What pots and knobs?

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).
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Comments

  • ICBMICBM Frets: 73158
    edited February 2021
    Do you know if it has 1Meg pots? Original 70s Fender ones did, but I can't find a spec for the Squier.

    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!

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

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  • SnagsSnags Frets: 5463
    @ICBM ; I currently have no idea what's in it. It's one of the FSR ones they stuck out this year, in sparkle purple - I'd have gone green if it had been a really dark emerald, but not a pale one.

    If I get chance I'll get the guard off this weekend and have a look. Planning on using it as-is for an online thing tonight so don't want to sod with it immediately, but practicing has made me realise that I do want to change the things. At gig volumes it probably wouldn't be an issue, but for the current level of "civilised home" use it needs a bit more finesse.
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