Which pots?

Mototech

I have an Epiphone Les Paul Studio which I'm going to change the electrics in. I've heard about different taper pots, but have no idea what difference they make to the sound of the guitar.
Could someone please explain the difference, & which pots should be used where.

Thanks,
Brian.

ICBM

Basically the higher the pot value - both for volume and tone - the brighter the sound. But if you go too high with the volume control, the travel can become very touchy at the top end and suffer from worse treble loss as you turn down. The commonly accepted best value is 500K for humbuckers.

The taper should normally be Log (logarithmic, or Audio taper) - always for the tone control, and usually for the volume. These give the best range of settings as you turn the controls down. The exception would be if you use the volume control as an actual volume for clean sounds, rather than to clean up an overdriven sound - for that, Linear can work better as it gives a less drastic roll-off from full volume.

(It's possible that you might want a linear for tone as well, if you use it as a 'hand wah' and want all the useful travel at the bottom of the range.)

You didn't ask about caps, but the most important thing to know is that only the cap value affects the sound, and even then only to any noticeable extent when the control is turned down. Contrary to popular myth neither the type, 'quality' or brand of the caps makes any difference at all. You usually want .022uF for humbuckers.

There's also the question of whether to wire them 'modern style' with the tone controls connected to the pickup (top) terminal on the volume control, or '50s style' with them connected to the switch (middle) terminals - each has different advantages and disadvantages, but it only makes any difference if you use the volume controls below full up.

There are several pickup companies which sell pre-wired looms with top-quality components, it may be worth looking into that as an all-in-one solution (Oil City and Mojo, in the UK.)

You will also have to ream out the pot holes slightly in an Epiphone to fit the US-spec pots, but it is worth doing rather than compromising on cheaper pots.

Mototech

Thanks for your input ICBM, very helpful & informative.
I have no problem wiring the loom myself to save a few quid, I will have a look around for the best place to buy the components.

entee

thanks @ICBM - this is exactly what I needed too.  I am wiring up my new build, and have been dithering about what pots etc to buy.  I can now place some orders and actually get on with it!