What is a Megaswitch? And a Pot question.

[briankou]

So what the F is a megaswitch, and what does it do that's so special?

I am getting new pots for Tone and Volume. What size do I get, 250? 500? 1000?

Anyways, thanks for all the help with my Lil 59, she's in there and rocking now. Got my Jazz and Distortion today too. Can't wait to get everything going.

 

[Artie]

Re: What is a Megaswitch? And a Pot question.

All of the Megaswitches are simply a 5-way handle with sliding contacts. Those contacts slide against a small, replaceable circuit board. The way they arrange the traces on the board determine its possible switch positions. Ideally, they should sell that switch with all four boards so the consumer could select the one of their choice.

Volume pot: The higher the resistance of the volume pot, the less "load" you place on the pickup. Generally, it will produce more highs, but in some cases, it may be too much. So, higher value, more highs, lower value, more "smoothness".

Tone pot: All tone pots are electrically identical when on "0". So the value of the pot determines how much highs you can dial-in. A 250k will go up to a certain point and stop. A 500k will go up a little farther, and a 1 meg even farther. From a practical point, you reach a point where you won't gain much more by going higher. I'd stick with either a 250k or 500k.