music99

Come on buddy. Most guitar manufactures would use the cheapest of non-corroding metals if there was no sound difference between alloys! And YES I can tell the difference in a blind test --- after a night's sleep even more so because your ears hear better when rested? Perhaps you should take the time to check out some jacks yourself --- if your ears are good enough? The jacks I compared were all brand new --- no corrosion. Do you think Fender and Gibson would use Swicthcraft jacks just for the hell of it? And doesn't nearly everyone know that near pure silver speaker wires sound much better than copper wires? It has been confirmed many a time that different alloys make a difference in the sound chain! I've also blind tested the jacks with other people. Some definitely hear the difference and some don't. BUT hell some people can't hear the difference between a Martin guitar and a Takamine or a cheap Chinese guitar --- I know because I used to sell guitars. Some people are color blind and some sound blind. I am an off and on acoustic guitar craftsman and subtle sound differences are very important to the overall quality of the sound and one learns to hear the dfferences. In any case has ANYONE ever scientifically tested for sound differences using various jack alloys? Perhaps not --- BUT that does not mean the difference does not exist and that it is not appreciably hearable to afficiandos like myself. Leo Fender said he could hear the difference that different guitar finishes have on a guitar's sound. Makes sense to me --- as so can I. To test, and use, the difference different jacks make I actually have TWO jack outputs on many of my over 15 electric guitars (I also have about 10 acoustic guitars). Note that some pickups will produce a more noticeable difference between jacks and sometimes the cheaper jack is actually better suited sound wise to the overall elements of the guitar. And no I won't comment anymore on this subject unless someone asks me specifically to do so. Take care.

Does a 1000k pot produce nearly the same sound as if the pickup was connected directlly to the output jack? Just thought I would mention to all you sound gurus out there that the output jack affects the sound just as much, if not more , than many a pot at position 10. If you doubt it then test a cheap chinese jack (usually sounds shitty) versus a Swithcraft jack (warmer sound) versus à Neutrik jack (more transparent and cuts thru the mix better). The jacks I prefer are the pre-1980 Swithcraft jacks as they just somehow sound better to my ear --- perhaps because the amount of silver in the alloy was changed in the early 1980's. However, with distortion full tilt it is not all that audible for most ears. The jack sound difference is important to me because I play clean most of time with the volume at 10. If you have a cheap Fender Squire try changing their extra cheap jack for a Switchraft and for three bucks you will get a sound improvement worth a hundred dollars or more --- makes the guitar sound closer to an older vintage Fender.

SD '59 pickups do not have the same resistance as the 1960's Gibson PAFs. This makes an apprecialbe sound difference. If ever you want a great PAF sound I'd try Fralin pups whose specs are much closer to vintage PAFs than what Gibson or SD makes. Franlin pups are scatter wound, proper wire type, etc.

I'm new to the site. Hope my questions will not be interruptive or out of place. 1- I want to install a single volume pot on my guitar (with NO tone pot) BUT get the same sound as if I installed a 250k volume pot in conjunction with a 250k tone pot. What should the k value of my single volume pot be? 2- Do they sell resitances that I could switch off and on with a mini switch in order to get a 100Ok volume pot to sound like a 250k or a 500k pot. If yes, then where in the circuit would this resistance be placed exactly? Thanks for any info.