250K vrs. 500K

[spooki1]

I've read where many new users of the Epi Nighthawk change the pots to 250K's I have no idea what's in one for starters because mine is still in the shipping process. I have always understood that 500's are best used with humbuckers and 250's for single coil. When you have a coil-splitting pot, how does this work? Thanks........ Steve

[Blueman335]

250K pots filter out more highs (filter them to ground), and give a warmer, fuller sound. Not so thin and top heavy. They don't add mids per se, but by shaving off some treble, the mids become more prominent.

 

The old advice is '250K's for single coils, 500K for HB's'. Some of us disagree. I think the pot value has a lot more to do with the PU position than the type of PU. If you use the same value pots for both PU's, you're moving them in the same direction EQ-wise. That means with 250K/300K you're making the neck darker, which is not needed with HB's (even though Gibson has done this). With 500K's, you're making both PU's brighter, and there's a lot of bridge PU's that don't need more treble. The bridge slot is naturally bright and sharp, the neck is inherently dark and bassy. What it gets down to is manufacturers only want to use one pot value in a guitar, to keep things simple on the production line and to avoid stocking another part. They don't care if your bridge PU is really bright, they figure you'll dial down the treble on your amp or guitar.

 

A different approach is to move the PU's closer in EQ (rather than being polar opposites), so that one amp setting works great for both PU's. How many times have you seen a band play live, and the guitarist only uses one PU all night, because he dialed in the amp EQ for it, and the other one is way off (either a shrill, piercing bridge, or a muffled, muddy neck). Technically you can adjust your bridge tone control, but the fact is 90% of players don't. And when you dial down a tone pot, it does not sound the same as using 250K pots; the filtering works differently. I personally don't like the sound of a dialed-down tone pot. I prefer 250K's on my bridge PU's (HB and P-90) and that sets their relative EQ's up front, so I don't have to adjust my tone pot everytime I plug in. I always use 500K's on my neck PU's, for the extra treble and clarity. They need it.

 

In coil cut, you get a much brighter, thinner, sharper tone, and here again, 250K's help out to keep it more usable. A 14,000 ohm HB becomes 7,000 ohms in coil cut, and an 8,000 ohm HB becomes 4,000. As the ohms decrease, treble increases. Also: when splitting a bridge HB, it's best to have the slug coil stay on (and shut off the screw coil), as it's twice as far from the bridge, and it will be a little less trebley and have a little more output (greater string vibration and energy). In a neck HB, the amount of string energy is similar between both coils, so it doesn't matter from that perspective. However, leaving the screw coil on at the neck in coil cut (and slug coil on at the bridge) creates a 'virtual' HB when both are in coil cut and the toggle is in teh middle position, like the 2nd and 4th notch positions on a Strat. An added benefit.

[Pete B]

You have 500k pots, a variable resistor that can be from 0k ohms to 500k ohms. simply turn it till you reach a value of 250k and make a note of the number on the knob. Either use a meter to find this number or do it by ear. And as its a tone pot therefore linear, the number 5 springs to mind.

[Blueman335]

You have 500k pots, a variable resistor that can be from 0k ohms to 500k ohms. simply turn it till you reach a value of 250k and make a note of the number on the knob. Either use a meter to find this number or do it by ear. And as its a tone pot therefore linear, the number 5 springs to mind.

 

It doesn't give the same sound as 250K pots. Filters treble in a different way. I've tried 500K's with dialed down tone pots, and to my ears the sound quality is just not as good. But then, I like a warm bridge PU.