Noob Question Regarding Pots

[jd_watt]

Hi, All. Lots of great info here, I thought it would be an appropriate place to ask a question regarding tone and volume pots. I have a Fender AV Jaguar that I really love but there are a few things I'd like to change about the tone.
I'm considering changing the 1meg pots to 250k like those found in fender strats.
Will this yield a different result than merely turning the tone pot down? I'm hoping to tone down some of the harsh highs and honky mids. Again, I'm shooting for a more strat-sounding Jaguar. Thanks for any thoughts or info!

P.S. I saw the pot diagram floating around here, and it seems 250k's would produce a smoother frequency response, or am I way off base?

 

[jeremy]

Re: Noob Question Regarding Pots

ive never liked 1 meg pots in a guitar, especially single coils. 250k will darken the sound noticably which could mean a smoother tone without the harsh highs but it could also cut off too much treble depending on your tastes.

roll your tone and volume back a notch or two and see if that is something you like

 

[Micah]

Re: Noob Question Regarding Pots

ive never liked 1 meg pots in a guitar, especially single coils. 250k will darken the sound noticably which could mean a smoother tone without the harsh highs but it could also cut off too much treble depending on your tastes.

roll your tone and volume back a notch or two and see if that is something you like

You know, something Ive never really understood is: When we say a potentiometer is 1 meg, 500k, 300k, or 250k, that is the potential for resistance to ground right? If that is the case, when your volume or tone pot is "off" you have the maximum amount of resistance the poentiometer can produce right? so a 500k pot is resisting the current coming from the pickup to ground @ 500 ohms when its closed or "no sound coming out"-right?

If that is the case, Im not sure I understand why a different resistance potential ina potentiometer changes the tone going to the amplifier... heres why:

If it only takes 250k of resistance to stop the flow of current coming from a single coil pickup in a strat, then what is 500 ohms going to do after the current is stopped @ 250 ohms??

Some guys play JB's with 250k pots--wouldnt that mean the pickup would never be "off: if it takes 500 ohms to stop the current?

Im obviously off somewhere here because I know you can turn a JB "off" with a 250k pot! Is is that more resistance equals more output of the pickup because its resisting its connection to ground?

Can somone set me straight here??

 

[Roosje Urbach]

Re: Noob Question Regarding Pots

The pot value is an important part of the "load" the pickup has to push. A higher value pot gives a more spiky resonance peak from the pickup. A lower value pot makes the pickup work harder generating a current, this evens out the sound. This is subtly audible. To make a Jaguar sound more like a strat,
I would use a thicker gauge of strings. This will make up for the jag's shorter scale length (floppier strings than on a strat) and make a BIG difference in tone.