Biohazard Posted May 31, 2004 Report Posted May 31, 2004 Hi, I'm going to be installing two humbuckers, one in the neck and one in the bridge of my new guitar when it arrives. For pot values I was planning on using the standard 500K for tone and volume. What sound will this give compared to two 1M pots? Thanks for any information. Also if I use 1M what capacitor on the tone pot should I go to, or will this not change even though the pot value is not 500K?Hope that made sense. Quote
KeithHowell Posted May 31, 2004 Report Posted May 31, 2004 Have a look at the topic on tone capacitors pots etc in the tutorial section. It's pinned at the top. Keith Quote
Biohazard Posted May 31, 2004 Author Report Posted May 31, 2004 Ok thanks. But what about chooseing the pot value (500k/1M), whats the shound difference between the two pots etc. Quote
lovekraft Posted May 31, 2004 Report Posted May 31, 2004 The higher the resistance, the less high-end rolloff - but keep in mind that higher resistances also increase the noise level. Quote
Biohazard Posted May 31, 2004 Author Report Posted May 31, 2004 So 500K gives me the standard humbucker sound, but if I used 1M pots, I would have less high-end sounds and more noise? That right? Quote
lovekraft Posted May 31, 2004 Report Posted May 31, 2004 No, you would have more high-end, because less is rolled off to ground, with a corresponding increase in noise. In my experience, noise only becomes a problem when you get above 2Megs, but as always, YMMV. Quote
Biohazard Posted May 31, 2004 Author Report Posted May 31, 2004 YMMV? Sorry to maybe tick you guys off, but i have another question. Whats the difference between audio taper pots and linear? Which ones are usually used and what sound would the two give you? Thanks for any information. Quote
truerussian558 Posted May 31, 2004 Report Posted May 31, 2004 the difference between linear taper and logarithmic or audio taper is in the way the signla gets increased. in a linear taper the number on the knob corrseponds to the strenght of the signal and the output difference between any 2 values is the same, so the volume increases at a straight line. in an audio taper, the increase in output is a curved line. which the output increases at smaller intervals near the beggining, and larger intervals near the end (i.e the difference in output strenght between "1" and "2" is less then the dif between "9" and "10"), so basically if it was graphed out it would be a curved line im sure that was extremely confusing but i cant seem to find the diagram i have seen before demonstrating this as regards to sound it shouldnt have any effect besides that the output increases at different rates when you rotate the knob of the pot Quote
spirit Posted May 31, 2004 Report Posted May 31, 2004 well, the thing is, despite what is actually happening, the audio taper pot (the one with the curved line graph thingy) sounds to our ears to be doing what the linear taper pot is doing. or so i've read. Quote
Biohazard Posted June 1, 2004 Author Report Posted June 1, 2004 So it wouldn't matter what I chose? Ok thanks for that information. Quote
lovekraft Posted June 1, 2004 Report Posted June 1, 2004 YMMV? "your mileage may vary", meaning that other people don't necessarily hear things the way I do, nor does everyone have the same tolerance for noise. An audio taper pot is going to respond the way you're used to a volume control working. It takes approximately 10 times the actual sound pressure level for a noise to sound twice as loud to most human ears - audio taper simulates that change over the pot's range, so for instance "5" sounds half as loud as "10" - if it goes to "11", then all bets are off. Quote
ansil Posted June 1, 2004 Report Posted June 1, 2004 hmm in my book i dont' know if i can hear the difference between linear and log, but i will say this much i have two guitars that although not exactly sounding the same they do play similar and sound similar enough to warrant a test.. i rewired one with log and one with lin. and had a friend install the actual pieces.[ie i wire all my controls and switches to a pcb board and then wire the pickups to it.] i waited till he was done. and tried them both out. couldn't sonicly tell the difference but the blue guitar just didnt' have the same sound when i rolled down the volume a bit.. so i tried it with the other one and it had that nice smooth sound i was used too.. took off the backs and guess what. The lin pot was the one, that i had chosen as my favorite. anyway this was my personal test and shouldn't be confused with an actual scientific test in any manner. just personal experience sharing. Quote
daveq Posted June 1, 2004 Report Posted June 1, 2004 Here's a description of the difference between audio taper and linear (I don't remember where I copied this from): What is an audio taper? To answer this question, one must understand how the human ear senses sound. The human being experiences loudness as a sensation in the brain. The physical measure of loudness is known as intensity. Intensity is expressed in Watts/meter2 (W/m2) or decibels (dB). The human ear responds to sound in a logarithmic fashion. The smallest change in sound that the human ear can detect is 1dB. For this reason, the dB scale, which is based on a logarithmic scale, is used. The audio taper panel control produces a change in output on a logarithmic scale giving the human ear the perception of sound intensity increasing in a linear fashion. Audio tapers are typically used in volume control applications. Modified linear tapers are used in lighting control applications. I play at two volume settings 10 and 0 (0 for tuning, usually) so it wouldn't matter a bit to me but I still use audio taper for volume anyway. Quote
Biohazard Posted June 1, 2004 Author Report Posted June 1, 2004 I'm still a bit confused as to whether linear or audio would be best. Quote
truerussian558 Posted June 1, 2004 Report Posted June 1, 2004 it really makes no difference physically, just go with what you thign sounds better, but adio taper was made for audio, so if you want go with it, it really is just a preference as an audio taper kinda "rolls up" to the 10, and is supposed to sound more natural to the human ear, as described above. It really delves into psychology and this field really varies from person to person, so the best advice is to pick what sounds best to you, not that it makes much of a difference Quote
Biohazard Posted June 2, 2004 Author Report Posted June 2, 2004 So I need to try out both and see what sounds best. Ok thans for the help then. Quote
truerussian558 Posted June 2, 2004 Report Posted June 2, 2004 but you dont really need to go through the trouble it isnt exactly a big difference, i would go with the audio taper mind you, but i wouldnt be dissapointed if i had the linear taper, it really doesnt make much of a difference. Quote
Biohazard Posted June 2, 2004 Author Report Posted June 2, 2004 Lol, ok i'll just put both names on a iece of paper, put them in a hat and randomly choose one lol. Quote
daveq Posted June 2, 2004 Report Posted June 2, 2004 If you're like me and you don't actually use the volume for anything other than full on or full off, then it won't matter at all. If you like to do some changes with the volume during songs, then it will make a difference but it may only be minor. Quote
Hamer Bass Head Posted April 11, 2006 Report Posted April 11, 2006 hi I'm new here... I remember reading somewhere that you can get a linear taper pot to act like an audio taper by adding a resistor across 2 of the lugs..... years ago I was sharp and probably figured this out for myself. anyone have any clues? Quote
lovekraft Posted April 11, 2006 Report Posted April 11, 2006 This should answer all your questions: The Secret Life of Pots (courtesy of RG Keen/Geofex.com) Quote
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