• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Bartolini Poteniometers

M

magickbass

May 24, 2008
251
2
#1
Hello all!
I bought two Bartolini soapbar pups recently and I noticed that the instructions do not discern what value poteniometers to use. When I bought my Quarter Pound's for my P the instructions said to use 250K pots in the wiring diagram. Which would be best for Bartolini soapbar pups? They are passive pups, M34 soapbars from www.bestbassgear.com I have 3 different kinds of pots, 250K, 500K, and 1M already but need to know which ones to use. Also, can anyone explain to me in layman's terms the difference between wiring in series or parallel? Thanks in advance.:help:
 
#3
If you've got all three different pots why not hook them up dry? You should be able to get a good enough electrical connection simply by winding the wires through the eyes of the connectors and taping them into position. When you know what works best solder them...I'd start with the 500 as well
 
#4
In general, 250k are used for a vintage single-coil sound and 500k for humbuckers and/or a brighter modern sound. +1 to starting with 500k.

In layman's terms. Parallel is "normal" like what you would find on a jazz bass. Series couples the pickups together, kind of like one big humbucking pickup. You can't adjust the pickup volumes independently, the sound changes somewhat, and the overall volume is louder.
 
#5
I had barts on my passive P/J and experiemented with different value pots. There was a noticable difference in the darkness depending on the resistance. Here, from the site I got mine from:

What is the difference between 250K & 500K pots?
Either 250K or 500K pots can be used with any passive pickups however the pot values will affect tone slightly. The rule is: Using higher value pots (500K) will give the guitar a brighter sound and lower value pots (250K) will give the guitar a slightly warmer sound. This is because higher value pots put less of a load on the pickups which prevents treble frequencies from "bleeding" to ground through the pot and being lost. For this reason, guitars with humbuckers like Les Pauls use 500K pots to retain more highs for a slightly brighter tone and guitars with single coils like Stratocasters and Telecasters use 250K pots to add some warmth by slightly reducing the highs. You can also fine tune the sound by changing the pot values regardless of what pot value the guitar originally had.
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dlutz
#6
Bartolini recommends 250 audio taper for bass' and 250 or 500 audio taper for guitars. Came right with the instructions that Brian at http://www.bestbassgear.com/ sent along with the pickups I just recieved. If whomever you bought your pickups from doesn't give you that level of service I highly advise you to check out Brian's web site. Great prices and excellent service, even when you don't ask for it.

Greg N
 
#7
Nelson Guitars said:
Bartolini recommends 250 audio taper for bass' and 250 or 500 audio taper for guitars. Came right with the instructions that Brian at http://www.bestbassgear.com/ sent along with the pickups I just recieved. If whomever you bought your pickups from doesn't give you that level of service I highly advise you to check out Brian's web site. Great prices and excellent service, even when you don't ask for it.

Greg N
Click to expand...

+1 for Brian :)
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back