Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

[Swampy]

I'm thinking of changing my 500k to 250k on my strat. The '59 in the bridge is sounding a little too trebley. If I back the volume down to 8-9 or so on the guitar it sounds nice, but it loses a little something.

I also have a single coil in the neck and as you can imagine it's also harsh at 10. I do not have the tone control hooked up at all.

 

[gregory]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

I used a 250k pot with a JB, an A5/short hex Seymourizer II, and I'm currently using one with a Screamin' Demon.

These were all in an HSS superstrat with an SSL-2 in the middle position. The tone used to be 500k and would switch to 250k whenever a single coil is selected.

I'm now using JB Juniors in the neck and middle and am using 250k volume and tone full-time. I'm pretty sure the single-coil sized humbuckers were intended to be used that way. Maybe if I wasn't using a floating trem, ran 50' of cable or mainly played at low volume then I might be using 500k pots in this particular guitar, but I seriously doubt it. The Demon and JB Jrs. have plenty of treble to spare in their current home.

I was running the Demon in a different guitar with 500k pots and I was perfectly happy with the tone there as well, except that I needed to tweak my amp when changing guitars.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

The tone pot and cap darkens the sound a lot. So if you feel like using your tone, put a 22nf cap or 33 or 47nf if you want it dark. If you dont feel like using your tone, then yeah change the volume to 250k.

 

[cliffenstein]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

I've got 2 Strats. One has a 250k volume pot with a Hot Rails and the other has a 500k volume pot with a JB Trembucker. Both are pickup to volume pot only and both sound incredible. I change between guitars and don't change amp settings one bit.

 

[Kais]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

I have a P90 on my SG, and the bridge pup is insanely bright. If I change the 500k pot to 250k, do I need to change both the volume and tone pot to 250k?

 

[gregory]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

You can change a 500k tone pot to 250k on the fly by just turning it down to something like 8 or 7 for a typical audio taper.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

250K really helps take some of the harshness off a JB.

I have a P90 on my SG, and the bridge pup is insanely bright. If I change the 500k pot to 250k, do I need to change both the volume and tone pot to 250k?

No, you don't need to change the tone pot to use a 250K volume.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

The pots total up. For example 250k vol with 500k tone is brighter than all 250k.

 

[stratguy23]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

I briefly had a Les Paul with the old 300K stock volume pots.

Its stock 498T bridge pickup sounded AWESOME. I'm sure good wood was a big part of that, but I bet the 300K pot also helped, b/c while I like the 498T, its high end can get spiky. No such troubles at all with the 300K pot.

Given the variance in actual pot values with manufacturing tolerances, the "300K" pot could easily have been, say, a 270K one (10% off), not far from a "250K" pot that's 10% off at 275K.

So I'm pretty confident that a straight-up 250K pot would work for a 498T.

Besides the JB, I've heard of people taming Pearly Gates and Customs with 250K pots.

 

[gregory]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

The pots total up. For example 250k vol with 500k tone is brighter than all 250k.

Yes, but they don't color the same way.

Between the volume pot, tone pot, tone cap and magnets, I'm not sure where to begin. Hopefully I chose the right pickup!

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

^ Yes you're right. Why I prefer to use the same value tone as volume because it seems to color better. And I don't go to no load tone unless I'm sure it needs the bite.

 

[IMENATOR]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

I use 250k volume in my HSS but I don't have a tone pot for the bridge humbucker.

 

[Swampy]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

I use 250k volume in my HSS but I don't have a tone pot for the bridge humbucker.

Can you direct me to a wiring diagram for H/S with tone on neck single coil only? I didn't see it on the Seymour Duncan diagrams. I'll have both pickups on a 250k volume.

Edit: My switch is a 3 way. Basically a Les Paul toggle switch.

 

[gregory]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

Connect the tone pot to the same lug where the neck pickup is connected.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

G&L ASAT Deluxe, '59 n/TB-4n, one coil split switch for both pickups, one Volume, one Tone, 250k pots.

Guitar is slab flamed maple over mahogany, bolt on maple neck, RW board, DF Vibrato.

All good. I like the JB with 250k for blues and classic rock. Nicely rounded tone.

Bill

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

I use a 250K volume pot (no tone control) on my Ibanez RGA with a '59 in the bridge because I found it too bright with a 500K pot. I didn't find it made a world of difference, though.

 

[de_dUKe]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

..I recently changed out the original 250k Fender bridge tone pot for my Duncan Distortion in a Strat, to put in a 500k as is customary with a humbucker. With the 500k, while sounding better through the whole range with more useable tones than the 250k which was essentially mud from 0-9, I had lost the real cutting tone I liked.
What I realised was the original 250k was a delta no load pot and it was that setting that I liked the most.

The 500k was actually muddier in this case so check your 250k to see if it is a no load also.
The perfect solution for me is a 500k no load tone pot.
Personally speaking, I think all tone pots should have no load when on 10. It gives you all the juice from your pick up and who doesn't want that from time to time if not always. I know I do... :headbang:

 

[Swampy]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

Connect the tone pot to the same lug where the neck pickup is connected.

The lug off the three way toggle? I may have to rob another guitar for a cap. I don't have any spares.
I've got the 250k volume pot in.

 

[Swampy]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

Seem right? I'm getting sound when I tap the pups. I guess I'll restring it and see if it worked.

Yeah, I'm not the greatest at soldering, but as long as it works.



I'm not even sure what value cap that is but we'll see how she sounds.

 

[gregory]

Re: Who uses a 250k pot with a humbucker?

Don't button that up just yet; it ain't right. I can't get to it right now, but someone else might.