Learn how to choose between 250K and 500K Pots now!
We frequently get asked about pot values when a customer orders one of our Prewired Telecaster Control Plates or Prewired Pickguards. Pot value has a significant impact on your instrument’s final tone; it’s essential to choose wisely. We mainly get asked how to choose between 250K pots and 500K pots. Let’s dig in!
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250K VS. 500K – What To Choose?
When choosing between 250K and 500K pots, there is no concrete rule (more on this later), but here’s a good rule of thumb:
- Single Coil pickups sound best on 250K pots (think Strat or Tele pickups)
- Humbuckers and stronger pickups sound best on 500K pots
- 300K pots do an excellent job of filling the gap between 250K and 500K.
It’s important to know that the above example is not a set-in-stone rule. For example our Steel Pole 43’s are available in both Strat and Tele options and sound best on a 500K volume pot. Our Twangmaster and Sunbucker are both humbuckers, but sounds best on 250K.
The Theory Behind Pot Selection
The pot itself dampens high frequencies from your pickups’ signal. It does this by adding a short across your pickup’s signal. Lower resistance pots, like 250K, will dampen more high frequencies off of your signal than a 500K pot will. If you want to know more about how pots work, check out our in-depth article on the subject!
If you were to connect your pickups directly to the output jack, you would notice your tone is louder and brighter. Most instrument manufacturers pick the pot value that makes the instrument sound the best.
A 500K pot provides the most resistance, so high frequencies from your signal are not bled to ground as easily as a 250K pot. Similarly, the 250K pot contributes less resistance and thus bleeds more high frequencies to ground.
But wait: variable resistance is a good thing! Traditional Humbuckers can sound dark and muddy through a 250K pot, and Single Coil Strat or Tele Pickups can sound shrill and “crispy” through a 500K pot. By choosing the correct pot value, we tailor our electronics to the pickup’s true voicing.
This is true for many reasons: you may want your single-coil pickups to sound brighter in the first place. Or, you may have a dark-sounding guitar, and you want to compensate by having brighter sounding pickups. In either case, wiring your pickups through a 300K or 500K pot will most likely help you achieve that goal.
WHICH POTS TO CHANGE?
When you choose between 250K or 500K pots, it’s important to remember that Volume Pots make the bulk of your tonal difference. Your tone pots certainly make a difference as well, but, if you wanted to make a quick and easy change, change your Volume pot first, and then listen.
Well, that’s really about it. It’s a pretty simple topic. The best way to know which pot value works best for you is to experiment! Grab a 250K, 300K, and 500K, and change out your volume pot to see what it does to the tone.
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I was just on a sight that available wiring harnesses. I noticed that some of these harnesses use 500k pots on volume and 250k on tone. What would be the purpose of that? I just trying to figure out how I should wire my lap steel. Your site says I’ve already posted this question. Actually all I had asked was how 250k pots used other than with bass guitar. I never mentioned the mixing of 500k and 250k pots. What would be the advantage of having a 500k vol and a 250k tone in the same harness?
I just bought a Fender Vintera Telecaster Deluxe…used.
It already has a Fralin Wide Range humbucker in the bridge position. I’m going to buy a Fralin WRHB for the neck and have it installed. What pots would work best ? I’m pretty sure it has the stock 250 K pots in it now.
Thanks so much.
Chuck Rawlinson
Hi there, what about an HS setup on a tele? Humbucker in bridge, sc neck. If in this case the humbucker sounds great and sc shrill, how do I solve that? 0.47pf or?
Hey Niclas, check out this diagram – you can use a 500K volume pot and a 500K resistor.
Does all of this apply to the volume as well as tone pots? Should the volume and tone pots always match?
Hey Sean, the Volume Pot will make the 90% of the tonal difference. So, if you’re on a budget, just change the Volume Pot. That said, changing the Tone Pot will make a slight difference (slightly brighter when changing to a 500K, a touch darker when changing to a 250K). It’s a great way to “fine-tune” your pot selection.
Thank you, I appreciate your concise explanation. This was so informative.
Great info! How about which value potentiometer would be best for a gold foil pickup installed on a resonator guitar? I just installed a vintage 1965 DeArmond gold foil pickup on the resonator cover of my resonator guitar and I am shopping for potentiometers. The pickup reads at 9.43, but I honestly don’t know if it is single or double coil. I know that’s not super helpful, but any information at all would be beyond helpful. (By the way, I have had Fralins in two of my other guitars and I love them so very much. Keep up the good work!)
I have an LP style guitar with HBs that split. Does a push/pull change from 500k to 250k to compensate for the SC splits or do they just run (in split mode) unredacted frequencies through the 500k pot?
Is the 250k/500k pot even a thing?
Hey Luke, since the switch and the pot are separate, you are stuck with whatever the pot value is. If you have a 500K Push Pull, you’ll have a 500K Pot when split.
Dimebag Darrel used to put bill Lawrence 500xl bridge humbuckers in the neck position….would the hotter pup in the neck position still produce the bassier tones just with a hotter output?
Good evening, I have owned a Fralin Blues SSH set for many years, I have used it with a traditional Fender Stratocaster wiring but I don’t know which potentiometers or which wiring to use to get the best out of single coils and humbuckers.
Franco
Hey Franco, check out this article here on the subject: How To Mix Single Coils and Humbuckers
I just purchased a set of pearley gates pickups for my Squire which are humbucker type pickups and I want to know which would be the best size pots for them. Also, do you make a pre-wire kit that would work with them w/5 way switch.
I’d like your opinion on the differences between volume pot values vs pickup windings vs pickup magnets. I have 2 Les Paul’s; one w a 498 in the bridge and a 490 in the neck the other is a Studio lite w BB pro’s. The 498 (A5 mag) sounds ice picky and shrill as does the BB pro (A5 mag) but to a lesser extent. But when I run my HSS Fender mahogany strat equipped w a 250k pot through the same rig I get a really sweet tone from the HB. I’m not sure if the HB in the strat is a Diamonback (A2) or a DH-2 Diamondback (A5). Seems to me that swapping out the 500k pot with a 300 in both LP’s to see if that tames it down a bit should be the first thing to try before swapping out magnets and / or going with a different pickup with more or less windings. Your thoughts?
I’d like to install a set of your Big Single pickups in an H-S-H routed guitar. I was going to put your blues special in the middle. Any thoughts on pots for this setup?
Hey Brian, I’d go with the Big Single 42 for the Neck and Bridge, and 250K pots on the entire guitar. Otherwise, if you wanted the Big Single 43, you can simply use 500K, but your middle might be a touch “crispy” sounding.
I have a jazzmaster with a JM sized P90 in the bridge and a fairly hot neck jazzmaster pickup. The tone circuit has been disabled at this time. wondering what you might recommend for this combo?
I want to switch out all three of my Fender Dual-coil Ceramic Noiseless single-coil pickups for steel pole 43’s. Im a bit confused on what pots I need to use. 250k or 500k? Im looking for a sound that is less bright.
I have a Strat type guitar with SSH configuration.
And I like to change the pickups by replacing the traditional single coils by replacing them for hum canceling single coil pickups (the ones the look like single coil but function as a humbucker).
Wich pots should I choose for those pickups + the traditional humbucker on the bridge?
Thanks
Hey Nicolas, if you’re going with our Split Blades, we have 4 outputs to choose so you can make sure that either 250K or 500K will work perfectly. If you wanted a Traditional Humbucker in the Bridge, I’d recommend 500K pots and select our Blues Output Split Blade Neck & Middle. This would require a 500K volume pot. This way, you’ll have perfect balance in all positions.
I have a question: I plan to split the coils on my 2 humbucker guitar by replacing the single tone pot with a push/pull. My question is what value push/pull you recommend for this mod since the guitar will sometimes be in a SS configuration with the switch engaged and HH with it off?
Thanks.
I have a grease bucket on my yosimite
Pickups
They sound chirpy bright
And extremely high pitched
I want a warmer low end on my tail bridge pickup
What can I do
The tone mob just rolls off some of the highs
I need a twang sound not a trebly sound on the bridge pup
And what pot is to choose for a HSS set?
It really depends! Most pots are 250K. But, you can choose 300K or even 500K if you have darker-sounding single coils.
I have developed a simple concept the I call the rule of 40. Just multiply the DC resistance of your pickup by 40 to see what pot value is best for that pickup. You can try it with the number 35 if you want a little less bright sound. This concept really works and takes a lot of complex impedance ratio theory out of what should be a simple issue to solve.
Since the pot value is also in parallel with the amplifier input impedance, typically 1 Meg ohm, then a 250K pot looks like a 200K ohm load along with the guitar cable capacitance that’s is near 30 pf per foot.
Dear fralin Picups
One of my customers , need to have a lower output on his p90 lundgren Picups. It’s because he’s sound engineer
On live gigs, says that there is to much difference in the output between his vintage guitars and the new handmade sose1678# guitar .
Can you please help me with this problem?
Henrik liep , tech and owner of liep handmade guitars. Denmark.
Thank you very much ?