Nostalgic definitely were louder with more low mids. It's interesting to hear how much of a difference a single component can make in the sound, I always enjoy your attention to detail. Thanks, Joe!
Generally agree with your thoughts. For me though the taper is a massive no-no. I've gotten so used to my VIPots that I'd find it hard to use a lin pot. Great demo, as always!
Don't forget the wire harness as well. another Vintage Burst/P.A.F Expert Dave Stephens of Stephens designs pickups explained how on modern Gibson re-issues you should replace the harness along with the pots. Btw, the closest P.A.F on the market are the Doyle Coil "Ttru clone" P.A.F's. He also sells the wire harness.
All this talk of pots on the interwebz by guitarists and yet pots are variable resistors and resistors don’t have a sound. You cannot hear resistors, only the signal they reduce, block, and allow to flow. 1,000KΩ (1MΩ) will be brighter than 500KΩ or 250KΩ simply because it’s resisting more signal flowing to ground; meaning less signal is being lost to ground because of the larger resistance value. Put in a 50KΩ pot and listen how dark it is. Remove the pot altogether and it will be even brighter…the true sound of the pickup wired directly to the jack. As to tapers, it’s simple to get used to a taper that has not been your usual. Knob positions won’t be the same, but the sound will. The KΩ value relative to the knob position will change between different tapers, but again that is not a sound, it’s simply a higher or lesser resistance at that point. Pots simply don’t have a sound and if one matches the values of a handful of various manufacturers pots exactly then there can be no difference heard whatsoever. And, indeed, countless tests have proven this. Any differences heard in pots is due to value differences regardless of the value printed on the pot itself because of manufacturing tolerances. A 500kΩ pot may actually measure 450KΩ or even 550KΩ and this is a difference you will hear. It’s the actual value and nothing else.
Not quite. What you say is basically semantics ("sound" of pot vs sound of what it affects, becomes basically the same practical thing, even tho passive parts usually are not signal generators themselves, if they affect sound of a circuit, most would say that part has a sound. Also there is such thing as resistor noise, and many other passive parts can have differences in noise reception or rejection. Coincidentally, the original Centralab company that made the original parts was in my hometown on the street I grew up on. They also made the original vintage fender strat & tele switches (CRL). My dad would get tons of these centralab pots right from the factory back then, boxes and boxes of them. As for if they have "a sound" well I have not watched this video yet to listen, just saw the comment and knew resistors make differences in amp circuits (metal film vs carbon comp, etc) and from experience have learned that most every small part variation makes a difference in guitars and amps, some more than others, some very small, and some many cant hear at all or dont care the difference, but that doesnt mean they dont make a difference. Will listen and watch video later to see what I think of these pots in this instance, tho with all such tests, it is best to do the test yourself in person, videos and their variables only go so far, tho Joe is very good to be careful and consistent.
Yeah, but everything vintage and unobtainable sounds better according to “gear experts” and “vintage enthusiasts.” It’s all nonsense. It’s an industry that makes money and that’s why the myths must remain. I own vintage gear (effects and guitars) and it sounds good, that’s why I own it; but it’s no better than what can be made today to the same specifications. In fact, the best guitar I’ve ever played (and own) is a 2019 Fender Jazzmaster AO60s series. Age has nothing to do with it. There’s hit and miss in every production run. There’s plenty of dud vintage guitars out there. I’m yet to hear from anyone that a modern equivalent of something is better than the vintage one. People will believe what they want to believe and when they’ve forked out a lot of money for it this is even more obvious. This isn’t about collecting as that’s entirely another subject. This is only about the reality of what is and is not. BTW, it isn’t semantics, it’s science.
@@Wolf_K Yes it is science in that there is a difference between materials and manufacturing methods of most any component...resistors, capacitors, transistors, IC's etc all of supposed "same" type (specs, part number, type, etc) which may or may not "sound" different, but will measure different outside detectable hearing. In that case the cheap new modern part is fine. But many so called "same" parts sound different, sometimes radically. I have found MANY differences between said components that no one ever talks about. Sometimes those diffs of sound can be measured. If you cant hear what others can, you either dont have good ears, dont care to, or dont care. Usually said differences can be measured, heard, or both. Those that can tell a diff and feel it matters can enjoy it if its worth it to them. If its really double blind controlled testing tho, if no difference is found then the vintage or whatever is not worth it to me. I prefer new over vintage unless only the vintage piece gives the preferred tone that modern cant. Guitar and music gear in general is a game of inches after a while. Little upgrades to optimize tone can give an old piece of gear a new lease on ones interest scale. There is not much money in the music gear biz compared to other industries...peanuts really. It mostly caters to a typical young poor cheap musician creative dreamer demographic, which is not where predatory snake oil makers generally exist as it makes no sense. If you want to sell snake oil sell womens cosmetics or something, sell almost anything else but music gear to generally poor musicians. If little upgrades like this do at least something positive they are worth the little bit to the player, the company will sell a few, but not get rich like a scam in the way mass consumer goods markets do. I find the gear market the most honest and straightforwards compared to others. Most gear generally delivers what is promised. If it doesnt, people find out quick and spread the word so if things dont do anything they wont sell, so there is little incentive to make snake oil parts. There is so much vintage gear that cannot be made the same today, due to either economic realities, environmental regulations of chemicals, available materials, etc. I have tried many vintage and so called modern repros of tons of both guitar gear and pro audio, and in many situations (not all) it is impossible for modern gear to reproduce the sound of vintage gear, because no one can make certain components the same for the aforementioned reasons, and many pieces of gear's main tone relies on a few key components that cant be reproduced. That is science. I guess I should watch and listen to this guys video now and see if I can tell a diff, or if I might have one of these original vintage pots lying around already (which I might, as they were made here in my hometown on the street I live on and my dad knew guys at the company when they existed here, my dad did electronics decades ago and he got his parts from this place) I have some of his old stash left but have not looked at it in a while, I use new pots usually. But if these make a noticeable positive difference to me that is worth the cost I may just try one, as my dads stash is so old and dusty Im sure the pots will all crackle and not clean up no matter how much deoxit is sprayed in. I generally have passed on these guitar electronics trends (like bumblebee caps and special oil caps, etc) but now am getting the urge to hear if there is a real difference that is worth it. If not then its snake oil to me, but I have very fine ears that can tell different brand of opamps, caps, tubes, transformers, etc all of supposed same type, as well as new vs vintage, etc. If there is a real difference it is legit to experiment with to optimize if one can hear and cares about the finest details, which really is often where the true magic lies in most everything, as most things in life are of the average, ie center of bell curve. I and many others strive for those points more towards the extremes (usually to the good side, but good or bad, either side are more fun than accepting an average middle of the road guitar, gear music, gear, life, friends, spouse, etc) if one can do little things to optimize, that is more fun and interestings. Most anyone can and will be average without trying, that is by definition, it is science too. The average tho usually accept their lot and do not stray or desire much outside their mean mode or median
@@RocknJazzer If you watch the video you will surely notice the KΩ differences listed on the screen in each set of pots. Since they are different nothing can come of his “test” other than they are different values and thus sound different.
There’s another option for vintage NOS centralabs WITH vintage bumble bee harnesses. completely Newly built with all centralab internals as well. Tyler Fitzgerald on reverb makes NOS harnesses, I have 5 sets and they MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
i put 2 of the nostalgics i had that extra cause were the wrong ones in my girlfriend's vibrator (i stepped on it and you'd think i stepped on a landmine) , and she loves it TOO`much. they're good for guitar too, but there are much better pots than these, and a lot cheaper.
I was surprised by how much difference I could hear. you talked of volume difference. The nostalgics didn't sound so much louder, as bigger. They were a little darker but also clearer. As you said, it was subtle and not noticeable in some of the clips but definitely noticeable in most,s especially when clean. Another entertaining video. I'm off to look through my vintage pot collection.
A burst sounds like a Tele on steroids...use 550k pots...brighter than 500k and that brightness gives the clarity, and pushes the EQ I to fat Telecaster territory
here is what is going on.....it deals with material science and electronics. First the obvious situation is the visual with the carbon tracks.....but what counts is the end of the track and the connector. There is much more surface area on the vintage as opposed to the modern CTS where the carbon tracks meet the metal as its a mechanical connection and with a crimp...plus the composition of the actual metal...think carbon content. SO this brings in the secondary aspect...and again material, as the backing insulator is of a common material in the era of the 50's & the early era of electronics compared to the CTS modern type insulator. WHY is this important.....and its an obvious visual if you understand electronics and definitions AND is one of the culprits of WHY you don't want a printed circuit board in a guitar amplifier with high voltages.....you are visually looking at the definition of a capacitor hidden in front of your face...2 conductors separated by an insulator & add energy which is the action of a guitar pickup as it produces a small voltage in what it does. The key is the small distances between the 3 solder lugs on the mechanism as they meet the carbon track......considering in the big picture that when the middle wiper meets the end lug on either side it becomes a direct connection and the pot itself then becomes transparent and doesn't count.....its only when there is a resistance relationship between the wiper and the ends lugs that the whole of the pot comes into play. So at different zones of travel within the sweep of the wiper in the mechanical action of the pot will involve resistance......aside for the copper wire involved & that resistance......factored in to the equation. So you have an action within the pot thats not visually obvious unless you can see it objectively. at one part of travel it can act as a treble bleed which in itself is misleading as its more of a BYPASS FILTER in some of the zone of travel in the sweep of the pot.......but then the composition of the metal solder lugs and mechanism could introduce a Bass control that affects a small bit of energy associated with LOW END & again in a portion of the sweep of the pots action....BUT introduce resistance to the grounding lug & actual ground due to the metal lugs being dirty. >>>>
I missed so much those super nerdy videos from you Joe. I wonder if the differences we hear are due to the construction of the pots or just a matter of tollerance. Anyway, interesting topic.
You got it. It's the value. For the guitar signal 3 things can alter tone, resistance, capacitance, & inductance. The latter 2 are unmeasurable in potentiometer, so we're left with resistance. Anything else is expectation bias or placebo. Taper will change the volume in relation to knob position but not tone as the "in series" and "to ground" ratio allway's stay's the same. Same with caps, it looks cool to have period correct but type has no effect on tone.
Treble bleed, 50s wiring, grease bucket and Srv pot (some fender specific I know), but having just installed a 335 harness with treble bleeds, can says that there’s many ways to retain clarity, have pleasant roll experience etc than being ultra nerdy with vintage specs. Electronics do make a huge difference, wish I had your determination to unearth every last historic detail.
Just bought two 500k linear's from Nostalgic to go into my Eastman SB59. I have linear pots in it now for volume and can't understand why anyone would prefer audio taper in that position. I find you can use nearly the whole range of the pot and the treble response remains intact better then any other option. I find audio taper pots very on/off, need to have a treble bleed and all around less useful and don't sound nearly as good.
Great to hear Chris :-) I think pot taper doesn't matter if it's what you're used to - I'm struggling with the linear taper a bit with these, but I think that's just because literally every other pot in every guitar I own is log!
If we are still around I would like hear this same guitar after 5 years of use. All guitars have a peak, plateau and... yes a decay or sunset. I found the Central Lab warmer and fuller sound to my ear.
I agree , Here is what I noticed with ANY older pot i have dis assembled for cleaning. The carbon resistive element is all carbon. It is not on a backer plate of copper or brass and is twice as thick. You can see this in the comparison shot in the video with the CTS With that said , what do the VIP pots look like inside? Are they solid carbon trackers ?
What is so different about the Centralab pots? the carbon track is thicker but how do they sound different and change the tone? The Nostalgic hybrid pots are a smaller version of the old vintage centralab pots?
In theory (though some may argue) anything the signal passes through has the potential to change the tone - hence why you get Eric J talking about gold vs. silver jack connectors, etc. Not necessarily better or worse; just different. These Nostalgic pots are genuine vintage Centralab internals, but housed in CTS enclosures - so everything the audio touches is Centralab; the mechanicals are CTS.
@@BradRocker Putting the VIPots back in would be the easiest; though another set of Nostalgic Centralab pots with log tapers could be a fun option too...!
@@BradRocker It just needs less physical movement to achieve the same effect - 8 on log is similar to about 5 on linear...but it's just what you get used to!
I noticed your higher values were on the vol pots . And i remembered i saw this on a forum... I would put the high ones in the tone position. Remember, the tone pot resistance is highest at 10 and the volume pot resistance is highest at 0. Putting the lower value in the volume will give you a less sensitive sweep. And putting the high value in the tone will give you more treble at 10.
It was actually Taylor at Nostalgic who made up this loom for me. The main reason he/we used the higher values for the volume pots in this video was to mimic older guitars with these sorts of pots in them...the volume controls get much more use over time, which wears their carbon tracks and the resistance tends to go up. So it was for 'modern-historic accuracy' as much as anything else. 👍
If you click the link in the description, and change the 'Ships To' filter to Everywhere, there's a few listings for pots & harnesses - best drop Tyler a message to get a quote for shipping to your country. He does have a website in the works but it's not quite ready just yet - though I've heard it will be soon!
For our friends overseas, we've now added an international shipping flat rate for our harnesses on Reverb. Hopefully that will let you see our listings! Additionally, we're launching our site at nostalgicguitars.com. It's currently live; however, purchases are temporarily turned off through the website as we try and work out the kinks of the new site.
I have been upgrading a 2018 Les Paul Tribute since I bought it on sale in 2019 for $889 cad ($671 usd). I never buy gear unless I can get a deal (perhaps strings & picks). So far I have a set of Fishman Fluence Modern pickups I picked up shortly after the guitar in early 2020. I changed all the hardware on the past holiday weekend, by purchasing a Faber Tonelock Master Kit, on sale 20% off. I was truly shocked at the quality of the Faber gear. It was outstanding, finished to a level of craftsmanship that made Gibson hardware look like a product that was conceived on toiletpaper, using scrap metal, cast in empty disposable beer cup, with coarse sand, without removing any of the casting defects. FABER is awesome. Did I mention that the Faber rep expedited the whole purchasing and shipping process, on a holiday Monday at 07:30am, and I paid no taxes or duty. He is fantastic, and the ABR bridge, aluminum tail piece, and locking tuners are beyond what was advertised. Totally worth the money.
This is the kind of stuff I love about your Channel. Keep up the excellent work !
Me too
Nostalgic definitely were louder with more low mids. It's interesting to hear how much of a difference a single component can make in the sound, I always enjoy your attention to detail. Thanks, Joe!
I was skeptical but the Centrilab wafers did actually make an audible improvement...
Generally agree with your thoughts. For me though the taper is a massive no-no. I've gotten so used to my VIPots that I'd find it hard to use a lin pot.
Great demo, as always!
Yeah, I'm struggling with the linear taper somewhat...might have to see if I can get my hands on some log tapers...!!
Don't forget the wire harness as well. another Vintage Burst/P.A.F Expert Dave Stephens of Stephens designs pickups
explained how on modern Gibson re-issues you should replace the harness along with the pots.
Btw, the closest P.A.F on the market are the Doyle Coil "Ttru clone" P.A.F's. He also sells the wire harness.
$500 for a set of 4 pots? I think I’d save 50% of the money and spend it on 2 Seymour Duncan pickups that will actually make a sonic difference
I have a ‘92 LP std and I only changed the tuning keys. Now I feel completely inadequate
If you love the sound, don't touch a thing!!!
All this talk of pots on the interwebz by guitarists and yet pots are variable resistors and resistors don’t have a sound. You cannot hear resistors, only the signal they reduce, block, and allow to flow.
1,000KΩ (1MΩ) will be brighter than 500KΩ or 250KΩ simply because it’s resisting more signal flowing to ground; meaning less signal is being lost to ground because of the larger resistance value. Put in a 50KΩ pot and listen how dark it is. Remove the pot altogether and it will be even brighter…the true sound of the pickup wired directly to the jack.
As to tapers, it’s simple to get used to a taper that has not been your usual. Knob positions won’t be the same, but the sound will. The KΩ value relative to the knob position will change between different tapers, but again that is not a sound, it’s simply a higher or lesser resistance at that point.
Pots simply don’t have a sound and if one matches the values of a handful of various manufacturers pots exactly then there can be no difference heard whatsoever. And, indeed, countless tests have proven this. Any differences heard in pots is due to value differences regardless of the value printed on the pot itself because of manufacturing tolerances.
A 500kΩ pot may actually measure 450KΩ or even 550KΩ and this is a difference you will hear. It’s the actual value and nothing else.
Yea , but centralabs definitely sound better .
Not quite. What you say is basically semantics ("sound" of pot vs sound of what it affects, becomes basically the same practical thing, even tho passive parts usually are not signal generators themselves, if they affect sound of a circuit, most would say that part has a sound. Also there is such thing as resistor noise, and many other passive parts can have differences in noise reception or rejection. Coincidentally, the original Centralab company that made the original parts was in my hometown on the street I grew up on. They also made the original vintage fender strat & tele switches (CRL). My dad would get tons of these centralab pots right from the factory back then, boxes and boxes of them. As for if they have "a sound" well I have not watched this video yet to listen, just saw the comment and knew resistors make differences in amp circuits (metal film vs carbon comp, etc) and from experience have learned that most every small part variation makes a difference in guitars and amps, some more than others, some very small, and some many cant hear at all or dont care the difference, but that doesnt mean they dont make a difference. Will listen and watch video later to see what I think of these pots in this instance, tho with all such tests, it is best to do the test yourself in person, videos and their variables only go so far, tho Joe is very good to be careful and consistent.
Yeah, but everything vintage and unobtainable sounds better according to “gear experts” and “vintage enthusiasts.”
It’s all nonsense. It’s an industry that makes money and that’s why the myths must remain.
I own vintage gear (effects and guitars) and it sounds good, that’s why I own it; but it’s no better than what can be made today to the same specifications. In fact, the best guitar I’ve ever played (and own) is a 2019 Fender Jazzmaster AO60s series. Age has nothing to do with it. There’s hit and miss in every production run. There’s plenty of dud vintage guitars out there.
I’m yet to hear from anyone that a modern equivalent of something is better than the vintage one. People will believe what they want to believe and when they’ve forked out a lot of money for it this is even more obvious.
This isn’t about collecting as that’s entirely another subject. This is only about the reality of what is and is not.
BTW, it isn’t semantics, it’s science.
@@Wolf_K Yes it is science in that there is a difference between materials and manufacturing methods of most any component...resistors, capacitors, transistors, IC's etc all of supposed "same" type (specs, part number, type, etc) which may or may not "sound" different, but will measure different outside detectable hearing. In that case the cheap new modern part is fine. But many so called "same" parts sound different, sometimes radically. I have found MANY differences between said components that no one ever talks about. Sometimes those diffs of sound can be measured. If you cant hear what others can, you either dont have good ears, dont care to, or dont care. Usually said differences can be measured, heard, or both. Those that can tell a diff and feel it matters can enjoy it if its worth it to them. If its really double blind controlled testing tho, if no difference is found then the vintage or whatever is not worth it to me. I prefer new over vintage unless only the vintage piece gives the preferred tone that modern cant. Guitar and music gear in general is a game of inches after a while. Little upgrades to optimize tone can give an old piece of gear a new lease on ones interest scale.
There is not much money in the music gear biz compared to other industries...peanuts really. It mostly caters to a typical young poor cheap musician creative dreamer demographic, which is not where predatory snake oil makers generally exist as it makes no sense. If you want to sell snake oil sell womens cosmetics or something, sell almost anything else but music gear to generally poor musicians.
If little upgrades like this do at least something positive they are worth the little bit to the player, the company will sell a few, but not get rich like a scam in the way mass consumer goods markets do. I find the gear market the most honest and straightforwards compared to others. Most gear generally delivers what is promised. If it doesnt, people find out quick and spread the word so if things dont do anything they wont sell, so there is little incentive to make snake oil parts.
There is so much vintage gear that cannot be made the same today, due to either economic realities, environmental regulations of chemicals, available materials, etc. I have tried many vintage and so called modern repros of tons of both guitar gear and pro audio, and in many situations (not all) it is impossible for modern gear to reproduce the sound of vintage gear, because no one can make certain components the same for the aforementioned reasons, and many pieces of gear's main tone relies on a few key components that cant be reproduced. That is science. I guess I should watch and listen to this guys video now and see if I can tell a diff, or if I might have one of these original vintage pots lying around already (which I might, as they were made here in my hometown on the street I live on and my dad knew guys at the company when they existed here, my dad did electronics decades ago and he got his parts from this place) I have some of his old stash left but have not looked at it in a while, I use new pots usually. But if these make a noticeable positive difference to me that is worth the cost I may just try one, as my dads stash is so old and dusty Im sure the pots will all crackle and not clean up no matter how much deoxit is sprayed in. I generally have passed on these guitar electronics trends (like bumblebee caps and special oil caps, etc) but now am getting the urge to hear if there is a real difference that is worth it. If not then its snake oil to me, but I have very fine ears that can tell different brand of opamps, caps, tubes, transformers, etc all of supposed same type, as well as new vs vintage, etc. If there is a real difference it is legit to experiment with to optimize if one can hear and cares about the finest details, which really is often where the true magic lies in most everything, as most things in life are of the average, ie center of bell curve. I and many others strive for those points more towards the extremes (usually to the good side, but good or bad, either side are more fun than accepting an average middle of the road guitar, gear music, gear, life, friends, spouse, etc) if one can do little things to optimize, that is more fun and interestings. Most anyone can and will be average without trying, that is by definition, it is science too. The average tho usually accept their lot and do not stray or desire much outside their mean mode or median
@@RocknJazzer
If you watch the video you will surely notice the KΩ differences listed on the screen in each set of pots. Since they are different nothing can come of his “test” other than they are different values and thus sound different.
Just bought 8 original pots ready for hybrid for $100 CAD... Cant wait to try them
There’s another option for vintage NOS centralabs WITH vintage bumble bee harnesses. completely Newly built with all centralab internals as well. Tyler Fitzgerald on reverb makes NOS harnesses, I have 5 sets and they MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
Yeah, there's a few people doing it - I believe Nostalgic do harnesses with NOS bumblebees too, from memory.
What I love most about your videos.
1. You communicate with your hands wonderfully along with impeccable diction and pronunciation to boast too
Btw...THANKYOU Joe Perkins for all the great research you do! I appreciate all your hard work! Rock on!
The Nostalgics are my favorite, but undecided on which taper would best suit my vintage 1965 “Frankenstein” Gibson SG special. Thanks
i put 2 of the nostalgics i had that extra cause were the wrong ones in my girlfriend's vibrator (i stepped on it and you'd think i stepped on a landmine) , and she loves it TOO`much. they're good for guitar too, but there are much better pots than these, and a lot cheaper.
I was surprised by how much difference I could hear. you talked of volume difference. The nostalgics didn't sound so much louder, as bigger. They were a little darker but also clearer. As you said, it was subtle and not noticeable in some of the clips but definitely noticeable in most,s especially when clean. Another entertaining video. I'm off to look through my vintage pot collection.
Bigger is a good word for it 👍
A burst sounds like a Tele on steroids...use 550k pots...brighter than 500k and that brightness gives the clarity, and pushes the EQ I to fat Telecaster territory
here is what is going on.....it deals with material science and electronics. First the obvious situation is the visual with the carbon tracks.....but what counts is the end of the track and the connector. There is much more surface area on the vintage as opposed to the modern CTS where the carbon tracks meet the metal as its a mechanical connection and with a crimp...plus the composition of the actual metal...think carbon content. SO this brings in the secondary aspect...and again material, as the backing insulator is of a common material in the era of the 50's & the early era of electronics compared to the CTS modern type insulator. WHY is this important.....and its an obvious visual if you understand electronics and definitions AND is one of the culprits of WHY you don't want a printed circuit board in a guitar amplifier with high voltages.....you are visually looking at the definition of a capacitor hidden in front of your face...2 conductors separated by an insulator & add energy which is the action of a guitar pickup as it produces a small voltage in what it does. The key is the small distances between the 3 solder lugs on the mechanism as they meet the carbon track......considering in the big picture that when the middle wiper meets the end lug on either side it becomes a direct connection and the pot itself then becomes transparent and doesn't count.....its only when there is a resistance relationship between the wiper and the ends lugs that the whole of the pot comes into play. So at different zones of travel within the sweep of the wiper in the mechanical action of the pot will involve resistance......aside for the copper wire involved & that resistance......factored in to the equation. So you have an action within the pot thats not visually obvious unless you can see it objectively. at one part of travel it can act as a treble bleed which in itself is misleading as its more of a BYPASS FILTER in some of the zone of travel in the sweep of the pot.......but then the composition of the metal solder lugs and mechanism could introduce a Bass control that affects a small bit of energy associated with LOW END & again in a portion of the sweep of the pots action....BUT introduce resistance to the grounding lug & actual ground due to the metal lugs being dirty. >>>>
VIPots sounded better imo. Throw some grovers on there. Nice Burst! 👍🏻
Centralabs do sound different and taper different in my experience. Closed I've found by FAR is VIPots
Like a race car, every little component adds up
Couldn't agree more 🙂
I missed so much those super nerdy videos from you Joe. I wonder if the differences we hear are due to the construction of the pots or just a matter of tollerance. Anyway, interesting topic.
You got it. It's the value. For the guitar signal 3 things can alter tone, resistance, capacitance, & inductance. The latter 2 are unmeasurable in potentiometer, so we're left with resistance. Anything else is expectation bias or placebo. Taper will change the volume in relation to knob position but not tone as the "in series" and "to ground" ratio allway's stay's the same. Same with caps, it looks cool to have period correct but type has no effect on tone.
@@bradt.3555
Exactly. Most can’t see it like this which is a shame as this is exactly as it is.
To my ears Joe, the nostalgic sounded more defined and clearer, the vip sounded like they had a blanket over them. There is a big difference to me.
Yep - definitely more bite & clarity with the Nostalgics :-)
Treble bleed, 50s wiring, grease bucket and Srv pot (some fender specific I know), but having just installed a 335 harness with treble bleeds, can says that there’s many ways to retain clarity, have pleasant roll experience etc than being ultra nerdy with vintage specs. Electronics do make a huge difference, wish I had your determination to unearth every last historic detail.
You might call it determination; I call it an illness :P heh
Damnit ! I literally just installed VIPots 2 days ago...
Now where is my friggin credit card ???
Just bought two 500k linear's from Nostalgic to go into my Eastman SB59. I have linear pots in it now for volume and can't understand why anyone would prefer audio taper in that position. I find you can use nearly the whole range of the pot and the treble response remains intact better then any other option. I find audio taper pots very on/off, need to have a treble bleed and all around less useful and don't sound nearly as good.
Some people prefer the difference for more tonal options, I have a strat with a treble bleed but another without for different songs
Great to hear Chris :-) I think pot taper doesn't matter if it's what you're used to - I'm struggling with the linear taper a bit with these, but I think that's just because literally every other pot in every guitar I own is log!
You rock kind sir!
👋✌🍻👍👍👍
Those Faber bridges have really shot up in price, especially the abrm's.
If we are still around I would like hear this same guitar after 5 years of use. All guitars have a peak, plateau and... yes a decay or sunset. I found the Central Lab warmer and fuller sound to my ear.
I'm trying to figure out if that Faber bridge will fit on my Tokai Love Rock, which is modelled on a 59' LP. Would anyone here know?
They make a few different sizes, including for import guitars....email Faber and ask; they're great at advice!
I agree , Here is what I noticed with ANY older pot i have dis assembled for cleaning. The carbon resistive element is all carbon. It is not on a backer plate of copper or brass and is twice as thick. You can see this in the comparison shot in the video with the CTS With that said , what do the VIP pots look like inside? Are they solid carbon trackers ?
Haven't taken the VIPots apart to look - though I'm assuming they're similar to the standard CTS. Couldn't swear to it though!!
What is so different about the Centralab pots? the carbon track is thicker but how do they sound different and change the tone? The Nostalgic hybrid pots are a smaller version of the old vintage centralab pots?
In theory (though some may argue) anything the signal passes through has the potential to change the tone - hence why you get Eric J talking about gold vs. silver jack connectors, etc. Not necessarily better or worse; just different. These Nostalgic pots are genuine vintage Centralab internals, but housed in CTS enclosures - so everything the audio touches is Centralab; the mechanicals are CTS.
Definitely a difference, I prefer the Nos
Hi Joe, do you know if I can get the pots as push pulls? T.y.
I don't know 100%, but I'd wager almost certainly not - drop Taylor an email though, he might be able to make you some.
This is the only channel where I am normal. In real life I'm a nerd about these things, but on here it's ok!
Haha - you're always welcome nerd out here Steve!!
Are the Nostalgic's staying in your Paul ?
We'll see - I love how they sound; but the linear taper is proving difficult when all my other guitars use log!
@@JoePerkinsMusic well what are you going to put in the Les Paul that is Log? just the old Gibson's??
@@BradRocker Putting the VIPots back in would be the easiest; though another set of Nostalgic Centralab pots with log tapers could be a fun option too...!
@@JoePerkinsMusic Do the log pots give you a better "roll-back" to the volume?
@@BradRocker It just needs less physical movement to achieve the same effect - 8 on log is similar to about 5 on linear...but it's just what you get used to!
Vid De Pa is an authority on vintage guitar not Joe B
There's various 'authorities' - not jus the one :-)
Why not just put in 550k pots?
The VIPots in this video are 550k’s - the exact values are put on screen at the start of the playing 👍
I noticed your higher values were on the vol pots . And i remembered i saw this on a forum...
I would put the high ones in the tone position. Remember, the tone pot resistance is highest at 10 and the volume pot resistance is highest at 0. Putting the lower value in the volume will give you a less sensitive sweep. And putting the high value in the tone will give you more treble at 10.
It was actually Taylor at Nostalgic who made up this loom for me. The main reason he/we used the higher values for the volume pots in this video was to mimic older guitars with these sorts of pots in them...the volume controls get much more use over time, which wears their carbon tracks and the resistance tends to go up. So it was for 'modern-historic accuracy' as much as anything else. 👍
I can't seem to find these Nostalgic pots online.. is there any other place I can get them other than the Reverb shop?
If you click the link in the description, and change the 'Ships To' filter to Everywhere, there's a few listings for pots & harnesses - best drop Tyler a message to get a quote for shipping to your country. He does have a website in the works but it's not quite ready just yet - though I've heard it will be soon!
@@JoePerkinsMusic Thanks Joe :)
*Taylor (I was clearly needing more coffee when I wrote that last comment!!) Hah
For our friends overseas, we've now added an international shipping flat rate for our harnesses on Reverb. Hopefully that will let you see our listings! Additionally, we're launching our site at nostalgicguitars.com. It's currently live; however, purchases are temporarily turned off through the website as we try and work out the kinks of the new site.
I have been upgrading a 2018 Les Paul Tribute since I bought it on sale in 2019 for $889 cad ($671 usd). I never buy gear unless I can get a deal (perhaps strings & picks). So far I have a set of Fishman Fluence Modern pickups I picked up shortly after the guitar in early 2020. I changed all the hardware on the past holiday weekend, by purchasing a Faber Tonelock Master Kit, on sale 20% off. I was truly shocked at the quality of the Faber gear. It was outstanding, finished to a level of craftsmanship that made Gibson hardware look like a product that was conceived on toiletpaper, using scrap metal, cast in empty disposable beer cup, with coarse sand, without removing any of the casting defects.
FABER is awesome.
Did I mention that the Faber rep expedited the whole purchasing and shipping process, on a holiday Monday at 07:30am, and I paid no taxes or duty. He is fantastic, and the ABR bridge, aluminum tail piece, and locking tuners are beyond what was advertised. Totally worth the money.