Volume knob for Strat

[Dan Anthony]

I have a Strat and want to use a very smooth taper volume pot so I can swell notes with my little finger. Current pot is too stiff for me. It's a 250K pot with a split shaft. What would be the absolute best pot to use? Thanks for help.

[David Schwab]

Get a Bourns "guitar pot". They have very low friction. You can get them from places like AllParts and WS Music. They cost $2.58, don't pay more. Some places sell them for like $18!

[Mark Hammer]

Another alternative is to dicker with custom-tapering of whatever pot you get that feels right to your pinky finger. Take a look at RG Keen's "Secret Life of Pots" ( The Secret Life of Pots ). RG describes how to use fixed resistors in tandem with pots to achieve different tapers. It bears noting that "audio taper" is a standard that manufacturers aim for, and some pots may need a little help to achieve the audio taper you want. Nothing wrong with that. It's not like they asked you for your input before they started making them.

I will also note that part of the "swell" effect is not just the volume, but also the brightening. There will be some brightening accompanying pinky swells as one gradually reduces the loading on the pickup by turning the volume up. You can play with this, however, by use of strategically-selected bypass caps on the volume pot, if there are none there already.

The bottom line in this, of course, is what feels right to you, given your style of playing and rig (e.g., whether you only pinky swell when playing clean, or use pinky swells in tandem with overdrive for "intensification"), and how many degrees of rotation your pinky is comfortable with when your hand is in picking position.

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

I've always found alphas to have a pretty tolerable taper. They aren't as robust as the CTS, but CTS has a horrible taper.

If you like the taper of your current pot, but just want it physically smoother, they CAN be taken apart and lubed/polished/etc to make them smoother. I've done this a few times to great success for people who like pinky swells. CTS tends to put a very thick grease in there which makes them a bit stiff.

To take them apart, just lift up the tabs on the top of the pot, then it'll come apart like a sandwich. Take note how it comes apart and it'll be easy enough to put it back together. Look especially as the shaft and smooth it out as much as possible. If you put it back without any lube though, expect it to have a shorter life.