Volume pot and Tone pot

zero element

New member
Is their a difference between and actual tone pot and volume pot themselves or are they the same? Could I buy two 500K potentiometers and use one for volume and one for tone? Just curious cause my tone pot needs to be replaced and I gonna put a new volume pot in as well. By the way Im looking at warmoth for parts.
 
Re: Volume pot and Tone pot

they are the same type of pots. but u should get audio taper rather than linear taper pots. get CTS pots if u can. but beware of the hole size which the shaft goes thru. might not fit right depending on the guitar
 
Re: Volume pot and Tone pot

Yes, they are the same physical parts, and regarding linear vs. audio (log) taper, it seems the opinions are split regarding which is 'better'. Look on the bottom of your pots now for a marking like A, B, Alpha, etc. That can tell you what the current taper is if you want to do a direct replacement.
 
Re: Volume pot and Tone pot

Alright thank you, one other question theres also a capacitor it looks like? Its rectangle and maroon-ish with 2A473J if that helps? What would this be exactly and I will need to replace that on the tone pot as well right?
 
Re: Volume pot and Tone pot

That would be a .047uf cap. You don't need to replace it, but changing to an Orange Drop, or better, is a fairly cheap upgrade. The jury's still out on whether or not its money well spent, but its a cheap experiment you can do for yourself. I, and many, prefer .022uf's. There's other values that you can try, also.
 
Re: Volume pot and Tone pot

well, caps have their own labels on them depending on what the values are as well. some are orange, some red, some green (depending on manufacturer).

for the cap, just reuse the old ones or get new ones.
are u gonna change the pots urself or bringin it to someone?
 
Re: Volume pot and Tone pot

well, caps have their own labels on them depending on what the values are as well. some are orange, some red, some green (depending on manufacturer).

for the cap, just reuse the old ones or get new ones.
are u gonna change the pots urself or bringin it to someone?

I got a buddy that works at a guitar shop and hes a wizard when it comes to guitars so Im gonna give him a call to do it some time after I get all the sheeet I need. I do want to go new with all the pots and everything that goes with them because the guitar is scratchy when I turn my tone pot past 3/4 way so Im not sure if its the pot itself or the wire or what not and plus its a pretty cheap upgrade so.
 
Re: Volume pot and Tone pot

Have him blast some electronics cleaner in there and turn the pot. It might be as simple as that. Regardless, upgrading pots, caps, switch and jack are great ideas on an import axe.
 
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