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Epiphone LP Special II Tone Control


A1Coyote

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We have two Epiphone Les Paul Special II's in our house. One is a 2007 made in Indonesia by Samick, and the other is a 2014 made in China. One thing I have noticed on both Special II's is that the single tone control knob on each guitar doesn't seem to do much. The adjustment is very subtle on both.

 

I opened up the access panel on the 2007 and looked at the Special II tone pot (Alpha) and saw that the original cap is a rectangular green one with "2A223J" printed on the body of the cap. Did a quick google search to find that it is made specifically for electric guitars in China, and it is a:

 

Type: Polyester Film Capacitor

Brand Name: SM (Shenzhen Mega Technology Co. Ltd. China)

Capacitance: 0.022uF

Rated Voltage: 100V

Application: humbucker & amp (MFG description)

 

As stated above, the tone pot is an Alpha. No visible stamps, but I am assuming it is 500K. By the way it operates, I am guessing it may be a linear pot. I have seen a bit of discussion about "High Quality Pots" and pots from the lower end of the spectrum. I have noticed that the higher priced pots have a +/-10% tolerance, and lower end pots like Alpha have a +/-20% tolerance.

 

Can the pot tolerance make a difference in how a cap functions?

 

On the Special II there is a single tone pot (presume 500K) with a .022uF cap.

 

So my question is, has anybody found a way to improve or actually done an upgrade to their LP Special II single tone control?

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We have two Epiphone Les Paul Special II's in our house. One is a 2007 made in Indonesia by Samick, and the other is a 2014 made in China. One thing I have noticed on both Special II's is that the single tone control knob on each guitar doesn't seem to do much. The adjustment is very subtle on both.

 

I opened up the access panel on the 2007 and looked at the Special II tone pot (Alpha) and saw that the original cap is a rectangular green one with "2A223J" printed on the body of the cap. Did a quick google search to find that it is made specifically for electric guitars in China, and it is a:

 

Type: Polyester Film Capacitor

Brand Name: SM (Shenzhen Mega Technology Co. Ltd. China)

Capacitance: 0.022uF

Rated Voltage: 100V

Application: humbucker & amp (MFG description)

 

As stated above, the tone pot is an Alpha. No visible stamps, but I am assuming it is 500K. By the way it operates, I am guessing it may be a linear pot. I have seen a bit of discussion about "High Quality Pots" and pots from the lower end of the spectrum. I have noticed that the higher priced pots have a +/-10% tolerance, and lower end pots like Alpha have a +/-20% tolerance.

 

Can the pot tolerance make a difference in how a cap functions?

 

On the Special II there is a single tone pot (presume 500K) with a .022uF cap.

 

So my question is, has anybody found a way to improve or actually done an upgrade to their LP Special II single tone control?

Good question, A1coyote. I find a similar tone control situation with my ES339 Pro. I'd be interested if anyone did likewise to their ES series guitars.

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The tolerance you mention is how accurate to the stated 500k the pot is described as, so if you put a meter on and read the real resistance of the pot it might be 470k or 520k in reality. That's the tolerance, it only really comes 'problem' when you have two or more tone pots with low manufacturer tolerance and think they are matched, no real problem if you buy a handful and meter read them and group in pairs of close resistance. So long answer short, yes you may notice a difference.

 

The more interesting part is taper, linear pots are a straight taper, audio / log pots have varying tapers depending on manufacturer, fwiw I rewired my Casino removing the four cheap alpha pots 2x linear volume, 2x audio tone and replaced with 4x high tolerance vintage taper Area 57 pots from Crazy Parts in Germany also did the 50's wiring scheme. Fun to do with a Casino / ES330 :)

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May I suggest you throw those stock pots away & replace them? CTS pots are better quality, affordable under $10, and somewhat easy to DIY. Orange drop caps (or vintage/Russian) abound. Whenever I can I throw out that cheap garbage that usually comes stock on a cheaper guitar, and I replace them. You 'll be pleased with the result. Replacing pots and caps are as common to me as replacing stock strings. I can't stand cheap parts typically found in cheaper instruments--Squier, SX, and the like.

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If replacing pots, take care CTS means very little, they make a range of pots from diecast alloy with silk screened track and low tolerances no better than the stock alphas, brass versions with a proper 'bakelite' track for just a bit more but with a audio/log taper that is less than ideal, to custom made ie: Crazy Parts Germany, high tolerance, true vintage taper for a bit more.

 

Buyer beware there are companies out there stating CTS as if gold standard but selling the low end at inflated prices, so be careful, but ripping out seems a bit overkill for this situation.

 

Changing capacitor type ie: from cheap stock to paper in oil will make no difference to sound, changing capacitor value will, a little. Saying that I went for Russian PIO myself.:)

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The tolerance you mention is how accurate to the stated 500k the pot is described as, so if you put a meter on and read the real resistance of the pot it might be 470k or 520k in reality. That's the tolerance, it only really comes 'problem' when you have two or more tone pots with low manufacturer tolerance and think they are matched, no real problem if you buy a handful and meter read them and group in pairs of close resistance. So long answer short, yes you may notice a difference.

 

The more interesting part is taper, linear pots are a straight taper, audio / log pots have varying tapers depending on manufacturer, fwiw I rewired my Casino removing the four cheap alpha pots 2x linear volume, 2x audio tone and replaced with 4x high tolerance vintage taper Area 57 pots from Crazy Parts in Germany also did the 50's wiring scheme. Fun to do with a Casino / ES330 :)

 

Sounds pretty cool. What are vintage taper pots? (Learn something new everyday!) Thanks also for the advise about some CTS parts, much appreciated.

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Good question, A1coyote. I find a similar tone control situation with my ES339 Pro. I'd be interested if anyone did likewise to their ES series guitars.

 

I am thinking that maybe part of it is because of a Linear tone pot instead of an audio pot. But this is just a guess as the pot only has Alpha stamped on it. Let's keep our fingers crossed that some one has found a fix for this.

 

May I suggest you throw those stock pots away & replace them? CTS pots are better quality, affordable under $10, and somewhat easy to DIY. Orange drop caps (or vintage/Russian) abound. Whenever I can I throw out that cheap garbage that usually comes stock on a cheaper guitar, and I replace them. You 'll be pleased with the result. Replacing pots and caps are as common to me as replacing stock strings. I can't stand cheap parts typically found in cheaper instruments--Squier, SX, and the like.

Thanks for the advise bacongrease, I will definitely consider it, especially an audio pot.

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A1Coyote, its very unlikely that your alpha tone pot is linear, they are 'always' log/audio on Epiphones, Gibson's etc, its the volume control where the variation occurs, the crass rule of thumb is for guitars at lower price aimed at bedroom players have linear volume, higher priced aimed at gigging musicians have all log/audio pots.

 

There are other factors as well such as wiring scheme, modern where the tone control affects the sound after the volume and tends to attenuate or suck high end treble or 50's wiring where the volume control is last and more high end treble is passed through.

 

If you're going to buy parts, suggest going to a reputable dealer with full proper description of the parts and pot model number stamped on, full size brass shafts and bushes, Bakelite track, smooth operation etc.

 

BTW alphas are marked A & B underneath with the name, that will suggest whether it's linear or log, but not always 100% accurate.

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And one more link, various CTS LOG/Audio pot tapers, http://www.ctscorp.com/components/Datasheets/450g.pdf , not all CTS LOG / Audio pots are the same taper, like with some other manufacturers, they offer various tapers all of which affect just how much control you get from your Tone or Volume controls, for better, for worse depending on how you set / use them, personal choice. :)

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And one more link, various CTS LOG/Audio pot tapers, http://www.ctscorp.com/components/Datasheets/450g.pdf , not all CTS LOG / Audio pots are the same taper, like with some other manufacturers, they offer various tapers all of which affect just how much control you get from your Tone or Volume controls, for better, for worse depending on how you set / use them, personal choice. :)

Awesome! This is a big help, Thanks for posting this!

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