Tele pot values.

[Sea Chief]

I can understand the chart Chuck H, I think!

I have an audio taper vol knob fwiw, so I assume Im like Mr.purple. Its the linear tone knob I was innitially querying.

Would a (A?)250k tone pot add any more -bass- or does it just tame the treble a bit?

[Chuck H]

Huh? Because you opened with:

my tele copy's tone pot/ knob didn't do anything until last 1/8 turn when all happened, so assumed I had wrong pot taper... its an A500k.

The vol pot seems right, an even dip in vol over the knob's range. This is a B500k.

The tone pot should ALWAYS be an audio taper. Linear taper pots make terrible tone pots.

A linear pot for a volume control is really only good if you usually play clean or if you only want subtle shades of distortion control on the top five digits. Trying to get a dirty amp to clean up with a linear pot will make you mad enough to punch a baby.

[Jazz P Bass]

Hoo boy!

A tone control potentiometer will never 'ADD' bass.

[Sea Chief]

I'm confused again then. Back to the Q of why, if I have the right audio taper tone pot, is all the action in the last 1/8th turn.

Could it be the interaction with the "wrong" linear taper vol pot? I may as well swap this out for va A500k.. & see if it helps.

Oddly.. on ebay, tele pots are sold in pairs as A250k for a vol, & B250k for a tone. On a good few listings suggesting a consensus. Adding confusion.

[Chuck H]

I did see one auction like that for sale. Chalk it up to an error or actual stupidity.

The thing to know about the pots is this, different taper pots will not change the sound of your guitar at all. It will only change WHERE the knobs need to be set for the sounds you already have. If the VALUE of the pots are the same then they can only operate within that value like any other pots. The taper only changes where, not what. Now...

Different value pots can change the sound of your guitar. It's just as simple as 'bigger = brighter'. So you cannot add or take away bass with any value. You can only add or take away treble.

A "no load" tone pot is an old trick that guys have been using to get a brighter tone for years. It's a tone pot that goes to infinity so that it's as if there is no tone control in the circuit. I suggested an A250k "no load" tone pot. The A250k VALUE will give better range of adjustment than the 500k value you have now. If this sound like a good idea you could try this. If not, I included the suggestion of a parallel resistor with the pot so that your guitar sounds the same as it does now with the tone pot full up. The advantage then would be that you get the tone of a 500k pot when the tone control is not in use, but the range of adjustment of a 250k pot when the tone control is rotated below 10 on the knob. And I am certain that this explanation goes at least partly over your head. That's ok. Lemme break it down...

When you come here and ask "WHY" it is not because you want to understand why. It is because you want to KNOW why. To know is rote, to understand is to learn. You haven't demonstrated the willingness to learn and you haven't been satisfied with our answers because you don't understand them. So we are at a stalemate. If you will trust us to some degree I think we can still help though.

The internet and the players that peruse it and use it are always trying to either sell you something, anything, jump onto the next trend or just change their circumstances in any way because they aren't fully satisfied with how things are. And there's a phenomenon where whatever anyone tries is reported as great. Sometimes for no reason other than they spent money or went to some trouble and their ego's won't allow them to think otherwise. This amounts to the giant pile of internet lore and horse shit that is your only source of info on a subject if you never trouble to UNDERSTAND that subject for yourself. Don't believe any of it unless YOU understand it. So...

I can tell you, based on what has transpired over the last 50 posts, what I interpret to be a good solution for you. Because you will not understand my interpretation you will have to either try it on blind faith or reject it for your own reasons. You should not let those reasons be whether or not you like me or any of us. That is an arbitrary position in light of the circumstances. We are not the telecaster forum or the gear page. We are mostly techs that understand this stuff. We know AND understand what we're talking about. And you have told us what you have as a basis of comparison for what you want. We can only tell you what to do. Please do not ask WHY unless you are willing to learn the answer.

I will draw up a circuit I interpret to be your best option if you want me to do that. If you do I will need to know for certain which pots have which tapers for real since it's been reported both ways. This will help me to help you by giving focus to your maladies I hope to solve for.