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Telecaster Player Series single coil 500k pot?

Discussion in 'Tele-Technical' started by medcall, Jan 25, 2021.

  1. Jan 25, 2021 #1
    medcall

    medcall TDPRI Member

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    Hello everyone!
    I am new to the forum. Hi to everyone!
    English is not my native language so my writing might sound odd once in a while.

    I have a Telecaster Player Series SC and I find it really comfortable to play. I like the neck profile and how it feels ergonomically although many people consider playing telecaster as something uncomfortable. I also bought a Vintera 70 s deluxe and it is supposed to arrive this week. :p

    I just wanted to share some thoughts and see if someone has the same experience.
    I am not technically savy but a friend of mine is a luthier so I tried different combinations of pickups and pots in different guitars.
    When I discovered that changing pots to a higher value could bring a guitar back to life ( brighter , livelier, and with a little bit more of volume and character ) I started doing it so , as a cheaper solution for guitars instead of swapping pickups.
    I had a bad result with an Affinity telecaster where i put 500k and did not like the result. Too trebly and shrill without harmonics. I must say it was not much better with 250k even tough I changed at the same time the pickups for a Fender 64 set. I ended up selling the guitar and now I am thinking of installing 300k or 500k for volume pot in my Player Series.

    I think the neck pickup could be really exciting with a little bit more clarity so if the guitar brightens too much I could play with the tone pot when playing in middle and bridge positions. Not that is bad as it is because I think they did a great job, but it is a little bit tamed, dont you think? It plays much better with overdrive but while playing clean I get more that feeling.
    I opened the cavity and the capacitor read 0.047 and i will leave it as it is because i dont want to alter drastically the sound of the guitar.

    Is anyone thinking similar to me?
    I was comparing my telecaster to a Mexican Standard Strat that has the underappreciated ceramic pickups and although they are round they have clarity and bite, even more than the neck on the telecaster. I could say that I like the texture of the neck of the tele which has that tridimensional feel but lacks a little bit of definition , character. I am not sure if I am able to convey what I am trying to.

    Anyone has changed the pots with good results?
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2021
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  2. Jan 25, 2021 #2
    LutherBurger

    LutherBurger Poster Extraordinaire

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    Welcome to the forum, @medcall.

    The alnico neck pickup from my 2005 MIM Tele now resides in a Squier that has a bridge humbucker and 500k pots. It sounds very good there.
     
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  3. Jan 25, 2021 #3
    SixStringSlinger

    SixStringSlinger Friend of Leo's

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    You can do no harm here aside from creating sounds you don't like, and that's easily fixed.

    I recently got an '80's Squier Tele cheap off Craigslist to put a Hipshot B-bender on. I like he sound of the guitar but I want to replace the electronics with something newer/cleaner/more robust, so I took a peek to see what I should buy. The thing has 500k pots.

    I'm going to keep it that way. It sounds good, andI feel like pedal steel guitars are generally bright sounding anyway (and part the whole point behind b-benders is to two the pedal steel thing).
     
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  4. Jan 25, 2021 #4
    adjason

    adjason Poster Extraordinaire Silver Supporter

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    heck try it out- I usually like the tone pretty low so I find 250 k is good for me but I had a tele deluxe with 1 megs on the bridge pickup and it sounded outstanding rolled down.
     
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  5. Jan 25, 2021 #5
    Willie Johnson

    Willie Johnson Tele-Holic

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    Welcome! I've done the same thing by switching to 500k pots in both single coil and humbucker guitars, to good results. Much less expensive than swapping pickups. My Fender Lace Sensor Golds in a Strat sound great with 500k pots, and just a slight twist of the tone knob brings them down into a typical range.
     
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  6. Jan 25, 2021 #6
    Boreas

    Boreas Friend of Leo's Silver Supporter

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    Welcome aboard! Swap away!! Many single coils can use a little OOMPH! If it is too shrill, you use the tone control a little more - no big deal. Worst case scenario, you switch back. No good way to tell without trying! Good luck!
     
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  7. Jan 25, 2021 #7
    Ess Eff

    Ess Eff Tele-Afflicted

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    Most ppl seem to like the Player pups.

    I was surprised at how bright they were and wud never have considered brightening them even more, but each to their own.

    I only changed them out because I was doing something completely different with it.
    .
    IMG_20200914_190303.jpg
     
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  8. Jan 25, 2021 #8
    jvin248

    jvin248 Doctor of Teleocity

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    .

    Sure, I start with swapping Pots 'n Caps before pickups. Better to spend $5 than $100 when both can be levers to bend the tone around.

    When swapping pots ... make sure you are measuring what you have and what you are going to, not just relying on the stamped case value. Pots have a 20% tolerance range and max vs min can make a difference bright vs dark.

    .
     
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  9. Jan 25, 2021 #9
    nickmsmith

    nickmsmith Tele-Meister

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    One of my Teles has no tone control at all. Simply a 500k volume for the bridge pickup, and a 500k volume for the neck pickup. It sounds great. If I want it a little darker, I can fade up the neck pickup just a little bit. It really just sounds a bit more open than a tone knob all the way up. Not tremendously different sounding. I don’t really miss the tone knob.

    I have my treble turned to below halfway at all times anyway, on the amp.
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2021
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  10. Jan 26, 2021 #10
    medcall

    medcall TDPRI Member

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    Yes they are kind of bright but specially the neck could sound a little bit livelier with more harmonics. It just sounds good now but I guess it could bring out a little bit more harmonics. That was the whole point of switching to 300k or 500k but I agree , I would not say they are dark.
     
  11. Jan 26, 2021 #11
    medcall

    medcall TDPRI Member

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    Thanks very much to everyone for your answers . I really like this forum . I will post my feelings on my new vintera 70s deluxe when it arrives.

    Thanks again and love to teles!!
     
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