Is there any difference between 500k B & 500k A pots- another newbie question....

[Cieran]

In my Gretsch G2022 the volume pot has 500k B printed on it while the tone has 500k A. Is there any major difference between the two?

The reason I ask is that I have ordered 2 x TV Jones pots (250k/ 500k/ 1meg) - 1 each for the volume & tone. I was planning a straight-foward swap of both the tone & volume pots (after a little experimentation). Will the A/ B difference affect which pot I can install in which position?

Thanks once again for any help. I don't wanna mess this installation up!

[mikeldtl]

Alright -
500k "A" would denote an audio taper pot, and the "B" suffix would denote a linear taper pot. The only difference is the taper of the pot, or "how gradually it rolls off". Most manufacturers use either (2) audio taper pots for volume + tone or would use audio taper for volume, and linear taper for tone. Hope this is helpful. And remember they are both 500k pots, differing only in the taper rolling up/down.

[walterw]

the B (linear) will work smoothly as a volume, and the A (audio) will work smoothly as a tone. swap them and they'll both still work, and will sound the same on "10" or on "0", but they will abruptly change volume when you turn them, making it harder to dial in exactly what you want.

[line6man]

Audio works for both volume and tone, but linear works best for volume, but does not work well for tone.

[Cieran]

Thank's everyone for a succinct explanation.

The TB community to the rescue once again!