linear pots are the answer

[heavyfunkmachin]

hi all,

i just wanted to let you know that i changed my jazz bass pots for linear ones and i´m never looking back, the volume is EVEN instead of having that volume bump when maxing the sound.

basses should come with linear pots from the factory, imho.

just letting you all know.... suggesting: change your pots!

 

[Jim C]

There must be some good reason why instrument makers use log pots on guitars.
Trying to roll off just a little bit of neck pup on a J bass is nearly impossible while playing as all the business occurs in the 1st 1/8" of travel.

 

[GlennW]

Epiphone uses 500K linear pots for volume and 500K audio pots for tone on their Casino, maybe others as well. I don't know how long they've been doing that.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Gibson uses linear pots also.

Audio taper is good when used on faders or anytime you are actually going to do a fade or a swell, then it's smoother.

But for setting the output level and leaving it there, linear works better IMHO.

 

[walterw]

funny, because i (and my customers) have found that those linear gibson pots are terrible on guitar, and i do a brisk business upgrading to audio tapers, which work far better for controlling amp distortion from the guitar. on bass, however, the linears work great, especially if you go with higher values to brighten things up. 500k linears work beautifully with passive fender pickups if you like the increased edge (i do).

i have noticed (just today, as a matter of fact) while working on a marcus miller jazz with the switchable preamp, that with the preamp engaged, the 250k audio volumes were pretty even, while switching to passive caused them to go back to having the typical bigger drop from 10 to 8 (i guess from the loading behavior of the cable).

 

[SundanceChile]

Does CTS make the linear pots with a solid shaft? Or can you stick standard set-screw knobs on a split shaft with no problems as well?

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Does CTS make the linear pots with a solid shaft? Or can you stick standard set-screw knobs on a split shaft with no problems as well?

They do, and you can also get shaft adaptors. Also most of the time you can put a set screw knob on a split shaft. Sometimes I stick a small piece of plastic in the split.

 

[Brad Sarno]

Excellent post. I couldn't agree more. When playing guitar or bass in a live setting, or anywhere, it's worlds better to have the expanded usable control range from a linear taper pot. Audio taper pots have most of their range as totally useless.

Go linear pots on guitars!

Brad

 

[Hoover]

I'd swear I saw an article by Dan Armstrong in an issue of Guitar Player like 30 years ago that came to the same conclusion!

 

[MMcC]

I have a Fender American Standard Jazz. Are my pots linear or audio?

 

[walterw]

I have a Fender American Standard Jazz. Are my pots linear or audio?

audio 250k.

 

[HEADLE]

Does CTS make the linear pots with a solid shaft? Or can you stick standard set-screw knobs on a split shaft with no problems as well?

If you don't put something in the split then you need to put the set screw toward the slot. If you put it against the solid side it will eventually collapse the shaft. I use linear in all my builds for volume and tone.

H

 

[walterw]

Excellent post. I couldn't agree more. When playing guitar or bass in a live setting, or anywhere, it's worlds better to have the expanded usable control range from a linear taper pot. Audio taper pots have most of their range as totally useless.

Go linear pots on guitars!

Brad

sorry, but i hate linear volumes on guitars! with any kind of gain on the amp, linear volumes jump from "0" to "3", and have little useful control from "6" to "10". if you work the distortion from the guitar like i do, you need audio volume controls.

again, i find linears useless for passive tone pots in any case, as nothing happens until the pot is almost all the way off.

 

[metalmariachi]

Preaching to the choir here.
I've been a fan of linear for Jazz bass volume pots for a long long time.
They don't work to well for tone controls though.
MM

 

[walterw]

Preaching to the choir here.
I've been a fan of linear for Jazz bass volume pots for a long long time.
They don't work to well for tone controls though.
MM

250k or 500k? i've not had a chance to try 250k linear volumes, but the 500k linears give me more juice at the top of their range while still sweeping evenly from "0" to "10".

 

[Frank Orlando]

Speaking of American Standard Jazz Basses, my tone control will go from bass to bright like it should but it seems that as I turn it towards bright the volume goes goes up noticably at the same time. What's that about? The bass is a brand new 2009 Jazz.

 

[jbrew73]

could it be that the linears work better on a jazz because they are wired with the wipers as the input? i believe gibson guitars are wired with the wiper as the output.

 

[NKBassman]

Wow. I'm so glad I read this post, because I didn't even realize there was such a thing as linear VS tapered pots. I'm thinking I like the idea of linear pots... might just have to try that out.

 

[Drewbacca]

sorry, but i hate linear volumes on guitars! with any kind of gain on the amp, linear volumes jump from "0" to "3", and have little useful control from "6" to "10". if you work the distortion from the guitar like i do, you need audio volume controls.

again, i find linears useless for passive tone pots in any case, as nothing happens until the pot is almost all the way off.

Wait, are you sure you're talking about linears? Audio pots are the ones that have a big "jump" in signal/tone in a very small turn range, like what you describe in the second paragraph.

 

[Suresh]

any one tried linear pots with Bart CB's?
robert