Fine Tune Your Guitar Pots!

RVA said:
Also, why do pot values need to match each other? They are being ussd on different pickups. Shouldn't you be more concerned with how the pot will interact with the pickup it is being used on?
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Yes. The lower the resistance the darker the pickups sound. If you have one pot at 420k and one at 520k the pickup with the 420k pot has a disadvantage from the get go. This is double sucky if the low resistance pot went to the neck pickup. How many people do you suppose install pots without even checking resistance? Almost every one. You have to keep in mind that "we" aren't right in the head. The other ways around this issue is to buy close tolerance pots for more money or buy 100 and match them up yourself by checking them all and putting them in the appropriate grouping.

My issue is: a) I have no money and b) I have all the time in the world. Plus, doing it myself I can get them matched to within less than 1%. My wife can't load the dishwasher right either. And yes, I take medication so I don't freak out about anything, but I do still get nervous.
 
aon said:
If you think about the garden hose analogy that's often used for electricity, if your hose has a constriction (resistor track) in it and you make the constriction smaller (sand the surface of the resistor track), the obstruction to the flow (resistance) increases.
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So when the ohms reading goes up, it is indicating LESS resistance, MORE current flow, and LESS treble roll-off?
 
Cadorman said:
Yes. The lower the resistance the darker the pickups sound. If you have one pot at 420k and one at 520k the pickup with the 420k pot has a disadvantage from the get go. This is double sucky if the low resistance pot went to the neck pickup. How many people do you suppose install pots without even checking resistance? Almost every one. You have to keep in mind that "we" aren't right in the head. The other ways around this issue is to buy close tolerance pots for more money or buy 100 and match them up yourself by checking them all and putting them in the appropriate grouping.

My issue is: a) I have no money and b) I have all the time in the world. Plus, doing it myself I can get them matched to within less than 1%. My wife can't load the dishwasher right either. And yes, I take medication so I don't freak out about anything, but I do still get nervous.
Click to expand...

I routinely use .047uf capacitors in series with neck pickups to make them brighter...
 
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RVA said:
So when the ohms reading goes up, it is indicating LESS resistance, MORE current flow, and LESS treble roll-off?
Click to expand...

250k on a humbucker is really dark and muddy.

I use 300k CTS on Stratocasters with single coils and either 525k or 1mg pots on Humbucker guitars.

Conversely, the higher the capacitance in a tone control, the muddier the tone control gets faster as you roll it off.

A 0.01uf tone capacitor will still produce usable tone even when rolled off to zero.

A .047uf tone capacitor will be toal unusable mud below 6 or 7 on the tone control.

I've also started using treble bleeds, made from 0.0.01uf tone capacitors and 220k resistors on just about every guitar that I service. The only exception is when I'm working on a vintage Fender or Gibson and nostalgia trumps performance...
 
RVA said:
So when the ohms reading goes up, it is indicating LESS resistance, MORE current flow, and LESS treble roll-off?
Click to expand...

More Ohms equals More Resistance equals Less Current Flow.

But in a guitar what matters is the resonant circuit created by the pickup and the pot(s)/cap(s).

I believe a higher value tone pot will make the resonant peak higher (when the pot is at "max", anyway) and this will cause more highs to be let through?
 
aon said:
More Ohms equals More Resistance equals Less Current Flow.

But in a guitar what matters is the resonant circuit created by the pickup and the pot(s)/cap(s).

I believe a higher value tone pot will make the resonant peak higher (when the pot is at "max", anyway) and this will cause more highs to be let through?
Click to expand...
Ugh! I am back to feeling backward! I got the application, but I would like to get the theory under my belt
 
Robert Herndon said:
250k on a humbucker is really dark and muddy.

I use 300k CTS on Stratocasters with single coils and either 525k or 1mg pots on Humbucker guitars.

Conversely, the higher the capacitance in a tone control, the muddier the tone control gets faster as you roll it off.

A 0.01uf tone capacitor will still produce usable tone even when rolled off to zero.

A .047uf tone capacitor will be toal unusable mud below 6 or 7 on the tone control.

I've also started using treble bleeds, made from 0.0.01uf tone capacitors and 220k resistors on just about every guitar that I service. The only exception is when I'm working on a vintage Fender or Gibson and nostalgia trumps performance...
Click to expand...
I don’t use much of the tone pot range on a stock guitar., maybe 7-10. On my builds I use 3300pf caps in the tone circuit Which gives me almost the entire pot range to use. The equation to calculate the -3dB point cutoff frequency is this:

7B022506-B426-49D3-A581-13D7FD20F6FD.jpeg
 
Don O said:
I don’t use much of the tone pot range on a stock guitar., maybe 7-10. On my builds I use 3300pf caps in the tone circuit Which gives me almost the entire pot range to use. The equation to calculate the -3dB point cutoff frequency is this:

View attachment 70070
Click to expand...

I never tried that, but all I know is that with a 500k pot and a 0.01uf, even on '0' the tone is useable...

Where does 3300pf fall in comparison to 0.0.01uf???

@ivan H shares my use of the 0.01uf tone capacitor...
 
Robert Herndon said:
Forgive my ignorance....

Less influence on tone at '0' or more than 0.0.01uf???
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Yes it would. Not sure how much, but that is pretty small.

I've been using .015 neck and .022 bridge on my Gibsons. Upper fret solo notes sound really smooth and creamy with the tone at 0. Playing like this down low sounds like I have a wah turned on. This is with the neck pickup for both situations.
 
Cadorman said:
Yes it would. Not sure how much, but that is pretty small.

I've been using .015 neck and .022 bridge on my Gibsons. Upper fret solo notes sound really smooth and creamy with the tone at 0. Playing like this down low sounds like I have a wah turned on. This is with the neck pickup for both situations.
Click to expand...

Here's a 8.2k PAF with volume all the way up and tone control at zero with 0.01uf tone capacitors.

Solo starts at 2:52

Listen to FALL TO PIECES - COVER VERSION by Von Herndon on #SoundCloud
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FALL TO PIECES - COVER VERSION

Cover Version of Velvet Revolver Classic with Re-Mixed Guitars & Vocals 03-15-2019 - I am playing all guitars and bass, plus singing lead and harmony vocals. Special thanks to studio drummer extraordi
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Cadorman said:
Yes it would. Not sure how much, but that is pretty small.

I've been using .015 neck and .022 bridge on my Gibsons. Upper fret solo notes sound really smooth and creamy with the tone at 0. Playing like this down low sounds like I have a wah turned on. This is with the neck pickup for both situations.
Click to expand...

Even a 0.15uf sounds like mud to me...I like to get into that 'wah' territory, tones on dead-zero and master volume on 8...
 
Robert Herndon said:
Even a 0.15uf sounds like mud to me...I like to get into that 'wah' territory, tones on dead-zero and master volume on 8...
Click to expand...
You generally run much hotter pickups than I do, so you start a little darker. This Jackson I just picked up has a 15.9k bridge and 8.8k neck pickup and it is much darker than any of my other guitars with the same pots and tone cap. I actually started winding a bridge pickup for it today.
 
Robert Herndon said:
Here's a 8.2k PAF with volume all the way up and tone control at zero with 0.01uf tone capacitors.

Solo starts at 2:52

Listen to FALL TO PIECES - COVER VERSION by Von Herndon on #SoundCloud
soundcloud.app.goo.gl

FALL TO PIECES - COVER VERSION

Cover Version of Velvet Revolver Classic with Re-Mixed Guitars & Vocals 03-15-2019 - I am playing all guitars and bass, plus singing lead and harmony vocals. Special thanks to studio drummer extraordi
soundcloud.app.goo.gl soundcloud.app.goo.gl
Click to expand...
Was that a pickup in neck or bridge position?
 
Cadorman said:
You generally run much hotter pickups than I do, so you start a little darker. This Jackson I just picked up has a 15.9k bridge and 8.8k neck pickup and it is much darker than any of my other guitars with the same pots and tone cap. I actually started winding a bridge pickup for it today.
Click to expand...

My double neck is the only guitar I have with low output pickups. It has an 8.2k bridge and 7.3k neck (Gibson 490 humbuckers)

The YelloStrat has a 44AWG 16.5k AlNico9 DiMarzio Neanderthal Humbucker

My Les Paul Replicas both have Epiphone 498T/496R clones:

  • Epiphone HOTH8B...................(Ceramic8).........................13.14 to 14.4kΩ
  • Epiphone HB6N.........................(Alnico5)...............................8.12 to 8.60kΩ
That solo was recorded on the neck pickup...tone control at zero.
 
Cadorman said:
You generally run much hotter pickups than I do, so you start a little darker. This Jackson I just picked up has a 15.9k bridge and 8.8k neck pickup and it is much darker than any of my other guitars with the same pots and tone cap. I actually started winding a bridge pickup for it today.
Click to expand...

My higher output pickups always have more bite and clarity than my lower output pickups, FWIW
 
Cadorman said:
Was that a pickup in neck or bridge position?
Click to expand...

Here's one of my Les Paul Replicas with Epiphone HOTH8B 14.4k Ceramic8 bridge position - all guitar parts.

(Only the tremolo dive was done on a Strat)

Listen to Road To Hell - Rory Gallagher Cover - 02/25/2019 by Von Herndon on #SoundCloud
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Road To Hell - Rory Gallagher Cover - 02/25/2019

I Am Playing All Instruments And Performing Vocals On This Track
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My Schecter Hellraiser C1FR with EMG81TW bridge position - all guitar parts:

Listen to Ghost - Dance Macabre Cover Project - 10 - 01 - 2020 by Von Herndon on #SoundCloud

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Here's a cool one...a back-to-back comparison of my EMG81TW followed by my DiMarzio Neanderthal:

Listen to Schecter C1 EMG 81TW Road Test Through DSL40C by Von Herndon on #SoundCloud

SoundCloud - Hear the world’s sounds

Explore the largest community of artists, bands, podcasters and creators of music & audio
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