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Electronics update for p bass?
- Thread starter descendent22
- Start date
The taper is the fashion in which the resistance varies as the pot is rotated. A linear taper moves in a linear fashion, whereas an audio taper follows a more logarithmic curve. It makes a huge difference in the way the pots will function in the circuit.
Yeah, the black square ones and blue square ones are the one I'm talking about.
They are the ones in my Alembic and I think Wal uses the as well.
They cost 5 x the other ones, but there is a reason.
And when you are doing your own instrument and not trying to mass produce and maximize profits, 20 bucks ain't that much too spend.
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So what would be the best combo.i want good quality..price doesn't matter.what exactly should I get
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Or maybe this one for volume:
Amazon.com: Bourns Model 95 Premium Guitar Potentiometer, 300K Linear, Knurled Split Shaft: Musical Instruments
Amazon.com: Bourns Model 95 Premium Guitar Potentiometer, 300K Linear, Knurled Split Shaft: Musical Instruments
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I already had them serviced once because it was making my bass sound very static and at points lost almost all sound.the shaft is solid and I prefer split.plus I'm always into improving my bass's and guitars
No.
As BumperBass suggested 250 for the tone and 300 for volume is a good choice.
An expensive pot is worthless if you don't like the taper or feel. As far as 250k audio, I keep coming back to the CTS EP885. They seem to have the smoothest sweep from the beginning of the rotation and also have a firmness to the turn that is very consistent. What I found after using the regular, unsealed Bourns and open top CTS pots (with the faster torques) is that they don't actually stay put. I would find my volume knob somehow moving to just below the full on position in the middle of playing (which I previously wouldn't have thought possible) which had an obvious effect on volume.
I also found the 30% taper of the open CTS's not really to my liking, with a sudden jump from 0-1 beginning after the beginning of the rotation, whereas the EP885's had a subtle volume increase beginning shortly after 0 and rising consistently from there.
It's worth noting that while small tolerance variations in individual components rarely make an audible difference, when they are combined within the circuit they do play a role in shaping the final result. There are plenty of formulas to determine a predictable result, but it's up to your ears whether it's the result you want. Maybe your P bass circuit sounds perfect with a slightly off spec pot or cap, maybe it sounds better with perfectly matched pots...there aren't any rules! It's all just numbers with which to formulate a desired (or undesired) result. The reason 250k pots and .05/.047 caps are used is because that's what has been traditionally used and they garner a predictible result.
If someone wants to spend $100 on Allessandro (also known as $15 PEC Mil-Spec) pots, a $60 V-Cap and silver solder, it's not up to me to call it a waste of money...even if it sounds the same as $4 worth of parts from Radio Shack. Just know what the parts do and what they don't do and have fun with it. While all of that stuff is excessive imo, there's still no reason to totally cheap out on parts when it's a matter of a couple bucks.
I also found the 30% taper of the open CTS's not really to my liking, with a sudden jump from 0-1 beginning after the beginning of the rotation, whereas the EP885's had a subtle volume increase beginning shortly after 0 and rising consistently from there.
It's worth noting that while small tolerance variations in individual components rarely make an audible difference, when they are combined within the circuit they do play a role in shaping the final result. There are plenty of formulas to determine a predictable result, but it's up to your ears whether it's the result you want. Maybe your P bass circuit sounds perfect with a slightly off spec pot or cap, maybe it sounds better with perfectly matched pots...there aren't any rules! It's all just numbers with which to formulate a desired (or undesired) result. The reason 250k pots and .05/.047 caps are used is because that's what has been traditionally used and they garner a predictible result.
If someone wants to spend $100 on Allessandro (also known as $15 PEC Mil-Spec) pots, a $60 V-Cap and silver solder, it's not up to me to call it a waste of money...even if it sounds the same as $4 worth of parts from Radio Shack. Just know what the parts do and what they don't do and have fun with it. While all of that stuff is excessive imo, there's still no reason to totally cheap out on parts when it's a matter of a couple bucks.
