Best POT's, etc. for Tele's?

[Jack]

I'm planning to replace the stock PU's in my American Standard Tele soon so I'm thinking about doing a complete upgrade while in there.

The volume pot is virtually worthless until it hit's the half way point and when full on it's harsh. Tone control is not all that hot either so I would like to do some upgrades, but have no idea what to get. I'd like to keep the values the same, but just upgrade all pots and maybe the cap if it would make a difference.

Any suggestions?

[rolijen]

The pot values on the American Standard Tele are fine--they're CTS 250k audio taper pots and work really well for most Tele style single-coil pickups. You're also in luck because the American Standard uses the basic "Modern" style wiring. If your pots are really shot, just get the same ones--Fender (CTS) 250k Audio Taper, solid shaft pots.

Apart from the pickups, the only change I would recommend is that you yank out the stock .022uf tone cap and replace it with a .050uf or .047uf cap (whichever you can find--they're basically the same). You will love the way your Tele sounds and responds with this tiny change.

After a little time with your reborn axe, if you decide you love the new pickups, the next mod your should consider is moving up to a 4-way switch (which will require a bit of rewiring obviously).

Start with the pickups and cap and spend time getting the pickup heights just right. You'll be glad you did.

Rolijen

[Jack]

Originally Posted by rolijen

The pot values on the American Standard Tele are fine--they're CTS 250k audio taper pots and work really well for most Tele style single-coil pickups. You're also in luck because the American Standard uses the basic "Modern" style wiring. If your pots are really shot, just get the same ones--Fender (CTS) 250k Audio Taper, solid shaft pots.

Apart from the pickups, the only change I would recommend is that you yank out the stock .022uf tone cap and replace it with a .050uf or .047uf cap (whichever you can find--they're basically the same). You will love the way your Tele sounds and responds with this tiny change.

After a little time with your reborn axe, if you decide you love the new pickups, the next mod your should consider is moving up to a 4-way switch (which will require a bit of rewiring obviously).

Start with the pickups and cap and spend time getting the pickup heights just right. You'll be glad you did.

Rolijen

Thanks for the tips. So what difference does the change to .047uf or .050uf cap have on the sound? Smoother high end?

[rolijen]

Don't know why it is, but for me, the .047uf cap gets the job done and preserves a bit more of the treble as you back off the volume. For me it's the perfect value for most of the single coil installs I do.

When you're using .022uf, the tone goes mudward as you back off the volume pot. Of course, this can be overcome if you install a treble bleed cap/resistor circuit in the strat or tele. But, I like the "less is more" approach and .047uf seems to get me there.

[surfco]

+1 on the caps replacement.

[boris bubbanov]

Jack, what year is your Standard and how much wear and tear/ previous owner modifications are we talking about?

I guess there's no harm in replacing the existing pots with more CTS 250 audio tapers. That pot sounds busted.

Feel free to experiment with different caps, from .015 uf to .068 uf or beyond. What worked on Roligen's current guitar may not work on the next one, or with a different set of pickups. Your ears will differ; everyone of us hears this stuff different. Try a few different things; see what you get.

[teleman4u]

Originally Posted by rolijen

Don't know why it is, but for me, the .047uf cap gets the job done and preserves a bit more of the treble as you back off the volume. For me it's the perfect value for most of the single coil installs I do.

When you're using .022uf, the tone goes mudward as you back off the volume pot. Of course, this can be overcome if you install a treble bleed cap/resistor circuit in the strat or tele. But, I like the "less is more" approach and .047uf seems to get me there.

This makes no sense to me. The higher cap value rolls off MORE treble, so what you are saying is essentially backwards. 0.047uf will roll off more than a 0.022uF. That's why a lot of guys including myself use a 0.015uF cap on the neck pickup of a LP.

And as far as the interaction with the volume pot, that's due more to the wiring scheme and pot taper.

[rolijen]

Originally Posted by teleman4u

This makes no sense to me. The higher cap value rolls off MORE treble, so what you are saying is essentially backwards. 0.047uf will roll off more than a 0.022uF. That's why a lot of guys including myself use a 0.015uF cap on the neck pickup of a LP.

And as far as the interaction with the volume pot, that's due more to the wiring scheme and pot taper.

You're right! Your cap value is a great choice for your LP. My experience is that humbuckers are inherently darker in tone and thus tend to benefit from lower cap values. Single-coils tend to be very bright and can benefit from higher cap values. I find .047 to be in the sweet spot for me on most Fenders. On humbucker equipped guitars, I usually go .022 or lower. All this is really just a starting point anyway. Bubbanov is so right that it pays to experiment! Just my 2¢.

[tjk3052]

You should check the actual values you get from you pots too, most don't have great tolerances. As for values, if you play with the tone all the way up and want more brightness, get bigger pots, if you play with the tone down and still want a darker sound, get a bigger cap. The size of the cap really doesn't make much difference until you start to roll down the tone. And the type of cap you use doesn't matter, only it's value.