Changing pots on my tele

[danbond]

My tele thinline 69 comes with 1 meg posts, which are apparently why it is so bright. Now I have a fender twin, its definitely too bright - rolling off the treble on the amp to zero and its still pretty bright!

I have heard about changing the 1 meg posts to 250k will warm it up a bit.

Which pots (volume or tone) should I change?

Do I need linear pots? Or audio pots?

Is this easy to do myself with a good soldering iron?

Tops on this would be awesome, thank you.

Dan

[Neiloler]

Changing pots isn't no big thang, just take some time, have some patience, and you'll get 'er done (and I'd be happy to help with anything I can through messaging/e-mails).

I'd recommend going with CTS pots, sold at Stew Mac and Warmoth: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics ... _Pots.html

Going with the 250K will be pretty warm, but you might also want to consider 500K if you're using humbuckers.

[danbond]

Its a single coil guitar - will 250k be too warm? Its a tele so it should get bright through a twin anyway right?

Thanks for the offer of help - i'll almost certainly take you up on that.

Dan

[MaxProphet]

most single coils use 250k (audio taper)

its really odd they put 1megs in the single coil 69 tele and 250k in the 72 teles w/humbuckers

also check if you need split shafts (push on) or smooth shafts (holding screw in knob)

[blackcloud45]

Go 250k and like Max said, check the shafts. Fender also sells suitable replacements (via eBay, musicians frined, or even GC) as does Allparts. The Warmoth CTS pots are good, but a little stiff-turning IMO. Use a 40 watt iron and get in / out quick so as not to destroy the pot. I like to scuff the spot on the back of the pot where you'll be soldering w/ my Dremel or even scratch it up w/ a sharp object to help w/ adhesion of the solder.

[Neiloler]

Cool call on the scuffing up the back of the pot if the solder is having trouble adhering to them.

[danbond]

Thanks for everyones help - i just ordered 2 CTS pots from Axesrus in the UK. Very cheap and apparently the same as the ones Fender+Gibson use.

For the soldering iron, would a basic 40w iron like this do the job well enough? Would it be suitable for DIY pedal projects as well?

https://supreme1.sslpowered.com/cgi-bin ... item=00003" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And standard solder? Or lead free?

Thanks again!

[misterfolkertsma]

40W is plenty! Lot's of people even use a 15W, you just need to pay more attention to what you're doing. I use a 60W soldering iron, which is basically waaay to much so I tend to solder very fast.

I can't say I've ever really paid attention to the type of solder I use, but from what I've read here and there a lighter solder is better for these kind of jobs.

[blackcloud45]

I use Radio Shack 60/40 .032 Light Duty Rosin-Core Solder in conjunction w/ Kester Acid Paste Flux. My stuff stays stuck.

[bfitz]

I find coating the tips of the wire your attaching to the pot with some solder is really good too helps when your attaching the wire onto the melted solder on the pots

[irish_admiral]

Bit late now, but I was about to say check the shaft diameter on the pots you have as some Teles have different size pots. Ah well, you'll find out!

Soldering... 40 watts should be fine (some iron tips get pitted and corroded, so you need a bit more oomph). If you've not soldered much, get some practice in on scraps of wire and metal.

You should always tin the wire and the component tag you're soldering to first, then basically put the two parts together, and put the tip of the soldering iron next to them. The solder heats up, melts, runs together, lose the soldering iron tip, hold until set. Try not to move whilst it's setting.

Job done.