Mod for volume knobs?
- Thread starter rockerll
- Start date
mightyboy88
Member
Volume knobs are potentiometers. Usually linear taped pots are used where the resistance of the potentiometer changes in a linear fashion as you roll down the knob. However, the changes in volume level to the human ear is not linear if a linear tapered pot is used, only an audio tapered pot will appear to vary "linearly" to a human ear.
If you switch to an audio tapered pot, you will find that as you turn down the volume knob the volume reduces more than a linear pot. However, you may also lose some treble and thats why people stick to linear tapered pots or do treble bleed mods to their audio tapered pots to counteract the treble loss when you roll down the volume knob.
You may notice no/little difference in volume if you are running distortion, this is because the volume knob actually controls more of the gain of the distortion rather than the overall volume when you run distortion. As you roll off even more volume you may even get a clean-like sound. This is normal and also useful as you can control have clean/crunchy/hi gain sounds at your fingertips by controlling the volume knob. Of course you would need a high quality, audio tapered volume knob to do so.
You can try the g pots tymusic, 7 dollars, made in japan audio tapered. Or the cts pots at sv guitars, 12 if im not wrong, also audio tapered
Hope that helps
If you switch to an audio tapered pot, you will find that as you turn down the volume knob the volume reduces more than a linear pot. However, you may also lose some treble and thats why people stick to linear tapered pots or do treble bleed mods to their audio tapered pots to counteract the treble loss when you roll down the volume knob.
You may notice no/little difference in volume if you are running distortion, this is because the volume knob actually controls more of the gain of the distortion rather than the overall volume when you run distortion. As you roll off even more volume you may even get a clean-like sound. This is normal and also useful as you can control have clean/crunchy/hi gain sounds at your fingertips by controlling the volume knob. Of course you would need a high quality, audio tapered volume knob to do so.
You can try the g pots tymusic, 7 dollars, made in japan audio tapered. Or the cts pots at sv guitars, 12 if im not wrong, also audio tapered
Hope that helps
subversion
Moderator
the function of a volume pot in a guitar is more of a variable resistor (well, it's one to begin with *duh*) than to hear a marked increase & decrease in volume. try this- set your guitar up with intense distortion & reduce your guitar volume by small decrements; you'll hear lesser distortion rather than a marked decrease in volume. we do not rely on the instrument's volume pot for the overall volume settings, we adjust volume at the amplifier.
CyanideJunkie
New member
Sounds like it's just a cheap pot with a poor taper. Swapping it out for a similarly spec-ed CTS pot should end your worries.
subversion
Moderator
try replacing with other pots, GOTOH would be a good start.
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