Pot value for BG1400

[Mikelamury]

I'm trying to decide what I'm going to need for my esquire circuit as much as I can in advance, I'm waiting for my pickup to arrive from the custom shop. SD recommends 250k for pot value and .022 for capacitor value for the BG1400 and I have a 300k and a 250k pot here so I'm just wandering what the pickup would sound like with a 300k instead of a 250k pot. I know it's probably going to be a little brighter and little more output but I haven't heard the pickup yet so I'm more asking BG1400 owners what it sounds like with the 250k(or whatever pot you have on it) and do you think it would be a good idea to go in that direction of a 300k pot given the inherent sound of the pickup? Any information here might help me make some preparations while I wait. Thanks.

 

[jeremy]

are you doing series parallel or series split? do you want a brighter tone? what i like, doesnt mean youre gonna like it

 

[Mincer]

I don't know how much of a difference 50k will make- you might be able to just tweak the EQ of the amp to make up what you lose or gain. I believe it was designed to drop right in a Tele, so 250k is what I would start with.

 

[Mikelamury]

are you doing series parallel or series split? do you want a brighter tone? what i like, doesnt mean youre gonna like it

I decided I'm going to do 1) series 2)split 3) parallel 4) series straight to output jack with the volume and no load tone active in the first three positions and tone can be removed if desired.

 

[Mikelamury]

I don't know how much of a difference 50k will make- you might be able to just tweak the EQ of the amp to make up what you lose or gain. I believe it was designed to drop right in a Tele, so 250k is what I would start with.

That's what I was thinking too, I don't know how much of a difference 50k will make. I was just asking because I have one lying around. I will probably just start with the regular 250k

 

[Mincer]

Well, if you have one laying around (and you don't have 250k), go ahead and use it. But really it is a toss up- I don't know how much of a difference you will hear.

 

[Artie]

Keep in mind also that pots typically have a 20% spec. So your 300k could be as low as 250k and a 250k could be as high as 300k. You need a meter to be sure.

I have a 500k here that measures 384k. WAY out of spec.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

▲ ▲ ▲ This. It's always a good idea to measure pot values when they arrive since they all vary somewhat.
Better quality pots usually are closer to spec, but even in good brands there are exceptions.

Some sellers offer pots selected to a tighter tolerance; these are marketed as being +/- 10%.
But the cheaper ones supposedly rated at +/- 20% will sometimes be off by a lot more than 20%.

 

[Mikelamury]

▲ ▲ ▲ This. It's always a good idea to measure pot values when they arrive since they all vary somewhat.
Better quality pots usually are closer to spec, but even in good brands there are exceptions.

Some sellers offer pots selected to a tighter tolerance; these are marketed as being +/- 10%.
But the cheaper ones supposedly rated at +/- 20% will sometimes be off by a lot more than 20%.

I usually buy CTS pots that are 10% rated. I do test them when I get them just to make sure there are no serious mismatches. I learned that a while ago I got a push pull pot that was way too low...

 

[Artie]

I usually buy CTS pots that are 10% rated.

I do too. My 500k, that measures 384k, is a CTS. Not a special 10% one. But off the shelf.