100K Pots.

[TeleDrifter]

I always read about people using 250K or 500K pots. I've got a couple 100K pots in my parts drawer. Putting together a strat partcaster. Walnut body with maple cap. SD JB at the bridge, Custom at the neck & a SD single in the middle. Just wondering if these would be usable & what cap size I might need. If anyone's tried these. Thanks. Cheers.

 

[sjtalon]

100K (volume) would make the pups pretty dark sounding.

 

[Gautfrid]

Are you using active pickups? If not, don't bother.

 

[TeleDrifter]

No, passive pups. Back in the partes drawer they go.

 

[wildschwein]

Gibson used 100k pots for tone pots in the '70s for a while. They paired them with 300k pots for the volume. That was with humbuckers.

 

[sjtalon]

Sure you could use that value for a tone pot, just that you would need a real high value cap for it to do anything.

 

[Derek Kiernan]

The capacitor doesn't have any effect until around 100k. You could use it for a tone pot without issue. It's the main reason tone pots should be audio taper. No need to use a higher value cap.

 

[TeleDrifter]

Well allright. I'll try them for the tone pots with a 500K for Vol. Thanks all.

 

[waparker4]

I would not use them on a strat with two tone controls in parallel in the neck/mid position. Mud city.

 

[Derek Kiernan]

^ I agree with that. I mainly use "master tone" type wirings.

 

[TeleDrifter]

I'm was thinking about a tone for each HB & the single would be wired without tone. Give it a go this weekend. Thanks for all your ideas.

 

[waparker4]

Your HB will have a really smooth top end going into muddy with the total 500k + 100k = 83k load, and the single coil will have a piercing bright 500k load. Next to the HB the sc will sound like it has no bass and is all ice pick. I would predict that you'll be ripping out these 100k tone controls as fast as you put them in, but that's just my prediction. YMMV

 

[TeleDrifter]

Your HB will have a really smooth top end going into muddy with the total 500k + 100k = 83k load, and the single coil will have a piercing bright 500k load. Next to the HB the sc will sound like it has no bass and is all ice pick. I would predict that you'll be ripping out these 100k tone controls as fast as you put them in, but that's just my prediction. YMMV

Waparker4, I think I may just pass on the 100K. I got enough negative input to believe that they'll sound bad. Would you recommend 250K or 500K? Plus what do you think of having no tone on the single coil? Thanks.

 

[BradKM]

Some early Danolectro circuits use 100k for both tone and volume.

I'm restoring a couple right now.

 

[waparker4]

Waparker4, I think I may just pass on the 100K. I got enough negative input to believe that they'll sound bad. Would you recommend 250K or 500K? Plus what do you think of having no tone on the single coil? Thanks.

Probably 500k but it's your tastes, so ymmv. I have had a guitar wired up w/o tone on the middle pup before.. It works fine. I like it better w/ tone, probably with a no-load tone pot controlling both bridge and middle pups. But it works fine.