Bourns vs CTS pot,which one is better?

[marvelous_seven]

To you who have experienced both,mind to share?
By "better" I mean
the smoothness when it swell
tighter tolerances
longer life/durability
So?

[Dr.K]

I've been doing some investigating on this myself and as for the best out of those two, they both are good but Bourns get better reviews. It's seems as though there's a lot of love out there for the taper of Hamer pots for the volume. Has anyone else heard this?

[Grandturk]

I've always used CTS pots - never had a problem with them - sound good, work good. Recently I got a Bourns EVH pot - and it's pretty killer. Very smooth action and volume control. Nicely done by Bourns.

[XSSIVE]

i used CTS in everything for years then i tried Bourns...never going back to CTS. they spin effortlessly and the taper is better. as for accuracy i'd say that's on par with a typical CTS. Not sure on real long term durability since i've only had them in guitars for 2 years or so but in that time, no problems.

[JordanM82]

hmmm, never heard of Bourns till just not, will have to look into this for replacing the pots in my Tele...

[Ayrton]

i used CTS in everything for years then i tried Bourns...never going back to CTS.

Same here...

[IanBallard]

In my experience, I prefer the Bournes in terms of taper and overall performance. There are no peaks in the swell of the volume and the sound rolls down and up near-perfectly. Most volume pots (many of which are CTS) are peaky and weird to me. I'm thinking about replacing all the pots in my amp with Bournes.

[TheProphet]

On the bourns that I've come across, it appears to be a plastic encasement, what's the preferred method for grounding the lugs on the volume pot?

[santellan]

CTS and Bourns PDB241 series pots have the same material, tolerance, taper and rotation life. The only difference between them is torque and CTS has a bigger list of tapers that you can order from. Now if you get Bourns Model 95 series (black box shape) they use conductive polymer (plastic) which has a longer rotation life but otherwise are the same as their PDB241 series. Bourns does make a very nice push-pull pot PDB183 series which I feel is better than the rest.

FYI there is another vendor out there who uses conductive polymer in a vintage style case (CTS style) with tighter tolerances which gives you the best of both worlds. They are unknown in the music field but well known in the avionics field. I have some samples but haven't had the time to test them.

Also don't use conductive polymer pots in power supplies applications since I have witness cases where large currents have heat up the wiper on the pot which then melts the plastic. Carbon is a better choice in this case.

[Dr.K]

What part # Bourns pots do you guys use?

[Stratman]

There are four different styles of Bourns pots for music (Guitar) applications, plus Blend pot and push-pull pot http://www.bourns.com/proaudio/pamm.aspx
Model PDB182-GTRB Blend-Balance Guitar Potentiometer
Model 82 Vintage Guitar Potentiometer
Model 95 Premium Guitar Potentiometer (Great)
PDB241-GTR Series Standard 24 mm Guitar Potentiometer
PDA241-HRT Series 24 mm Guitar Potentiometer with high torque
PDB181-GTR Series 18 mm Mini-Guitar Potentiometer
PDB183-GTR Series 18 mm Guitar Potentiometer with push-pull switch for phase switching capability

(Make sure you get the ground lug) http://www.bourns.com/data/global/pd...ng_appnote.pdf Also see the wiring diagram for Les Pauls here!



There are seven different basic styles of CTS pots for music (Guitar) applications.
CTS do a lot of different pots, some greased, some oiled, some not oiled at all, some with plastic shafts, some with brass.

CTS also has factories under contract in the Far East.

[gibson175]

how do the alpha pots compare? Ive found them pretty good, but never tried CTS or burns (unless thats what comes stock in gibsons)....

[TheProphet]

how do the alpha pots compare? Ive found them pretty good, but never tried CTS or burns (unless thats what comes stock in gibsons)....

I like them, some people find the sweep a bit stiff. But I'm not a big fan of loose feeling or super fast pots.

I really want to get my hands on the Bourns for their 250k long shaft pot.

[timhatimay]

I had CTS in a couple of my guitars before and I always liked them. Had some for several years with no scratching or issues. I wanted to get a quality pot with push-pull so I gave Bourns a shot. I ended up replacing the pots in almost all of my guitars with Bourns now. I like the taper a bit more, but never really had a problem with the CTS. The tolerances seems pretty similar on both (probably about 5-10% realistically). The main difference is the feel. The Bourns are very smooth, and very fast. They turn effortlessly. The CTS require a breaker bar to turn in comparison. They were a little less smooth in turning I feel as well, but still very good. Very satisfied with my Bourns, and if you need a push-pull this is a great way to go!

Tim

[SabbathFan0220]

I have some guitars with CTS and some with Bourns. I have no complaints about either, but I prefer the Bourns.

Both CTS and Bourns put Alpha to shame.

[marvelous_seven]

It seems most of love here go to Bourns,I guess I have to try it myself for the sake of curiousness,hehe
Thanks guys,keep em coming!

[TheProphet]

I have some guitars with CTS and some with Bourns. I have no complaints about either, but I prefer the Bourns.

Both CTS and Bourns put Alpha to shame.

Having run both CTS and Alpha, I can definately say that CTS pots are not that much better than Alphas.

[orpheo]

I've tried both CTS and alpha, and I like the tone of CTS but the sweep of Alpha. some cts' are just too stiff. some are nice. volume pinkyswells are very hard to do with some CTS'. most likely, I'll be using some bourns and some cts for my new builds. 1 megaohm pots CTS for my volume and 500k tone bourns push pull . I know that the 1meg CTS has a nice sweep. and I happen to like the 1 megaohm tone.

[frankfalbo]

The Liberator, the YJM pots, and the Seymour Duncan pots are all from Bourns and we're happy with them. CTS are great too, no worries either way. But yes the "love" in this thread seems to be leaning toward Bourns.