New pot

I replaced a volume pot on my vintage les paul copy

I used a 250 k pot , but i'm not sure if i should have used a 500 k

But it works Ok and there's no more crackle

250 k may be a bit low for a humbucker.

If you find that you're missing some detail in the high frequencies, try a 500 k or a 1 Meg pot.

Search the forum for a discussion I had with PonyOne on this subject. As I recall, he laid out some good stuff on what effect different pot values had on the tone.

OK, thanks LATS

I decide to repace the pickups and all the pots on my LP copy as they were all rusty - it being 30/40 years old

I also fitted 500k pots

the neck pick up only had two wires and the 500 k pot turns the volume completely off

But the bridge pick up had five wires - I connected the double coils in series and it works great - but the 500k pot doesn't completely turn off the volume - SO i'm thinking that I need a 1 meg ohm pot
it doesn't bother me, but i'm just curious

The Volume pot should shut off the output completely at 0, regardless of the total value of the pot itself. (0 times any number = 0) When turned fully counter-clockwise, the wiper should be shorted to the grounded end of the resistive element.

Check your wiring.

Aha, yes i haven't earthed the unused terminal of the pots as I ran out of solder, many thanks...

Well, i've earthed all the pots and it's working perfectly

I've also re-sprayed the guitar and it looks a picture

I've just gotta learn to play it now

Thanks again

There's a special kind of satisfaction in working on your own guitar.

Thanks for letting us all know how it worked out.

My jackson is a basswood, in it I'm running a ToneZone. Seems lifeless and dark, i'm going to try a 1 meg pot in it to see if it brightens it up.

Originally Posted by: LordathestringsThere's a special kind of satisfaction in working on your own guitar.

This is True!

Originally Posted by: RickBlackerMy jackson is a basswood, in it I'm running a ToneZone. Seems lifeless and dark, i'm going to try a 1 meg pot in it to see if it brightens it up.

I have a Tone Zone in the bridge position of a Yamaha SBG-1000. I've gotta say that "lifeless and dark" is not even close to how I would describe it. You can search these forums for a discussion I had with PonyOne about this pickup. I use a 500 k pot with mine; he uses a 1 Meg pot. If memory serves, I said that there was "nowhere to hide" with the Tone Zone. It is very clear, and very responsive to attack dynamics. A very expressive pup that will bring out subtleties in your technique. Which also means that any mistakes get presented front and centre as well. Hence my assessment that there's nowhere to hide.

Check your installation carefully. A 500 k or 1 Meg pot for Volume, and a 1 Meg pot for the Tone control should let it scream. I don't recall hearing that basswood is dark sounding at all. I suspect the control wiring is loading down your pickup, either with too low a pot value, or a partial short in the wiring somewhere.

I know that a larger than necessary a pot (for example, a 500k tone pot on a single coil) will "bunch" the adjusting range at one end of the dial. What happens if the pot is too small? Say a 250k on an HB (which from what I read is too small).

At wide-open, is any tone being restricted?

Lordathestrings

I think what happen is that I put a Duncan JB in my mutt and fell in love with it. it's such a lively/squeelie pup. So 80's sounding. Do you have any recordings with your tone zone I can listen to?

Originally Posted by: RazboI know that a larger than necessary a pot (for example, a 500k tone pot on a single coil) will "bunch" the adjusting range at one end of the dial. What happens if the pot is too small? Say a 250k on an HB (which from what I read is too small).

At wide-open, is any tone being restricted?

I dunno Razbo, I don't use tone controls. I took it out of my Jackson, and never put one in my mutt. When I tear into my new Kramer, I may take it out of that as well.

Originally Posted by: RazboI know that a larger than necessary a pot (for example, a 500k tone pot on a single coil) will "bunch" the adjusting range at one end of the dial. What happens if the pot is too small? Say a 250k on an HB (which from what I read is too small).

At wide-open, is any tone being restricted?

That's an interesting way of looking at it. The high frequencies are taken away when the inductance of a pickup is loaded with too low a resistance by the Volume pot. Since a Tone pot can only remove high frequncies, the result is indeed a 'bunching" effect.

I'm not going to do your search for you, but I strongly recommend using the Advanced Search function here to find a thread where PonyOne and I were discussing the effect of different Volume pot values on pickups.

I think 250 k is definitely too low for any HB, and even some single coils. If you can find that thread I mentioned, PonyOne went into some detail on the tonal effects.