514k volume pot? unreg?

[unreg]

Hi all! newey and sumgai both say that I should replace my volume pot... it has 514k resistance.

Is there a way to order a 5xxk pot? Or am I limited to buying a 500k pot?

My volume pot has linear taper, I think... that must be possible to select right?

How do pots come? Do they all have dials on them? Or, can I somehow remove the black dial from my volume pot and attach it somehow to the new pot?

Are all pots the same size? What details do I need to look at my current volume pot for b4 buying a new volume pot?

Where should I buy this volume pot from? Are some volume pots higher quality than others?

I haven’t researched and have no clue about pot removal/insertion. Could you help me or point me in the right direction? I’m lost...


edit: Does a different pot resistance mean a change in tone? I love my current tone!

final edit: But, I’m only replacing the volume pot so my guitar tone won’t change?

[thetragichero]

knob either has a set screw or will pull off
depending on how the knob is attached will determine which shaft type you'll need: solid or split shaft
you want a log/audio taper pot for a guitar, so 500kA (for audio) vs 500kB (for bLinear... yeah i don't know why they use B)
pots generally come with a 20% tolerance, so it could be up to 600k it as low as 400, although i generally find they're within 20k for most of the bourns pots i use
you also want to make sure it has solder lugs instead of pins to solder to a pc board. you'll make that mistake exactly once lol
take the knob off (carefully) and remove the pot. we'll go from there

[newey]

1) If the knob doesn't have a set screw, and if it doesn't come off easily, you will need to pry it upwards to get it off. This can be done with a putty knife, or with a flat-bladed screwdriver, but be very careful, it is easy to do damage to the finish or pickguard if you muscle it too much. StewMac makes a special tool to remove split-shaft knobs to avoid damage, and if this was a vintage or costly guitar, I'd buy the tool, but for a cheap axe, just be careful.

2) Under the knob is a hex nut that holds the pot in place, you loosen this to remove the pot once the knob is off. You will need a deep-well socket of the appropriate size to clear the pot's shaft. Otherwise, a needlenose pliers, held vertically, will do the trick, but be careful again, if it slips off you can scratch things.

3) Note that "audio pots" are the same thing as "logarithmic" ("log") pots. Both are labelled as "A" taper, as Tragic notes. There is also a "C" taper, which is a reverse-log taper (or "antilog"); these are used for lefty guitars. (If you mirror-image a pot's wiring, the knob turns the opposite way for lefties).

4) You would not be able to hear any audible difference between a pot of 500K exactly and ones that measured 514K. Gibson used to use 300K pots on some models, I replaced some old 250K pots (they were scratchy from age) with 300K ones and heard no difference.

5) Pots (at least, the ones usable in guitars) generally are either 25mm diameter, the so-called "quarter size" pots, since the diameter is close to that of a US quarter-dollar coin. Others (usually on Asian imports) are "dime-sized", 15 or 17mm diameter. In some applications, the smaller pots are needed to save space in the cavity. But if you have the room, the larger pots provide a longer rotation on the track, and so can be more precisely adjusted.

Bourns and Alpha are the two big manufacturers, both make quality pots.

Electronics supplier websites generally have more selection and lower prices than guitar parts websites.

[unreg]

Thank you thetragichero and newey!

Earlier today, a Pullit Knob Puller and a CTS Split shaft 500k-ohm Control Pot were purchased from StewMac. Chose CTS bc StewMac didn’t have Bourns and only had a shallow version of the Alpha pot I wanted (AND shipping was $9.99 so chose to get my pot from StewMac); I read that the shallow pots must receive a smaller amount of heat AND I’m not great at soldering. The reviews for that linear taper CTS pot made me smile.

Since the pot came from StewMac, I didn’t worry about buying a pot for circuit boards; but, thank you for sharing that knowledge thetragichero! You have made me vigilant.

[thetragichero]

you will be dissatisfied with a linear taper volume pot of you intend to do anything but keep it on 10

[unreg]

Oh, I like to be able to easily adjust the volume to any value between 0 and 100%, so linear taper was what I was looking for. My volume pot, that’s attached now is linear taper and I love it. It doesn’t bother me to have to turn the volume knob all the way to off; usually, my guitar stays at the same volume anyways. That’s just me.


edit: Some reviewers mentioned that other linear taper pots didn’t work well, but I also read that StewMac’s 500k CTS pots are made to be within in 10% of 500k AND others taught me that these pots are of great quality.

[blademaster2]

Linear versus Audio taper will influence how fast the volume goes up as you turn the pot, but both will work well and give you 0% to 100%. It depends on your preferences. Audio taper was developed so that the perceived volume change would be even as you turn the dial. Guitarists might want something different, especially if they regularly use the volume knob for swelling notes after picking them because it might be preferred to have the volume swell more rapidly at the beginning of the turn than an audio taper will provide. The trade-off is that the finer adjustment capabilities for lowering volume settings is a lot more sensitive as you turn, and if it was that way on an audio system it might be annoying.

The actual full-scale resistance will have a tolerance on it, so your 514k pot sounds like a regular 500k pot and your particular one is off by being only slightly above that specified value.

[thetragichero]

the issue with setting volume from 0 to 10 on a linear pot is one of scale. hearing is on a logarithmic scale so what would be considered "half as loud" would be 5 on a log out whereas on a linear pot it would be closer to 2 (these are from quick measurements with a multimeter. someone may come back later with maths to back it up)
i guess it can boil down to personal preference but for a simple guy like me i like the numbers on the knobs to mean something to me

[blademaster2]

Right, and for me, too as I was never coordinated enough to do that cool pick/swell effect that some do so well (like Van Halen's "Cathedral"). I usually have it on full volume, so I would probably be as well off with a linear as Audio if I was inclined to do that.

I think the mid point is SQRT(10), or just above 3 (slightly more than 3.16) on the log scale.

[unreg]

Thank you blademaster2 and thetragichero for helping me to gain a better understanding of audio taper and linear taper!

Well, my pot ships on Friday so I will think about this purchase very much before it ships... can still change the order. The knobs on my guitar are black and numberless so I’ve never had a numerical idea of the volume... it just gets louder and softer. The logarithmic audio taper pot matching our logarithmic hearing is interesting and very cool to understand now.

[unreg]

Aaah, my mistake... the CTS pots on StewMac are all Audio Taper. I’m excited and don’t have to change my order.

edit: and, honestly, after writing my reply to you, thetragichero, I remembered that I was disappointed with my volume knob (volume pot), instantly after guitar purchase, bc it worked like you described; I thought about adding an edit to that post, but blademaster2 and you had already replied with super helpful info.

[thetragichero]

if i come off forceful it's not my intention. most of the mistakes you can make i have made, often against the advice of those who have been there before. hopefully i save somebody else the grief I've caused myself lol

hey, no need to hit 'like' on every post. pops up a little notification that can get overwhelming. just learn a lot and pass it on. that's the best thanks you can give (oh and update us when stuff works... don't leave us hanging!)

[unreg]

Apr 8, 2020 21:35:34 GMT -5 thetragichero said:

if i come off forceful it's not my attention. most of the mistakes you can make i have made, often against the advice of those who have been there before. hopefully i save somebody else the grief I've caused myself lol

hey, no need to hit 'like' on every post. pops up a little notification that can get overwhelming. just learn a lot and pass it on. that's the best thanks you can give (oh and update us when stuff works... don't leave us hanging!)

Thank you for being kind thetragichero!

I just got here and haven’t totally solved the hum problem yet, but I’ll definitely report back with what happens AND maybe I’ll be able to help someone else.


(Reading “intention” instead of “attention” fixed your post, in my head at least.)