Change Pots

[Andrew Lamprecht]

How do I change the pots on my guitars? I have been wanting to try out a 250k but don't feel like paying anything when it seems like such a simple thing to do...

Thanks, Andrew

[elscorcho]

buy a couple of cheap pots on ebay & some wire and practice soldering the different types of connections (i.e. terminal & ground) ....then when you actually do it -it'll go alot smoother/quicker ....there are some good soldering tips on here if you play w/ search function...

[elscorcho]

....also instructables.com has some good general soldering vids....

[Got_tone?]

You can try out what elscorcho suggested or just go for it. I never actually warmed up to it and my first job came out ok.

Just try to remember which wires go to which lug (on the previous pot) and follow a diagram to the setup you're looking for.

What's the 250k pot for? The bridge or neck?

[Andrew Lamprecht]

The bridge.

[Andrew Lamprecht]

I just want to try out a Bridge 250k and a neck 500k to see if they balance out better. I'm not sure how much it will change the sound. If I really don't like the 250k I will just switch it out...

[super rad stuff]

FWIW despite what blueman says about 250k bridge/500k neck, i've never liked the sound of it. it makes a bridge pickup sound too dull to me, and turning down the tone control doesn't do much since quite a bit of the top end is already not there.

[Andrew Lamprecht]

FWIW despite what blueman says about 250k bridge/500k neck, i've never liked the sound of it. it makes a bridge pickup sound too dull to me, and turning down the tone control doesn't do much since quite a bit of the top end is already not there.

Yeah, well I would like to try it but I don't know if I would like it... I guess I just feel like the top end wouldn't be there.

I want to get a true P90 guitar soon and I think I would go with a 250k in the bridge just because it's more vintage and I'm assuming it would sound more like a real P90.

[Andrew Lamprecht]

It would probably take off the bite of a single coil bridge...

[elscorcho]

FYI....I posted a question here... on old gibsons with P90s .....somebody posted the gibson schematic...and Gibson used 500k pots

[Got_tone?]

Yeah, I'd go with 500k pots for p90s. p90 guitars just sound "right" with 500k, IMO.

I only use 250k pots with bridge pups that are too bright (so far it's been a JB and the C5). I should have the C5 tired with a 250k but I didn't.... oh well.

[blueman335]

Zhang & I (amongst others) use 250K's on our bridge PU's. There's plenty of treble left, it just takes off some of the excess. I don't see the point in using 500K's in a bright PU position (bridge), on a bright PU (PAF or P-90), and adding even more treble to the formula with 500K's. This is overkill. What do you want to do, get all the dogs in the neighborhood barking?

Using 250K/300K all around makes both PU's warmer, which you don't need to do to neck HB's & P-90's as they're already dark & bassy by virtue of the strong string energy in that position. Conversely, 500K's all around moves both PU's brighter, great for the neck, but you don't need that extra treble for the bridge, which is naturally a bright & sharp postion. You need to understand that manufacturers use one pot value on guitars to keep down inventory & production costs, period. This is not a tone quality consideration for them.

My view on this is that with a warm bridge PU, you add more treble at your amp, which in turn helps the neck PU with added definition. Having 500K's all around is one of the causes of the dreaded 'tinny bridge/muffled neck syndrome' which drives me crazy. It's logical to use pots to your advantage, to open up each PU's EQ to expand their tonal range, instead exaggerating their exisiting tone and making them very lopsdided EQ-wise.

Yes, you can adjust your tone pots, but as Jeremy's pointed out, 90% of players just don't do that. When you're on stage, you have plenty to take care of getting set-up and adjusting your amp & effects settings to the room. The last thing I want to do is have to fiddle with the tone pots to get the PU's balanced to each other. Knobs get moved in the case, and when you wipe down or polish your guitar, so you can't keep them in the same position. To me having to adjust the tone pots means that means I was too lazy to do it right at home & EQ them together with magnets and pots, so then every time I plug in, I have to adjust them again. It just seems like a half-assed way to do it. But that's my opinion. If you know your bridge is too bright compared to the neck, then why not do it right, once, and not have to keep adjusting it? Maybe I'm too pragmatic.

Another drawback to using one pot value for everything, is that most players will get their amp EQ set so one PU sounds good, which means the other one doesn't, and then they'll only use one PU all night. I have seen many players in local bands do this. The bridge will sound nice, but switch to the neck and it sounds like it's in a closet. Or the neck's great, but switch to the bridge & it's shrill, like nails on a chalkboard. Since most guys don't adjust their tone pots, this is a common occurance.

With a 250K bridge/500K neck, you bring the PU's EQ's closer to each other, and then one amp EQ/effects setting works very well for both PU's. You have more variety in your sound by using both PU's. You can switch back & forth regularly and don't wince when you do.