Guitar Tone/Volume Controls

When your controls become erratic and scratchy it may be possible to clean them but most likely they should be replaced. You have choices, just make sure when you purchase new controls to check the shaft because your knobs may not fit the new ones. Also, in Marietta or Kennesaw Ga you can purchase a Volume pot from Bourns that has a physical resistance when you turn it.  This is great if you are like me and always hit the Volume control on your Stratocaster.  The higher resistance makes sure the knob doesn’t move by accident in the middle of a song.

Linear Taper –Having a linear taper means that when the dial is turned to 5, the resistance on the multimeter will be 250k, which is exactly half. The linear taper will increase as the dial is being turned up.

Audio Taper –The audio taper pots tend to produce a steeper increase, especially at the top end. For instance, when the dial is turned to 5, the value of resistance is going to be a lot less than half. The audio tapers can also be further divided into two types, modern and vintage. Modern audio tapers provide a 15% increase in resistance when the dial is at 5, while vintage audio tapers provide a 30% increase in resistance when the dial is at 5.

Push-Pull pots are a great way to achieve many different tones on the guitar. You can change the pickup in or out of phase and some pots have a “Boost” built into them.

If you have any questions, contact Rockit Guitar Repair.