250K pots swap

[BigJim]

Hey All, I have a stock 1990 H-150, and I assume it came with 500K pots. I'd like to switch to 250K pots. Has anyone done this, and what did you use? I'd like a drop in replacement style kit.

Thanks

[Telenic]

Why would you want lower pots? 250K are for single coil pick ups.

[NoNameBand]

Hey All, I have a stock 1990 H-150, and I assume it came with 500K pots. I'd like to switch to 250K pots. Has anyone done this, and what did you use? I'd like a drop in replacement style kit.

Thanks

If the 150 came with Humbucking pickups, that would not be a good idea. The lower the rating on the Pot ie; 250k, 300k or 500k ohm, directly correlates to the high frequencies that will be cut of of the pickup output. Single coil pups have a very high end and need the 250k pots to trim off undesirable hi-frequencies. Humbuckers on the other hand do Not emit such hi frequencies. So to put 250k pots on a humbucking pup would make the end sound muddy or dirty sounding with no hi-end clarity.

 

If your 150 came with P-90s, you might want to consider 300k ohm Volume pots & 250k ohm Tone pots with Bumblebee tone caps as I believe they are a very good choice. I would reserve 250k Volume & Tone pots for true Fender style single coil pups. Some use 250k Volume pots with P-90s but I believe they are a little too bright still. By using the 300k Volume pot, you get more of the creamy P-90 sound or vintage sound.

 

I hope this answers your question.

[dbetts41]

Maybe give the guys at RS Guitars in Kentucky a call. They handle all sorts of wiring products & they can probably get you in the right direction for what you want to do.

[Spectrum13]

I took the pots out of my 150 - 155 and 137 and all were 250s V & T.

 

Big Jim, I would not assume it came with 500s.

[DetroitBlues]

I was going to say, don't do it! 500K is the standard for POTS. RS Guitarworks should straigten it all out for you.

[DreamKing]

Agreed with above. 250k pots sound bad bad bad with HBs. The question is why do you think you need new pots? If you do in fact have 250, then 500 would definitely be an improvement. In that case, just grab some alpha 500k pots and some orange drop caps. No need to spend big $ at RS for something really cheap. IMO.

[Guest HRB853370]

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[BigJim]

I'm considering this because I have a G&L ASAT Deluxe with SD's(JB/bridge,59/neck)with 250 pots, and like the sound.

[NoNameBand]

Agreed with above. 250k pots sound bad bad bad with HBs. The question is why do you think you need new pots? If you do in fact have 250, then 500 would definitely be an improvement. In that case, just grab some alpha 500k pots and some orange drop caps. No need to spend big $ at RS for something really cheap. IMO.

 

 

What will that do for the guitar? I am just curious. Thanks

 

In fact, pots and caps are the best and least expensive upgrade you can do for a guitar. The thing to consider is, everything in the signal path between the pickups and the amplifier are filters and drain of certain frequencies. The better pots (Bourns or CTS +or- 1%) drain/filter less allowing more of the real sound of the pickup through. In many cases, folks change pups when they really need to change the pots/caps and leave the pups alone. Most if not all of the major guitar manufacturers, buy pots & caps in bulk. Gibson & Fender may buy 20k at a time for as little as .50 each. These pots (even the CTS) are in a category of + or - 20% tolerances. Even the components used by Switchcraft are not their top-of-the-line that are available through boutique shops like RS Guitarworks, Mojo Tone and so on. Then you get to the tone caps, the desired result is transparency although all caps filter some tone frequencies. That being said, you look for caps that are a good fit with the rest of the electronics in the guitar. Orange Drops ($ 8.00ea) are not bad but are no comparison to a Vitamin Q Paper in Oil Capacitor ($14.00ea) Jensen ($20.00ea)or Bumblebee ($45.00ea).

 

Get out your soldering irons boys and girls and Happy upgrading

[TalismanRich]

Not all humbucker guitars come with 500K pots. My Guild S100 had 500K volume, 200K tone, .047uF on the bridge and .01uF on the neck. THe Starfire IV is wired the same way. The Bluesbirds have 500K tone pots, but .02uF caps.

 

Guild S100 wiring diagram

[NoNameBand]

Not all humbucker guitars come with 500K pots. My Guild S100 had 500K volume, 200K tone, .047uF on the bridge and .01uF on the neck. THe Starfire IV is wired the same way. The Bluesbirds have 500K tone pots, but .02uF caps.

 

Guild S100 wiring diagram

There are no hard rules as to what You Can Do, only that if you do it, their will be an effect. Yours may have been designed in concert with the tonal qualities of the pickups, thats what they needed to get the sound where they wanted it. You can do the same thing, if you decide you want more highs, go to 1000k pots or if you think you have too much in the high end, lower them to 300k pots or even 250k pots.

[NoNameBand]

For those of you that like to tinker, here is a fun project:

disconnect all of the controls in the guitar and wire the neck pickup direct to the jack (Wide open) and see what you pup sounds like with no filters, then you will know what it sounds like. Then experiment with 250, 300, 500 or even 1000k volume pot. Then once you've decided which Vol pot you want, go to the Tone pot and then tone cap. By understanding what effect the pots have on the tone of the pup/guitar, you can then best decide which ones to use.

 

These components are cheap and this project may only take a weekend and then you'll know, once and for all, what is best for your guitar.

[mars_hall]

For those of you that like to tinker, here is a fun project:

disconnect all of the controls in the guitar and wire the neck pickup direct to the jack (Wide open) and see what you pup sounds like with no filters, then you will know what it sounds like. Then experiment with 250, 300, 500 or even 1000k volume pot. Then once you've decided which Vol pot you want, go to the Tone pot and then tone cap. By understanding what effect the pots have on the tone of the pup/guitar, you can then best decide which ones to use.

 

These components are cheap and this project may only take a weekend and then you'll know, once and for all, what is best for your guitar.

 

This sounds like really good advice to those wanting to explore what they have.

[bolero]

ditto, great idea!

 

I used to have a LP and disconnected the tone controls just for kicks, it sounded great & I left it like that for a while

 

I have never actually wired the pup directly to the jack though, have to try that

[dantahoua]

I like to put 250k no load tone pot with HB pickups. I found them to be more progressive than 500k pot but it really depends of the pu. I put 500k for vol with HB.

[GuitArtMan]

In fact, pots and caps are the best and least expensive upgrade you can do for a guitar. The thing to consider is, everything in the signal path between the pickups and the amplifier are filters and drain of certain frequencies. The better pots (Bourns or CTS +or- 1%) drain/filter less allowing more of the real sound of the pickup through. In many cases, folks change pups when they really need to change the pots/caps and leave the pups alone. Most if not all of the major guitar manufacturers, buy pots & caps in bulk. Gibson & Fender may buy 20k at a time for as little as .50 each. These pots (even the CTS) are in a category of + or - 20% tolerances. Even the components used by Switchcraft are not their top-of-the-line that are available through boutique shops like RS Guitarworks, Mojo Tone and so on. Then you get to the tone caps, the desired result is transparency although all caps filter some tone frequencies. That being said, you look for caps that are a good fit with the rest of the electronics in the guitar. Orange Drops ($ 8.00ea) are not bad but are no comparison to a Vitamin Q Paper in Oil Capacitor ($14.00ea) Jensen ($20.00ea)or Bumblebee ($45.00ea).

 

Get out your soldering irons boys and girls and Happy upgrading

Excuse me, but the RS CTS Super Pot which are rated at 500K ohms, but are hand picked to be closer to 550K ohms are - gulp - 10% out of spec. Precision components in and of themselves do not make your guitar or amp sound better - this is an internet rumor - they make guitars or amp or pedals made with precision component more consistent (there I said the "C" word) from guitar to guitar, amp to amp, pedal to pedal. And if you think a $45 dollar capacitor does a better job of bleeding highs to ground (none of the signal that goes thorough the tone cap makes it to the amp) than a 25 cent cap you can buy at an electronics shop - power to you! I think the difference most people are hearing with the tone cap is the difference in the value of the cap, not the construction - caps are notoriously in-precise.

PS - Somebody charges $8.00 for an Orange Drop cap?!? OMG!!!

[Jimbob]

Just an update here, but as many of you may know, I purchased this H-150 from BigJim a couple of weeks ago. I ended up swapping out the pickups in favor of a pair of Wolfetone Marshallheads, and I completely rewired the guitar as well. Odd thing is, the guitar came with a Duncan '59 (SH-1) in the neck position and a Duncan JB (SH-4) in the bridge position with both having .022 caps. Both Jim and I had assumed that it was stock with two 59s. In addition, it came with 250K pots all around so, as some of you have stated, it's not always a good idea to assume that a humbucker-equipped guitar will come with 500K pots.

 

At any rate, along with the pickup swap, I ended up installing CTS 500K log pots throughout as well as installing a .022 cap on the bridge and a .010 cap on the neck. Of course, the pot swap opened up the high end considerably while the .010 cap on the neck helped to alleviate some mud that was a bit unbearable as well. The pickups are also much better balanced volume-wise. Before I'm completely finished modding this thing, I'm planning on trying out a set of Throbak SLE-101 Plus pickups to see how they'll sound, for while the Wolfetones were indeed an improvement over the SDs, they're just a tad hot for my tastes, especially the neck pup.

 

All in all, though, I'm really digging this guitar big-time! A special thanks goes out to BigJim for selling me a very fine instrument! It's been quite a few years since I've had an H-150 or a Les Paul, so this is satisfying a long-needed fix, to say the least.

 

[FredZepp]

Thanks for the update and details... and for that great looking pic.

[DetroitBlues]

Thanks for the update. Can't believe the guitar came with 250K pots though....

[Jimbob]

Thanks for the update. Can't believe the guitar came with 250K pots though....

 

Yeah, I couldn't believe it either, but every pot measured out at around 242 - 246K, so there may be a few out there with 250K pots. I really should've taken some photos, for there's no doubt that it's had a little solder added to backs of the pots over time. Someone may have even swapped the pots out at some point, too. Being a 1990 guitar, though, I guess nothing would surprise me. It definitely has a few miles on it.