guitar sound: 500K vs 250K pots?

Question

there seems to be alot of talk about the sound differences between 500k and 250k pots out there. I'm led to believe that fender typically use 250K volume pots on their single coils which give a darker sound, while conversely a 500k with a bucker is brighter. 

my questions is isnt the resistance on these two pots the same when the volume is wide open (zero ohms)?

so how could there be any difference in the sound? how can the 250k pot "bleed more of the higher frequencies to ground"?

? · Accepted Answer

It's because there is no "wide open" as you put it. There is only a point of minimal resistance. In a potentiometer, there is no point of no resistance, so there is always a slight bit of resistance when the knob is turned to 10. That's why there is a difference in sound.

OU812 · Answer

A single coil with a 500K pot would be very bright, a humbucker with a 250K would be kinda dark and would get muddy, especially in the neck, with distortion. A humbucker is a darker sounding pickup so you use a 500K to brighten it up, a single coil is a very bright sounding pup which is why you use a 250K rather than a 500K. As the other person stated, there is no zero resistance setting on a pot. For instance my Bill Nash Esquire in the middle position bypasses the pot and any other components and sends the pup signal directly to the output jack and that is basically 0 resistance, sans the resistance of the wire which is negligible. My 2012 Les Paul Standard has that same option with a push pull control. It sends the bridge pup directly to the output jack.

? · Answer

Hello there,

It is the tone pots (not the volume pot) that are wired as variable resistance in series. This first order filter has the effect of rolling off frequencies above a certain point. Due to the circuit used, the tone control will always filter off some high frequencies even when the pot is is fully rotated (turned to 10).

http://www.amplifiedparts.com/tech_corner/basic_electric_guitar_circuits_2_pots_tone_capacitors

http://www.guitar-repairs.co.uk/how_guitar_pickups_work.htm

Later,

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guitar sound: 500K vs 250K pots?

3 Answers