intellivised Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 CTS Potentiometer Question - and a pretty direct one: I want to ditch my stock pots when my new pick-ups arrive. I've read the reviews, seen the message boards. "Get CTS". Done. What size do I get? Where should I get them? Are these what I'm looking for? http://www.wdmusic.com/cts_500k_audio_taper_pot_10_tolerance.html and what is the difference between that and: http://www.warmoth.com/hardware/parts/parts.cfm?fuseaction=include_potentiometers besides $5? The wd one seems a little marketing non-speak to me..... Also: I am aware that my guitar will need to be drilled just a touch - the fact that you have to drill the pickguard and it strikes me as fairly brittle makes me really nervous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intellivised Posted January 31, 2009 Author Share Posted January 31, 2009 Also! Where would I get a replacement pickguard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 depends on what guitar.. stock, epis have metric size pot shafts.. so CTS or any full size usa pot wont fit without enlarging the hole. that's really pretty easy, and I recommend it. with a larger pot you get a smoother acting longer lasting path around the range .. and with CTS or Alpha you get a firmer feel and better quality pot. CGE makes good pots, too. Looks like the same pots to me.. so.. I dunno.. WD promises 10% tolerance, but I think all the CTS have that. You said drill the pickguard.. is this a strat style guitar? It's a lot easier to enlarge a guard hole than wood! And it's not brittle at all. soft and the drill bit will shoot right through it. set it on a piece of scrap wood and drill! You can also use a round file and just scrape gently to size if you feel more secure. strats like mini pots anyway.. much easier to get in there and there are good ones out there. pickguard uh.. heh. er. well. uh..hmmm . lemmee see. (looks around nervously to see if there are any British Sea Captains) they are available on ebay, allparts.com, warmoth, wdmusic and elsewhere. TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voodoo Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I usually get my Chicago Telephone Systems (CTS) potentiometers here: http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/electrical_ctspots.htm They also have Orange caps. Remember that audio taper pots are for Volume and linear taper pots are for Tone. As for a pick guard for a Wilshire, maybe you can have one made here: http://www.terrapinguitars.com/ Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intellivised Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 Thanks everybody for the great information. I live in an area where going out to the guitar store if I need a part or something goes wrong just isn't an option. I used to live in Lansing, MI - home of the most awesome Elderly Instruments, but now out here in Wyoming I really can't just scoot on down to the store and get some pots when the mood strikes me. That's why I've been asking about the pickguard - if the drilling for the new pots goes bad, well... then we are hosed. I also thought that on my white Wilshire a pearloid or even tortoise shell pickguard might looks sharp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intellivised Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 Also... what are the "orange caps" for? I've heard this before but don't understand what the capacitors are for/where they fit into the picture.... also, when I do buy replacements what size/value do I need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voodoo Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Sprague Orange Drop capacitors are considered (by some) to be the upper mid range (quality and price range wise) for tone circuitry modification. The bottom line of caps are the disks that are used as stock equipment. The top of the range are the oil caps and bumble bees. As I have said, there are people in all camps who participate voraciously in the TONE WARS, and one battlefield in that war is the capacitor skirmish. For a view of that ongoing process (and some very valuable information such as wire diagram wars) I suggest you visit here: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/tonefreaks/ I personally use Sprague .022 ODs on my bridge circuits, and Sprague .015 ODs on my neck circuits. Now that you are totally entangled - my work here is done. 8) oh yeah - welcome to the jungle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
licantropo Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I'd go with the pots from Mojo Musical Supply (www.mojomusicalsupply.com). Their CTS pots are almost always right around 10-15%, though they don't advertise it. I've put them into every guitar I've done, and they work beautifully. Their prices are spot-on, and they are a pleasure to deal with. They've also got their own oil-filled caps (vitamin t) that sound great. Granted, everyone has their own opinions of what caps sound best, so that's just mine. As far as pickguards go, talk to Chandler guitars out in California. I had them make me a 3-humbucker g-310 pickguard, and it's absolutely gorgeous. Taking into consideration the attention that they give you as the customer, and the quality of materials/workmanship, they're my favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.