lets talk Pots and diff types.

D

devilfish

New member
hi,

ive always used CTS pots...but now im looking at others but ned to know soem details first.

firstly...are they all compatable with a strat? as in cts, cge etc.

is there any size difference? i am struggling for room in the routed bit of my project strat and the smaller the better at the moment.

what pots could i use that will take up less space?

thanks
 
Re: lets talk Pots and diff types.

They should all be compatible with one another as long as they are the same type (ie audio taper, RH) however different brands may have a different taper if they are audio taper pots. The larger diameter bodied pots like the CTS come in USA and metric but are very close in size. If size is an issue you can buy mini pots but the threaded portion may be somewhat smaller than your existing pickguard holes and you may need to get new knobs to fit the smaller shafts. They work OK but tend to wear out faster because of the smaller resitive elemnet. If you have room I would stick with the CTS pots as IMHO they are the best quality you can get for the money spent.
 
Re: lets talk Pots and diff types.

Unless you want push-pull or push-push pots, or you have some other wacky requirement, I'd stick with CTS. They're very well built and will fit pretty much any guitar. That said, I find their action to be a bit stiff sometimes, but that's just a personal preference. There are pots out there with smoother action (I don't know what they're called, but the nub of the shaft pokes through the case on the back, and I think Fender uses them). Generally though, you're not going to beat CTS.

Why do you want to look at alternatives?
 
Re: lets talk Pots and diff types.

because i'd heard of CGE pots and i ahve no idea what they and if they were smaller but do the exact same thing i would have rather gave them a go.

i may ahve to chizel a bit out of the actually cavity in the body as its deep enough for a full switch but the pots part of the cavity seems to be quite shallow compared to my real fender guitars (its a squier body)

i ahve a few CTS pots 250k and 500k, but im not quite sure what you mena when you talk about as long as theyre the same tpye etc.

i dont really know enough about electrics etc. to understand that as of yet.
(wahts a RH pot then?)

also i have a thread somewher esle about me breaking a few CTS pots by soldering to the bakc of them and the wafer plastic thing in it warping so it cant be twisted proeprly.

im having a problem de-soldering from the bakc of pots...because by the time its heated up enough to melt the po has broken...

any help or insight would be great

thanks
 
Re: lets talk Pots and diff types.

Well, let me explain ...

There are two different pot types used in guitar applications. Audio taper and linear taper. An audio taper pot is used in volume applications and the resistance change is non-linear as you rotate the pot shaft. They are made this way because your ear does not hear volume change in a linear way. In linear pots the resistance change is linear as you rotate the shaft. These pots are sometimes used as tone pots but in reality most guitars use audio taper pots in both applications. LH or RH just denotes which way you turn the shaft to reduce or increase resistance. Once again most pots used for guitars are RH.

You can ruin a pot by holding the soldering iron on the back of the pot too long but the CTS pots are pretty tough. Usually this is caused by using a soldering iron of incorrect wattage. Problems can result with both too low or too high of wattage rating. I prefer a 15 to 20 watt iron for guitar work. A cheap Radio Shack unit will work fine.
 
Re: lets talk Pots and diff types.

i still dotn really understand what a linier taper does...im not that good with electrics atthe moment...but im trying to learn.


i dotnr eally understand what you mean by ''An audio taper pot is used in volume applications and the resistance change is non-linear as you rotate the pot shaft''

what does ''the resistance chance is NON LINEAR as you rotate the pot shaft...for starters. im unsure of what a leaniear pot is and what theyre used for.

also, how do i know which is an audio taoper pot and a linear taper pot.

thanks
 
Re: lets talk Pots and diff types.

i still dotn really understand what a linier taper does...im not that good with electrics atthe moment...but im trying to learn.


i dotnr eally understand what you mean by ''An audio taper pot is used in volume applications and the resistance change is non-linear as you rotate the pot shaft''

what does ''the resistance chance is NON LINEAR as you rotate the pot shaft...for starters. im unsure of what a leaniear pot is and what theyre used for.

also, how do i know which is an audio taoper pot and a linear taper pot.

thanks
 
Re: lets talk Pots and diff types.

Non-linear pots react in the following way as you turn the shaft to full volume (if I'm not mistaken).

Random image
chbuia11.gif


The linear pots react like this

Again random image

pdgphs21.gif


I hope that helps.;)


BTW, recently the tip of my soldering iron got damaged and I kept on using my mother's one (she makes vitro lamps and such things) that's 75W. I didn't have any problems yet, but you need to be lightning fast with that. It helps me finish the job faster. :P If you're not experienced with soldering I'd say don't try it.

Edit: I found a better image

linearvsaudio_pot.jpg
 
Last edited:
Re: lets talk Pots and diff types.

hi,

so can i use linear and audio pots for both volume and tone controls? does it matter at all on how they sound?

whats the difference between CGE and CTS pots?

thanks
 
Re: lets talk Pots and diff types.

If by "how they sound" you mean their tone, I don't think it matters. What you'll notice is a smoother progress in volume change with audio ones.

I'm sorry, I can't help you with the CGE vs CTS question. I'm not so experienced.
 
Re: lets talk Pots and diff types.

ok thats cool. so any 500k pot will sound the same with a humbucker.

and by same i mean tone not quality...i know a crap pot would produce and absolute crap sound. ahahaha.

whats the difference between CTS and CGE then anyone?

thanks
 
Re: lets talk Pots and diff types.

ok thats cool. so any 500k pot will sound the same with a humbucker.

and by same i mean tone not quality...i know a crap pot would produce and absolute crap sound. ahahaha.

whats the difference between CTS and CGE then anyone?

thanks
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