500k volume pot what changes from 300k

Akira69

Akira69

Member
what changes from 500k pots, is it just more highs? Is its worth changing in a stock les paul custom?
 
more highs, a bit more sweep in the pot. what pickups are in there now? Google this, and you'll find dozens of old bbs threads full of opinions on 300 vs 500 in various styles of guitars and pickups, and you can really deep dive on it.
 
Yeah, it is a solid difference and not placebo, but it´s all down to your ears in the end. Most guys like a JB with 500K, some like it better with 250K. Do you feel your LP is dark now? But it´s not a big thing to try out, both inexpensive and reversable, so I say go for it.

The cap value on the tone controls is another thing worth considering too, while you´re at it.
 
Akira69 said:
im running a jb any recommendation for brand of pot? sounds like i need to try
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Dave L said:
Yeah, it is a solid difference and not placebo, but it´s all down to your ears in the end. Most guys like a JB with 500K, some like it better with 250K. Do you feel your LP is dark now? But it´s not a big thing to try out, both inexpensive and reversable, so I say go for it.

The cap value on the tone controls is another thing worth considering too, while you´re at it.
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i always run a clean treble boost so maybe worth a try, thanks
 
Akira69 said:
im running a jb any recommendation for brand of pot? sounds like i need to try
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CTS makes a "vintage taper" that's awesome. Although I've never used linear taper pots they seem to be somewhere between audio and linear taper. Fantastic if you like to roll your volume down, much more usable than a standard audio taper pot.
 
Chubbs said:
CTS makes a "vintage taper" that's awesome. Although I've never used linear taper pots they seem to be somewhere between audio and linear taper. Fantastic if you like to roll your volume down, much more usable than a standard audio taper pot.
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That’s all I use. They’re awesome if you like to roll back the volume
 
My JB got brighter and more aggressive. At first I didn't like it. A few amp adjustments and I prefer the 500K over 300K. But both have strengths.
 
I swapped to 500k pots in my LP when I swapped in an Antiquity neck and Seth Lover Bridge. I put the bridge volume pot back to the stock 300k, because it was too bright with the 500k.
Every other guitar I've preferred 500k. I have the stock Gibson pots in my Explorer right now, and it is a bit darker than I prefer.
 
Pot resistance is very important. I have lots of spare pots and simply sealing out something that reads 500k to 430k can make all of the difference in the world. Frankly I’m surprised more people don’t swap pots. For years I’d always get 500k pots, open them up and make them 550k. This way I’d always get the same sound when a pot would wear out.
 
Remember that a 500k pot turns into a 300k pot just by turning it down a bit. A pot’s rating is just its maximum value. Turning any pot all the way down turns all of them into “0k” pots, etc.

Also, the higher the pot value, the more high frequency content and the volume you allow through to the amp’s input.

Basically, pots become easier to understand when you realize that turning them down not only lowers the total output signal, but that they attenuate treble and bass at different rates, the treble being more sensitive to change and therefore faster to decrease than bass. Let’s say that with a 500k volume pot all the way up, a given pickup has about “5” treble and “5” bass. Turn the volume knob down so it hits 250k, and now not only is the pickup quieter, but it’s frequency balance has changed. Now it has about “3” treble and “4” bass. Turn the volume down more and you have “1” treble and “3” bass. Now let’s replace the pot with a 1 Meg pot and turn it to 10. Now you have “7” treble and “6” bass overall.

Hopefully that makes some sense.
 
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Higher resistance means less bleed to ground means increases the amplitude of the resonant frequency.

I like JB's with 125-150K total load, like two 250K pots. It was designed for that load.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
Remember that a 500k pot turns into a 300k pot just by turning it down a bit. A pot’s rating is just its maximum value. Turning any pot all the way down turns all of them into “0k” pots, etc.

Also, the higher the pot value, the more high frequency content and the volume you allow through to the amp’s input.

Basically, pots become easier to understand when you realize that turning them down not only lowers the total output signal, but that they attenuate treble and bass at different rates, the treble being more sensitive to change and therefore faster to decrease than bass. Let’s say that with a 500k volume pot all the way up, a given pickup has about “5” treble and “5” bass. Turn the volume knob down so it hits 250k, and now not only is the pickup quieter, but it’s frequency balance has changed. Now it has about “3” treble and “4” bass. Turn the volume down more and you have “1” treble and “3” bass. Now let’s replace the pot with a 1 Meg pot and turn it to 10. Now you have “7” treble and “6” bass overall.

Hopefully that makes some sense.
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Very true, but there is an impedance change between a 500k pot turned down to 300k vs a 300k turned all the way up. I learned about this when tinkering and could never get the same sound. I even went as far as using copped on the carbon track to adjust when the pot is on max. I had liked the sound around 7, but when making pots read the same as the one on 7, it just wasnt the same sound/feel.
 
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