tone pot

what is the difference in using a 250k or a 500k pot as a tone control??

Hey man, welcome to the forum... This is a great place with a wealth of knowledge in playing, guitars, amps, and even general discussion (check out the off-topic room)...

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Allen

And a 500k pot will be brighter sounding than a 250k pot.

250k warmer 500k brighter.

is also the same for volume pot?? 250k warmer and 500k brighter?


Originally Posted by Gila_Crisisis also the same for volume pot?? 250k warmer and 500k brighter?

yup, the 250k will roll of more highs.

ok i wasn't sure if to change the vol pot to 500k or not (cause on my strat i have 2 humberker and 1 single coil). but i think i'll keep the 250k pot. strat are allready bright guitars!!:-D

wait it's thru that with 500k you got more gain from pickup???


Originally Posted by Gila_Crisiswait it's thru that with 500k you got more gain from pickup???Got a question on tone pots,still pondering the quarter pounder issue (w/cheese)ha in the neck spot of my 70s strat,but heard there real bassy sounding,would a 500k pot give it more highs and treble?or no difference?
Thanx

seeing al the reply i think that a 500k pot will solve the problem (500k = bright imo more high end)

Both the volume pot and the tone pot are quot;loadsquot; on the pickup that affect it's output and resonance. The tone pot does act as a filter, but that's a secondary effect, and about 1/4 of what it does to the tone as compared to its action as a load on the pickup.

There's some good info about volume pots here: Tech Tips at the bottom of the page under quot;Potentiometer Valuesquot;. If you click on the links to the graphs, you'll see that a higher value pot not only gives greater overall output, but it increases the resonance of the pickup. What does this mean? The best way to experience it is turn your guitar's tone pot up, and your amp's treble control down. Play for a bit, then turn your guitar's tone down, and turn the amp's treble up. Try to get the about the same sound. I think you'll find a difference, particularly in terms of getting pinch harmonics.

Your volume pot is wired as a quot;voltage dividerquot;, and therefore the load it puts on the pickup remains constant. Your tone pot acts as a quot;rheostatquot;, and the load changes as you turn it down. So, the difference between a 250K and a 500K volume pot stays the same at any volume, while you can turn down a 500K tone pot a bit and it will sound exactly like a 250K tone pot.

Hope that helps...