New Caps & Pots?

[angus99]

Hi, today is decision day for pots & caps for my 1982 ES 335 Dot Reissue. I'm installing a Seth Lover (7.2K) in the neck and a SD Custom Custom (14.4K) in the bridge. Both are Alnico 2's. The new pups have arrived and the tech is on standby.

Alex at Seymour Duncan recommends "in general" 500K pots and 0.047 caps for their humbuckers, but I'm still not clear on how this would affect the tone on a 335 specifically with the above pups.

I play mostly classic rock and blues. I'd like as much tonal variety as possible, with warm, clear highs and some crunch & bottom when I need it--in short I want to let it be all it can be but still have it sound like a 335.

The guitar is dead stock except for some Rio Grande pickups put in by the previous owner, which are way too dark. I don't want to change anything (besides the pups) just for the sake of changing, but if the tech's going to be in there anyway . . .

Does anybody have any thoughts on whether to make one or both of these mods? Also, if you've changed out the caps on your 335, what value did you use?

Finally, would you do both volume & tone pots and, assuming I use CTS, which model?

Thanks.

Angus

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: New Caps & Pots?

Is there something wrong with the pots already in your guitar? They are probably 500K and .047 tone caps already...

But if they're not, then go for 500K CTS and for the tone caps I prefer are .022 Sprague Orange Drops because when you roll the tone down you'll leave more mids in the signal with .022 compared to .047.

Lew

 

[angus99]

Re: New Caps & Pots?

Is there something wrong with the pots already in your guitar? They are probably 500K and .047 tone caps already...

But if they're not, then go for 500K CTS and for the tone caps I prefer are .022 Sprague Orange Drops because when you roll the tone down you'll leave more mids in the signal with .022 compared to .047.

Lew

Volume pots are 300K; not sure about tone pots. Would you take all 4 to 500K with the pickups I'm installing?

Thnx

Angus

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: New Caps & Pots?

Volume pots are 300K; not sure about tone pots. Would you take all 4 to 500K with the pickups I'm installing?

Thnx

Angus

I would. Definately. Make all four 500K and personally, I prefer .022 tone caps.

I'd also do the 50's mod: connect one leg of the tone cap to the middle terminal of the volume pot and the other leg of the tone cap to the middle terminal of the tone pot. Or if you want to attach the tone cap on the tone pot, at least make the wire connection to the tone control off of the middle terminal of volume pot...it'll accomplish the same thing and help retain highs.

Lew

 

[angus99]

Re: New Caps & Pots?

I would. Definately. Make all four 500K and personally, I prefer .022 tone caps.
Lew

I just hate to show such ignorance, but are there caps other than tone caps to be concerned with and would they be the same .022 values?

Thnx

Angus