Upgrading pots on an Essex

mremic01 · #1 08-22-2009, 08:44 PM

I got a wiring kit with upgraded pots from ebay. They were supposed to be CTS, but I asked if I could get minis to fit the SX, and I guess the seller didn't have any CTS mini pots (does CTS even make minis?). Anyway, they're Alpha and ALPS brand, and don't look to be any higher in quality than the stock pots, and the shafts are too long for the knobs to sit right on them. So I was considering just keeping the old pots and swapping out the capactitor. I guess I have two questions:

1) Would better pots improve the overall tone of the instrument, or just the ability to roll off tone and volume?

2) Does anyone know of a specific type of pot that will fit an SX J? Because these for in the cavity, but are too tall for the knobs.

bui · #2 08-22-2009, 09:24 PM

If you have room under the pots, you can use washers or another nut to adjust how much of the shaft sticks up above the control plate...got this pointer from two TB'ers. Here's my post about it, check the rest of the thread for their detailed descriptions.

NBD! Essex Jag content

**line6man** · #3 08-22-2009, 09:35 PM

You are supposed to use a second washer to adjust the height of the shaft.

Changing pots will not give you a better tone.
A resistor is a resistor, the difference between pots is the mechanical quality, electrical tolerances, taper, etc...
All pots pretty much have the same tonality though.

Ric5 · #4 08-22-2009, 09:39 PM

Even expensive pots are cheap in price. The pots that are cheap in quality will suck the good tone out of your bass. I got an SX p-bass body off of ebay, it came with a pickup, pots, and a pickguard. The pickuard had been painted, so it got removed. The pickup sounded thin and harsh so it got replaced. Then I replaced the pots with some quality pots and the tone improved noticably.

Life is short ... don't use cheap pots ... for a few dollars more you can have quality.

**line6man** · #5 08-22-2009, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ric5

Even expensive pots are cheap in price..

These are expensive pots... Not so cheap in price.

mremic01 · #6 08-22-2009, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ric5

The pots that are cheap in quality will suck the good tone out of your bass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

Changing pots will not give you a better tone.
A resistor is a resistor, the difference between pots is the mechanical quality, electrical tolerances, taper, etc...
All pots pretty much have the same tonality though.

Can anyone yea or nea either of these statements? I'm a little confused myself because I've swapped pots on everyone one of my other instruments and seen an improvement, but I also swapped caps at the same time, so it could easily be the the tonal improvement was from the cap and not the pots.

jdieh1 · #7 08-22-2009, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

These are expensive pots... Not so cheap in price.

Damn! That hurt

Steady · #8 08-25-2009, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mremic01

Can anyone yea or nea either of these statements? I'm a little confused myself because I've swapped pots on everyone one of my other instruments and seen an improvement, but I also swapped caps at the same time, so it could easily be the the tonal improvement was from the cap and not the pots.

I think I'd tend to agree with Line6man.... except I could see that perhaps a worn-out pot will sound worse than a new one (internal resistance changes due to mechanical wear etc.). I would pretty much expect a new, cheap pot and a new high quality pot of the same resistance values would sound the same.

Craig_S · #9 08-25-2009, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

Changing pots will not give you a better tone.
A resistor is a resistor, the difference between pots is the mechanical quality, electrical tolerances, taper, etc...
All pots pretty much have the same tonality though.

I've said this before, I'll say it again: Every time I have changed the pots in any of the MIM basses I've owned, it has made a positive difference in the sound. You're saying there is no difference in the conductive material used in the pots construction? You're saying quality doesn't matter, when it comes to raw materials? Seriously?

I really don't understand a pot just being a resistor. A capacitor is just a capacitor then, as well as every other electrical component just being what they are... So, Behringer stuff is right up there with Line 6, I suppose?? I mean, there's no difference in the components, after all...

Foamy · #10 08-25-2009, 08:00 PM

Non-defective pots of any quality should sound exactly the same. That's what I would expect. Now, a better pot may last longer, feel better, have a different (maybe preferable) taper. But they are just a resistor, for sure. That's what they do.

Craig_S · #11 08-25-2009, 08:15 PM

Well then, it has to be my soldering skills that continue to amaze my ears. Or the new wire... or the old lead solder from the RCA factory... or...

Ric5 · #12 08-25-2009, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

These are expensive pots... Not so cheap in price.

Wow $50 a pot ... that is pricey ...

But here you can get some good quality pots for a reasonable price ... http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electron...trol_Pots.html

**line6man** · #13 08-25-2009, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig_S

I've said this before, I'll say it again: Every time I have changed the pots in any of the MIM basses I've owned, it has made a positive difference in the sound. You're saying there is no difference in the conductive material used in the pots construction? You're saying quality doesn't matter, when it comes to raw materials? Seriously?

I really don't understand a pot just being a resistor. A capacitor is just a capacitor then, as well as every other electrical component just being what they are... So, Behringer stuff is right up there with Line 6, I suppose?? I mean, there's no difference in the components, after all...

Yes, in terms of bass guitar tone controls, a capacitor is a capacitor. The reason why people claim to hear big differences between the fancy $15 caps and the 15 cent ones is that the tolerances on those cheap ceramic caps can be all over the place.

The reason a Behringer doesn't sound as good as a Line6 has nothing to do with the components. That's in the algorithms they're use for the DSP.
The components themselves, provided the values haven't wandered far from their ratings are going to sound about the same, albeit more likely to fail because they are cheap.

fender3x · #14 08-25-2009, 10:00 PM

I am with Line6man on this. Should you change out the pots? I like CTS because they are relatively cheap, they last a good long while. They clean up easily, and they have interchangeable parts. They also feel right when you turn them...nice even resistance.

Those small Alphas sound the same to my ear, but I suspect that they won't last as long, because they just don't have the thick band of carbon in that little biddy housing that 24mm CTS pots have. The Alphas I use, with the DPDT push pull switch, feel loose to me. I use them because CTS doesn't make a push pull DPDT, but they feel cheaper, and I suspect I'll have to change them out more often. But I can tell you that my multimeter does not see a lot of difference between the Alphas and the CTS.

Do my ears? You can't properly A/B the two, but if there's a difference it ain't much.

But the question is what to put in your SX? If you are swapping out pickups or something, sure, swap the pots for CTS. If you hear scratchiness, or the pot won't stay in place or you don't like the feel, then swap'em. If it's JUST for sound, I'd wait until they get scratchy to replace them.

That said, I would (and did) put pickups in my SX that are worth as much or more than the bass. I would not put pots in that are worth as much or more than the bass ;-)