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Which new pots most like a vintage centralab?

ChevChelios

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
774
No, that means turn the pot to volume 0. If you use a multimeter and measure the kOhms, you'll see that it reads 0 when the "volume" is turned all the way down, and max when turned to 11 (or 10) :salude
 

buyusfear

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Messages
2,951
So far I've been pretty impressed with them. The variance in resistance has been well within the 15% tolerance and allowed me to custom sort a set for a recent build I did and better balance the neck and bridge pup for the customer. So far, he's been quite happy with them since we swapped 'em in.

Aside from the taper, which is great if you're looking for the steep logarithmic fall off, the torque of the pot feels just like vintage pots; not too tight and not too loose. A concern I had knowing Bournes was the manufacturer; who typically makes excellent pots, just quite effortless turning pots. These are clearly spec'd differently.

My only gripe with them is with the terminals length, they could have been a few mm taller so as to allow for easier, vintage style, bending of the terminal back onto the casing.

vi-pots-big-buy2_orig.jpg


jl-goldtop-reunion-blues-bag01_orig.jpg
 

TM1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Messages
8,349
I bought 2 sets of VIPs. They are pretty good, similar to the Dr. Vintage ones I had. I did have one VIP end up being no good and contacted them about it. They told me to just buy another one so I put the Dr. V back in. I don't really like having 2 different vol pots, but the cost of one with shipping is pretty steep. I read that it is best to turn the pots to 10 before soldering. I did have a Dr.V pot fail of years of playing and pick up swaps - he sent me 2 new ones in the mail without me even asking. Great customer service right there!

Yeah, well Dr. V is out of business too..
If you are Not use to soldering, then take it to someone. I solder at least 5-6 days a week. I use a Weller WLC100 Soldering Station with the temp setting on "8" to solder pots. I've never fried a pot solder putting one in a guitar. I've been soldering for 40+ years. If you don't solder on a daily basis or even a couple of times a week then take it to a tech!!
I would never expect a company to replace any pot that I've soldered on for free. These pots are Not that expensive, about $8.00 each. Really for a "Custom Made" pot made to very specific specs, $8.00 is a bargain! The Canadian PEC pots are like $25.00 each and require a bit of extra work to install and CTS pots I don't really care for. You can always spend a $100. for a used Centralab pot..
$3.80 for postage isn't much, especially since USPS Priority Mail runs around $7.00 these days. A replacement pair of pots with shipping is just under $20.00! I bet you blow that much at 7-11 everytime you go in..
 

Skydogfan81

Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
910
Yeah, well Dr. V is out of business too..
If you are Not use to soldering, then take it to someone. I solder at least 5-6 days a week. I use a Weller WLC100 Soldering Station with the temp setting on "8" to solder pots. I've never fried a pot solder putting one in a guitar. I've been soldering for 40+ years. If you don't solder on a daily basis or even a couple of times a week then take it to a tech!!
I would never expect a company to replace any pot that I've soldered on for free. These pots are Not that expensive, about $8.00 each. Really for a "Custom Made" pot made to very specific specs, $8.00 is a bargain! The Canadian PEC pots are like $25.00 each and require a bit of extra work to install and CTS pots I don't really care for. You can always spend a $100. for a used Centralab pot..
$3.80 for postage isn't much, especially since USPS Priority Mail runs around $7.00 these days. A replacement pair of pots with shipping is just under $20.00! I bet you blow that much at 7-11 everytime you go in..

Nah, I don't ever go to 7-11's. Sounds like Gibson is taking care of the need for aftermarket parts with the 2019 Custom shop line.
 

pippo

New member
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
13
Just read this whole thread and wanted to chime in - especially since i havent found much info on TAOT pots here!

I have CTS pots in my junior of some "vintagesque" variety - nothing wrong with them in general but in regards to the application discussed here in my opinion they do not have the same taper nor feeling in comparasion to vintage gibsons i´ve played. Sound wise they did open up that guitar alot in comparision to stock (going to 50s wiring might have a lot to do with the positive effect though).

In my lester (.. well not my junior, my R8) i have a harness from Rand at JEL with TAOT 525k pots. These sound great - very open and really added something to the guitar. Again this might (or surely does) have to do with the fact that they are all 525k - the stock pots that came out all meausured below 500k... The TAOTs have an awesome taper with the typical "boost" from 8 to 10 - of course "great" dictates that is the kind of taper one wants in his/her pots. The vintage gibbos (that had stock pots intact) ive played all had that "extra push" from 8 - 10 and the TAOT pots capture that in my opinion. As for feeling when new I found them a bit to tight - i prefer loose but not sloppy, which brings me to my only concern with TAOT pots - quality.

I might have gotten two duds but both my volumepots developed schratches after about 8-10 months - the bridge more severely so than the neck. Both right in that magic spot between 8-10! In fairness I do fiddle alot with pots when i play and i do play this particualr guitar alot but i still think its not up to snuff for pots to go bad that soon. Deoxit once in a while solves this and has also improved the feeling of the pots (making them looser). However - this is medicine and not a cure. Eventually (probably soon) they will go out and I will pop in some of those VIPpots. The two intact TAOT pots will probably go into the junior so thats all good.

Also want to note that I have been in contact with Rand from JEL when the pots started developing the schratch and first we thought we were hunting a groundloop which Rand was VERY helpful with trying to solve. After a lot of tried remedies the problem seemed to have gone away but soon came back again. Rand did offer to send me new pots free of charge if it turned out to be a pot. I have not contacted him since to claim this very honest proposal since i would rather try something else instead of the TAOTs. No affilition - just dont want anyone to read the above as criticism against Rand and/or JEL - he does awesome harnesses and his cs is top notch in my opinion.

/Jake
 

JLee

Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2010
Messages
89
Just read this whole thread and wanted to chime in - especially since i havent found much info on TAOT pots here!

I have CTS pots in my junior of some "vintagesque" variety - nothing wrong with them in general but in regards to the application discussed here in my opinion they do not have the same taper nor feeling in comparasion to vintage gibsons i´ve played. Sound wise they did open up that guitar alot in comparision to stock (going to 50s wiring might have a lot to do with the positive effect though).

In my lester (.. well not my junior, my R8) i have a harness from Rand at JEL with TAOT 525k pots. These sound great - very open and really added something to the guitar. Again this might (or surely does) have to do with the fact that they are all 525k - the stock pots that came out all meausured below 500k... The TAOTs have an awesome taper with the typical "boost" from 8 to 10 - of course "great" dictates that is the kind of taper one wants in his/her pots. The vintage gibbos (that had stock pots intact) ive played all had that "extra push" from 8 - 10 and the TAOT pots capture that in my opinion. As for feeling when new I found them a bit to tight - i prefer loose but not sloppy, which brings me to my only concern with TAOT pots - quality.

I might have gotten two duds but both my volumepots developed schratches after about 8-10 months - the bridge more severely so than the neck. Both right in that magic spot between 8-10! In fairness I do fiddle alot with pots when i play and i do play this particualr guitar alot but i still think its not up to snuff for pots to go bad that soon. Deoxit once in a while solves this and has also improved the feeling of the pots (making them looser). However - this is medicine and not a cure. Eventually (probably soon) they will go out and I will pop in some of those VIPpots. The two intact TAOT pots will probably go into the junior so thats all good.

Also want to note that I have been in contact with Rand from JEL when the pots started developing the schratch and first we thought we were hunting a groundloop which Rand was VERY helpful with trying to solve. After a lot of tried remedies the problem seemed to have gone away but soon came back again. Rand did offer to send me new pots free of charge if it turned out to be a pot. I have not contacted him since to claim this very honest proposal since i would rather try something else instead of the TAOTs. No affilition - just dont want anyone to read the above as criticism against Rand and/or JEL - he does awesome harnesses and his cs is top notch in my opinion.

/Jake
Rand/Jackson Electronic Luthier has the best customer service by far! Incredibly helpful and incredibly generous. After frying some VIPots, he offered to replace the pots. Didn’t take him up on the offer...too generous an offer on something that was more likely my bad. He also called me to help troubleshoot a switch that want working. I had bent one of the contacts so the switch wasn’t working in the neck position. Rand also makes very affordable harnesses, especially the Sprague cap harnesses.
 

pippo

New member
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
13
Rand/Jackson Electronic Luthier has the best customer service by far! Incredibly helpful and incredibly generous. After frying some VIPots, he offered to replace the pots. Didn’t take him up on the offer...too generous an offer on something that was more likely my bad. He also called me to help troubleshoot a switch that want working. I had bent one of the contacts so the switch wasn’t working in the neck position. Rand also makes very affordable harnesses, especially the Sprague cap harnesses.


Yep - Rand´s the man!

How are you finding the VIP / sprauge combo? I have vitamin Q´s in the harness from Rand which I plan to salvage when I get som VIPs.
 

JLee

Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2010
Messages
89
Yep - Rand´s the man!

How are you finding the VIP / sprauge combo? I have vitamin Q´s in the harness from Rand which I plan to salvage when I get som VIPs.
Worked as advertised. No longer own the guitar, but great clean up with the volume. Not sure I heard a dramatic difference between the VIPots and my Creamtone vintage taper pots. As far as caps, the tonal differences between caps is lost on me. I have drifted Bees, Black Beauties and have had lots of Vit Qs. Can’t say I notice a difference.

Going to be installing some VIPots in a couple guitars later today.
 

JLee

Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2010
Messages
89
Yep - Rand´s the man!

How are you finding the VIP / sprauge combo? I have vitamin Q´s in the harness from Rand which I plan to salvage when I get som VIPs.
I take back everything I said. Just installed some VIPots in my 2 80s Tokais. One had a Creamtone harness with drifted bees and their vintage taper CTS pots, while the other had Creamtone harness with metric CTS pots. Night and day on the VIPots vs metric CTS. Big improvement also from the CTS vintage taper to VIPots as well. The VIPots opened up the tone from 1-10. Really nice taper. Still detect a bit of treble roll off from 6/7 to 8, but much clearer than the Creamtones. Rode the volume pots all night. Have a ES-335 harness with Vit Qs on order from Rand for another Tokai.
 

Dimitri92

Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
48
I've installed 4 VIpots and 2 NOS Gudemann PIO's 2 weeks ago I got from vintage inspired.
Very happy with them ! They made my '13 R8 just clearer over all.
The original wiring harness gave a real bump around 7/8, like a extreme on/off switch.

The Vipots are smoother around 7/8, yes it still has the jump there like the old guitars seem to do, but its no on/off moment.
And the sound? My guitar just became clearer, a bit brighter. Yes we're talking small % but still, I didn't think it would be so noticeable.

Originally I wanted to change out the pickups at the same time, but I'm going to leave the CustomBuckers in for a while because
it all ready sounds so cool now.

Mind you, I ride the volume control. I almost never play with the guitar on 10. If your that kind of player, maybe this wouldnt
be that big of a difference..? But if its the old skool way of going at it, -> DO IT!

*EDIT: off course I measured the pots when they came in, all 520K with one of 560K (which off course went into the volume neck position)
 

Bulwark

Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2019
Messages
52
Any chance of seeing these VIPots with DPDT switches? Push-pull or push-push, I’m not picky. I’d just like to also benefit from the “airy” headroomy clarity. Having recently installed a four-conductor set of ThroBaks and employed a JonesyBlues Jimmy Page harness, I’m finding the CTS pots’ clarity to be good, but not vintage Centralab good. I’m not sure how to explain it, I can just tell there’s some sparkle there that isn’t escaping into the instrument cable.

Long (3/4”) or short (3/8”) shaft, both would actually fit, so I’m not picky there either. Just staying in the 500-550k split, knurled, Les Paul details would be fine. Really don’t wanna give up my coil tap, series/parallel, in/out of phase wackiness. So many tones, and VIPots could improve them all!
 

ChevChelios

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
774
We just finished the development and started production of a line of 280k VIPots for Fender style guitars. But so far, there are no plans for push-pull VIPots, sorry.

Here's a video of Joey Landreth, very nicely showcasing the qualities of the VIPots, starting at ~ 22:24 min


He doesn't get everything right :hmm but you get the idea ...
 

Bulwark

Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2019
Messages
52
Any chance anyone knows of push-pull (or push-push) DPDT pots in the 500k-550k range that are clearer (a la Centralab) than the CTS pots seen everywhere? After reading this thread I had another critical listen to mine, and there’s definitely room for improvement.
 

buyusfear

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Messages
2,951
He doesn't get everything right :hmm but you get the idea ...

Yeah, that’s mostly my fault. I think the problem is that I tend to go full on AVH with the details and I regurgitate an absurd amount of otherwise meaningless trivia, all of which he tries to recall in instances like this. Bit of a game of telephone.

Bottom line; These pots blew me away, as well as Joey, as per the video.
 

ChevChelios

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
774
I purposefully chose those lugs, as I find it a lot easier to fixate wire in them and to quickly solder them with as little solder as possible.

In other news, production of Fender spec'd VIPots (split and solid shaft) has started! We'll have them ready for sale in a few months.
 
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