What pots for Original Vintage set

Are the Fender Original Vintage pickups voiced for 1 meg pots? Mine sound good but are a little bit dark with 250k. I'm curious what others here are using.

The 1 Meg pots would probably brighten them up but have you played with the adjustment off the height of the pups? That can make all the difference.

The 1 Meg pots would probably brighten them up but have you played with the adjustment off the height of the pups? That can make all the difference.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I have adjusted the height. I guess my question was coming more from a design standpoint. I'll probably give 1 meg a try at some point. For now, I'm just setting the amp a little brighter and they're working fine.

OV's sounding dark is a shocker to me ?? The bridge anyway. May be try a 500K volume pot for starters.

OV's sounding dark is a shocker to me ?? The bridge anyway. May be try a 500K volume pot for starters.

That's what I was thinking. Usually they are plenty bright.

for true single coil tele and strat, stick with a 250ka volume pot - the tone pot can a larger value no bi deal. try to use large pots, like cts or alpha, as they have a larger and more useful sweep than those smaller asian pots. use a .022uf tone cap, and think about making the tone pot a no-load.

also, pots are almost never their listed value, most are off by +/- 10%, some 15% or more. heat increases resistance, so a hot pot will read more than its actual value.

I agree with Rob D stay with 250k's for single coils although I prefer .047uf capacitors over .022's. I have had some MIA Fenders that sounded dark and found when I took the pots out the values read 190 on a 250 CTS pot. Not all CTS pots are equal so buy good quality. I meter all the pots I use and like ones that are 250 to 270 in the volume position and I use the others in the tone position. If the highs roll off when you turn the volume down you can add a Treble bleed but I find I don't need them with most SC sets.

right on, david - it's important to meter pots. anything much less than 250k gets opened and the carbon strip scraped to up to a more meaniingful resistance. i do the same with caps. i like the wider, more useful range of sweep with .022uf caps.

Are the Fender Original Vintage pickups voiced for 1 meg pots? Mine sound good but are a little bit dark with 250k. I'm curious what others here are using.

Mine are the same way. I understand the advice of others but am going to try the Bakersfield wiring with 1 meg pots. It is a easy mod and easy to reverse.

ya know, there are no rules, there is no right or wrong. that's the really cool thing about guitars and music. try different stuff out, do whatever you like, use whatever makes you happiest. :cool: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/gremlins/thumbsup.gif http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/gremlins/thumbsup.gif

I'm confused... I thought the standard tele pots are 500k and if a person wanted it brighter you would put in 250k.... Is it the other way around? I.e. the larger the number the brighter it is???

I'm confused... I thought the standard tele pots are 500k and if a person wanted it brighter you would put in 250k.... Is it the other way around? I.e. the larger the number the brighter it is???

the accepted tele/strat pot value for single coils is 250k - increase that value to somewhat/maybe increase treble.

Thanks to all for the replies. My pots are full size Alpha 250k but I'll definitely check them with the meter. I'm going to try some other things as well. My bridge is the big, heavy "Micawber" style. I'm going to swap it out for an ashtray with the next string change and see if that livens it up a bit.

Maybe "smooth" would have been a better choice of words than "dark". I don't dislike the OV's. Far from it. They're just not quite what I expected.

Thanks again,

Paul

Thanks to all for the replies. My pots are full size Alpha 250k but I'll definitely check them with the meter. I'm going to try some other things as well. My bridge is the big, heavy "Micawber" style. I'm going to swap it out for an ashtray with the next string change and see if that livens it up a bit.

Maybe "smooth" would have been a better choice of words than "dark". I don't dislike the OV's. Far from it. They're just not quite what I expected.

Thanks again,

PaulIts the bridge giving the tone. I switched my '52 RI bridge for that style and the tone went from twang to smooth blues. I liked it better tonewise and it didn't get in the way anymore.