Thanks a lot for this JR. Trying to read about all this was starting to make my brain boil. Great to hear it all. Sweet playing too - liked the little smile at the end when you cut loose a little too.
Killer sounding tele deluxe 72 you got there ! I'm in love with them (that's why i own 3 different types of 72 deluxe). so you are saying that if i change the pot from them wich i supose it's a 500k one,it will sound more what ? darker or brighter ?
Thanks man, this is what I really wanted to know and was searching for. Was getting more and more conffused searching and reading forums. Now I know I want a 500k in my HSH. Thanks for sharing and beautiful playing.
Everyone should get in the habit of actually measuring the value of pots with a good meter before using them. You'd be amazed at some of the variances +/-.
All good tones, but I prefer the 250k in this clip. to be fair though I prefer a darker sounding guitar and turn the treble up more on the amp rther than the other way round.
great sounds! indeed better with the 500K . but its specific for that guitar ... every guitar i had took me about 10 wiring rounds and 8-10 pickup changes to find the sound i wanted . but eventually its cheaper than new guitar... and i kept them since what gear you used in the video?
The Lil 59 gets overpowered by the neck pickup in the VG Strat. Just wondering: did you use 250K tone pots in the HSS Strat with the Pearly Gates at the bridge or 500K?
Great Video dude. I have a 2011 Deluxe HSS Strat with N3 Pups and I think it sound MUCKY ... Do you think a pot change will work best or should I just go for the SD "Everything Axe" pickup set ? And if I do .. although they are all single coil sized buckers ... should I still go with the 500K pots ?
why can't you have one 250K volume pot for neck and middle pickups and a 500K volume pot for the bridge humbucker? Or does using a 500K liberator make the use of a 250K volume pot for the neck and middle pickups redundant?
Hi James, I bought a fender EVH Wolfgang Special (non--USA Model), the volume pot seems to have a couple of flaws? Going from 0 and turning it up slowly, there is a bit of a lull till it has any volume. Secondly, when I'm at about 7 there is a buzz introduced into the signal that isn't there either below that level or at a higher level it is less of a buzz. It's a 550k pot. Just wondering if that's normal or there is something wrong with the pot? Thanks! Gary
I just got a Roland VG strat for I love my boss GP-10. I put a gibson Humbucker in, but left the 250k pots. It has over all low gain. I was wandering, If I put the 500k V-pot, if it will hurt the sound of the single coils? I have a 1979 Fender X1 at the neck, and american 1985 strat single coil in middle. They sound sweet. Advise please. What if I turn the 500k up only half way, is that same as 250k?
Fender issued a 96 Strat HSS with a Pearly Gates SD in the bridge back in the late 90s. It is the best pickup I have used in any guitar in any position.
500k volume pot is the way to go with HSS set up. Just add a 500k resistor between the neck single coil and its ground so it "sees" the volume pot as 250k -- then you can have the best of both worlds!!! \M/ P.S. I don't really think the tone pots make a difference, 250k or 500k...
one of my strats is HSS and was a little dark with 1 tone & 1 volume with 250 KOhm pot then i changed to 1 500 K Vol & 1 500 K Tone & it sounds a little too trebly and brittle on the single pups.. should i try a 500 K Vol & 250 K Tone ? i use only 1 tone rather than 2.. great playing by the way
I'm building a Stratocaster. All original, three Wilkinson Alnico V High Output Single Coils. I have the oppertunity to wire up my pickguard now. Should I wait, and get 500K pots? And, if I do need 500k pots, will I need a resistor? I'm a bit fuzzy on the topic. I want to get the best tone possible for my Partscaster. In my opinion, the best tone would be that "quacky" "slappy" "Hendrixy" tone. What pots should I get?
Love the sounds and the playing. Just minor heads up a Duncan 59 and a lil 59 dont sound the same. The 59 has an alnico5 magnet, the lil 59 a ceramic mag. The lil 59 sounds a bit more top and bottom to my ears, I prefer the proper 59. I found an Air norton the perfect strat bridge pickup, just a bit more "push" than a 59.
I'm not sure using two different guitars is a valid comparison, after all a strat with a rosewood fingerboard generally does sound darker than a strat with a maple neck/fingerboard. Then there is pickups and body wood to consider, ash is brighter than alder etc.
I have 3 dimarzio rail pickups which are all humbuckers with 250k pots. Would I need to change all three pots or just the volume to brighten the tone up?
I agree that the different pots make a huge difference. I just finished a Les Paul build which I put a SD Jazz & JB combo into. With 500k pots it was painfully bright - way too much treble esp for a LP with 2 humbuckers. I switched out the tone pots for 250k w/ push/pull (1 split, 1 phase) and it warmed right up bit is still crystal clear. It's all horses for courses.
hay the 3rd strat sounds bright with 250k,, your fist strat does have a nice range of humbucker to single coil sound. they all sound great with that pushed Marshall sound, i like your style of playing on hear.
I don't think this was a fair A/B comparison. I also think it might make a lot of sense to remove the tone pots if you use 250k since those cause high frequency roll off. I will say though the tone with all of the 250k guitars breathed a lot more sounded more dynamic and while the did have less treble had far superior bass tone that was more percussive.
I actually ended up doing an imitation Shawbucker wiring where the volume pot was the stacked 250 K in 500 K combination pot and the neck and middle pick ups enjoyed A 250 K pot and the bridge pick up at the 500 K pot installed separately for it.
Wow the tone of the 500k on the singles kicks some serious cutting balls! Im going to hook my singles to 500k! The 250k's sound dull after hearing the comparison. You've made a nice choice
I am going to do this this week My deluxe strat with the N3's sound MUCKY .. I really miss the sparkle .... and if I have to roll back some tone to cut some highs .. great ... right now I am always grabbing my tone knob looking for MORE sparkle .. GREAT VID
1st one sounded fantastic. Second: too dark with the bridge 'bucker. Same with the 3rd. 4th was fine with their own vibe going on. 5th (LP) sounds great with 500K.
I thought the sunburst strat sounds great. thick and beefier than the yellow/white one is a bit scrawny, in comparison, but its also maple board.. The JB/250K combo even sounds great compared to the Gibson bridge position with 500K pots.if you listen at 2:14 and then at 5:06 or so. Would be a better comparison if you used same guitar and switched pots only. Different guitar designs, pickups etc...is just way too many variables to get any conclusion.
Yes the last time I heard some one just pottering about .. lol .. that gr8 .. was Tim Pierce .. if you don't know him .. google .. Nashville session guy .. But like you he can hit those extra harmonics so sweetly & effortlessly it's a pleasure to listen cheers from an old Scot's Muso dude who lives in the Ye olde Forest in Englande .. all the best
500k too abrasive imo, unless it's a neck humbucker. 250k is great for singles or bridge humbucker. 500k is probably better when you want to cut through.
Neck pickups in the strat sound a hell of a lot better with a 250k pot than a 500k (I was listening through studio monitors and the strat with 500k in the neck position was actually hurting my ears). The humbuckers sound dull in a 250k pot (bridge strat) and amazing in the Les Paul 500k pot. The only logical answer is to have a Les Paul with 2 humbuckers and 500k pots and a strat/tele with single coils and 250k pots.
Big FAIL.... you are comparing apples to oranges. The Humbucker vs single coil is going to affect the sound as much as the pot resistance levels would.
Hello James .. I almost just moved onto the next .. whatever .. but as I was looking down the line of little vids .. I was caught by not the tone of the seymour duncans .. but the really gr8 guitar playing .. so many of these demos / reviews have such poor musical content .. but one of the runs you played really grabbed me .. very Buddy guy / Rory G .. SRV .. more than just scales or showing off ..
i just purchased and installed a cheap alnico hot rail for the bridge position in my strat and yeah it has got sustain but sounds kind of a cocked wah...there are just too many high mids (1.1 to 1.2 kilohertz as the spectrogram on my interface revealed) I think a 500k is the way to go even if a lot of people don't recommend to use 500k with hot rails. has anyone had a similar experience? I'm still not sure on the 500k but if someone has done it and it went all ok would be really useful!
It's fine to use 500k with Hot Rails, the tricky thing is that if you have regular single coils in the middle and neck, they may sound too bright. It's just some trial and error. It also depends a lot on what style/sound you play the most.
+james ryan thank you James I'll definitely try a 500k volume pot and maybe i will fiddle with the tone knobs a little bit but that's fine , i can deal with it
+james ryan There is a circuit mod to use the 500k volume pot but when the 5-way switches to the single pickups that a fixed resistor is added such that the single coil pickups run through an equivalent 250k volume pot (the 500k in parallel with a fixed resistor). Or twist the tone knob back when using single coils. Volume pots can be 20% off target and still be in spec - so it's a good idea to measure what the actual pot value is at if changing types/brands/target specs too.
I personally think the 250k's sound better in the Fender's. The 500K's were awesome in the Les Paul but great to see you found something that works for you man(:
great tone, great player. Somewhat pointless video ? Love your collection, and you really do have great hands, just dont understand the video, basically you confirm what we already know ? Take care all the same.
I use 500K Ohm in my strats.
If it is ever too bright you can roll the tone back a little.
Those are some tasty licks. I could listen to your playing all day!
Nice demo. You can hear the "wooliness" in the HB on the Strat with the 250k pot, IMHO. Nice playing.
Man, I love the sound of all those strats you have. Each one offers something unique.
Nice demo.... the jb sh4 sounds fantastic with the 250k pot in the sunburst strat with black pick guard!
That HSS Strat sounds Devine . Wow . You are an amazing player . Cheers
Landon Jackson all of the strats are HSS in this vid
It's rare to find a youtube demo with such tasteful playing.
I preferred the Little 59 tone but wonder what it would sound like with 500k.
3:00 wtf!!???
Best strat sound that i heard
Vini Beber fender vintage👍 my thoughts too
yes the seymour duncan 59 is really nice and not too hard to balance out with single coils
Thanks a lot for this JR. Trying to read about all this was starting to make my brain boil. Great to hear it all. Sweet playing too - liked the little smile at the end when you cut loose a little too.
Killer sounding tele deluxe 72 you got there ! I'm in love with them (that's why i own 3 different types of 72 deluxe). so you are saying that if i change the pot from them wich i supose it's a 500k one,it will sound more what ? darker or brighter ?
Thanks man, this is what I really wanted to know and was searching for. Was getting more and more conffused searching and reading forums. Now I know I want a 500k in my HSH. Thanks for sharing and beautiful playing.
Everyone should get in the habit of actually measuring the value of pots with a good meter before using them. You'd be amazed at some of the variances +/-.
NICE!!!❤️
Whats your capacitor value for the tone pots...?
All good tones, but I prefer the 250k in this clip. to be fair though I prefer a darker sounding guitar and turn the treble up more on the amp rther than the other way round.
You can use any pickups at all.
They are now doing scratchplates that are prewired with the liberator, you just add the pickups..very cool.
great sounds! indeed better with the 500K .
but its specific for that guitar ...
every guitar i had took me about 10 wiring rounds and 8-10 pickup changes to find the sound i wanted .
but eventually its cheaper than new guitar... and i kept them since
what gear you used in the video?
The Lil 59 gets overpowered by the neck pickup in the VG Strat. Just wondering: did you use 250K tone pots in the HSS Strat with the Pearly Gates at the bridge or 500K?
Great demo man, it clarified it all for me.....
To be very honest I'm not sure how much the tone pot value influences the sound.
I thought it was just the volume pot that affected the treble.
great demo! but if u didnt change anything from ur gibson standard. it has 300k volume pots originally!
Great Video dude. I have a 2011 Deluxe HSS Strat with N3 Pups and I think it sound MUCKY ...
Do you think a pot change will work best or should I just go for the SD "Everything Axe" pickup set ? And if I do .. although they are all single coil sized buckers ... should I still go with the 500K pots ?
Informative Video thx! why dont you put 500k into your 72 tele? all the best to you
Thanks man... I really enjoyed that video. Made me smarter and happier at the same time. :D
why can't you have one 250K volume pot for neck and middle pickups and a 500K volume pot for the bridge humbucker? Or does using a 500K liberator make the use of a 250K volume pot for the neck and middle pickups redundant?
Making a partscaster. Wondering what volume/tone pots I should use for a humbucker (bridge), p90 (neck)?
Great playing! Thanks for this - really good video.
Hi James, I bought a fender EVH Wolfgang Special (non--USA Model), the volume pot seems to have a couple of flaws? Going from 0 and turning it up slowly, there is a bit of a lull till it has any volume. Secondly, when I'm at about 7 there is a buzz introduced into the signal that isn't there either below that level or at a higher level it is less of a buzz. It's a 550k pot. Just wondering if that's normal or there is something wrong with the pot? Thanks! Gary
I just got a Roland VG strat for I love my boss GP-10. I put a gibson Humbucker in, but left the 250k pots. It has over all low gain. I was wandering, If I put the 500k V-pot, if it will hurt the sound of the single coils? I have a 1979 Fender X1 at the neck, and american 1985 strat single coil in middle. They sound sweet. Advise please. What if I turn the 500k up only half way, is that same as 250k?
Fender issued a 96 Strat HSS with a Pearly Gates SD in the bridge back in the late 90s. It is the best pickup I have used in any guitar in any position.
hi! pretty informative.... It would be great to hear what you think about coil taps! Thanks :)
....great job. When is the album coming out!?
500k volume pot is the way to go with HSS set up. Just add a 500k resistor between the neck single coil and its ground so it "sees" the volume pot as 250k -- then you can have the best of both worlds!!! \M/
P.S. I don't really think the tone pots make a difference, 250k or 500k...
Hi James. Do you change all 3 pots for 500k or just the volume pot?
Geez man, I must know what amp you are using. Everything sounds incredible through it
one of my strats is HSS and was a little dark with 1 tone & 1 volume with 250 KOhm pot then i changed to 1 500 K Vol & 1 500 K Tone & it sounds a little too trebly and brittle on the single pups.. should i try a 500 K Vol & 250 K Tone ? i use only 1 tone rather than 2.. great playing by the way
This dude can play! Nice job.
I'm building a Stratocaster. All original, three Wilkinson Alnico V High Output Single Coils. I have the oppertunity to wire up my pickguard now. Should I wait, and get 500K pots? And, if I do need 500k pots, will I need a resistor? I'm a bit fuzzy on the topic. I want to get the best tone possible for my Partscaster. In my opinion, the best tone would be that "quacky" "slappy" "Hendrixy" tone. What pots should I get?
Very nice, our strat never gets played, hmm that just might change now. Thanks man
I like 500K volume and 250K tone pots together.
Love the sounds and the playing. Just minor heads up a Duncan 59 and a lil 59 dont sound the same. The 59 has an alnico5 magnet, the lil 59 a ceramic mag. The lil 59 sounds a bit more top and bottom to my ears, I prefer the proper 59. I found an Air norton the perfect strat bridge pickup, just a bit more "push" than a 59.
I'm not sure using two different guitars is a valid comparison, after all a strat with a rosewood fingerboard generally does sound darker than a strat with a maple neck/fingerboard. Then there is pickups and body wood to consider, ash is brighter than alder etc.
Solution stacked 500k/250k pots!
I believe so, too. But what about the auto-split no. 4 position then? Does it "see" sort of both pots in parallel then?
Hello.
Great video.
But what amp do you use in this video?
I have 3 dimarzio rail pickups which are all humbuckers with 250k pots. Would I need to change all three pots or just the volume to brighten the tone up?
what kind of bridge do you have on that Dano in the back?
I agree that the different pots make a huge difference. I just finished a Les Paul build which I put a SD Jazz & JB combo into. With 500k pots it was painfully bright - way too much treble esp for a LP with 2 humbuckers. I switched out the tone pots for 250k w/ push/pull (1 split, 1 phase) and it warmed right up bit is still crystal clear. It's all horses for courses.
Wow sounds amazing mate!
hay the 3rd strat sounds bright with 250k,, your fist strat does have a nice range of humbucker to single coil sound. they all sound great with that pushed Marshall sound, i like your style of playing on hear.
I don't think this was a fair A/B comparison. I also think it might make a lot of sense to remove the tone pots if you use 250k since those cause high frequency roll off. I will say though the tone with all of the 250k guitars breathed a lot more sounded more dynamic and while the did have less treble had far superior bass tone that was more percussive.
Hi..did you use 250 or 500 for the duncan hot rail pickups ?
I've found that 500 works best for stacked pickups
@@ilovenoise Ok..Would you evan recomend 500k for Duncan SSL4 Quaterpound pickups ?
Do you put the 500k pot in the volume only, or must you do the two tone pots as well?
I just put a 500k volume pot and I'm wondering the same thing...
I actually ended up doing an imitation Shawbucker wiring where the volume pot was the stacked 250 K in 500 K combination pot and the neck and middle pick ups enjoyed A 250 K pot and the bridge pick up at the 500 K pot installed separately for it.
Good demo. But a suggestion, turn down the volume of the music when you are talking 😀
Wow the tone of the 500k on the singles kicks some serious cutting balls! Im going to hook my singles to 500k! The 250k's sound dull after hearing the comparison. You've made a nice choice
Hm, wouldn't it make a clear volume difference when switching from coils to humbucker?
outta curiousity, did you used to live on womerah ave in the mid '90's?
Sounds interesting, I'll give it a go.Thanks
Dude can play!!
viper 71 I was just thinking the same thing... Sounds Good, Indeed!!
It's the Digidesign Eleven rack
Great sounds!!
Which had green cap. and orange cap.?
I am going to do this this week
My deluxe strat with the N3's sound MUCKY ..
I really miss the sparkle .... and if I have to roll back some tone to cut some highs .. great ... right now I am always grabbing my tone knob looking for MORE sparkle ..
GREAT VID
Excellent playing and tone dude.
You may try 300 k pots as well.....
so you changed the Volume pot to 500k,not the bridge tone pot?
dude....you play sweetly !
1st one sounded fantastic. Second: too dark with the bridge 'bucker. Same with the 3rd. 4th was fine with their own vibe going on. 5th (LP) sounds great with 500K.
I thought the sunburst strat sounds great. thick and beefier than the yellow/white one is a bit scrawny, in comparison, but its also maple board.. The JB/250K combo even sounds great compared to the Gibson bridge position with 500K pots.if you listen at 2:14 and then at 5:06 or so. Would be a better comparison if you used same guitar and switched pots only. Different guitar designs, pickups etc...is just way too many variables to get any conclusion.
What amp are you using???
No differences detected here.
Yes the last time I heard some one just pottering about .. lol .. that gr8 .. was Tim Pierce .. if you don't know him .. google .. Nashville session guy .. But like you he can hit those extra harmonics so sweetly & effortlessly it's a pleasure to listen cheers from an old Scot's Muso dude who lives in the Ye olde Forest in Englande .. all the best
500k too abrasive imo, unless it's a neck humbucker. 250k is great for singles or bridge humbucker. 500k is probably better when you want to cut through.
WHAT PEDALS YOU ARE USING ON THIS ??
Are you two single coils the N3's ??
Neck pickups in the strat sound a hell of a lot better with a 250k pot than a 500k (I was listening through studio monitors and the strat with 500k in the neck position was actually hurting my ears). The humbuckers sound dull in a 250k pot (bridge strat) and amazing in the Les Paul 500k pot. The only logical answer is to have a Les Paul with 2 humbuckers and 500k pots and a strat/tele with single coils and 250k pots.
Nice sound!
Big FAIL.... you are comparing apples to oranges. The Humbucker vs single coil is going to affect the sound as much as the pot resistance levels would.
The humbuckers you try are generally on the bright side... so I would say they do okay with 250 k... lil 59 definitely...
500 k works fantastic bro!
Hello James .. I almost just moved onto the next .. whatever .. but as I was looking down the line of little vids .. I was caught by not the tone of the seymour duncans .. but the really gr8 guitar playing .. so many of these demos / reviews have such poor musical content .. but one of the runs you played really grabbed me .. very Buddy guy / Rory G .. SRV .. more than just scales or showing off ..
what kinda capacitors are on the guitar?
A 250k vol and a 250k tone in series means you have a 125k load, just saying.
Your saying wrong, just saying. You meant in parallel in series they add.
Standard Fender tone pots
the noodling in the background is simply too much, turn it down please !
500k pots sound no longer like a strat though.
I liked the VG Strat the most...
I'll say it too , Excellent video, thanks for making it!
It helps that you can play really well ........ tips from a pro .
They all sound great, proving once again, it's the magician, not the wand! I do like the wands with 500K pots a bit better though.
i just purchased and installed a cheap alnico hot rail for the bridge position in my strat and yeah it has got sustain but sounds kind of a cocked wah...there are just too many high mids (1.1 to 1.2 kilohertz as the spectrogram on my interface revealed) I think a 500k is the way to go even if a lot of people don't recommend to use 500k with hot rails. has anyone had a similar experience? I'm still not sure on the 500k but if someone has done it and it went all ok would be really useful!
It's fine to use 500k with Hot Rails, the tricky thing is that if you have regular single coils in the middle and neck, they may sound too bright. It's just some trial and error. It also depends a lot on what style/sound you play the most.
+james ryan thank you James I'll definitely try a 500k volume pot and maybe i will fiddle with the tone knobs a little bit but that's fine , i can deal with it
+james ryan There is a circuit mod to use the 500k volume pot but when the 5-way switches to the single pickups that a fixed resistor is added such that the single coil pickups run through an equivalent 250k volume pot (the 500k in parallel with a fixed resistor). Or twist the tone knob back when using single coils.
Volume pots can be 20% off target and still be in spec - so it's a good idea to measure what the actual pot value is at if changing types/brands/target specs too.
someone knows how to pick right to get tone. its you.
Seymour Duncan JB works fine
With both 250k and 500k
I need the diagram...
I personally think the 250k's sound better in the Fender's. The 500K's were awesome in the Les Paul but great to see you found something that works for you man(:
yeha, It's all about the POTs,has nothing with how many guitars he have...
awesom video,by the way,it solved my problem...
500k for HB .....spot on man
DAT TONE
Sunburst one sounds better.
looks like an 11 rack on top left...
cool
Two different types of guitar wood. The test is not very precise.
great tone, great player. Somewhat pointless video ?
Love your collection, and you really do have great hands, just dont understand the video, basically you confirm what we already know ?
Take care all the same.