• 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 freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Pretty sick of ordering 250k CTS pots

Bourns are my favorites. Have not tested them for tolerances, but they publish 20% total resistance for their premium guitar pots. I have never heard of pre screened offerings, but you could buy in bulk and re-sell the ones that are outside your accepted range.

Alternately, you could reserve the lower resistance ones for a brighter sounding axe down the road..
 
Questions over CTS' quality control and manufacturing standards aside, there really is no use complaining over the actual ratings when the tolerance is supposed to be 20% to begin with! As a general rule of thumb, only use 20% tolerance components when the actual value is not important to the application.
 
250k*0.8 = 200k
250k*1.2 = 300k

-20%: 1/[(1/200k)+(1/200k)+(1/200k)] = 66.66k
Ideal: 1/[(1/250k)+(1/250k)+(1/250k)] = 83.33k
+20%: 1/[(1/300k)+(1/300k)+(1/300k)] = 100k

Presented: 1/[(1/212k)+(1/297k)+(1/303k)] = 87.84k

I wouldn't let it keep you up at night.
 
However, if you're ordering 20% parts, they should all be within 20%. Outside that range is just sad. I'd also be willing to bet that *none* of them will be within 10%, because those will have been prescreened...and sold as 10% tolerance parts. Unless there's a shortage of 20% parts and a huge surplus of 10% or something, so you can't even bet on that.

Isn't electronics fun?