Pots 250k Vs 500k

[Trixie Cant Act]

Ok Basic 101 question here. What would be the difference in using 250K pots and 500k pots for volume and or tone controls?

Thanks

[Petros]

The higher the impedance of the pot the brighter the sound will be. Single coils often call for 250K because their design is inherently brighter than humbuckers, which often call for 500K. There's also a 1 meg pot for getting a pickup to be as bright as possible.

[al heeley]

Does this only apply as volume is rolled off? A 250k pot turned up to 10 will have virtually zero resistance.

A 500k pot turned up to 10 will have virtually zero resistance. So how can one be brighter than the other when it's on max?

[Geo]

Does this only apply as volume is rolled off? A 250k pot turned up to 10 will have virtually zero resistance.

A 500k pot turned up to 10 will have virtually zero resistance. So how can one be brighter than the other when it's on max?

Actually, it's the resistance between signal and ground that matters (the "load"). W/pot at full up, the signal sees the maximum value of the pot between itself and ground. The lower this resistance, the more the high F's bleed to ground.

This is why the guitar sounds darker as you turn its volume down (unless you have bright cap on the pot to counteract).

It's also why electric guitars sound bad plugged into PA's etc., cuz the input is the wrong load for the pickup and all the high end is lost.