Pots, Jersen BKP caps - does it really make a difference?

[Lucas]

Hi,
Im in the final process of upgrading my guitar. After frets, bridge, BKP Piskups, tuners ect the final stage is electronics.
And now I`m getting really confused.
What`s the most important to me is THE HIGHEST quality, top shelf without the doubt.

My guitar is Dean Cadillac (LP style all mahogany) with BKP Ceramic Nailbomb in bridge and Cold Sweat in neck.
I want to change stock pots and capacitors. But which one? At the moment I have both push-pull tone pots.

And what now?
What`s the difference between standard BKP pots and Audio Tapers and BKP Custom Audio Taper 550K CTS ¾" long shaft pot? What difference do the make and how do they differ from each other?

And when it comes to caps, do the Jersen ones make a huge difference in sound in comparison to cheap stock ones?

Please, help me with those caps and pots, wnat to get something top quality but getting confused which ones for Nailbomb and Cold Sweat humbuckers,
Would anyone explain to me which ones are the best for me and which ones will make an improvement?
Thanks a lot,

[JJretroTONEGOD]

I found the jensen caps do make a difference, it made my guitar sound a bit more balanced and smoothed out the harshness in the sound, the Orange Drop caps are probably as good though and don't cost anywhere near the price, you should buy both and see what works best. I haven't used the BKP CTS pots but I prefer bourns pots, it would also be worth using vintage cloth wire to rewire it as well and replace all the wiring.

[Lucas]

I`ve read somewhere that those custom BKP pots have a volume jump between 8 and 10.

So when it comes to caps will try Jersen (will they fit to any guitar due to its bigger size?)

but still confused with pots. Will be changing both volume and tone pots. Have any one tried custom and oridinary BKP pots?

and what those numbers like 500k, 280k mean and where is the difference between them?
Which one for humbuckers?
Thanks a lot for help.

[JJretroTONEGOD]

I`ve read somewhere that those custom BKP pots have a volume jump between 8 and 10.

yes they do, however the audio taper on the bourns pots to my ears is just right, it sound very natural and very smooth.

So when it comes to caps will try Jersen (will they fit to any guitar due to its bigger size?)

even in my JJ Retro which has a very small cavity it fit perfectly but you need to bear in mind it's about 3-4 cm long and 1cm diameter, it can be a tight fit on some guitars and not easy to solder. I paid a guitar tech to do it.

but still confused with pots. Will be changing both volume and tone pots. Have any one tried custom and oridinary BKP pots?

I think they are custom made sorry to confuse you, so they are BKP pots manufactured by CTS specially made, the extra 550K will mean it's closer to 500K in reality whereas a normal pot will have a lower average of nearer 450-480K.

and what those numbers like 500k, 280k mean and where is the difference between them?

it stands for killer ohms so it is a measurement of resistance in ohms, the higher the number the brighter the sound, so 500K = brighter than 250K.

Which one for humbuckers?

As a General rule 500K for Humbuckers and 250K for single coils.

[Lucas]

Thanks a lot, it helped me a lot.

On the website it says that those custom BKP pots can be used for both volume and tone.
Im really into those 550k but unfortunately they are not push-pull (old ones are push pulls) so I guess I have to go for ordinary 500k (are they all made by the same company CTS, cause it doesnt state on ordinary ones).
Or Ill go for custom audio taper 550k for bridge Ceramic Nailbomb for tone and standard push pull 500k for bridge Cold Sweat (to be honest I use push pull only for neck pickup) What do you think? Or both ordinary 500k? Will there be huge difference in brightness in the tone between 500k and 550k?

But when it comes to VOLUME those custom audio tapers will do the job very well, is that right?

Sorry for asking so mane question but those caps and pots things are totally new to me and want do for THE BEST option while changing all TONE and VOLUME pots.

Thanks a million!!!!

[BigB]

Technically it doesn't make difference (wrt/ switching) having the push-pulls on the volume or tone position - it may just be more (or less) convenient / confortable depending on your own preferences.

[Lucas]

Ok, so when it comes to AUDIO pots it is simple: BKP Custom Audio Taper 550K CTS ¾" long shaft pot (long shaft for LP style guitars, yes?)

and what about TONE?

for BRIDGE pickup (C-Bomb) same one: BKP Custom Audio Taper 550K CTS ¾" long shaft pot for bridge (doesn`t have to be push pull)

and for neck (Cold Sweat) 500K ¾" shaft Push-Pull with hardware

or both those audio tapers for all pickups for TONE control?


and when it comes to CAPS will try Jersen ones as it says on the BKP website.

Want to sum up (finally) the whole subject and make decision! :)

Thanks again to all of you for help. Cheers.

[gwEm]

the best caps are the paper and oil ones with out a doubt they do make a difference.

[BigB]

the best caps are the paper and oil ones with out a doubt they do make a difference.

PIO caps have very closer tolerance than ceramic ones (specially the cheap ones). Other than that there's still no _scientific_ evidence that the cap's composition has any effect on tone in a passive guitar electronic - which doesn't mean there is no difference at all, but I really doubt I'd notice it on a proper blind test (which means find a set of caps of different types with perfectly matching values).

This being said I do use PIOs on all my guitars (with 50s wiring - which is scientifically proven to make difference but that doesn't imply it's "better" neither) and I'm very pleased with the result ;)

@Lucas:

Llong shaft pots for a LP yes, if in doubt open your guitar and checkout what you have in it. The tone pot's value is less important than the volume one's so don't overthink it, any log pot in the 500K range will do.
 
More generally : don't waste too much time looking for "the best options", as there's no such thing in the whole universe. At most, you may find out what are "possibly the best options for you for a given guitar, a given amp, a given project, at some point in your life, as far as you can tell" - and this requires quite some hands-on experience you obviously don't have yet. Quality is a relative concept. Ok, there is some "absolute" technical concept of quality (ie for pots being robust, having a consistent taper and being as close as possible to their nominal value), but most of the aftermarket guitar pots out there are at least good enough. Then there's the subjective, personal tastes part - some people will prefer a quite stiff pot, some a very loose one, some people will prefer a steep taper (like the BKP custom CTS) some a much smoother taper (and some will even prefer a linear pot, with pretty good reasons). Until you try and find out by yourself what difference it makes *and if you like it*, you just won't know what is "the best" option for you now.


Oh and yes: on the net, uppercase == shouting...

[JJretroTONEGOD]

I found this very useful when I was choosing pots without having to buy loads and waste money:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdfIZEB2rdM

[Lucas]

Cheers, Ive already watched those videos, really helpful.

Somewhere on the internet I`ve ready very interesting thing:

Use LOG pots (aka audio tapers) for Volume controls, and, LINEAR pots for Tone

Why? Cannot you use all audiotapers (LOG pots) on both volume and tone control as it says on BKP website:
'BKP Custom Audio Taper 550K CTS these CTS550K custom audio taper pots can be used for both volume and tone applications'?

and the last thing.
Does anyone know a good quality PUSH PUSH pots (500k), `Ive read that they`re easier to use, but cannot find a decent ones,

cheers.

[JJretroTONEGOD]

Why? Cannot you use all audiotapers (LOG pots) on both volume and tone control as it says on BKP website:
'BKP Custom Audio Taper 550K CTS these CTS550K custom audio taper pots can be used for both volume and tone applications'?

well I just used audio taper on both tone and volume and it sounds right to me.

and the last thing.
Does anyone know a good quality PUSH PUSH pots (500k), `Ive read that they`re easier to use, but cannot find a decent ones,

cheers.

I also couldn't find any by a respectable manufacturer in the UK like bourns from searching , why wouldn't push/pull be acceptable? surely it would work except just feel slightly different.

[Lucas]

Well, PUSH PUSH sounds easier and handier to use especially in live/mid song environment I suppose. No more sweaty fingers slipping off tapered knobs! :lol:

http://www.axetec.co.uk/guitar_parts_uk_053.htm
That`s pretty much the only ones that I found but don`t even know what make they are and if they are worth of buying.

Somewhere on the internet I`ve ready very interesting thing:

Use LOG pots (aka audio tapers) for Volume controls, and, LINEAR pots for Tone

Does anyone have more info on that?

[BigB]

Somewhere on the internet I`ve ready very interesting thing:

Use LOG pots (aka audio tapers) for Volume controls, and, LINEAR pots for Tone

Why?

Because the guy that posted this either never tried by itself or (if he did) thinks that what works for him should apply to anyone ?

From a purely theoretical POV, one should indeed use log ("audio taper") pots for volume and linear pots for tone in audio circuits. Now a guitar's electronic is not your average audio circuit, in that it's not part of device designed to reproduce sound, but of a music instrument.  The canonical position for the volume pot is fully opened and except when it's used as a mere switch it's main use is to allow the player to adjust the amount of drive it will get from the whole chain. With a log pot you have a more even tapper which for an amp is very important thing else you go from nothing to almost full out on the first quarter of the course and then have a very fine grained control on the upper half of the course. On a guitar, depending on your usual playing style and gain settings it can be interesting to have this very fine grained control on the upper half - which is the one you use most - so a liner pot can make sens. Or you may prefer to have a very quick roll-off on the upper of the course and then a more fine-grained control, in which case you definitly want a log pot. As far as I'm concerned I find the linear pot to work better for low gain where the volume pot will really be used for volume adjustment, and the log pot to work better for higher gain where you use it to control drive much more than volume.

wrt/ tone, I must confess I have yet to try a linear pot in this position...

Cannot you use all audiotapers (LOG pots) on both volume and tone control

That's what almost everyone do.

[JJretroTONEGOD]

Somewhere on the internet I`ve ready very interesting thing:

Use LOG pots (aka audio tapers) for Volume controls, and, LINEAR pots for Tone

Does anyone have more info on that?
[/quote]

I've never heard of a guitarist who uses it, all the guitarists I know use audio taper on both tone and volume, the guy who posted it could even be a troll or guitar troll.