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Post subject: Best Quality Guitar Pots, Caps, and Switches
Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 10:32 am
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I'm putting my order together finally for upgrading my strat. I want to make sure I buy the best quality pots and switches mainly. Is there any brand I should stick to? I was looking at using http://store.guitarfetish.com/electronics.html as they have pots and an active preamp that I may get also. But I wanted to make sure I'm getting the best. Is there any particular brand that makes high quality switches? I need a 5 way and a 2 way.

Thanks


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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 10:55 am
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CTS Pots
Switchcraft Switches

Capacitors are more of a personal thing.

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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 11:32 am
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+1 on CTS pots, switchcraft switches and cord jacks. :)

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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 12:36 pm
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I like GFS stuff but wouldn't consider most of what they sell to be "best quality".

They're cheap, and that's good sometimes, but check out www.angela.com for the really good stuff.

www.stewmac.com is another website you probably already know about.


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Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:18 pm
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CTS pots are great,forget the fact that they are now being blamed for producing the faulty part responsible for the Toyota recall,according to a newspaper article I read today.

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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 2:53 pm
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have you found good pots ?

Because I'm looking for. CTS are not so good.

I bought some CTS Fender part 099-083-0000 and some 250 k mesure 220K and a 500K ( fender 099-0834-0000) mesure 419k.

I test a lot at my dealer and I found 3 good ( I test about 10 ) one was open resistance an another the shaft was "jammed").

I just send an e-mail to fender, waiting the answer.


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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 9:15 am
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CAFeathers wrote:
CTS Pots
Switchcraft Switches

Capacitors are more of a personal thing.


+1 and Sprague for the caps.

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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 9:22 am
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A lot of the stuff at GFS is geared towards import guitars. Not that theres anything wrong with that, I'm just saying in case you are looking to improve an MIA or something. The electronics stuff from there should be fine, regardless, but if you're looking at bridges or anything, make sure to read the descriptions carefully and ask questions to make sure the sizing is right for your particular guitar.

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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 2:10 pm
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You have some good advise here. The next time you're putting new pots in a Les Paul order up a set of the PRS pots. PRS has a very strict criteria when they outsource for parts and their pots are very smooth feeling they sound great in a Gibson. They're custom made by CTS with a custom taper and tight tolerances. Pricey but worth it.

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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 5:25 pm
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$28 !?!? for a pot who look not better than the CTS I have trouble with !

Are you shure about their quality BMW-KTM ? You try it and you mesure it ?

I don't want to make you mad but I need to be sure.

These days I 'm not sure if the things are good just because they where good last year


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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 6:02 pm
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$28? Is that each?

Somebody's ripping you off unless you mean for a pair. I think I paid around $15 each for mine, which is already quite high. That was about a year and a half ago at Long & McQuade. They are significantly better feeling and sounding than the Gibson pots they replaced. I did not put my meter to them, I just installed them. They feel smoother action than the Gibson pots and the taper feels and sounds much more useful. More linear sounding. There's no point in the rotation at which it seems like every thing is happening all at once while other spots seem dead, like how stock Gibson pots behave. I'm sure that the numerical value of the taper is not at all linear but the way its sounds to the ear is much more linear.

Since they are basically a CTS pot made to PRS custom specs I sincerely doubt there is a 250KΩ version so trying to find a set for a typical Strat is likely not possible.

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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 3:51 am
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$28 us is the price at PRS on the web. You talk about those pots ! So why you talk about PRS pots if you never use them ? You hear something about these pots ?

All CTS pot I buy, I paid aroud $8 cnd , Almost Fender or Dimarzio

The problems I talk about CTS ( 9 feb 2010 16:53 ) is not concerning the feeling when you turn them.

I'm talking the resistance of the pot. Is it a real 250 K ? Or 500k ?

Many times it seem they are not.

This meen that you don't have the sound or the best tone you must have from your pickups if the pots have not the good value in ohms ( resistance)

That's what I'm talking about.

If the 250 k pot ( you think you buy ) is a real 200k, you loose high end and volume.

If it more than 250k you have more high and more volume.


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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 9:19 am
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stratele52 wrote:
You talk about those pots ! So why you talk about PRS pots if you never use them ? You hear something about these pots ?


If you will read my post again you will see I indicated that I installed PRS pots in my Les Paul and that I like them for subjective reasons including how they feel, not only how they feel.

You will also see I did not measure them with my meter and that I said it was doubtful they came in a 250KΩ version. (The PRS pots are 500KΩ)

The purpose of my original post was to say that there was already enough good info posted concerning Strat pots (CTS) and that for future reference if anyone wishes to replace their Gibson pots in their Gibson guitars that the PRS pots are a choice worth considering.

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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 10:02 am
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Sorry BMW-KTW,

You are right .


It's not easy for me to read and understand english.


When I'll go to Long and McQuade at Ottawa I will look for those pots. I fix guitars, so sometimes I need 500k too


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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 11:20 am
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No problem.
Good luck.
Hope you find some for less than $28 each.

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