A question about POTs

[Skeevenmac]

I'm building a jazz bass (actually just buying an assembling parts) but I'm looking for a volume knobs (or two) that has a smooth rise and fall. What kind of pots would you all suggest?

As an example: My P-bass, which is stock, has a minor volume difference between 1 and 7 or 8. At that point the volume leaps up to my regular volume and then there isn't much of a difference between there and 10.

 

[line6man]

IMO/IME, linear taper pots provide a much smoother sweep from 10 to 0 for volume controls.

Give that a try, but keep an audio taper on the tone control.

 

[Skeevenmac]

Should I do 250k or 500k? And how to do I determine that?

By the way, thanks for the quick reply.

 

[line6man]

Should I do 250k or 500k? And how to do I determine that?

By the way, thanks for the quick reply.

Pot values are a personal preference.
500K pots are brighter and hotter than 250Ks.

250K is the standard with most Jazz basses.

 

[K-Frog]

Should I do 250k or 500k? And how to do I determine that?

By the way, thanks for the quick reply.

250K for single coil pickups (jazz bass)

500K for humbuckers

This is typical, and debatable ad nauseum.

 

[Muaguana]

Here are some audio examples of 250k and 500k potentiometers, as well as audio and linear taper volume pots, so you can hear the differences for yourself.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=671456&highlight=pot+shootout

I currently have 500k pots on my fretless Jazz, because the pickups I put in it are slightly darker than the ones that came stock, so the extra brightness helps compensate for it.

 

[mid_life_crisis]

Didn't see the point of a new thread and this is sort of relevent to this one.

What is a reputable brand of pot? Most of them seem pretty reasonable pricewise, but some look like junk and I don't want to go to that much effort and put crap in my axe.

 

[line6man]

Didn't see the point of a new thread and this is sort of relevent to this one.

What is a reputable brand of pot? Most of them seem pretty reasonable pricewise, but some look like junk and I don't want to go to that much effort and put crap in my axe.

CTS.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Alpha do good pots too.

One thing to keep in mind is that not all pots fit the same diameter hole, I've used both CTS and Alpha, never had a failure with each, tend to use Alpha pots more, they're generally cheaper and, with the basses & guitars I've toyed with, they've not required any modification (the CTS's would have required wider holes).

 

[FunkMetalBass]

If you want a noticeable difference, I'd go with 500k or 1M linear pots for the volume controls.

 

[Muaguana]

Just to throw it out there: linear tapers, despite being smoother than audio (IMO/IME) aren't perfect for volume. I've found that they still have an "on/off" phenomenon occurring between about 1 and 2 (or is it 1 and 3? Can't remember off the top of my head.) It's certainly preferable to the audio taper, which has all the gain increase in the last quarter of the turn, but still not ideal.

I'd like to get my hands on one of those DiMarzio pots with the so-called "custom taper" and see how that compares to audio and linear in volume reduction.