500K vs 250K pots for Single Coil Tele

[Fender_Player90]

Does anybody run 500K pots with standard single coils in a Tele? Or does most people run 250K? Also what about a 500K volume and 250K Tone or vice versa with a 250K volume and 500K tone?

I got a Tele with Texas Special Pickups so slightly overwound and also have a 4 way switch with a series option. Would a 250K volume and swap out the tone for a 500K be a good idea?

Most people that reccomend 500K pots in a Tele seem to be the ones running humbuckers or a humbucker in the neck.

But ive always wondered about using a 500K tone with a 250K volume and that way the brightness can be dialed out and be on tap for when I want it. Maybe better fine tuning of the tone?

 

[Timbresmith1]

Never had a tele that wasn’t plenty bright enough with 250k…

 

[Boreas]

I usually run 500k V pots in my single coil Teles, but I keep the vintage ones stock. These add more high-end that can be attenuated with the T pot. IMO, whether the T pot is 250k or 500k matters very little compared to the V pot. But of course, your pickups are going to help determine what combination sounds best. That extra high-end provided by a 500k V pot can help cut through a tough mix. Personally, I would prefer to have the extra oomph there and dial it back when not needed, than not to have it at all. But personal preferences are all over the place in this regard.

But keep in mind, there is a lot of benefit to adjusting your pickup heights to your own taste. This can help you subtly alter the output spectrum as well, and doesn't cost a cent!

 

[Wallaby]

I think a lot of people aren't used to using their tone controls, so find a happy compromise where the 250k volume and tone pots with a .047pf capacitor sound good wide open with single coil pickups.

If you're willing to use the controls, anything goes as long as you like it, IMO, including changing the cap value.

I'd say you could try it and see what you like the best. You can simulate different pot values by trying different values of parallel resistors. Here is a link that explains that, in the section titled "FAKING OUT YOUR SINGLE COILS WITH RESISTORS" -

How To Use Resistors In A Guitar & Cool Tricks | Fralin Pickups

Resistors are basic components that add a lot of versatility to your guitar. Using Resistors in a guitar can add a whole new layer of tone.

www.fralinpickups.com

And here's a handy parallel resistor calculator -

https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/tools/parallel-resistance-calculator/

Happy experimenting!

 

[Blues Twanger]

The values are guidelines and not rules and can and should be tweaked up or down to get the sound you want from the signal path you use.

 

[sjtalon]

I always say, YOUR geetar YOUR ears.

If YOU wonder what it will sound like with a different value VOLUME pot.................then do it, it's easily reversible. YOU be the judge. What anyone else says is just subjective.

As far as the tone pot, ftmp, a 500KΩ with a .022µF cap will function the same as a 250 with a .047.

And cap wise:
As far as caps, they don't really mean/do jack when the pots at 10. Caps don't make "the pickup" or give a certain tone as in say "I need the right cap for a vintage tone”. Don't think of any sort of cap value being the ticket for outright tone.

Tone, per se, is in the pickups you have.......caps only make it darker/bassy-er WHEN you turn the tone pot.

I call the cap a tool the tone pot uses in its job. The higher the value, the faster/darker things will get as you turn the pot from about 6-0.

It's a player preference thing, do you want a subtle tone change? I don't use the tone much so like .022 in almost everything (250K pot). Nice gradual thru the sweep.

If you want it more aggressive (more/faster treble reduction) then .047 or even as high as .1 µF. Use some jumpers and experiment.

On one of my Strats, I took and ran a wire from the tone pots out into the trem block cavity via the
trem claw ground wire hole. Then used the trem claw for a ground (other cap lead) and tried different
value caps with test leads on the wire to the tone pot. When you get a winner, tape it up and hide it in
there (under the trem cover). Then solder it in on the pot next time you do a string
change.

Stealthy !!

Happy pickin'

 

[Beebe]

Esquire wiring bypasses the tone pot in the back switch position.

So there is precedence for playing with a higher resonant peak.

 

[EsquireOK]

I prefer 500s on most Fenders. I also like linear controls.

This allows me to set my pots down from 10 as my starting point, and go up or down in very tiny adjustments.

Fender figured out that higher resistance pots, and the use of alternate pot tapers, were the way to go for best tonal versatility in a passive circuit, all the way back in 1958, when they designed the Jazzmaster. No classic Fender circuit has a broader range from dark to bright, and all achievable with onboard controls. You can get some of that fine and broad onboard tweakability in a Strat or Tele by switching to higher valued pots, and using linear tapers where appropriate.

 

[gkterry]

I have recently wired my guitars with 500k pots for single coils. I then figure out what value of resistor to parallel the pot between the two outside terminals of the pot. That way I can make the 500k pot be any value that I wish below 500k. If I wish the guitar to have a bit less treble I can make the perceived value of the pot a bit higher than 250k if I wish for a bit lower value that can make the treble more apparent that can be done too. The value of the parallel resistor is dependent on the guitar/ pickup combo and the tone focus I want for that guitar.

 

[Billy3]

I prefer 500s on most Fenders. I also like linear controls.

This allows me to set my pots down from 10 as my starting point, and go up or down in very tiny adjustments.

Fender figured out that higher resistance pots, and the use of alternate pot tapers, were the way to go for best tonal versatility in a passive circuit, all the way back in 1958, when they designed the Jazzmaster. No classic Fender circuit has a broader range from dark to bright, and all achievable with onboard controls. You can get some of that fine and broad onboard tweakability in a Strat or Tele by switching to higher valued pots, and using linear tapers where appropriate.

I love linear potentiometers. I'm a lefty. And nothing wrong with 500k pots with single coils. Do what you like, right?

 

[The Eggman]

It's worth mentioning that from around 1969 until the early '80s 1M pots were standard in all telecasters.

I don't think I'd want to go any higher than 250k in either of the two teles I currently own, though. 250k pots in both of them give me a pretty well balanced roll off on the volume and the difference in treble content between having the volume backed off and having it maxed is 'appropriate' rather than troublesome. I get a fair amount of extra bite with it maxed out, which is what's needed for cutting through with lead tones, yet it doesn't sound in the slightest bit muddy or muffled with the volume backed off.

Also I tend to find that the brighter tone from higher value pots is only really noticeable when they are set within the top 10-15% of their sweep. This might be an issue with the taper of the 1M pots in all my guitars that have them, though... but it seems like the extra brightness disappears very very quickly causing a rapid decrease in presence and perceived volume, making the taper seem much less even and the treble 'loss' seeming much more severe, more or less negating any benefit to using 1M pots in the first place.

 

[SixStringSlinger]

For a Tele I'd typically start with your typical pot and cap values, then evaluate the individual guitar from there (though, to me, this sort of thing is probably more about the pickup(s) than the rest of the guitar).

However, I did once put 500k pots in a Tele with pretty traditional Tele pickups that also had a Hipshot B-Bender on it. My thought was to let some more brightness through to try and cop a pedal steel sound between that and the bender. I don't have the guitar anymore, but it worked out pretty well.