ItsaBass
New member
Re: who's got the best pot
CTS, Alpha, etc. are definitely "good enough," but those PECs really are "very good." Are they worth $25 a piece? I think so, if you want a great pot that will likely last a lifetime, and, as a North American, if you want something that is made in your neck of the woods. Are they worth $21 more than a CTS? Probably not for most people in most situations. I'll put it this way. If I was manufacturing high quality guitars and/or amps for a living, I would buy them in bulk and install them in my products, just because I would want to put the best components available into my products, and so few companies do so. However, if I was just doing work for myself, I probably wouldn't bother.
Hint: Quite literally, they are $25 only because they say "guitar" in front of them. In certain applications, you can opt for their "amp" pots, which are exactly the same in terms of quality, though different in specs. The guitar ones are all audio taper, have a 300 degree rotation, have 1/4-inch high threads, are rated at 1W, and are only available in 250K and 500K. They are available with split/knurled shafts or solid shafts. The amp ones are $15 cheaper per pot. They are available with audio or linear tapers, have a 314 degree rotation, taller threads, and are rated for 2W. They are only solid shaft (won't accept push-on knobs, only set-screw knobs), and they are 4mm wider and 2mm deeper. So, different specs, but the same quality. They would work fine in most set-screw knob applications (though a stock Tele control cavity might not accept the widths of the housings). Even if you somehow adapted push-on knobs to the solid shafts (as Fender did on early Strats), the numbers on the knobs would be inconsistent with the rotation of the pots. This could be anywhere from mildly annoying to a deal killer, depending on how much stuff like that bothers you.
CTS, Alpha, etc. are definitely "good enough," but those PECs really are "very good." Are they worth $25 a piece? I think so, if you want a great pot that will likely last a lifetime, and, as a North American, if you want something that is made in your neck of the woods. Are they worth $21 more than a CTS? Probably not for most people in most situations. I'll put it this way. If I was manufacturing high quality guitars and/or amps for a living, I would buy them in bulk and install them in my products, just because I would want to put the best components available into my products, and so few companies do so. However, if I was just doing work for myself, I probably wouldn't bother.
Hint: Quite literally, they are $25 only because they say "guitar" in front of them. In certain applications, you can opt for their "amp" pots, which are exactly the same in terms of quality, though different in specs. The guitar ones are all audio taper, have a 300 degree rotation, have 1/4-inch high threads, are rated at 1W, and are only available in 250K and 500K. They are available with split/knurled shafts or solid shafts. The amp ones are $15 cheaper per pot. They are available with audio or linear tapers, have a 314 degree rotation, taller threads, and are rated for 2W. They are only solid shaft (won't accept push-on knobs, only set-screw knobs), and they are 4mm wider and 2mm deeper. So, different specs, but the same quality. They would work fine in most set-screw knob applications (though a stock Tele control cavity might not accept the widths of the housings). Even if you somehow adapted push-on knobs to the solid shafts (as Fender did on early Strats), the numbers on the knobs would be inconsistent with the rotation of the pots. This could be anywhere from mildly annoying to a deal killer, depending on how much stuff like that bothers you.
