Wiring and pot swaps

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Sat May 11, 2013 7:10 pm

Just wondering what your experience is ... completely re-wiring a stock guitar with new wiring and pots / capacitors etc... the guitar in questions is a Japanese Jag.

Is it worth it ?

I've read elsewhere varying opinions.

cheers
Owen

Noisy Cat · Post by **Noisy Cat** » Sat May 11, 2013 7:13 pm

I too was wondering this in relation to my Squier Jag & Jazz.

Does replacing it all with Switchcraft switches & jack and CTS pots actually improve tone*, or does it just make the whole thing less likely to fail?

*Fuck off

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Sat May 11, 2013 7:16 pm

Noisy Cat wrote: *Fuck off

HA

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Sat May 11, 2013 7:30 pm

I've noticed no difference in sound, the only difference is in response of the controls, unless a pot is really really scratchy and needs replacing I never bother changing them anymore.

iCEByTes · Post by **iCEByTes** » Sat May 11, 2013 9:38 pm

CTS Quality is notable difference over all rest.

itÂ´s so smooth

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Sat May 11, 2013 10:07 pm

tonallly, i don't think its really needed. unless you are changing values for other reasons. or you are doing a pickup change, liek singles to buckers.
the only reason alot of folks go for the higher end stuff is hype, same reason that a gibby is 4x the price of an epi, when clearly the build is almost identical.

chemistforhire · Post by **chemistforhire** » Sun May 12, 2013 12:20 am

Depends. Not all pots are valued at what they are rated. If I am switching from buckers to singles I will change, but I will also change them if the the two pots are nowhere near each other in resistance value.

Post by **Mike** » Sun May 12, 2013 9:43 am

This is definitely snake oil territory unless you're changing pot values and tapers

Wiring? Please

George · Post by **George** » Sun May 12, 2013 9:55 am

+1 on the snake oil

the only thing i can possibly think of is that pot makers can have quite a wide catch net in terms of variance. some pots can be higher or lower than the value stated.

so you could potentially pay for cherrypicked pots which are bang on 250k or something, but it's minute differences and a waste of money. all the ones i've ever used a multimeter on have a small difference, if any. and it begs the question "what does exactly 250k sound like anyway?"

some pots don't feel nice to use though and can be too loose or stiff so you might want to change because of that.

Post by **Mike** » Sun May 12, 2013 10:00 am

Pots in general have a pretty high tolerance margin - around 5%

If you're looking for more treble increase from 250k to 500k or 500k to 1M or vice versa if you want a darker sound

Any other tonality shift - swap pickups

timhulio · Post by **timhulio** » Sun May 12, 2013 10:15 am

Alpha pots are rated at Â±20% tolerance!

I went and measured a bunch a while ago and most were much better than that, but you do get the odd bastard.

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Sun May 12, 2013 5:49 pm

Improving to Switchcraft does result in a noticeable difference but not in terms of tone. I just think it's such a cheap change that it's completely worth it.

Also, pretty much every Japanese Fender I've seen has Alpha pots, which are fine potentiometers. If CTS pots sounded better than Alpha pots, first of all, let me laugh at you for a really long time, and secondly, aren't there a lot of boutique pedals costing way too much money that talk about Alpha pots as features and not as detriments? They are fine pots, just that like anything that wasn't in USA Fenders, people find some reason to bitch about them. Personally I like Alpha pots because in general they turn easier than CTS pots, which have a bit more resistance in average, although you can get either pot in any feel, really. Some people like the added resistance, since it means pots are a bit more likely to stay put.

LizardKing · Post by **LizardKing** » Mon May 13, 2013 2:32 pm

honeyiscool wrote:Improving to Switchcraft does result in a noticeable difference but not in terms of tone. I just think it's such a cheap change that it's completely worth it.

Also, pretty much every Japanese Fender I've seen has Alpha pots, which are fine potentiometers. If CTS pots sounded better than Alpha pots, first of all, let me laugh at you for a really long time, and secondly, aren't there a lot of boutique pedals costing way too much money that talk about Alpha pots as features and not as detriments? They are fine pots, just that like anything that wasn't in USA Fenders, people find some reason to bitch about them. Personally I like Alpha pots because in general they turn easier than CTS pots, which have a bit more resistance in average, although you can get either pot in any feel, really. Some people like the added resistance, since it means pots are a bit more likely to stay put.

Exactly.
It is more of a reliability and feel change.
I hate hard to turn or scratchy pots and replace them with alpha or CTS pots.
No real sound difference.
Just don't like cheap feeling hardware.

Noisy Cat · Post by **Noisy Cat** » Mon May 13, 2013 2:44 pm

What about capacitors? I know you can get posh 'paper-in-oil' caps - is this all bullshit?

George · Post by **George** » Mon May 13, 2013 2:53 pm

Noisy Cat wrote:What about capacitors? I know you can get posh 'paper-in-oil' caps - is this all bullshit?

there's a good video where someone has them all set up with crocodile clips to change them on the fly. interestingly a few scalers said they all sounded the same except one which sounded a tiny bit better - some oil one i think

i'll try and find it after work

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Mon May 13, 2013 6:08 pm

I hate to admit it but i've noticed improved sound results with changing caps. The only time i would change wiring is as a last resort if there is a RF problem i cant eliminate trying other things.
Always used alpha pots if i have built or repaired something, they seem reliable. CTS pots do feel smooth, but changing a brand wont improve sound imo.

Post by **Doog** » Mon May 13, 2013 8:00 pm

FRAN IS HERE TO SELL US SNAKE OIL, Y'ALL

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Mon May 13, 2013 8:13 pm

The thing is, though, different caps will sound different probably because they measure different. Get a multimeter that can test for capacitance, then buy a bag of 0.022 uF caps for liek $2.

George · Post by **George** » Mon May 13, 2013 8:18 pm

Which means nothing when the pot is on full right?

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Mon May 13, 2013 9:09 pm

Doog wrote:FRAN IS HERE TO SELL US SNAKE OIL, Y'ALL

Its all about the Tropical Fishtonez..