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Sunburst tone pot


Snoozingcat

Question

Hi.  If I replaced my tone pot in my 1979 Hamer Sunburst with a 250k would this cut some of the top end?  It currently three 500k pots with a 0.015 cap on the tone pot.  I should add that all pots and cap look to have been replaced at some point.  Thanks. 

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As I understand it changing the tone pot to 250k will lower the midrange response and will give the effect of warming up the guitar a little more.   It's alot like using 500k pots on les pauls because they are warmer sounding guitars, but using 250k pots on the brighter sounding strats to warm them up a bit.

Even if the tone pot is on ten it should still have this effect.  This is the bit that some will argue about.  But if you have a 500k pot on ten, the signal is still connected thru 500k ohms to ground.  So with a 250k pot on ten, there is still 250k ohms going to ground.  So there is a difference even if on ten.

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Ah the Sustainblock syndrome, some just can't handle the sound it produces and you will fight with it. Don't change the pot out, just roll the tone off. If you change it out not only are you going to change the tone of the bridge but the tone of the neck pup. I tried the same thing, going with a 300K first then 250K and I just ended back at 500k where I started. The Sunburst is not a Les Paul, it is its own thing and you can't change it. 

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My 1980 Cboard sustainblock Special was soooo Bright...and in a rockin good way. Like a Tele on steroids. Loved it.

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You might try just changing the tone cap.  I really understand why Hamer used a .015 cap in their guitars, it really makes the whole range of the tone knob more usable. But it is a brighter sound in general, so I still prefer .022.

It's easier to change the tone cap than the pot.  Sometimes I take out the tone cap and solder in alligator clips with a very short wires.  Then clip in a bunch of different caps to see which one I like.  That way you can AB test very quickly.

Try a .022, .033 and .047.  These will get progressively warmer as the numbers get bigger.

I even hear some differences between caps of the same value. But that is another bone of contention on the web.

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13 hours ago, bubs_42 said:

Ah the Sustainblock syndrome, some just can't handle the sound it produces and you will fight with it. Don't change the pot out, just roll the tone off. If you change it out not only are you going to change the tone of the bridge but the tone of the neck pup. I tried the same thing, going with a 300K first then 250K and I just ended back at 500k where I started. The Sunburst is not a Les Paul, it is its own thing and you can't change it. 

Sez who? LOL

euro_conc.jpg

al-ep-4586-000-500k-500k-audio-pot-cts-c

^^^^^^^^   CTS offers stacks in 500/500K and 500/250K, btw

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Hi everyone,

I have a similar question:

If I

1) kept the 500K tone pot and changed the capacitor to something like a 0.022

or

2) changed the  tone pot to a 250k and maybe changed the cap as well,

3)changed the volume pot(s) to a 300K or 400K

would either action result in a different final result than just turning down the original tone pot to the point where i like it (usually at 3)?

Thanks in advance, I am ignorant when it comes to those things.

 

Regards,

Tobias

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Great question, not sure, but if you like your tone pot at 3 I would definitely change the tone cap and see if you like it better.  Seymour Duncan says to use a .047 cap.  That makes it pretty dark when you turn down the  tone knob.  Considering your setting at 3 I would definitely try a .022 and .033 and see what you like.

Here's an even better idea for great tone.   If you are using the 59/JB combo, those are pretty bright pickups because of the Alnico 5 magnets. Those pickups are pretty peaky with scooped mids. I hate them!  I have experimented and found that I like Alnico 4 in the neck and Alnico2 in the bridge.  I always hated those pickups, but now I think that the old Duncans wound by MJ sound great with those magnets swaps.  This magnet swap might be just what you are looking for if you think your guitar is too bright.  The magnets cost about $2.50 each.  The first time you do it, its a bit of a learning curve, but then its easy.

An old 59N wound by MJ with an A4 magnet is my favorite neck pickup ever, even over some  boutique offerings I have tried. The new Duncans are not as good even with the mag swap.  They just sound two dimensional by comparison.

Do some google searches on swapping magnets on 59N and the JB and you will see there are alot of people talking about this.  In fact they say George Lynch is using the JB with A2 and the Demartini pickup is close to JB A2 as well.  The 59N A4 combo is very highly regarded.

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Thanks a lot, texwest,

It is a 59/JB combo indeed (25th Anniversary Artist), I'll try to solder in a new cap and see how I like that.

Magnet swapping was next on my list anyway,

will have to wait until after the summer, though (too much work now).

Regards,

Tobias

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On 5/20/2018 at 10:42 PM, bubs_42 said:

Ah the Sustainblock syndrome, some just can't handle the sound it produces and you will fight with it. Don't change the pot out, just roll the tone off. If you change it out not only are you going to change the tone of the bridge but the tone of the neck pup. I tried the same thing, going with a 300K first then 250K and I just ended back at 500k where I started. The Sunburst is not a Les Paul, it is its own thing and you can't change it. 

I have to agree. Even though I asked the question, the whole reason I got into Hamers was that I was bored with Les Pauls.  You’re right, I’ll just stick to Rolling the tone off 🤣

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On 5/21/2018 at 2:05 AM, texwest said:

You might try just changing the tone cap.  I really understand why Hamer used a .015 cap in their guitars, it really makes the whole range of the tone knob more usable. But it is a brighter sound in general, so I still prefer .022.

It's easier to change the tone cap than the pot.  Sometimes I take out the tone cap and solder in alligator clips with a very short wires.  Then clip in a bunch of different caps to see which one I like.  That way you can AB test very quickly.

Try a .022, .033 and .047.  These will get progressively warmer as the numbers get bigger.

I even hear some differences between caps of the same value. But that is another bone of contention on the web.

Equally a great response and worth considering, especially when considering the fun factor in trying different caps 👍

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I'd just tac solder another .022 cap across the original cap, bringing it to .044 and see if it did what I wanted before disturbing anything.

Or tak solder a resistor (between 500k and 650k) across the two outer lugs of the pot and see if that worked.

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