Why would this have 250K pots?

[watercarving]

Possible Pickguard Purchase

Been looking at this type of pre-loaded pickguard. Was wondering why they would put 250K pots with all hb...

Also, I have a 1999 American Strat, Corona, CA. Maple neck. Not sure of body. Nothing fancy but a nice guitar. Seems like it's always been 'boomy'. Hit a bass string and you get a good boom, especially on certain clean tones. Right now have a SSL-6 bridge, standard middle, and STK-4 neck. Hoping a new set of pickups will help.

Anyway, I wonder if it could be the pots or something. I have no idea. One reason I want to buy a pickguard all ready to go. Hoping that replacing everything might be a help.

 

[Left_Hand_Strat]

Re: Why would this have 250K pots?

Yeah the pots will have an influence for definite. Keep the pickups change the pots. Go for 500k pots and you should.see a difference in the sound should take the edge off the boominess

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Why would this have 250K pots?

Lack of twang and shimmer on an older Fender Am Std Stratocaster might have something to do with the bridge saddles. :scratchch

Callaham replacement saddles with the offset intonation screw will cure this.

 

[firebirdV]

Re: Why would this have 250K pots?

You might consider putting in a bass controll (roll off bass just as a normal tone rolls of highs).

Here's a video of what it sounds like in a humbucker guitar:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/tonefiend/guitar/two-band-ptb-tone-control-useful-easy-cheap-awesome/

edit*
Found the G&L schematic for a legacy (pretty much strat).

http://www.glguitars.com/schematics/Legacy_schematic_blockdiagram.pdf

 

[JeffB]

Re: Why would this have 250K pots?

The duncan single size buckers are designed around a typical 250k strat pot. That is why they build the preload pg this way.

IME, 500k on the duncan single size buckers sounds awful with a strat. The ceramic really starts to come through.


I would invest in new saddles as well. Inexpensive, first line potential fix. Im not a fan of those old am std 2 points.

 

[hareek]

Re: Why would this have 250K pots?

The duncan single size buckers are designed around a typical 250k strat pot. That is why they build the preload pg this way.

This. I have pretty much the same pickups in my guitar (lil '59 in the bridge instead of the JB Jr.) and the 250k pots do just fine.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Why would this have 250K pots?

The pot value mildly affects your top end only. A higher value pot won't make a pickup less boomy. It will just add some top end on top of the boominess. Sometimes that will clean up a pickup, and sometimes it will not. On a Strat, usually not IME. The mud stays, and they become very shrill. As long as a Strat has the classic style vibrato, it'll still sound a lot like a classic Strat, regardless of pickups or pots. 250K is a good match for that Synchronized Vibrato tone. A high pass tone knob in addition to a regular master tone will do far more to get rid of that boominess than will going to 500K pots...and it's adjustable, unlike a fixed pot value. Most (if not all) Reverend guitars, and G&L Legacies, use this sort of tone circuit, and it works quite well. It adds a ton of versatility. The only thing I have against it is that I usually don't like master tone controls; I prefer having pickup-specific tone controls.

 

[watercarving]

Re: Why would this have 250K pots?

So is the boominess of my guitar coming from the electronics or the body of the guitar somehow? Is switching out this pickguard with a better, preloaded pickguard a way to fix this issue?

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Why would this have 250K pots?

It's probably too much bass, for whatever reason. It could be the wood, the magnets, the pickups in general, and anything in between. I would start with the amp, though. What are your settings?

 

[Left_Hand_Strat]

Re: Why would this have 250K pots?

It's probably too much bass, for whatever reason. It could be the wood, the magnets, the pickups in general, and anything in between. I would start with the amp, though. What are your settings?

also a Brainwave hit me....

Try altering the height of your pickups. this can have an effect also.