How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

Redbowties88

Redbowties88

New member
So I ordered 4 new pots to install with my new burstbuckers, 2 with the correct taper for volume (audio?) and 2 for tone (Linear?).. however they arrived unmarked in a bag.

How can I tell which ones are which? also they were supposed to be alphas and they feel pretty crappy and aren't branded in any way. They actually feel worse then the stock ones in my Epiphone :bigeyes: Is there a way to tell so I know I got what I was supposed to?

One more thing, I ordered orange drop caps for the install and DAMN these things are huge.. I had no idea they were that big. Is that normal?

here's a pic.



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Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

600V caps are pretty big. Remember a guitar w/ overwind might kick out a volt at best
Go the Duncan store and get some good pots.
And get rid of the B'buckers
PC
 
Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

Those caps belong in a tube amp filter section. You need tiny ones.

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Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

Well these were advertised at tone caps... are they the wrong ones?

and From the research I've done I'm perfectly happy with alpha pots.. I just wanna make sure these actually are alphas.
 
Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

IME the Alpha pots are no better than the stock ones. Get some CTS or Bourns and you will be much happier.
 
Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

Redbowties88 said:
Well these were advertised at tone caps... are they the wrong ones?

and From the research I've done I'm perfectly happy with alpha pots.. I just wanna make sure these actually are alphas.
Click to expand...

Won't be any sort of dangerous issue, but aside from the size problem, it may not have as good a tone characteristics as a 35v or 100v. Its something to do with the way the electricity flows thru it that would best be explained by someone who isn't a hobbyist like me...because I dunno. Leave your leads long and if you don't like it, trade to an amp guy for a smaller voltage one.

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Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

ok so I'm just gonna order some new caps for stewmac so I know they'll be right.

but again as for the pots, I've done enough research and I'm confident that alphas are the brand I want to use at least to start. Is there any way to tell if these are really alphas and if so which ones are which taper?
 
Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

Get a multimeter and check the R between the middle leg and either side, swing the pot. you might get 20% variation ie 478 = 500.
Alpha's suck. Go CTS or Bournes.
PC
 
Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

audio taper pots use an "A" in the part number
Linear taper pots use a "B" in the part number

if it doesnt have this stamped on the bottom somewhere
then turn the pot half way
a linear taper will have half the value of the total pot

ie a 500k pot will read 250k in center (center leg to either outside leg)
an audio will have a fairly noticeable difference

CTS are supposed to be better
I use the cheap ones

linear for volume
audio for tone

volume is mostly always up all the way all the time
rolled back a bit for cleaner passages
tone almost never moves
 
Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

Yes, Orange Drop caps are that big. I actually like the size...very easy to work with. I doubt that the high voltage (600v) will make a difference, the capacitance is the main thing, and your .023uf is right on. The Orange Drops that you can get from StewMac, etc. for guitar are rated at 100v...already nearly 1000 times what a pup puts out.

Those are most likely Alpha pots. As ehdwuld said, look for either an A500 or B500 stamped on the top of the lug fiberboard or on the side of the can to distinguish between audio and linear taper.
 
Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

In the last resort, you can test the resistance track type using a DC resistance meter. Three or four readings between the maximum and minimum rotor positions should be sufficient to demonstrate the difference.
 
Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

kilphody said:
you might get 20% variation ie 478 = 500.
Alpha's suck. Go CTS or Bournes.
PC
Click to expand...

Uh . . . CTS and Bourns are also +-20%. I have a "guitar specific" Bourns 500k pot here that reads a tad over 400k. ;)

Alphas are fine if you just shoot a quick shot of Deoxit into them. (Same for Bourns and CTS.)
 
Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

Go CTS or go home.lol just kidding
But seriously Alpha potentiometers are cheap. That's just a fact.

The Orange Drop caps are supposed to be huge. The ones from StewMac will be huge too. I like 'em better than ceramic disc caps. I use my tone control all the time now that I installed a .015uF Orange Drop Cap. and I play metal.

Oh and BTW, are the pots you got super lightweight and feel real cheap when you turn them up and down? Like they weigh absolutely nothing? When you take out the Epiphone stock pots and compare them you're gonna find that they are the exact same ones. CTS are the upgrade pots for Chinese guitars.
 
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Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

~Vintage~ said:
Go CTS or go home.lol just kidding
But seriously Alpha potentiometers are cheap. That's just a fact.

The Orange Drop caps are supposed to be huge. The ones from StewMac will be huge too. I like 'em better than ceramic disc caps. I use my tone control all the time now that I installed a .015uF Orange Drop Cap. and I play metal.

Oh and BTW, are the pots you got super lightweight and feel real cheap when you turn them up and down? Like they weigh absolutely nothing? When you take out the Epiphone stock pots and compare them you're gonna find that they are the exact same ones. CTS are the upgrade pots for Chinese guitars.
Click to expand...

The pots in my epi feel 100x better then these, it's older though... made in korea.

it does take very little effort to turn them which I don't like. not as little as my stock Wilshire push pull pots though.
 
Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

Redbowties88 said:
The pots in my epi feel 100x better then these, it's older though... made in korea.

it does take very little effort to turn them which I don't like. not as little as my stock Wilshire push pull pots though.
Click to expand...


Oh yeah, those MIK ones are pretty nice! No doubt like the LTD's (1000 series) that are Korean and are worlds better than the Chinese ones.
 
Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

So I got my order from stewmac in today with the screws, I also ordered some of the lower voltage caps and I took a picture of the size difference in case anyone is interested.



they're both .o22uf

I'm glad I didn't try to use the 600v ones... They may have sounded the same but being that large would of certainly made them harder to work with.
 
Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

Who'd you buy those weird-looking unlabelled push-pulls from, anyway? Random ebay person? Or did an actual respected store send you that??
 
Re: How Can I Tell Which Pots Are Which?

Guitarheads.net

They're supposed to be alphas, they aren't labeled on their site so I emailed them to ask what brand they were and alpha was the response.

I went with them because they're local and I would get everything fast. That'll teach me.
 
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