Whats up Doc? If you have a volt-ohm meter you could test the DC resistance of the old and new pots, you'll probaly see a difference in readings, and that would cause the guitar to sound different, the 5 way switch wiring can be a jumble, probaly not a bad idea to get a new switch and a good wiring diagram, I am a little baffled by what you said about the vol pot having a capacitor, caps although sometimes wired between the tone pot and vol pot, are part of the tone circuit, sometimes you may see a small value cap like a 100-250pf cap wired as a treble bleed between the in and out tabs of the vol pot, reguardless of where the cap is, adding, removing, or changing the value of any cap will change your tone somewhat, same as with pot resistance values. Anytime you have humbuckers mixed with single coils you are going to have to compromise a bit, the humbucker will sound louder and brighter with a 1meg pot, the single coils start to get harsh sounding, and noise will always be an issue with single coils too, their are alot of options, and your ears will decide what sounds best, so keep experimenting, good luck...........

[Edited by pstring on 08-23-2002 at 11:00 PM]