Help me allocate the pots on a Les Paul

jaymenon · October 2021

These are what I have - the tone pots are push/push for coil tapping (so I suppose I can use the PP pots as the volume pots)

572KΩ

533KΩ

Push-Push pots
532KΩ
455KΩ

I’m thinking the higher values for the neck pickup?

https://i.imgur.com/N73tpdl.jpg

please help me allocate them to the correct positions based on the pot values…

TTony · October 2021

Log, or lin tapers.

jaymenon · October 2021

All log taper Tony

ICBM · October 2021

Higher values for bridge pickup and tones. That gives the best range of tone and volume, with the bridge pickup being naturally brighter but quieter and the neck fuller and louder.

I would usually prefer to use the switched pots for the tone controls as the tapers are often not as good, but if you want to use them for the volumes, then...

455K - neck volume
532K - bridge volume
533K - neck tone
572K - bridge tone

Not that it actually makes the blindest bit of difference with such small variations

.

jaymenon · October 2021

Thanks John, I think I will used to switched pots for tone controls. So what would the values be please?

Funkfingers · October 2021

jaymenon said:

the tone pots are push/push for coil tapping

P90s, huh?

ICBM · October 2021

jaymenon said:

Thanks John, I think I will used to switched pots for tone controls. So what would the values be please?

Just swap the volumes and tones so the bridge ones are still higher.

That would give you volume controls higher than tone controls, which I normally don’t like - but that’s only with properly different values. I’ve never even measured individual pots when putting a guitar together, it just doesn’t make enough difference to matter if they’re all 10% tolerance.

The 572K is a bit of an outlier though, the difference between that and the 455K might just be audible.

Amigo · November 2021

Similar question here: I have 4 push-pull pots, of values: 439k, 469k, 510k, 514k.

Following @ICBM's advice, I allocated them like this:
439k - Neck Volume
469k - Neck Tone
510k - Bridge Tone
514k - Bridge Volume

Pickups are 7.5k neck and 8k bridge, very clear, in an SG-type guitar. Anything wrong with the allocation? Tone caps will be 22nF, although I have 33nF available too.

Dave_Mc · November 2021

^ I'd go 22nF for the caps. If you had 15nF, that might be worth trying for the neck tone. Though if you can be bothered you could try 33nF just to see what they're like (bit darker, basically).

I'll let @ICBM answer about the pot values... I always put bigger ones for the volumes (on the basis that volumes affect the brightness more than tones and I like brighter usually), but having read @ICBM 's working, I think I got it the wrong way round! Though I suspect, as he said, that being the same nominal value it made no difference... any of the ones I can remember measuring were well within spec, actually pretty tight tolerances IIRC.

ICBM · November 2021

Amigo said:

Similar question here: I have 4 push-pull pots, of values: 439k, 469k, 510k, 514k.

Following @ICBM's advice, I allocated them like this:
439k - Neck Volume
469k - Neck Tone
510k - Bridge Tone
514k - Bridge Volume

Pickups are 7.5k neck and 8k bridge, very clear, in an SG-type guitar. Anything wrong with the allocation? Tone caps will be 22nF, although I have 33nF available too.

I really think you're over-thinking it. While there may be *tiny* differences from arranging the pot values differently, and given that you've gone to the trouble of measuring them it is probably worth allocating them to the positions where they maximise the tonal range of the guitar, beyond that there's really no sense worrying about it. If you've soldered them in already, leave them alone.

I also prefer to use smaller caps for the bridge pickup and larger ones for the neck, if you must use different values. I don't see any point in trying to make the pickups sound more alike rather than less...

Amigo · November 2021

ICBM said:
I really think you're over-thinking it.

My better half would agree wholeheartedly

jaymenon · April 2023

ICBM said:

jaymenon said:

Thanks John, I think I will used to switched pots for tone controls. So what would the values be please?

Just swap the volumes and tones so the bridge ones are still higher.

That would give you volume controls higher than tone controls, which I normally don’t like - but that’s only with properly different values. I’ve never even measured individual pots when putting a guitar together, it just doesn’t make enough difference to matter if they’re all 10% tolerance.

The 572K is a bit of an outlier though, the difference between that and the 455K might just be audible.

So how much of an increase does there need to be in pot resistance for there to be a perceptible/audible increase in brightness please?

For example would there be an audible difference between a 250K and a 300K volume pot? Or do I need to go higher - to 350k or thereabouts?

Funkfingers · April 2023

Die, zombie thread. Die!

Amigo · April 2023

@jaymenon is a man after my own heart

ICBM · April 2023

jaymenon said:

So how much of an increase does there need to be in pot resistance for there to be a perceptible/audible increase in brightness please?

For example would there be an audible difference between a 250K and a 300K volume pot? Or do I need to go higher - to 350k or thereabouts?

I did some experiments with switching resistors into the circuit to simulate higher and lower pot values, so you could hear if anything changed when comparing directly on the fly.

I found that a difference of within about 25% from the pot value wasn’t audible, possibly as much as 33% if higher - it’s not linear, it becomes more sensitive at lower values.

So a 250K pot that measures 300K will sound the same, but 350K will be slightly brighter. Going the other way, it will sound the same down to about 200K, but then start to get duller quite rapidly if you go much below that.

Both those examples are well outside the +/-10% tolerance on most good quality pots though, and even outside the +/-20% on cheaper ones, so you’re unlikely to actually come across any.

There is a good reason those tolerances are standard in the industry.

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Help me allocate the pots on a Les Paul

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