type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

Nxpb7B

New member
putting a custom pearly gate bridge in my tele. the neck is a single pup.

i'm redoing the wiring controls and wanted to get feedback on what type of pots, vol & tone. since i have the pearly gate would that require a 500k or 250k? audio type for both i'm assuming.
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

master volume, master tone? id start with 250k. taper is preference as much as anything else but most people prefer audio taper
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

master volume, master tone? id start with 250k. taper is preference as much as anything else but most people prefer audio taper

yes, one master vol, one master tone. appreciate the input.
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

putting a custom pearly gate bridge in my tele. the neck is a single pup.

i'm redoing the wiring controls and wanted to get feedback on what type of pots, vol & tone. since i have the pearly gate would that require a 500k or 250k? audio type for both i'm assuming.

500k, if you want it to sound Gibsonish. 250k in a Tele is more for the brighter single coils that traditionally come stock. The covers on Tele neck pickups sometimes make them sound dark, a 500k pot might improve the neck sound as well.
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

It depends a lot on what you have as a neck pup. Like Pico said, some Tele neck pups sound pretty dark and could use a bit more brightness from a 500k vol pot. And even though the PG is pretty bright sounding (esp for an A2 pup) I still like it better with a 500k pot. But really, that's a pup where you could go either way...500k or 250k so it all comes down to the neck pup and how you want it to sound.
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

500k, if you want it to sound Gibsonish. 250k in a Tele is more for the brighter single coils that traditionally come stock. The covers on Tele neck pickups sometimes make them sound dark, a 500k pot might improve the neck sound as well.

your suggestion of 500k is more for the pearly gate the pearly gate i got is like a mini-humbucker single-coil size just so we're on the same page. no offense if you knew that. the neck pup neck is ~9.5k, alnico 5, rw/rp, more on the warmer/fattish side at least with the 250k pot in there now.
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

It depends a lot on what you have as a neck pup. Like Pico said, some Tele neck pups sound pretty dark and could use a bit more brightness from a 500k vol pot. And even though the PG is pretty bright sounding (esp for an A2 pup) I still like it better with a 500k pot. But really, that's a pup where you could go either way...500k or 250k so it all comes down to the neck pup and how you want it to sound.

yours and other replies leads me to i'll have to try both and see how it sounds in this guitar. it does have a 5-way switch and new tone pot will be p/p to split the PG.

thanks for your input!
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

I haven't used one myself, but I've read here that the SD single coil sized humbuckers are wound to work with 250k pots. Since you've already got that in your tele, I'd definitely try it first and then change it to 500k if you don't like it.
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

OK, I goofed. I didn't see/read your post that said it with the single-coil-sized PG. Those, imo, are not as bright as their big brother so my recommendation would definitely be to try the 500k pot first. I really think you'll like it enough to not even want to try it with the 250k pot.
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

your suggestion of 500k is more for the pearly gate the pearly gate i got is like a mini-humbucker single-coil size just so we're on the same page. no offense if you knew that. the neck pup neck is ~9.5k, alnico 5, rw/rp, more on the warmer/fattish side at least with the 250k pot in there now.

I didnt know you were talking about the single coil sized version, but I would recommend 500k pots for that as well. I own a set, not currently installed, so I speak from experience, but also I don't really believe the claim that they were designed to work with 250k pots. I know enough about how pickups work to feel confident that there is nothing about their design that makes them especially suited to 250k pots. They don't have a high Q factor, its as simple as that.
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

I haven't used one myself, but I've read here that the SD single coil sized humbuckers are wound to work with 250k pots. Since you've already got that in your tele, I'd definitely try it first and then change it to 500k if you don't like it.

good to know, thanks!
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

OK, I goofed. I didn't see/read your post that said it with the single-coil-sized PG. Those, imo, are not as bright as their big brother so my recommendation would definitely be to try the 500k pot first. I really think you'll like it enough to not even want to try it with the 250k pot.

that's interesting. since the 250k is there already i'll give it a chance. then the 500k and compare. thanks for the feedback.
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

I didnt know you were talking about the single coil sized version, but I would recommend 500k pots for that as well. I own a set, not currently installed, so I speak from experience, but also I don't really believe the claim that they were designed to work with 250k pots. I know enough about how pickups work to feel confident that there is nothing about their design that makes them especially suited to 250k pots. They don't have a high Q factor, its as simple as that.


ok, duly noted. i'm going to try both. the 250k is there already, then i'll try the 500k. btw, what is a "high Q factor"?
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

ok, duly noted. i'm going to try both. the 250k is there already, then i'll try the 500k. btw, what is a "high Q factor"?

When you switch between 500k and 250k pots, it's all about the Q factor, and nothing but. It's related to the concept of resonance, which guitar pickups have. Eddy currents in the metal parts of a pickup cause the Q to become lower.

Higher Q factor = more treble at a particular frequency bad, not an overall increase in treble. The reason people usually don't like 1 meg pots is because they punch up a particular frequency band too much. The lower value the pot, the more it lowers the Q. Fender single coils have a high Q, so they pair with 250k pots. Humbuckers have a lower Q, so they pair better with 500k pots. If a pickup has a very low Q, a 1 meg pot might be called for. A little humbucker has about the same Q as a larger humbucker, because they both use steel parts, where as a Fender single coil that you are replacing is just made up of AlNiCo, wire and inert materials.
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

Glad to hear that you're going to try different pots.

On some builds we've included a parallel resistor to make 500k pot see 250. And a few times we have put that resistor on a push poll so that you can get both sounds.

Probably more than you want to deal with but glad you thinking pot values.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

When you switch between 500k and 250k pots, it's all about the Q factor, and nothing but. It's related to the concept of resonance, which guitar pickups have. Eddy currents in the metal parts of a pickup cause the Q to become lower.

Higher Q factor = more treble at a particular frequency bad, not an overall increase in treble. The reason people usually don't like 1 meg pots is because they punch up a particular frequency band too much. The lower value the pot, the more it lowers the Q. Fender single coils have a high Q, so they pair with 250k pots. Humbuckers have a lower Q, so they pair better with 500k pots. If a pickup has a very low Q, a 1 meg pot might be called for. A little humbucker has about the same Q as a larger humbucker, because they both use steel parts, where as a Fender single coil that you are replacing is just made up of AlNiCo, wire and inert materials.

that's some interesting stuff! always wondered a bit of the "why's" a 500k pot vs 250k pot. i found a wiki link now that you brought it to my attention. for personal curiosity i'm gonna a read up on it a bit. appreciate your time and education.
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

I haven't used one myself, but I've read here that the SD single coil sized humbuckers are wound to work with 250k pots. Since you've already got that in your tele, I'd definitely try it first and then change it to 500k if you don't like it.

following the advice. . i'm slow, but should know which i like better by end of this weekend. appreciate your reply
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

Glad to hear that you're going to try different pots.

On some builds we've included a parallel resistor to make 500k pot see 250. And a few times we have put that resistor on a push poll so that you can get both sounds.

Probably more than you want to deal with but glad you thinking pot values.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

actually, yesterday i did get p/p 250k & 500k audio pots. the 250k that's in the tele now i'll replace with one of these after my ears give some feedback as to which one i prefer. p/p to split the pearly gate though beats me how that will sound on this tele but i'm a gonna try it. reading the threads here, figured i might as well have them both to try.

so with a parallel resister onto a 500k you can make it see 250k? that's pretty cool to have that option of "both" without having to swap em out.
 
Re: type pots for CS Pearlygate in a tele?

With the push/pull, you might also try a parallel wiring instead of split. Many seem to like that better with the single coil-sized humbuckers.
 
Back
Top