands you'll see out there. CTS has a reputation for quality and Alpha has had a reputation for being crappy in the past, but they've really stepped up their game. Some Alphas I got from StewMac a few years back are much nicer than a lot of CTS's I've picked up here and there. But often the quality of the pot has more to do with who ordered them made and how much they wanted to spend. The Alphas that come in GFS's Xaviere guitars are pretty bad. I've also heard that Gibson's CTS's that come stock in their guitars aren't as nice as ones you'd get aftermarket.

If you really want to be anal about your pots, you might want to order more than you need and measure out the resistance across lugs 1 and 3, then pick the ones that are closest to the value you want and have the best feel when you turn them. I don't worry about it that much though. I left my GFS Alphas in my Xaviere SG copy just because they're on 10 most of the time anyway.
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

I checked my records and for other mods I did I used CTS from various online vendors, but I never worried about the taper. I think if I stick with those I should be fine. Thanks!
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

I like the high end CTS pots with the brass casing and shaft. Much more sturdy than the ones with aluminum shafts. You can get these from Stew-Mac too.
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

MaidenFan70:

I guess you mean these:

0115-S Solid shaft, 250K-ohm (CTS #450S 3487-1133)

I was actually looking for solid shaft rather than split. I always use knobs with a set screw.

I'm surprised StewMac doesn't have any CTS DPDTs.

Thanks.

dg
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

One thing to consider is the tolerance on the resistance value. Better ones will have a low tolerance, 5% I think. These will be much closer to spec.
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

Changing out pots for CTS and Bourns has changed my guitars tone for the better. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

If you want the best possible pot performance then you need to consider a custom taper. The taper that you get on a run-of-the-mill CTS is logarithmic and therefore it doesn't function very well as a volume pot because there is very little increase/decrease between certain points on the pot sweep. Therefore you end up with more of an off/on type of pot like the 70s/80s Marshalls had. I have used RS and Martin Six String Custom special taper pots and like them both. I actually know Matt Martin (used to be a member here) and he does great work so if I was ordering now I'd go with him.

Luke
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

Thanks, everyone. I will keep these points in mind.

Gone_Shootin: What made you switch to Bourns?
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

Where do you guys buys them, anyway?

I ordered Fender branded ones from Amazon when I only needed two solid-post ones :sulk:
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

Some places order them to tighter tolerances- like RS Guitar Works.

It helps also if, on older pots, you just shoot and clean the pot with DeOxit cleaner
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

jmh151 said:
Some places order them to tighter tolerances- like RS Guitar Works.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Just looked at these and saw that they day 10% tolerance. Was surprised that they don;t have 250K DPDT push-pull pots.

I need two 250K solid shaft volume pots + one 250K DPDT.

Trying to find all three in one place because you can often pay a shipping fee that's as much as the part...:confused:

Thanks.

dg
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

I've had problems finding good quality push pull pots- most seem to be Alpha pots
 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

Acapulco gold, maaaaan

 
Re: Does brand of pot matter?

dg27 said:
Thanks, everyone. I will keep these points in mind.

Gone_Shootin: What made you switch to Bourns?
Click to expand...

Everything I've read says they turn easier, and IIRC, the push/pull pots in my Les Paul are Bourns and they do turn easier than the pots in some of my other guitars. Most of my guitars have whatever they came with, and I haven't looked to see what all brands they have in them. As far as reliability goes, everything I've dug up says that CTS & Bourns are pretty much the same.

uOpt said:
Where do you guys buys them, anyway?

I ordered Fender branded ones from Amazon when I only needed two solid-post ones :sulk:
Click to expand...

I've been ordering parts from AmplifiedParts.com . They seem to be one of the cheapest suppliers out there. They regularly beat Musician's Friend, Guitar Center, The Tube Store, and others.
 
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