online source for CTS pots that.....

[daz]

....will sell you tested pots? that is, test them for resistance? I get variances in 250k labeled CTS pots from about 200k to almost 300k. I'd like to know what i'm getting.

[The Dude]

I don't have an answer for you daz, but just a little tidbit.....A few times where tolerance is more critical, I've taken a 1/4W resistor and soldered it right into the holes on the pot mounting lugs (in parallel) to get into tolerance. Of course this works only with the ones that are too high in value. I suppose it messes with taper slightly also, but nothing I've noticed or had a problem with.

[J M Fahey]

....will sell you tested pots? that is, test them for resistance? I get variances in 250k labeled CTS pots from about 200k to almost 300k. I'd like to know what i'm getting.

That's normal tolerance for a pot

[daz]

I just want to be able to buy a pot thats proper value. I bought a tele that didn't sound right and found the pot was about 200k. Another of the same model i have sounds right and i measured that at 280K. I'd like to buy another pot for it but i really don't want to buy a handful and throw a bunch of them away.

[eschertron]

I just want to be able to buy a pot thats proper value. I bought a tele that didn't sound right and found the pot was about 200k. Another of the same model i have sounds right and i measured that at 280K. I'd like to buy another pot for it but i really don't want to buy a handful and throw a bunch of them away.

I'm sure I've stumbled across a couple 'roll yer own' pot trace threads. If you can't stand the manufacturing tolerances then you may have to modify some pots to meet your standards.

[J M Fahey]

I just want to be able to buy a pot thats proper value. I bought a tele that didn't sound right and found the pot was about 200k. Another of the same model i have sounds right and i measured that at 280K. I'd like to buy another pot for it but i really don't want to buy a handful and throw a bunch of them away.

Being 2 different guitars, there's 1000 potential differences besides pot value.
By the way, 200/280k boils down to 280/200=1.4 .
You could call them 230k +/-20% and not be far from the truth .

As`said above, no big deal.

I guess pickups, adjustments, strings, wood, intonation, etc. are far more significative.

But check it yourself, just remove controls on both by wiring pickups straight to output jack.

I bet the differences stay.

[52 Bill]

I just want to be able to buy a pot thats proper value. I bought a tele that didn't sound right and found the pot was about 200k. Another of the same model i have sounds right and i measured that at 280K. I'd like to buy another pot for it but i really don't want to buy a handful and throw a bunch of them away.

What stores are local to you that carry the pots that you want? Ask them if you can come in with your meter and select a few to buy.

We buy CTS guitar pots in bags of 25, I've never bothered to meter test them. If someone came in and asked for testing, I'd go along with it.

[Jazz P Bass]

"I just want to be able to buy a pot thats proper value. I bought a tele that didn't sound right and found the pot was about 200k. Another of the same model i have sounds right and i measured that at 280K."

And neither pot is 250K.
So what is 'proper'?

[daz]

"I just want to be able to buy a pot thats proper value. I bought a tele that didn't sound right and found the pot was about 200k. Another of the same model i have sounds right and i measured that at 280K."

And neither pot is 250K.
So what is 'proper'?

Well, put it this way...it was under 220k, i think it was 212k if i recall correctly. I swapped one from another fender, exact same pot that measured 280k. Tonal difference was obvious. There was an aliveness that came back with the 280k. Now i need one for the fender i stole it from. And yes, i not only thought about asking a store to let me measure them by poking thru the plastic bag but i called them and the ok'd that idea. Kinda surprised they don't check them at fender. One 50 cent (probably what they pay) pot that measures really low doesn't help thier rep when someone buys it and it doesn't sound great. Wasn't nite and day but it DID affect it to the point i felt something wasn't great about this guitar's tone which is what led me to check that after trying many other things.

[g1]

I think what Jazz was getting at was do you now go searching for 280K's, or "proper" 250K's?

[daz]

I think what Jazz was getting at was do you now go searching for 280K's, or "proper" 250K's?

Well, thats subjective but for me i would consider the guitar. I have 3 teles. 2 are the exact same model and i bought the second one because the first i liked but it's heavy, so when i saw one used that was considerably lighter AND had incredible grain, i decided to replace mine with it. Turned out the new one was rather dull sounding till i discovered the pot was such a low value. so i swapped a pot thats 280k from my 3rd tele into it and that was the reason it sounded dull next to the old one. However, both due to the design have lows that are a bit wooly while my 3rd tele with a rosewood neck is very bright and snappy almost to a fault. So i think that one would be better with a lower value like 250k while the 280 is good in the others. In other words, if a guitar is dark a higher value, if it's bright and snappy a lower value. Common sense really. But i don't think it's a big deal unless you are way at the end of one spectrum or another as this one was with a pot nearly down to 200k on a guitar thats already on the dark side.

[eschertron]

Well, thats subjective but for me i would consider the guitar. I have 3 teles. 2 are the exact same model and i bought the second one because the first i liked but it's heavy, so when i saw one used that was considerably lighter AND had incredible grain, i decided to replace mine with it. Turned out the new one was rather dull sounding till i discovered the pot was such a low value. so i swapped a pot thats 280k from my 3rd tele into it and that was the reason it sounded dull next to the old one. However, both due to the design have lows that are a bit wooly while my 3rd tele with a rosewood neck is very bright and snappy almost to a fault. So i think that one would be better with a lower value like 250k while the 280 is good in the others. In other words, if a guitar is dark a higher value, if it's bright and snappy a lower value. Common sense really. But i don't think it's a big deal unless you are way at the end of one spectrum or another as this one was with a pot nearly down to 200k on a guitar thats already on the dark side.

I've read the arguments about swapping 250k and 500k pots to change the sound of a guitar. Your change from ~200k to ~280k is a big part of a step change like that. When I can specify the resistors in my tone networks to accuracy within a narrow range - and even the caps have a decent margin now - it seems silly that pots are still so far apart in value and so wide in tolerance.

Maybe there's an opportunity there for someone to buy a massive number of pots, grade them into finer divisions, rebrand and sell for big buck$$

[g1]

Maybe there's an opportunity there for someone to buy a massive number of pots, grade them into finer divisions, rebrand and sell for big buck$$

Or scratch the numbers off them and have customers bring in their guitars for some kind of magical mystery mods.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Maybe there's an opportunity there for someone to buy a massive number of pots, grade them into finer divisions, rebrand and sell for big buck$$

Why not, it's been done before with tubes. Hey Aspen! Yeh you Mr. Pittman. You payin' attention here or not?

FWIW one of my oldest bestest smartest customers demands his 250K pots to be between 254 and 257K. And pickups must be in the 7K - 7.9Kohm region or they're rejects. I tried to 'splain to him wire gauge, resistance per foot, and magnetic strength besides but all to no avail. He has his "favorite numbers" and wants to stay within those limits. Guy's an incredible guitar player so I just humor him.

[Enzo]

No one pre-measures pots, they are what they are.

And it is true that pots have always had very loose tolerances. If you buy a commercial 250k pot, you really can expect 200-300k. If you NEED 240k or 280k, you'll have to select them yourself. It may matter across a pickup impedance, but in most cases such a pot is used as a common voltage divider volume control or a tone control, where the value is seldom critical.


If you explore Mouser and places, you can find precision pots, but they are pricier, and likely will not be suited to fit in a guitar. Can't hurt to look.