Gibson Historic potentiometer....

[BIG Dave]

Just received four 500K Historic pots from Musicians Friend. They measure 552k, 542K, 540K and 532K. Pretty good!

[vibratoking]

Can I hav'em?

[Krinkle]

Hi All,

After reading and reading all the advice and assistance you all provide to people like me on this forum, especially in light of the fact that I will be starting my first Express build in a few weeks time, I am very glad to be making my first contribution to this forum.

I found this topic very interesting, especially since I own a 2010 R9 with these "new" Historic pots in it. I also have a 1995 LP Studio which I also wanted to upgrade the electronics to be of a similar spec, and so was in the same boat as many of those who have posted above, in that I wanted a pot with a similar taper to the Historic pot, but in a long shaft so it fits a USA Les Paul.

In the background to all the graph plotting that you guys have been doing on that Excel spreadsheet, I've collected data for 2, 500k Gibson Long shaft audio pots, one which measured 417K and one which measured 529K, and after plotting their points on the same graph, the curves are so close to the Historic pots graphs, that I can conclude that Gibson are using the same taper in these pots as they are in the Historic pots. In fact, it could very well even be the same wafer.

Hope this helps those of you looking for long shaft pots with this taper.

Regards,
Shaun

I know this is an old post but I thought I'd add something. I went out today and bought some of the long shaft Gibson pots, part# AT500. The taper is nothing like the historic. Oh well, I'll order up the historic pots and drill out my 94 LP.

[Nigel Tufnel]

Just received four 500K Historic pots from Musicians Friend. They measure 552k, 542K, 540K and 532K. Pretty good!

Had about the same luck last time I picked some up from CE. Worst I've had in my sampling of about 20 or so was a few that were in the 450k range. I kinda like those for bridge position tone controls on some guitars though, just mellow enough.

[Reeltarded]

I wonder if my dealer friend is on a B list at Gibson.

[randalp3000]

I wonder if my dealer friend is on a B list at Gibson.

If you're not GC, MF, or Sweatwater they are all B list to those guys.

Anyhoo I've been using these Bourns pots for awhile now and have been pretty happy. I like the taper and very low friction.
http://www.cedist.com/products/R-VB-SP

[Ang3lus]

the bourns are GREAT, been using their high-end ones in my strat, really expensive though, around 15$ per pot.

I think the RS pots are equivelant to the bourns, very awesome as well, love them in my warmoth les paul

[Mark]

I just checked the DR V pots that came in my secondhand R0 Les Paul.

To cut to the chase they are 30% taper pots. I can see now that the tone controls need a 10% taper as there is little change with 30% taper pots.

Agreed about the PRS pot it is a nice pot.

[iknowjohnny]

This interests me greatly, as i tend to ride the volume a lot so taper is important. But can anyone tell me how tight or loose these are? I have a '11 LP special and the stock pots are much tighter than i like. Are these historics the same or are they looser?

[randalp3000]

This interests me greatly, as i tend to ride the volume a lot so taper is important. But can anyone tell me how tight or loose these are? I have a '11 LP special and the stock pots are much tighter than i like. Are these historics the same or are they looser?

they feel on the tight side to me.

I switched to these cheap Bourns pots.
http://www.tubesandmore.com/products/R-VB-SP

loose/low resistance kinda like the PRS pots and I'm happy with the highs when turned down.

[geetarpicker]

If you wash them out with Deoxit they should have a much looser feel. Most pots these days have dampening grease to give them a liquid but tight feel. Either pull them apart and clean out the grease with a Q tip or spray them out with Deoxit to clean out the grease as best as you can. Most newer pots either grease the shafts or the plastic backing plate that ride on the inside of the can, but I can't remember which technique is used on the Gibson pots. The old Centralabs didn't originally have any grease dampening as far as I can tell, judging by some low hours originals I've seen. Anyway, if you clean out your new pots it will make a big difference...

[iknowjohnny]

Darn. I've tried the deox flush on other damped pots. Even taken them apart but i haven't been able to loosen them Some also have circlips so taking the shaft out is near impossible and i think that may be where the issue of then is.

Can anyone tell me if they are tighter than todays stock gibson pots? My '11 LP special's are tight but barely tolerable.

[iknowjohnny]

Well, decided to try one and they have them at the hollywood sam ash store so i grabbed one. It's tight, and for the same reason i suggested. The circlip causes it, and if you pull the shaft as you turn it it feels much looser. If you have one handy try that and you'll see. The circlip is one of those wire types, not that reusable type and i've tried removing them before and it doesn't work. I don't recall if it was impossible to put back on or what, and i think without it theres nothing holding the wiper against the trace. Been a while since i tried to loosen one of these like that so i may be off as to why, but i just remember it doesn't work. And i've done a lot of pot modding so i think you're pretty much stuck with it. I just hope the taper is worth it.

EDIT: flushed it with deox on high and it loosened up some. I think this is acceptable. Still gets much looser when you pull on the shaft while turning tho. But this will do.

[geetarpicker]

Typically you can remove and reinstall those wire clips that hold the shafts in place. It has been a while since I put the historic pots in my R7 but if my memory is correct I did pull the shafts to clean them out. I checked very closely with a magnifying glass and the wire clips look a little scared up on the historic pots I put in my R7 which I'm pretty sure is from the jewelers screw driver and needle nose pliers I used to remove and reform the clips to reinstall. The clips move a little bit like they are a tiny bit loose now, but they have stayed in place without issue for a few years now. I've also taken apart original 50s Centralabs and even a set of dual concentric pots that were in a '61 Fender Jazz bass to repair and had good luck. I guess I'm brave or a little stupid (ha!) with tearing into these things. That said, the historic pots in my R7 are now easy enough to turn that I can put my hand on it's side and ramp up or down both volumes in one swipe, or both tones in one motion. That is with hat style knobs, which take easy to turn pots for this ease of use. I like to work the knobs quickly so having them turn like butter is essential for me.

[iknowjohnny]

Well, it's in but i really don't notice any difference. And considering it looks exactly like the 500k tone pot in my 2011 LP special (i used the tone pot for volume, as i hate the 300k lin stock volume) i can't help but wonder if they are using the same pots for 500k positions in all gibsons past a certain price range.