Picked up a Squier FSR 70s CV Tele Deluxe earlier this year (so 2 x wide-range (allegedly) humbuckers and LP style switching).
Thoroughly enjoying it, but the pots are a bit brutal and the knobs just feel cheap.
Haven't had the scratchplate off to look at what's actually in it, but the issues (for me) are:
- the action on the pots is pretty stiff and they "stick" in their at-rest position, so fine adjustment is a bit fiddly
- bridge volume: the first tiny bit of travel takes it from LOUD and VERY BRIGHT to manageable and warmer, and then fairly quickly after that to actively quiet and a bit dull. I would rather have a more linear drop in both volume and treble as the pot is turned down
- tone pots are both a bit meh, again with a very sharp cliff edge for from full treble to a lot of treble loss, and then minor variance until you get to muddy as fuck at the lower points
Or, in summary, for pots marked 1 - 10 and with a sweep action, they actually behave somewhat digitally with about 3 or 4 distinct areas of operation across that alleged 10-point continuum.
The goal would be to end up with pots that are a bit more responsive, consistent, and gradual in their operation, and not to instantly lose about 50% of the treble as soon as you nudge the volume from 10 to 9.5 ...
As someone who knows virtually nothing about components, what's the obvious all-rounder choice? At this stage I have no intention of swapping out the pickups or the switch, just a straight replacement of the pots (and knobs, for ones that feel slightly less cheapo).
Comments
Either way it sounds like it probably has Log volume pots and you really want Linear. The tone pots may just be cheap - they should be Log, but some cheap Log pots are actually made from two or more sections of linear track (because it's easier to make them like that).
Is it a sparkle green one, by the way? Those look amazing!
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