CTS Pots vs Alpha

sunshiner · Post by **sunshiner** » Sun Sep 28, 2014 5:43 pm

Is there really the world of difference tonewize? Or it is some sort of corksnifferism? Who moved from alpha to cts and found that there is a notable difference between the US made and "import" pots?

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Sun Sep 28, 2014 5:58 pm

Nope. Resistors are resistors are resistors are potentiometers.

They might be a bit sturdier than cheaper pots but that's about it.

(waiting for more knowledgable folk to chime in and tell me I've got this completely wrong)

George · Post by **George** » Sun Sep 28, 2014 9:04 pm

there's no difference really between brands in terms of tone, but they can have different tolerances in the quality control process, so pots along the lines of up to +20% or -20% of the actual advertised amount will make it to market. so pots from the same manufacturer can and do have different readings, but its completely negligible - they all sound the same despite this. a 500k pot sounds like a 500k pot ought to, etc.

as an aside, no pot i've ever owned has read exactly the right amount or higher than it, they've always been at least a fraction lower.

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Sun Sep 28, 2014 9:16 pm

I've found the big practical difference being that CTS pots are imperial measurements because they're intended for US-made guitars while Alphas are fitted to Far Eastern made instruments and are made to metric specs.

It will only be noticeable if the hole for the shaft's bushing (*hur hur*) either needs widening or is too loose for the guitar you're fitting them in. The holes intended for Alphas are a teeny bit smaller in my experience, which isn't outwardly obvious but is enough of a difference to make the 'wrong' size pot not fit correctly.

sunshiner · Post by **sunshiner** » Mon Sep 29, 2014 11:04 am

So, as the conclusion there is no big difference apart from QC and maybe the lifetime of pots.

Concretebadger wrote:I've found the big practical difference being that CTS pots are imperial measurements because they're intended for US-made guitars while Alphas are fitted to Far Eastern made instruments and are made to metric specs.

It will only be noticeable if the hole for the shaft's bushing (*hur hur*) either needs widening or is too loose for the guitar you're fitting them in. The holes intended for Alphas are a teeny bit smaller in my experience, which isn't outwardly obvious but is enough of a difference to make the 'wrong' size pot not fit correctly.

Yes, also Alpha and CTS need different knobs because of the different size of the shaft

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Mon Sep 29, 2014 1:34 pm

Not a lot of difference between carbon track pots, apart from having to ream out your metric guitar to take an Imperial pot). A big difference in feel can exist depending whether the model you buy has a lubricated or dry shaft (insert your own comment here) but that's something that doesn't seem to be mentioned in specs. Other types of pots in the range of values we normally use include cermet (Ceramic/metal film) and conductive plastic.

Some people will tell you that conductive plastic has a longer life and cermet a shorter one, but data sheets are downright confusing. You really need to be right on the part number and largely you get what you pay for. Operating life may be a good guide and a sealed pot may avoid contact oxidisation problems.

CTS450G - their "classic guitar pot" - doesn't actually give a life and can be bought in three different shaft options.
CTS450 the "standard" version, has a life of 10,000 cycles or 100-250,000 if "special" (?).
CTS 282 conductive plastic life of 2 million cycles

Bourns PDB241-GTR guitar pot (carbon) is lifed at 15,000 cycles.
Model 82 Vintage Premium Guitar Potentiometer (conductive plastic) is 100,000 cycles as is the Model 95 whether A (cermet) or B (conductive plastic). They also do long-life versions with 1 million cycle life.

Alpha (Taiwan) pots are variously described as 10,000 or 15,000 cycles.

sunshiner · Post by **sunshiner** » Mon Sep 29, 2014 1:59 pm

NickS wrote:Not a lot of difference between carbon track pots, apart from having to ream out your metric guitar to take an Imperial pot). A big difference in feel can exist depending whether the model you buy has a lubricated or dry shaft (insert your own comment here) but that's something that doesn't seem to be mentioned in specs. Other types of pots in the range of values we normally use include cermet (Ceramic/metal film) and conductive plastic.

Some people will tell you that conductive plastic has a longer life and cermet a shorter one, but data sheets are downright confusing. You really need to be right on the part number and largely you get what you pay for. Operating life may be a good guide and a sealed pot may avoid contact oxidisation problems.

CTS450G - their "classic guitar pot" - doesn't actually give a life and can be bought in three different shaft options.
CTS450 the "standard" version, has a life of 10,000 cycles or 100-250,000 if "special" (?).
CTS 282 conductive plastic life of 2 million cycles

Bourns PDB241-GTR guitar pot (carbon) is lifed at 15,000 cycles.
Model 82 Vintage Premium Guitar Potentiometer (conductive plastic) is 100,000 cycles as is the Model 95 whether A (cermet) or B (conductive plastic). They also do long-life versions with 1 million cycle life.

Alpha (Taiwan) pots are variously described as 10,000 or 15,000 cycles.

Wow, thank you a lot. This is more than exhaustive answer

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Mon Sep 29, 2014 10:03 pm

Not noticed any different in sound, but I prefer the sturdy feel of the linear taper CTS pots. I hate the audio taper pots though, they're basically just a switch.