300kΩ or 500kΩ???

Inspector #20

Inspector #20

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Found this out and wanted to post it:


  • Gibson installed 500k Tone and 500k Vol pots on all guitars up until mid-1973.


  • Beginning mid-1973 Gibson was using 300k pots for both Vol and Tone.


  • Then from approximately 1977 thru the late-'80s Gibson was using 300k Vol pots with 300k or 100k Tone pots!


  • The stock Vol pots starting circa-1990 thru today for all Standard production models (not Historic or Custom Shop) are 300k linear-taper, and Tone pots are 500k audio-taper.


  • Historics and Custom Shop Les Pauls use 500K for both Vol and Tone pots.

  • So, what is the consensus amongst you fellows as to which value is better and why???
 
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An ohm meter will confirm what's under the "hood".
When in doubt, check!
 
Are you asking for a consensus on what Gibson did/does or what should be done?

As for Gibson, they’ve changed values here and there. Like Hack said, you really have to check to see what is in each guitar to be sure.

As for what should be done, the general rule of thumb bandied about the inter webs is a 500k/500k volume/tone pot combination.

This is by no means an absolute. It really depends a lot on the pickups, themselves.

I’ve found I prefer my Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz combo better with a 250k/500k volume/tone pot combo.

You really need to experiment to see what sounds best in your situation.
 
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SORRY!!!!

I mean to write So, what is the consensus amongst you fellows as to which value is better and why???
 
The volume pot depends on the output of the pickups. At 0 ohms you get the full pickup output. The value just determines how quickly the attenuation takes place. A hot pickup may require 500k to shut it off.

For tone, it’s the formula. The pot will determine the range of the low frequency cutoff. The higher the pot value the greater the range.
 
Robert Herndon said:
  • The stock Vol pots starting circa-1990 thru today for all Standard production models (not Historic or Custom Shop) are 300k linear-taper, and Tone pots are 500k audio-taper.
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Not sure where you got this list, but this one is BS. Every modern Gibson I have owned has been 500/500. Those are the specs on their website too.

Regardless, the best-sounding guitar I own has 300/300 and I have had a Norlin LP with 300/100 that had crushing, awesome tone, so there is really no rule.

Some guitars sound better darker and some sound better brigher, adjust pot values accordingly.
 
Robert Herndon said:
SORRY!!!!

I mean to write So, what is the consensus amongst you fellows as to which value is better and why???
Click to expand...

Again, it’s application-specific.

Generally, a higher value of volume pot will have the audible effect of preserving highs better. But, if you already have fairly bright pickups, you may find a lower value of pot helps tame some brittleness.

This is what I experienced with my aforementioned JB/Jazz combo.

500k/500k is a decent starting point for humbuckers, but you can’t be so locked in on that that you aren’t willing to experiment.
 
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gball said:
Not sure where you got this list, but this one is BS. Every modern Gibson I have owned has been 500/500. Those are the specs on their website too.

Regardless, the best-sounding guitar I own has 300/300 and I have had a Norlin LP with 300/100 that had crushing, awesome tone, so there is really no rule.

Some guitars sound better darker and some sound better brigher, adjust pot values accordingly.
Click to expand...

Found it in a Gibson forum...
 
I'm just doing research to figure out which setup I'm going to use in my Les Paul.....I like how this guy makes them affixed to a plate...Caps shown are for reference only...

Harness.jpg
 
Robert Herndon said:
I'm just doing research to figure out which setup I'm going to use in my Les Paul.....I like how this guy makes them affixed to a plate...Caps shown are for reference only...

View attachment 13801
Click to expand...

Pretty cool looking setup.

You may want to search around to see what others have used for the pickups you’re using. But, keep in mind, just because someone else likes something doesn’t mean you will.

But, in the absence of more info, I’d probably default to a 500k/500k volume/tone setup.
 
smitty_p said:
Pretty cool looking setup.

You may want to search around to see what others have used for the pickups you’re using. But, keep in mind, just because someone else likes something doesn’t mean you will.

But, in the absence of more info, I’d probably default to a 500k/500k volume/tone setup.
Click to expand...

I was thinking that...at least to start.
 
Mom's 1958 Gibson Les Paul had Centralab 500k pots stamped with a '134929.' When we sold it a few years back, I had a Gibson historian inspect every aspect of it.
 
gball said:
Not sure where you got this list, but this one is BS. Every modern Gibson I have owned has been 500/500. Those are the specs on their website too.

Regardless, the best-sounding guitar I own has 300/300 and I have had a Norlin LP with 300/100 that had crushing, awesome tone, so there is really no rule.

Some guitars sound better darker and some sound better brigher, adjust pot values accordingly.
Click to expand...

In shopping for the parts for a new harness, I've found the Gibson branded pots kind of measure all over the place. I kinda like that. Reminiscent of their old pickups.

Now, the old relic Gibson's that I've seen personally never had Gibson branded pots. They used either IRC or Centralab, with Julian dates, and the later models used a CTS.

I'm really stoked to have scored this 50's Tribute. I know its a nothing guitar in the grand scheme of things, but it is USA Made and a great platform for me to mildly customize.

The coolest thing is, I finally found another .951" neck. A perfect companion to my 2016 SG, also with a .951" neck.
 
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