• 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.

Do guitars and basses use

#2
I do not buy special pots for bass and lead / rhythm guitar. 500k is 500k. They are interchangeable.
It is perfectly ok to use either log or audio taper pots, according to personal preference.
Neither is it required to use special knobs, chrome or speed type for a bass. They are all the same.
 
#4
values of pots are important and vary from one instrument to another, basses typically use 250k and under because lower values let more bass through while rounding off highs, higher values doing the opposite. there are exclusions in active electronics, which use values around 25k!

as for diffs between linear and audio taper pots, check here

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#5
Nitto said:
values of pots are important and vary from one instrument to another, basses typically use 250k and under because lower values let more bass through while rounding off highs, higher values doing the opposite. there are exclusions in active electronics, which use values around 25k!

as for diffs between linear and audio taper pots, check here

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

um.

I would like to know where you got the idea that a potentionmeter acts as a filter.

as far as I know they do not. unless paired with a capacitor to ground. In which case you form an RC circuit which has a time constant which is the inverse of your frequency.
 
#7
The old histrory says Fenduer use 250k pots for their single coil pups and Gibson typically use 500k pots for their humbuckers - reasons given are that the 250k pots in a circuit took off some of the highs from the bright single coil pickups when not on full, and the 500k pots preserved more highs for intrinsically more bassy humbuckers. I have used both 250's and 500's in basses without incurring any tonal inferiority or balance problems. Audio and log tapers are actually very roughly approximated in all but the highest end boutique pots and end up making surprisingly little difference to your final tone.
 
#8
Jonyak said:
um.

I would like to know where you got the idea that a potentionmeter acts as a filter.

as far as I know they do not. unless paired with a capacitor to ground. In which case you form an RC circuit which has a time constant which is the inverse of your frequency.
Click to expand...

I've used 250K and 500K pots in the same instrument, and the 250K gave the instrument a deeper darker tone. It was quite noticable.
 
#12
Agreed with above, BUT some instruments take those "fancy" long neck versions. If you do not have a pick guard, chances are they are the long neck kind (Gibson to name one).

Knobs ARE interchangeable IF you have split shaft pots now and are getting split shafts again. They will not interchange without modification between each other that I know of.
 
#13
There are references in this thread to log, audio, and linear taper pots.
Linear is obvious, so is log, but what is the consensus on audio taper?
I always assumed that audio taper = log taper.

Having said that, I know there are pots out there (I believe Gibson & Hamer use them, and they're in my Kinal bass, too) that are smooth up to about 7 and then jump dramatically in volume up to 10...

Anyone care to clear this all up?
 
#14
Many discussions in the Guitar Nutz wiring and electronics forum about audio (log) taper pots. Seems the vast majority of pots we get accecss to as 250's or 500's for guitars are made with one single thickness resistive track painted on, then a second layer over the top for about half the travel.
So what you end up getting is not really a proper log taper but a shallow linear gradient of resistance increase for half the travel, then a steeper linear gradient for the second half to very roughly approximate a log curve (but not really.)
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back