Epi Slash Appetite Les Paul volume pots question

[TC56]

The Gibson Slash Appetite Les Paul has 300k volume pots (I understand the original had 300k pots as well). The Epi has 500k pots (why oh why change from the 300k items).

 

The question I have is; does anyone know if the Epi has short shaft or long shaft pots? I am considering getting Gibson replacement 300k pots, but unsure which one to get (long or short shaft).

 

Any help gratefully received.

[Whitmore Willy]

TC,

Welcome to the forum!

Not familiar with the Slash Appetite Les Paul.

The Epis I have worked on have 3/8" (short) metric pots. Don't know for sure on yours.

Might be worth your time to temporarily remove one from your guitar and measure the length of the treads on the shaft.

You can leave the wires connected, remove knob, remove nut, take pot out (wire and all), measure and reinstall.

Should take about 5 minutes.

 

If they are metric and you replace them with imperial (American) you will need new knobs.

You will also have to open up your holes sightly.

Most of the time that is it, although once in a while...(and this has happened to me)...

The short imperials are just slightly shorter than your stock metrics.

Most of the time this is not a problem. On occasion I have had to deepen the control cavity just slightly where a pot sits with a spade bit. (not for the faint of heart as you do not want to drill through your guitar) It's really no big deal if you take your time. We are talking less than 1/16".

Cutting the "nib" off the top of the pot also helps.

 

Maybe others here are familiar with your guitar and can give a more definitive answer.

 

Willy

[james_edward]

TC,

Welcome to the forum!

Not familiar with the Slash Appetite Les Paul.

The Epis I have worked on have 3/8" (short) metric pots. Don't know for sure on yours.

Might be worth your time to temporarily remove one from your guitar and measure the length of the treads on the shaft.

You can leave the wires connected, remove knob, remove nut, take pot out (wire and all), measure and reinstall.

Should take about 5 minutes.

 

If they are metric and you replace them with imperial (American) you will need new knobs.

You will also have to open up your holes sightly.

Most of the time that is it, although once in a while...(and this has happened to me)...

The short imperials are just slightly shorter than your stock metrics.

Most of the time this is not a problem. On occasion I have had to deepen the control cavity just slightly where a pot sits with a spade bit. (not for the faint of heart as you do not want to drill through your guitar) It's really no big deal if you take your time. We are talking less than 1/16".

Cutting the "nib" off the top of the pot also helps.

 

Maybe others here are familiar with your guitar and can give a more definitive answer.

 

Willy

 

More definitive, I doubt it, if the OP follows the above he'll be fine.

[TC56]

For the record, and if anyone else was interested, I got this reply from Gibson:

 

The volume pots on the Epiphone Slash Appetite Les Paul Standard are the standard 500K pots. You would need long shaft, but might need extras nuts to optimize the fit.

 

500K volume pots are used on most Epiphone guitars, they work great on our Epihpone Les Pauls, and were also chosen to set you up to shred with the new Slash Model. Slash did design the model together with Epiphone, and he liked it. Of course nothing is written in stone when it comes to choosing potentiometers. With a volume potentiometer at 500K value you will notice a slightly higher output and more trebly response as less highs are bleed off to ground.

 

 

Thanks to those that replied, I am most grateful.

[cjlandry]

Pots are variable from zero to their max value. So what do you gain by having a max value of 300K as opposed to 500K?

[TC56]

The answer to that is in the last line of the Gibson response. Also, I have seen(and heard) a comparative test between the Gibson Slash Appetite Les Paul and a standard Les Paul and there was a difference in the sound.

 

The point I was trying to make was, the Gibson accurately replicated the original, the Epiphone does as well with THE EXCEPTION of the volume pots. You as buying a replica, you would expect it to be as accurate as possible.

 

Having said that, it is still a great guitar.

[cjlandry]

The answer is illogical. 300K is accessible in the 500K pot, it's just a little bit of a dial down. It's a variable resistor, nothing more, nothing less. There's nothing magical about limiting the range of resistance.

[TC56]

In that case Gibson, all the guitar magazines I read reviews in and many referance materials are wrong.

 

It may be just perception, but to me and others there is a difference in the sound. This may not be the case for others.

 

Each to their own.

[Whitmore Willy]

TC,

Glad to hear that you have taken the time to follow up on your investigation.

You say you perceive a difference. I'm guessing that your ears are as good as anyone else.

Please explain what what the difference is that you hear.

 

In conjunction, I am curious as to the wiring system that is used. Modern or 50s?

The determining factor could well be in where the capacitor is in the circuit.

 

If you can post a pic of the control cavity it would be most interesting. (at least to me)

 

Although the following is just "another response", and many might disagree, some may find it interesting:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=25793.0

The forum is primarily stomp boxes but, they do occasionally discuss guitar electronics.

 

 

Willy

[TC56]

There was less top end from what I remember. The comparisons I heard were back when the Gibson version came out. "The Guitarist" magazine did a side-by-side with a standard Les Paul and an Epiphone Les Paul. The biggest difference was with the standard Epiphone Les Paul and the 2 Gibson's (which didn't have THAT much difference). I put the big difference down to the pickups. The Epiphone Slash has the same pickups as the Gibson Slash (or at least that is what I understand) so the only difference would be in the volume pots.

 

Now, at least one magazine review of the Gibson Slash recommended replacing the 300k pots with 500k pots, so they obviously thought there was a difference in the tone.

 

Anyhow, what is best is down to personal preference, and on reflection, I am not going to risk "spoiling" a great guitar by changing components myself. The only person that is ever going to sound like Slash is Slash and everyone should derive their own "sound". On analyzing my reactions to discovering the difference in the spec's, I realized my "disappointment" was down to "tech sheet comparison" not what it sounds like. A bit like a Hi-Fi buff from the '80's and 90's where they tended to listen to the equipment, not the music.

 

There are other things that will affect the sound chain anyway - cables, pedals, amps etc. So, after my initial "hissy fit" coz the spec wasn't 100% what I thought it was, I am happy with things as it is.

 

If I ever DO need to change the volume pots, I now know they are long shaft, not short shaft that I am led to believe Epi Les Paul's have (and I got that from a book, and if thats wrong, I really don't care ).

[TC56]

TC,

Glad to hear that you have taken the time to follow up on your investigation.

You say you perceive a difference. I'm guessing that your ears are as good as anyone else.

Please explain what what the difference is that you hear.

 

In conjunction, I am curious as to the wiring system that is used. Modern or 50s?

The determining factor could well be in where the capacitor is in the circuit.

 

If you can post a pic of the control cavity it would be most interesting. (at least to me)

 

Although the following is just "another response", and many might disagree, some may find it interesting:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=25793.0

The forum is primarily stomp boxes but, they do occasionally discuss guitar electronics.

 

 

Willy

 

 

I will try to get a pic of the controls, but that will probably be after the holidays. It is a bit "crowded" from what I remember due to the largish cap used (orange drop)

 

TC

[Fringe Lunatic]

Perhaps ears better than mine can hear such subtle differences, but I have some doubts as to how important they are. I picked up a cheap used Squier Affinity Strat that had such bad pots and switch that it was literally unplayable due to major static when the controls were operated. Not wanting to spend a lot of dough fixing it, I got the Strat upgrade kit from Guitar Fetish, which contained 250k pots, typical for Fender single coil pickups. The new tone capacitor was the same (.047uf) value as stock. When doing the job, I noticed that the Strat had 500k pots (yes, they are standard issue in that guitar). With the different-rated pots, the guitar sounds fine, with plenty of treble. I get the distinct impression that these differences amount to a slight tone adjustment on the amplifier, nothing more.