Any different audio taper options to Alphas?

[rp]

The Alpha pot on my Lightning clone MV comes up a bit too quick for me, wish I had a little more control from 0 to 10 o'clock. Anyone have experience with the CTS, West Labs (Claro?), pec, expensive Allesandro, or anything else? Wouldn't mind finding a more gradual audio taper for my 5E3 too.

I couldn't care about mil spec / super smooth and money's too tight right now to just buy them all.

I'm putting in an order with AES and I will spring for one of these if someone tells me it's just what I'm looking for:

Potentiometers by Alessandro for Amps
Alessandro's military spec, carbon potentiometers have a smoothness that sets them apart from low end potentiometers, with a custom developed taper that is uniform from 0 to 10.

Thanks,

[David Root]

Just buy the regular 2W PEC pots for $9.95. Alessandro's prices are voodoo BS.

Maybe his have a custom taper, but is that worth THAT much more? Not for me, and I have been using PEC pots for a few years now.

[rp]

Just buy the regular 2W PEC pots for $9.95. Alessandro's prices are voodoo BS.

Maybe his have a custom taper, but is that worth THAT much more? Not for me, and I have been using PEC pots for a few years now.

How does it compare to the Alpha / Mouser, any more more gradual at the start?

[iknowjohnny]

I too found alphas had a taper that didn't work well for the typical positions/value/taper. So i had to go thru my parts drawer and try a few old pots till i found ones with good tapers. On the latest amp i tried Bourns (sp?) and every position's taper was perfect. Only problem is I want some push/pulls and bourns doesn't have what i need. otherwise i will use them for now on.

[rp]

I too found alphas had a taper that didn't work well for the typical positions/value/taper. So i had to go thru my parts drawer and try a few old pots till i found ones with good tapers. On the latest amp i tried Bourns (sp?) and every position's taper was perfect. Only problem is I want some push/pulls and bourns doesn't have what i need. otherwise i will use them for now on.

I'll do the parts drawer tonight and see what I find, I just didn't want any stinky old parts in my shinny new amp.

Which Bourns? PDB24 series, Mouser pg 695? What's Bourns got against 1Meg? And check out the 2 models with 500,000 hrs rotational life - that a dang whole lot of knob fiddlin'.

[iknowjohnny]

These, (bottom link) tho i didn't buy them there. I think i got em at tubesandmore, but I ordered from a few different places to get all the parts so maybe not. But those are the ones in any case. Not hi end quality, but a little better than alphas and like i said, the right taper. I really don't get those alpha....bottom of the barrel quality and horrid tapers. What are they so popular?

http://www.apexjr.com/Bourns.htm

[flood]

These, (bottom link) tho i didn't buy them there. I think i got em at tubesandmore, but I ordered from a few different places to get all the parts so maybe not. But those are the ones in any case. Not hi end quality, but a little better than alphas and like i said, the right taper. I really don't get those alpha....bottom of the barrel quality and horrid tapers. What are they so popular?

http://www.apexjr.com/Bourns.htm

hmmm... you've re-planted a seed of doubt, you have...

i was all set to go ahead with my order of alpha pots from small bear ($ .90/about 100 pcs) since i need some other stuff from them too, like the smaller alpha pots for stompers. i had planned to buy 100 mixed values from apex jr. earlier, but the fact that i live in india makes all of this rather uncomfortable. ordering from small bear, apex jr, and 4site will set me back about $150 in shipping, and probably some more for customs clearance.

so i'm truly confused now. :-/

[M Fowler]

Lately I have been getting my Alpha and CTS pots from mojo and they are great pots.

Mark

[flood]

So I did the math and apex jr, as much as I would love to order from him, works out about $150 more expensive. I'm currently just doing this for myself and don't have customers or orders yet; when I'm working with those quantities then the additional order and shipping wouldn't be that big a problem anymore. I may not even find buyers for these 6 amps so I don't want to spend more than I already am.

Also, considering that a lot of people use alpha pots without a problem, I should be ok fir now. I just want to get these 6 amps And a couple of stompers done with at the moment. For the next lot, bourns it is.

[FYL]

Just buy the regular 2W PEC pots for $9.95. Alessandro's prices are voodoo BS.

Maybe his have a custom taper, but is that worth THAT much more? Not for me, and I have been using PEC pots for a few years now.

Alessandro pots are just rebranded PEC's. Same reference, same taper, same everything except for the price and an added Alessandro stamping on the casing...

[Ken Moon]

I bought a couple of the Alessandro pots, I think it was from AES.

The ones I got had a shorter shaft than the typical PEC or Clarostat pots I'd been buying (RV4/53C3), like this one:

[img:335:367]http://www.intertexelectronics.com/images/53C3.jpg[/img]

Withe the PECs and Clarostats, I put 1 flat washer and 2 of the big lockwashers behind the front panel for each pot - just enough to back the pot off the panel so the locking tab doesn't have to be bent over, and I don't have to drill an extra hole for it.

If I do the same technique with the Alessandros, there's barely enough shaft sticking through the faceplate to get a setscrew-style knob on.

just fyi...

[billyz]

Also, Check out the new PEC 1 watt pots at Tubes n more or CE, Antique Electronics. they are smaller diameter like CTS . You would have to check and see if you can solder to the back though. The Allesandro's have a plated brass back so you can. Some of the 1 watt PEC are plated brass some are stainless Steel, very hard to solder to. if that is even an issue.

[Furtz]

Ahoy All. I'm new to this group as well.
I had a bunch of linear PEC pots that I have used successfully for volume ctrls by putting a resistor between the sweeper and the grounded leg. usually a resistor of about 1/4 value of the pot works well for me. Might be worth experimenting with different resistors.

[rp]

These, (bottom link) tho i didn't buy them there. I think i got em at tubesandmore, but I ordered from a few different places to get all the parts so maybe not. But those are the ones in any case. Not hi end quality, but a little better than alphas and like i said, the right taper. I really don't get those alpha....bottom of the barrel quality and horrid tapers. What are they so popular?

http://www.apexjr.com/Bourns.htm

iknowjohnny, thanks for the link, I'm sending them an order. I just got 2 cts push-pulls from Mojo and they were $20, I could have gotten 13 from apex.

The Alphas are popular cause they are so easy to source, and I'm guessing this is because they must be crazy cheap from the factory so all the dealers push them. They are reliable and feel smooth enough, even though they look so cheap. Nice to now have an alternative. Also, looks like there's no real choice but to try for myself one of the Pecs and a West Labs to and see what they're like.

[iknowjohnny]

They are reliable and feel smooth enough, even though they look so cheap.

I had several go bad too soon after several solderings. granted, you shouldn't need to solder to them more than once, but in experimenting with builds i often resolder several times to try different things and alphas are the only ones that i've had go bad as quickly. Bourns are cheap too, but not that bad, at last not for me so far. But the taper is what i really like best. I can't even use the alpha due to the taper in some positions.