Everything makes a difference in the sound, even the wiring. CTS 250k pots are often used, but 500k pots are sometimes used (typical in Telecasters) and will change the sound. For single coil guitars like my Strat, the pot resistance should be 250K Ohm. The volume pot should be audio taper (also called logarithmic) and the tone pots should be linear taper. You can raise the value of the pots to 500K, but this will make the guitar a bit brighter, which you don't usually want on a Stratocaster (especially with a maple fretboard - which is brighter sounding).
You can see different capacitors in the picture above, and I tend to like .047 or a .064. Most guitars and basses with passive pickups use between .01 and .1MFD (Microfarad) tone capacitors (caps) with .02 (or .022) and .05 (or .047) being the most common choices. Larger capacitors will have lower cutoff frequency and sound darker in the bass setting because a wider range of frequencies is being reduced. Smaller capacitors will have a higher cutoff frequency and sound brighter in the bass setting because only the ultra high frequencies are cut. Strats often use a .022. Experiementation is the only way that you can find what works for your tastes in combination with your guitar.
Lastly, you might notice and unusual volume pot in the picture. This is a push/pull switch that allows the neck and bridge pickups to be mixed.
1 comment:
I'm interested in building my own guitar, for the cost effective side of it, thing like cheaper necks and bodies available online, but getting all the wiring and electronics seems a bit difficult, do you get all the electronics together or buy each bit seperately? Either way, and advice appreaciated.
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