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Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → JB sig guitars: vol and tone pot values??? (conflicting information)
The original JB Gibson sig, as stated on Gibson's site, is supposed to come with 300K LINEAR vol pots, and 500K non-linear (audio) tone pots. However, some people who own the guitars report 500K in all positions...???
For the owners here, Gibson or Epi, of the JB sigs.... what is the value on your vol and tone pots? And are they linear and audio as described by Gibson?
I think 300k is standard for newer gibsons vol controls. With tone controls, I'm unsure how much k makes a difference because the cap is what matters. I mean nobody would put a 1meg pot on a tone control that I've ever heard of.
The 300k is a good move for a JB Gibson sig because Joe has the "wall of dull" and doesn't do very bright tones. A 500k would make the tone from the pickups brighter.
I'm thinking of trying a 300K myself.... I love the JB/EJ "dull" (LOL) tones.... Jeff Beck could fit in there as well...
The complaint about the 300K pots is, they are LINEAR, not audio. Apparently no one makes a 300K audio LONG SHAFT pot... so the Gibsons (and everybodys) are linear, which, as a rule, are a no-no for volumes.... reports of them "not cleaning up well with cranked tube amps, to control the overdrive from the guitar" SUPPOSEDLY..... ???
I've ordered a 300K linear (a Gibson, actually), that I am going to try in my PRS with Dave Grissom pickups (another guy with very warm/fat/thick tone), to try to knock down the highs a tad...
...which brings up another subject: all the fx JB goes thru, long runs from his amps' fx loops to delays and rotospheres, multi-amp setups, there's NO WAY his guitar signal isn't SERIOUSLY "dulled down" by the time it reaches the amps... I have never once seen him mention the use of buffers anywhere, through all the years... (not saying it's a bad thing, guys used coily cables back in the day to achieve the same thing).....
My studio came with 300k volume pots, one of which didn't work turn correctly on arrival. So I used the opportunity to replace all my pots with CTS 500k audio taper ones, repo bumlebee's, 50's wiring and removed the metal plate.
I prefer it now but as others have said I can see why 300k pots could work better for a Joe sound.
From memory I'm sure JB said something on the Sounds and Styles DVD about not using true bypass etc. as he preferred the loss of signal along the chain? I may be wrong though as it is a very long time since I watched it
As an aside I've also noticed that when roadies test JB's rig at live events, the front of house sound is a lot brighter than you may expect. However I presume they just dime all four knobs?
Jeff Beck could fit in there as well...
The Duncan JB pickups are like 16k, and 4 conductor so they can be tapped... so that'd be an 8k single coil.
16k should be nice and dull with a less than 500k pot!
ruger9 wrote:Jeff Beck could fit in there as well...
The Duncan JB pickups are like 16k, and 4 conductor so they can be tapped... so that'd be an 8k single coil.
16k should be nice and dull with a less than 500k pot!
HA! I've been using the JB since '90 (the ORIGINAL JB, as the new ones don't sound the same), in my Charvel, my 80s metal guitar. ROCKS. It ain't gonna' clean up that well, tho....
NPB_EST.1979 wrote:ruger9 wrote:Jeff Beck could fit in there as well...
The Duncan JB pickups are like 16k, and 4 conductor so they can be tapped... so that'd be an 8k single coil.
16k should be nice and dull with a less than 500k pot!HA! I've been using the JB since '90 (the ORIGINAL JB, as the new ones don't sound the same), in my Charvel, my 80s metal guitar. ROCKS. It ain't gonna' clean up that well, tho....
Yes, "cleans" just blossom more with lower resistance. That's why the Bonamassa duncans are considered low output, and strat pickups are usually 6k, etc.
Well, I got a Gibson 300K linear, but the shaft is fatter than what is in my PRS.... I don't know if it will fit or not, not sure if the holes are large enough. If not, I ain't drilling. Not for a "trial". If they don't fit, I'll locate a standard 300k linear pot somewhere and try it...
The volume pot on my PRS McCarty goes up to like 12.... like too much. If I roll back to 8 it sounds like most pots on 10. 
Mine are all new, so the vol and tone are both CTS in my PRS SE w/DGT pickups. I had it wired like a DGT/McCarty, but found I never really used the coil splits... I picked up the guitar because I wanted a humbucker sound (like I would a Les Paul)
I'm finding I don't NEED a 300K vol pot, it seems to clean up pretty well.... I was just curious why the JBs had them, and he says he plays all his sigs stock, but I've also read reports of the sigs coming with 500K vol pots (altho not the ORIGINAL, custom shop sig... just all the others)
I've lived with these DGTs for a few years now, and I've never been married to them. Was thinking of trying a BB3/BB2 combo, or maybe the Whole Lotta' Humbuckers....
Gibson uses 500k audio taper in all the R8's and R9's.
original 50's les pauls were the same way.
I find that rewiring a Gibson 50's style wiring and getting
good oil filled caps will make a difference.
The complaint about the 300K pots is, they are LINEAR, not audio. Apparently no one makes a 300K audio LONG SHAFT pot...
No, no ,no! You guys don't get it. The reason for the linear pot is to be able to do quick staccato swells using your pinky on the volume knob. JB has been doing a lot of this lately. He's still no Phil Keaggy yet when it comes to swells, but he's getting there.
Keaggy doing swells back in the early 80's: (Go to YouTube) watch?v=5kUrT6fdYqY
Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → JB sig guitars: vol and tone pot values??? (conflicting information)
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