dtjesus
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
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Post by dtjesus on Sept 30, 2018 20:13:52 GMT
The tone pots on my HB S-450 plus seem to only work between 0-2. That is, the rest of the sweep between 10-8 does not really do much until you get right to the end and thats when the filter kicks in.
I pulled out the pot and its an audio taper, as usual. Replaced it with a linear taper pot and while, theoretically, a linear should have more of a uniform sweep, it does not seem to make much difference. Which I have always found to be the case with guitar pots.
Wondering if others with SC-450's have the same response in the tone pots.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2018 17:30:19 GMT
My 450 Plus had the A pot (worked all the way) buy I personally prefer the B pots for tone as it doesn't go totally mud as with the A pot when turned off. This is VERY useful with fuzzy tones !
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Oct 1, 2018 17:52:40 GMT
Same observation here. The tone pots on mine work between 1 and 3. It's a recent model (new logo). Replacing them with linear pots should make it worse, by the way. Halving the resistance value would improve things.
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Post by Vincent on Oct 1, 2018 17:56:57 GMT
Leo. Why would linea pots be worse and how does the resistance value affect the taper?
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Oct 1, 2018 18:19:01 GMT
Leo. Why would linea pots be worse and how does the resistance value affect the taper? The effect of linear pots is something I read but now that you ask, it was probably related to volume controls since it has to do with the relation of voltage to perceived volume. Tone might not follow this. Halving the resistance, however, is halving the way from full to zero, so it will cut some of the way between 10 and 1.
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Post by DerAlex on Oct 1, 2018 18:31:18 GMT
The tone pots on my HB S-450 plus seem to only work between 0-2. That is, the rest of the sweep between 10-8 does not really do much until you get right to the end and thats when the filter kicks in. I pulled out the pot and its an audio taper, as usual. Replaced it with a linear taper pot and while, theoretically, a linear should have more of a uniform sweep, it does not seem to make much difference. Which I have always found to be the case with guitar pots. Wondering if others with SC-450's have the same response in the tone pots. You should use either Bourns or Alpha pots. 500k ohm log ones. Cheap pots are crap (the Alpha pots cost around 2-3 € each and are the best budget choice). In case of the tone pot you could try 250k even on humbucker guitars as the change is much more immediate. I did that to my LP Junior with great results.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Oct 2, 2018 4:18:40 GMT
You should use either Bourns or Alpha pots. 500k ohm log ones. Cheap pots are crap (the Alpha pots cost around 2-3 € each and are the best budget choice). This guy says cheap pots are fine when cleaned:
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Post by DerAlex on Oct 2, 2018 13:29:23 GMT
You should use either Bourns or Alpha pots. 500k ohm log ones. Cheap pots are crap (the Alpha pots cost around 2-3 € each and are the best budget choice). This guy says cheap pots are fine when cleaned: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Please keep in mind that the Alpha pots are cheap at 2 EUR per piece. They are good quality though. The Bourns cost around 4-5 EUR each and are better - not worlds ahead but I like them. No need to buy CTS or F** / G** overpriced pots.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Oct 2, 2018 15:34:22 GMT
I don't think I have a guitar that doesn't crackle a little bit somewhere on a pot turn. I have only one that does and it's my 2006 Ibanez. One day I'll spend 5€ and fix it. I doubt much can go wrong with pots. They can have a wide tolerance on their maximum value, which in the case of primitive guitar electronics ought not to be an issue at all.
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Post by Vincent on Oct 2, 2018 18:29:58 GMT
Leo, contact cleaners are usually, in my experience, only good for short term solutions. Once you begin with that stuff it is often never ending in that you might find yourself using it every week or so. If you can permanently fix a crackly pot with one application then you will have more luck than I ever did. I don't even have any contact cleaner now. Canned air can work just as effectively too. I have had some success with that. Enough waffle. Consider to change the pot. Alpha pots are more than adequate.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2018 20:21:08 GMT
My 'The Roadhouse' harness has CTS pots and the B tone pot crackles a bit. My Ironstone harness has tiny china made pots which are chosen by Tony Ironstone (not sure who makes them for him) and they so far crackle not I use contact spray (bought from Thomann) and it never helped.
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Post by Vincent on Oct 2, 2018 21:11:30 GMT
Yesterday I swapped out some of those tiny far eastern pots for some push pulls. They were about twenty five years old and worked flawlessly. All these sprays do is move the **** from one place to another. It never disappears completely. I have heard of people taking pots apart and cleaning them properly with alcohol swabs etc. Might try that one day.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Oct 3, 2018 2:48:18 GMT
Yesterday I swapped out some of those tiny far eastern pots for some push pulls. They were about twenty five years old and worked flawlessly. All these sprays do is move the **** from one place to another. It never disappears completely. Which is fine if it goes out of the way. Cleaning seldom does anything else. I suppose pots also wear out with time, since something slides along the resistor. I don't like the idea of needlessly replacing things but if a pot costs 2 to 3€ and a large can of potentialy useless chemicals nearly 9, the game can change.
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3,457 posts
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Post by LeoThunder on Oct 3, 2018 2:52:37 GMT
You should use either Bourns or Alpha pots. 500k ohm log ones. Cheap pots are crap (the Alpha pots cost around 2-3 € each and are the best budget choice). Where do you get those?
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