Anybody using 500k pots with single coil pups?

rickbarclay

Inspired
Hello all and Happy New Year. I'm about to upgrade my Swampkaster pots. I know single coil teles usually take a 250 k control pot,
but I haven't read that you can't use a 500k pot with a single coil pickup. Before I pull the trigger and order, I figured I'd ask
around here as to what might be the plusses and minuses of using 500k pots in a tele-style guitar. Thanks for any and all insights.
I'm especially interested in hearing from forum members who have actually used 500k's in place of 250's.
 
In my experience - it cleans up nicer when you roll back the volume. Doesn't get as dark. Isn't as dark overall, actually.

I have two 500k pots in my tele.
 
I had 500 k pots in my Strat with HSS. It was way too bright so I had to add some resistors to darken it up a bit.
But the 250k pots were too dark and muddy for the humbucker.


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Higher-value pots generally result in a brighter guitar. I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to brighten the average Tele. :)
 
I'd be afraid that 500k's would be icepick-city on a Tele. Before putting my new pickups in my HSS Strat, I had 500k's for the volume because the stock humbucker was just mud. It made the Texas Specials a little bright but I just rolled back the tone knob. Now I've got 500k for my volume and bridge tone, and a 250k for my singles tone, and a resistor wired up for the singles to make them see a lower value. Works great.
 
I always use 500K pots, regardless of the pickup (except on actives, of course). They present less load to the pickup and so improve high-end response. Admittedly, with some pickups it can be a bit much, but you can always roll off high end with the onboard tone control(s) or amp tone stack or eq, etc. But, if the high end isn't there in the first place due to pickup loading, you can't get it back. That's why I don't use the 250K parts.
 
500k pots in my Tele 2 SD Antiquities, humbucker in the neck and single coil bridge. It sounds absolutely great.
 
Search for one of John Suhr's H-S-S ( or S-S-H ) wiring diagrams .... He has a way of wiring so that the Humbucker 'sees' 500,K and the singles 'see' 250,K ....

Everyone that's tried it in their own ( non-Suhr ) guitars seems VERY please w/ how it sounds ....

There's a version out there that "auto-splits" the bridge in Pos 2 ( or 4 ) ....

Good Luck !
 
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