Stevie Nazarenie Posted October 1, 2008 Posted October 1, 2008 i recently changed the pots in my g400. 2 of the volume ones were damaged (probably by me in the past!) i had a spare alpha for tone and a push pull pot. that was all needed work. but what does it do for other guitars? i see kits being sold but what are we saying a better tone? i was wondering what pots came in an epi. and also if full size alphas are best should i go about replacing my other pots? is it worth it?
Whitmore Willy Posted October 1, 2008 Posted October 1, 2008 Pro, I don't know what "size" pots come on G-400's. (probably full size short shafts) The Epi's I have worked on had Alpha pots from the factory. Cts seems to be the preference around here. (better materials used in production) If you go to American pots you may need to ream out the holes a bit if you are replacing metrics. Pots can have a tolerance of 10-20%. Thats a lot. 500k pots can be as little as 400k or as much as 600k. Matched sets at 500k to 520k can be found with some looking around. It can make a difference in the brightness of the pups. So can the capacitors. One thing to consider with "kits": Most (not all) use audio taper for volume and tone. The Epiphones I have worked on had linear taper (B type) for the volume and audio taper (A type) for the tone. (Spud used to preach this, but most stood in disbelief) Some "experts" declare it should be the other way around. Others do seem to like type A all around.
jcwillow777 Posted October 1, 2008 Posted October 1, 2008 There have been several discussions on this. Personally, I don't think it makes any difference in tone. Reliability is another issue. Epiphones generally don't use the best post, switches and jacks. They put in Alpha pots, but they are a lower grade than you get through GFS. Different sizes of caps will affect tone, but in my opinion not different brands of the same size. Bottom line, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. When a pot, jack or switch is causing a problem, I'd replace everything in the cavity. I have replaced all of the pots in my Epis except for my '56 GT. I decided that when I did a pickup change I would just go ahead and swap everything out, it really doesn't cost that much more and now they should be good for a long time. All of the Epis I have came with full sized 500K pots. I use full sized pots and I prefer them over the minis, however some have used the minis and have had no problems.
Stevie Nazarenie Posted October 1, 2008 Author Posted October 1, 2008 my pots said b500k on them for the volume. the tone ones said a500k. i just checked they didn't have alpha stamped on them though. i put a500k pots in they fitted fine. they are for volume and tone... i do have some mini pots on some of my guitars. whats the difference in sound with them?
jcwillow777 Posted October 1, 2008 Posted October 1, 2008 i do have some mini pots on some of my guitars. whats the difference in sound with them? None.
TWANG Posted October 1, 2008 Posted October 1, 2008 pots can give you longer life and a better response.. caps can change your tone. good mini pots are good pots, I really can't feel or hear anything different in them. cheap ones, not so much. some pots have a very firm feel, which gives an impression of better build, more stability, but I've had guitar pots that turned very easily and they worked as well as any and never gave out. So I take most of it with a grain of salt, but choose full size when I can, better quality anytime I have to replace, and use a good brand. you'll have better luck trying different cap values, experimenting with treble bleed cap values, too, if you're trying to fine tune your sound. TWANG
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