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Which new pots most like a vintage centralab?

akstrat61

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 16, 2004
Messages
1,845
I just bought a set of VIPots and harness to go into one of my guitars. These will be joined by some new Wizz Premium PAF's. I'm really stoked about this mod and hope it will take my guitar to the next level! I'll try and update soon!:dude::jim:dude:
 

rick57

Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Messages
40
Hello everyone,

Hope someone can help with this.
I've acquired 2 Centralab 500k pots from an old amp dated 1958 with C3 code which I'm told is the taper.
Is there much difference from a C2 for guitar?
They measure 525 and 667.

Thanks
 

EpiLP1985

Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2017
Messages
113
Hello everyone,

Hope someone can help with this.
I've acquired 2 Centralab 500k pots from an old amp dated 1958 with C3 code which I'm told is the taper.
Is there much difference from a C2 for guitar?
They measure 525 and 667.

Thanks

I could be mistaken but I think the C2 taper is the old school 70/30 audio taper, i.e. the desirable vintage taper. The C3 is a steeper audio taper more akin to standard CTS, etc. pots.

You could always pop a knob on it to get some idea of position and meter the pot on the travel from 1-10 and plot that to see for sure.
 

ChevChelios

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
774
I've acquired 2 Centralab 500k pots from an old amp dated 1958 with C3 code which I'm told is the taper.
Is there much difference from a C2 for guitar?

Yes, there is much difference from a C2 taper. The C2 taper is the "classic" audio/log taper, while the C3 taper is the reverse audio/log taper. You basically get the opposite of what the C2 tapered pots do.

Here's a graph I found on the internet that gives you a rough idea what that means

potentiometer-types.gif


BTW, today, I recorded a short sound clip to demo the taper of our VIPots. Neck pickup (VIP Honeybucker) of a 335-style guitar I built myself with VIPots and a .018 µF PIO cap. The bits are recorded with the volume at 10, 8, 6, and 3. It's pretty cool to hear how the clarity and dynamics are retained! No treble bleed or other tricks used ...

https://soundcloud.com/vintageinspiredpickups/vipots-taper
 

rick57

Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Messages
40
I could be mistaken but I think the C2 taper is the old school 70/30 audio taper, i.e. the desirable vintage taper. The C3 is a steeper audio taper more akin to standard CTS, etc. pots.

You could always pop a knob on it to get some idea of position and meter the pot on the travel from 1-10 and plot that to see for sure.

Thanks

I'm not liking the taper. Not much difference from 6-10 with the C3.
I lost the boost I would get around 8 that I was getting from the Gibson Historic pots I had.
Waiting on some VIP's.
 

rick57

Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Messages
40
Yes, there is much difference from a C2 taper. The C2 taper is the "classic" audio/log taper, while the C3 taper is the reverse audio/log taper. You basically get the opposite of what the C2 tapered pots do.

Here's a graph I found on the internet that gives you a rough idea what that means

potentiometer-types.gif


BTW, today, I recorded a short sound clip to demo the taper of our VIPots. Neck pickup (VIP Honeybucker) of a 335-style guitar I built myself with VIPots and a .018 µF PIO cap. The bits are recorded with the volume at 10, 8, 6, and 3. It's pretty cool to hear how the clarity and dynamics are retained! No treble bleed or other tricks used ...

https://soundcloud.com/vintageinspiredpickups/vipots-taper


The C3 taper is not doing it for me. Expecting some VIP's today.
Thanks!
 

ChevChelios

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
774
Installed VIP's and very satisfied with the feel and taper!

Good to hear that you like them! Just a quick note ... we're having a Black Friday Sale right now. 20% off everything $50 or more ...

46516653_2164696173551136_7094415511970119680_n.png


That's a great opportunity to stock up on some VIPots. Even pre-orders for the long shaft VIPots (ETA early December) are eligible.
 

ChevChelios

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
774
Just because I got a few messages/questions from members: The new delivery of long shaft VIPots will arrive in a few days and pre-orders will ship as soon as possible.

Until then, enjoy German vintage/tone gourmet Udo Pipper playing a Les Paul replica and nicely showcasing how well the VIPots work ...

 

lare65

Active member
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Messages
110
I installed 4 VIP pots (all of them) in my R9 today and I could´nt be happier with the result! I had CTS TVT pots before and it was like pulling away a blanket. The guitar finally sings! The pu´s are Wizz by the way.
 

ChevChelios

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
774
@lare65 Glad you like them! That's a comparison I've heard quite a bit ...

The long shaft VIPots have finally arrived (just in time for 2019 !!!) and are available in my webshop again.

Happy New Year everyone! And - due to the lack of a better place to say this - thanks so much to all the LPF members who have shared invaluable feedback on my pickups and VIPots over the years, but especially 2018, which has been an amazing year for Vintage Inspired Pickups!!! Thanks again :salude:salude:salude
 

deytookerjaabs

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Messages
1,592
@lare65 Glad you like them! That's a comparison I've heard quite a bit ...

The long shaft VIPots have finally arrived (just in time for 2019 !!!) and are available in my webshop again.

Happy New Year everyone! And - due to the lack of a better place to say this - thanks so much to all the LPF members who have shared invaluable feedback on my pickups and VIPots over the years, but especially 2018, which has been an amazing year for Vintage Inspired Pickups!!! Thanks again :salude:salude:salude


Nice, been waiting on the long shafts, just ordered some and can't wait!
 

TM1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Messages
8,349
Sebastian; I love the double tones Udo gets with your pickups! Even on my cheesy little iPad they sing! The Lover set I got for my 1960 Melody Maker into my Revival Drive and then my Marshall Astoria are wonderful!
Danke mein Freund!
 

Skydogfan81

Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
910
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!
 
Last edited:

lare65

Active member
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Messages
110
I've done the testing myself, re-soldering the VIPots five times in a 57 Les Paul wiring, switching positions every time (so that every pot got a good portion of heat to the cover) and all pots worked just fine. However: You'll have to turn them down to 0. If you keep them open or somewhere in between, you'll kill the trace when applying too much heat. Also, always use a chisel soldering tip and a 40+W iron. However, that's true for all pots.

My logo on the back is not (just) cosmetic, it's also helping a lot with soldering the ground connections onto the cover. Aka, less heat exposure, less damage to the pot. I've only heard from one guy who burned a VIPot, and he had used a pencil soldering tip with an overpowered soldering station. When he used the "correct" heat and a chisel tip, it worked like a charm.



Thick carbon traces = no. Easy(er) turning/torque like the originals (when they were new) = yes.

Is it down to 0 or up to 10? (As you see it when you are playing the guitar).
 

lare65

Active member
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Messages
110
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.


Sebastian wrote 0 in a previous post...but maybe he ment that on 10 the pot is out of circuit = 0?
 

Skydogfan81

Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
910
I would assume 10 is where the pot is more out of the way, where 0 would be in. Looks like the post was deleted.
 

ChevChelios

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
774
I did have one VIP end up being no good and contacted them about it. They told me to just buy another one ...

First thanks for trying our VIPots, and sorry that one of them got fried during the installation. Since we don't have any control over who is going to install the pots (importantly, how experienced is that person?), and what equipment is used to install them, we had to add the following limitation to our website: "Please understand that there is no warranty on VIPots once touched by a soldering iron, as we cannot control how the VIPots are installed and exposed to heat during installation."
Some customers/shops have installed dozens to hundreds of VIPots w/o frying a single pot, while (luckily very few) people unfortunately manage to kill one or two of their order.

Mostly, frying/killing your pots can be avoided follwoing a few very simple rules ... a) turn the pot down to resistance 0, b) use a soldering iron with at least 40W - don't go for the cheap 10 - 20W irons, c) use a chisel tip and never, EVER use a pin point tip when soldering pots, d) wait until the iron is hot before you start soldering - all these will help with the main goal here: e) keep the time of heat exposure to a minimum.

We have posted all of those tips on our website. It's really not hard so solder guitar electronics - I've probably put together 100+ harnesses/repairs/etc. and haven't fried a pot in the last 12 years. But in the end - if you're not feeling up to it, just let a good tech do the work. They also have to put food on the table ...
 

Skydogfan81

Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2006
Messages
910
First thanks for trying our VIPots, and sorry that one of them got fried during the installation. Since we don't have any control over who is going to install the pots (importantly, how experienced is that person?), and what equipment is used to install them, we had to add the following limitation to our website: "Please understand that there is no warranty on VIPots once touched by a soldering iron, as we cannot control how the VIPots are installed and exposed to heat during installation."
Some customers/shops have installed dozens to hundreds of VIPots w/o frying a single pot, while (luckily very few) people unfortunately manage to kill one or two of their order.

Mostly, frying/killing your pots can be avoided following a few very simple rules ... a) turn the pot down to resistance 0, b) use a soldering iron with at least 40W - don't go for the cheap 10 - 20W irons, c) use a chisel tip and never, EVER use a pin point tip when soldering pots, d) wait until the iron is hot before you start soldering - all these will help with the main goal here: e) keep the time of heat exposure to a minimum.

We have posted all of those tips on our website. It's really not hard so solder guitar electronics - I've probably put together 100+ harnesses/repairs/etc. and haven't fried a pot in the last 12 years. But in the end - if you're not feeling up to it, just let a good tech do the work. They also have to put food on the table ...


Just posting my experiences, no need to try and justify your actions (this isn't the place for that). I have been swapping pots for a some time without any tragedies (with all equipment you mentioned). You are also making an assumption that your pots are all perfect, which is statistically impossible.

Since I have your attention, "turn pots to 0 resistance" does that mean turn them to volume 10 (in guitar speak)?
 
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