Curtis P Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 Is there a difference between tone and volume pots? I got 2 500K pots and i want to have a tone and volume on my Jem tribute guitar, is it possible? or are they too seperate kinda of pots? Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dugz Ink Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 (edited) Pots are rated by their resistance, and that's a key to understanding the way they react. Some people don't realize that pots actually "throw away" energy, sending the excess to the ground as you decrease the "volume"... and the high frequencies are the most susceptable to being drained off. Team that up with the higher resistance of the 250k pot, which will shun the higher frequencies first, and you have a greater loss of highs... making it less "bright" than a 500k pot. If you want your guitar to be brighter, you could step up to 1,000k pots. BTW: That's just a layman's overview. D~s Edited November 5, 2004 by Dugz Ink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 500K pots will work fine for both volume and tone controls on your JEM tribute - Ibamez uses 500Ks in the JEM, so I'm sure it will work for you. The tone pot is usually a linear taper, and the volume is usually an audio, or log taper, but either will work. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 (edited) For guitar uses there are 2 kinds, linear and logarithmic potentiometers. Logarithmic pot for tone (I think) which increases by a factor of 10 ie. 1 to 10 to 100 to 1000 etc. Volume pots are linear increasing by a factor of 1, ie. 1,2,3,4 etc. How can you tell the difference? not by just looking at them. Turn the knob to the middle of its sweep and then touch an ohmmeter lead (lets say the red one) to the center terminal and the other lead (black) to a side terminal. Then touch the other side terminal with the black lead. If the resistance readings are equal then the pot is linear type, if they are not equal then its logarithmic. If you are really into interesting reading: http://www.lespaulforum.com/pots/lpfpots.html Edited November 5, 2004 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted November 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 so since i have 2 volume pots, i cant use the one for a tone? Is that what your saying Southpa? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dugz Ink Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 You need to read this: Understanding Guitar Wiring It's a 12 part article on Stew-Mac's site. Simple but accurate. D~s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 (edited) so since i have 2 volume pots, i cant use the one for a tone? Is that what your saying Southpa? Like Lovecraft mentioned, either one will work. It depends on what kind of "sweep" you want in your volume and tone. The log type pots increase ten-fold, the effect being a very fast rise as you turn the knob. If you are very specific to dialing in your guitar tone then I would use the linear type, you have more control. Personally, it wouldn't matter to me as I always play with vol. and tones cranked all the way up anyway. In this case the end result is still the same regardless of what type of pot I use. Edited November 5, 2004 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 If you really want to know everything about pots that you were afraid to ask, read "The Secret Life of Pots" at geofex.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted November 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 Thanks Southpa I was completly blank this morning when i read it, it was almost time for the bus to arrive and i was just skimmin through it and i thought you said you couldnt My appoligies Thanks for the info everyone!! Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj_gant Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 Sorry for the hi-jack, but I was wondering what brand of pots everyone prefers. I use the standard CTS from alprts, but mechanically they aren't very smooth. Dimarzio is nice. Any other recommendations, suppliers for 250 and 500k pots? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.