Humbucker with 250k pots?

[Lewguitar]

Re: Humbucker with 250k pots?

The only time when I felt like turning down the tone was louder was with strat single coils, really... And that was IN A BAND MIX

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

At about 2:00 Eric Clapton explains why you would want to turn the tone control down.

He gets his terms mixed up a little though and mentions turning the tone control down so that the "bass" is all the way off.

Maybe he means the bass/neck pickup. I dunno.

He's really saying to turn the tone control down or all the way down though.

I do this a lot with the bridge humbucker, not so much the neck humbucker, to get the tone Eric demonstrates at around the 2:00 mark.

 

[Lorenzar]

Re: Humbucker with 250k pots?

On this subject,

I understand differences between having 300 (or 250) and 500K pots.

However, if Gibson often used 300K pots for volume (these days, they're loading a lot of guitar with 500K all around, like my Les Paul Classic 2014 for instance and many other models), they always used 500k pots for tone.

So it's not like it's 300k all over.

So basically, for those of you who are knowledgeable, does the treble suffer mostly from the volume pots ?

For the test mentionned earlier, should I just pickup my LP with 500k all around, leave the tone at 10 and put the volume at 7 to see how the guitar would sound with 300K volume and 500K tone ?

Wouldn't be really fair as I would loss output lowering the volume ?

I ask the question, cause my SG does have the old 300k volume/500k tone config, so if I could get kind of a comparison with the LP to guess what's "missing" in the SG as it is.

Not sure, I'm clear, sorry I'm french ! ahah!

 

[Davii]

Re: Humbucker with 250k pots?

In no way certain on that, but think the pickup still sees the overall load of whatever pot(s) are used.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Humbucker with 250k pots?

On this subject,

I understand differences between having 300 (or 250) and 500K pots.

However, if Gibson often used 300K pots for volume (these days, they're loading a lot of guitar with 500K all around, like my Les Paul Classic 2014 for instance and many other models), they always used 500k pots for tone.

So it's not like it's 300k all over.

So basically, for those of you who are knowledgeable, does the treble suffer mostly from the volume pots ?

For the test mentionned earlier, should I just pickup my LP with 500k all around, leave the tone at 10 and put the volume at 7 to see how the guitar would sound with 300K volume and 500K tone ?

Wouldn't be really fair as I would loss output lowering the volume ?

I ask the question, cause my SG does have the old 300k volume/500k tone config, so if I could get kind of a comparison with the LP to guess what's "missing" in the SG as it is.

Not sure, I'm clear, sorry I'm french ! ahah!

Find out for yourself.

Your Les Paul has 500k pots all around?

If so, then turning down a 500k volume or tone pot to about "7" should give you the same sound you would have if the pot was 250k.

Turn down to "7", adjust your amp for the best tone you can get out of it.

Then turn up to "10" on the guitar and adjust your amp again for the best tone you can get out of it.

Try it a bunch of times and see what you like.

You have nothing to lose!

 

[Lorenzar]

Re: Humbucker with 250k pots?

Yes my LP is stock 500K all around, as most of the 2014 and 2015 and probably 2016 line-up I guess (the specs of those models, especially for the 2015 and 2016 are precisely described on their website, although they're not indicating anymore on the 2016 lineup the presence of PCB, they were putting this info for the 2015 lineup).

Hey, after all, something to rejoice for the 2015 lineup ! ahah!


So, yes, my LP is 500K, as far as tone goes, so is my SG, should I still turn the pote tone to 7 ?

If I turn my volume to 7 on the LP, it will sound "weak" for a max (but matter of fact, my SG sounds weak and dark, while being loaded with way higher output pickup in comparison to my LP, but I was attributing this to the nature of the SG itself).


EDIT : I misread what you just said. (you said turn down volume OR tone).

So to make the test, I'll keep the tone at 10 and set the volume at 7. Doesn't sound like I'll prefer it.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Humbucker with 250k pots?

You have nothing to lose man!

Quit asking and start doing.

But adjust your amp for the best tone every time you change your volume or tone setting on the guitar.

Pretend that when you turn down the controls on your guitar that that's the way your guitar is actually wired.

So each time you turn up or turn down adjust your amp for the best tone again.

That's a must for this experiment.

 

[Lorenzar]

Re: Humbucker with 250k pots?

Yeah I get it !

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Humbucker with 250k pots?

Yeah I get it !

I'm very much looking forward to reading about your findings.

 

[Lorenzar]

Re: Humbucker with 250k pots?

I'll tell you, will do the test tonight if I find the time.

Gibson list a +/- 20% tolerance, I don't know their actual measure in my LP, but they shouldn't go lower than 400K in the worst case.

Little difference though, volume on SG are linear, volume on my LP Classic is logarithmic (and tones in both cases are logarithmic as well).

I'll do the test, but would it still be valid ?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Humbucker with 250k pots?

I'll tell you, will do the test tonight if I find the time.

Gibson list a +/- 20% tolerance, I don't know their actual measure in my LP, but they shouldn't go lower than 400K in the worst case.

Little difference though, volume on SG are linear, volume on my LP Classic is logarithmic (and tones in both cases are logarithmic as well).

I'll do the test, but would it still be valid ?

Since you know that your SG has 300K pots, set your pickups exactly the same distance from the strings on both guitars and then adjust the volume down on your Les Paul until it matches the volume of your SG on "10".

Of course this is not a scientific test.

This is just to give you an idea of what your Les Paul would sound like with 250K or 300K pots.

But its crucial to readjust your amp for the best tone everytime you change the volume on your guitar.

 

[djent]

Re: Humbucker with 250k pots?

My plan is to have a hot P90 in the neck and an EMG HZ SRO humbucker in the bridge (cos I have a spare one sitting around) I have a 250k tone but I only have 500k volumes at the moment, can I just wire both the neck and bridge to the 500k V and the 250k tone or should I buy a 250k volume? I also already have a 0.047 orange drop to put on the tone pot.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Humbucker with 250k pots?

I say, use what you have, until you get to the store and get a few more pots. You might find whatever you have right now will work fine. I obsess over things like this too, and have to remind myself that my ideas about things and the way they actually are might be 2 different things. That, and, at some point, I just have to start playing.

 

[Gibson 1964]

Re: Humbucker with 250k pots?

My plan is to have a hot P90 in the neck and an EMG HZ SRO humbucker in the bridge (cos I have a spare one sitting around) I have a 250k tone but I only have 500k volumes at the moment, can I just wire both the neck and bridge to the 500k V and the 250k tone or should I buy a 250k volume? I also already have a 0.047 orange drop to put on the tone pot.

I use 500k with p90s exclusively. I'd say try it with what you got and let that be a reference point


Need more treble? Swap out the 250k later. Need less? Use your tone knob and swap out the 500k later.