Hi all. Looking through some old electronics parts in my basement, I found some rather large potentiometers labeled "CTS USA", etc. After some searching, it seems to me that these were used on Fender guitars -- and judging from the serial number they were made in 1970. I don't claim to be an expert on vintage guitar parts, so I thought I would ask the people that are. Are these rare or in demand (or, worth not throwing away)? Does anybody have any more info on these?


Thanks for the help!

I think it meet Chicago Telephone Supply and I read that Fender used mostly Stackpole brand pots in the 1950's, and CTS brand pots in the 1960's. These pots are date coded, and can help verify the authenticity and year of an instrument. The manufacturer code for CTS is 137 (or 304 for Stackpole), so this number should be stamped on the pot somewhere. Following this number is the date code in YWW or YYWW format. The "Y" or "YY" is the last digit(s) of the year, and the WW is the week. In the 1950's, YWW date format was used. For example, "137504" would be a CTS pot made in the 4th week of 1955. A code of "1376344" would be a CTS pot made in the 44th week of 1963.
I would put on them Ebay I think it would be better than the trash. If you dont want them I wolud take them . Good luck

What are their value?

How many do you have?

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Just before anyone gets too excited.

They cost $5 or so new any day of the week. I'd be asking what the part number how many ohms they are and what taper, these could be any old part. Also knowing in advance they have been tested in an circuit helps as sitting in a draw doesn't mean they are impervious to oxidization. Probably doing far better than a daily player after that long however. Heh. You can clean or pull original pots apart and get them repaired if they aren't too far gone.

There are two numbers on them:

1377035
and below that:
VC458-1

Thanks guys for all the help. Thanks goodinbed for the explanation of the codes -- that helps shed some light on things.

That's what I meant when I asked about their "value." I wasn't asking about their market worth.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.