why replace your pots?

[dpbass613]

only thing i have noticed...is i commonly use the CTS pots right around 5 to 6 dollars, good durability and feel...but more importantly...Not as noisy as "cheap" pots. Thats the only thing i have notice that they contribute to the overall sound, i haven't noticed that one sounds particularly better than the other, just minimized noise.

 

[wideyes]

I just found this excerpt from some reading done at guitarnuts.com on the subject of guitar wiring:

As with switches, it is important that you use only high-quality pots. If you have occasion to disassemble an inexpensive guitar, I recommend that you replace the pots with higher quality ones simply to avoid trouble later. A guitar, especially one used on stage, is not a very friendly environment. Cheap pots tend to wear out quickly and/or get dirt inside them which will make your controls scratchy. Cheap pots also frequently don't travel all the way to each electrical end. It is not uncommon to find a brand-new inexpensive audio pot which exhibits a significant resistance between the wiper terminal and high terminal even with the pot turned all the way up.

That last point is worth noting: even if the pot "works", and is rated as it should be, it might just be mechanically incapable of accessing its full range, which means you (we) end up having your tone or volume sapped.

Now, keep in mind this guy is some kind of electrical engineer or whatnot, and probably has occasion to take all this stuff a lot more seriously than us musicians do. But, nice to have his two cents...