Volume taper issue

KrisRichmond

Junior Member
Messages
38
I got my pots from Warmoth, CTS audio for Vol and push push for Tone. 
The problem is the volume pot only had any affect between 10 and 8.  I thought it needed a treble bleed kit, but after installing it the volume pot only works between 0 and 2. 

What have I done wrong?
 
Yes, it should be an audio (or "log", for "logarithmic") taper. Human ears don't respond to sound pressure levels in a linear fashion. Unless it's wired wrong somehow, it sounds like the pot you got is the wrong value. Perhaps a 250Ω rather than a 250KΩ. You should see roughly the DC resistance level of your pickup(s) at the output on the high side, and 0Ω on the low side if you measure across the output jack.
 
Hi, I figured out how to measure it correctly

10 = 7.28KΩ  (Roughly my pickup DC resistance)
9  = 7.28KΩ
8  = 7.39KΩ
7  = 7.27KΩ
6  = 6.79KΩ
5  = 6.70KΩ
4  = 6.38KΩ
3  = 6.03KΩ
2  = 5.12KΩ
1  = 150Ω        (Value of resistor on my treble bleed)
0  = 150Ω

I would of expected readings like this as this is what it sounds like.  Before I installed the treble bleed I would of expected the same sweep but the opposite way around.

Does it look like a bad pot?  I got it from Warmoth
 
Yeah, that's a pretty severe dropoff. But, you also have to consider that some meters respond differently to the loads you present to them. If you've ever done any shopping for meters, you've seen that there's some pretty wide differences in price. A Fluke meter is one thing, while a Tripplet or a Mastech is something else. A decent Fluke will cost upwards of $300, while the others can be had in the $25 range.

There's a reason for that. Some circuits are purely resistive and as such are much easier to measure. Others have a reactive component due to the inductors or capacitors involved, and they don't respond the same way. So, it's tough to get a reading that means anything.

The reason I bring that up is because as dramatic as the readings you're getting are, they don't really sound like failed parts. Pots generally open, so you'd see infinite resistance at some point unless you were also seeing something in parallel, which is also possible in a guitar circuit. But, once you opened the pot, you'd see the resistance of the part in parallel, and the numbers you're giving don't match up to anything that makes sense. Although, if you have a 150 ohm resistor in your treble bleed circuit, I'd have to question what's going on there. That would be very small. You might want to review the discussion on treble bleed circuits here.
 
Sorry, my treble bleed resistor value is 150KΩ, I got confused.  That was a good treble bleed article thought, thanks for that.
   
I have tested on a Mastech MY-60 and a ALPHATEK TEK1320, both give similar readings, but both are cheaper testers.

Like you say, the test results show a severe drop off, but that is also how the volume pot sound when you use it.

I have no idea  :dontknow:

Do you think I should swap the pot?  but I dont want to have to do that if its not the problem
 
Pots are $5. If you're sure it's wired right, throw $5 at the suspicious part. Costs less than a 6-pack.
 
more like $10 in Australia, same price as a 6 pack  :(

I might look for somewhere to buy them in bulk and sell them over here, sure I can make some money on that
 
looks like an open pot to me,.... with the pickups connected you should see a big sweep before the resistance changes much, but it should taper down to zero at the output jack in the last little bit of a turn.. if it doesn't you have something open that shouldn't be. a schematic/diagram would help find other failure points (like an ungrounded pot or something) but it really looks like a pot failure... although soldering to pots is the way the industry does it, you will notice that around here it's not recomended because if you don't get it in one shot with a good hot higher amperage iron you run the risk of too much heat soak and frying the pot. that may or may not be what happened in your case, but of you opt for some large terminal rings or special tabs that fit over the shaft for your grounding you eliminate that potential to burn up the pot.
 
although soldering to pots is the way the industry does it
This is just one among many things that can be whack in "how-to" guitar instructions. Les Pauls are wired the way they are because one person can whip out a large number of those "harnesses" and slide 'em down to the next guy... but it's a goofy way to just make ONE. And finishing a guitar "exactly" the way Fender or Gibson did is a great way for five people to bang out 500 guitars a day... but without those 4 other people or those 499 guitars or a BIG FACTORY to work in, that particular work-flow is kinda bizarre.

Before demolishing too much, you could try bypassing just that pot with a jumper. You may be able to isolate a short? With stranded wire, just one little strand that's gone AWOL can goose the whole thing.
 
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