Metropoulos Forum

i just put a set of alessandro volume and tone pots into my les paul. this was after i installed a set of throbak sle 101 ltd. pick ups. the tone that happening at this point with this guitar is absolutely absurd. its a really heavy 2001 les paul standard. i was prepared for a negligible difference if any at all. i was pleasantly suprised. the pots definitely improved the sound of the guitar.

dan

Fever Dog wrote:i just put a set of alessandro volume and tone pots into my les paul. this was after i installed a set of throbak sle 101 ltd. pick ups. the tone that happening at this point with this guitar is absolutely absurd. its a really heavy 2001 les paul standard. i was prepared for a negligible difference if any at all. i was pleasantly suprised. the pots definitely improved the sound of the guitar.

dan

Im wondering how the pots could have made such a big difference? I know Alessandro makes great electronics, but unless they are significantly different in their resistance, it should only have been noticeable when actually using the pot to lower the volume, and even then, it would maybe be a difference in smooth operation and more progressive volume roll-off.

When the pot is wide open, its basically a straight-thru circuit, with the exception of the slight resistance along the pots wiper path to ground, which cuts back on a slight amount of highs, which is where a resistance difference would show up.

Unless of course, there was something wrong with the pots you removed from the LP?

dont know man. im just using my ears. i also redid the wiring from the toggle switch and put new caps in.

dan

I just decided to suck it up and throw down the money for the Alessandro pots. I am very impressed with them and I also think they are worth the money if you are willing to pay for them. I don't know if there is a huge tone difference with just the pots as I also installed 2 new Luxe Grey Tiger caps as well, but I can say that the taper is unlike any other pot I have installed in my guitar. There is absolutely no spike at all, just smooth volume up and down. This is huge for those of us that just simply plug in to the amp with little to no effects. All in all these are a keeper. The best part is that they are Mil Spec and will never wear out. Keep in mind that you can't solder to the back of these pots, just the sides. There is a good pic on the Alessandro site of these in a LP cavity and you get a good idea of how to wire them. I love them and will never go back to regular CTS pots again. I am glad I only have 2 guitars.

Dan

By the way, the turning resistance on these pots if very very light and they feel like very broken in vintage pots. They don't feel sticky and slow like new cts pots.

DNeafsey wrote:Keep in mind that you can't solder to the back of these pots, just the sides.
Dan

Why is that? Are the sides of the pot different material than the back?
Even though they are a worthwhile upgrade, it seems like only being able to solder to the sides could potentially make wiring a pain in the ass, depending on how tight everything is in the control cavity (like on a Tele, for example).

Fever Dog wrote: i also redid the wiring from the toggle switch and put new caps in.

New caps in?

There's your difference right there.
Even if they're the same composition, sometimes you can still notice.

fillmore nyc wrote:

DNeafsey wrote:Keep in mind that you can't solder to the back of these pots, just the sides.
Dan

Why is that? Are the sides of the pot different material than the back?
Even though they are a worthwhile upgrade, it seems like only being able to solder to the sides could potentially make wiring a pain in the ass, depending on how tight everything is in the control cavity (like on a Tele, for example).

The back of the pot is stainless steel I think. The sides are, what seems to be, brass on mine. There is a small lip that overhangs the back, to hold it in place, about 1/16 of an inch and that is where I soldered the ground wires. So its more on the top/side edge. I will post a pic when I get a chance. You could use these in a tele no problem. I used solid core wire to ground from pot to pot so it didn't take up any room on the top/side of the pot. I did all of my soldering with the pots in the guitar and had no problem.

Dan

demonufo wrote:

Fever Dog wrote: i also redid the wiring from the toggle switch and put new caps in.

New caps in?

There's your difference right there.
Even if they're the same composition, sometimes you can still notice.

I think the caps make a much bigger difference than the pots in tone. I have put just about every type of cap on the market in my guitar and have seen various results, some good some really bad. There is something to be said though about how smooth the Alessandro pots are both in the turning torque and the taper. The feel can't be beat. I think after putting these in my LP I won't go back to CTS pots ever again.

Fever Dog wrote:dont know man. im just using my ears. i also redid the wiring from the toggle switch and put new caps in.

dan

What wiring config did you use ? I use the 50's config with my ThroBak's.
I also wired in some BubmbleBee's and installed a TonePro's System ll bridge & tailpiece.
I am not familiar with Alessandro's pots but, I targeted a set of Custom Shop pot's. The one's they use in the '59 Ri's. CTS, right?
I'm happy with the results. Here's a Vid i did that sounds o.k. even through Line6. What I did notice with the BB's and with the tone set to around no more than 3, the bridge pup sounds as fat as the neck for leads.

DNeafsey wrote:By the way, the turning resistance on these pots if very very light and they feel like very broken in vintage pots. They don't feel sticky and slow like new cts pots.

Probably a nicer feel for playing Cathedral but, those pots don't bother me and like the action of CTS pots.

DNeafsey wrote:...I think the caps make a much bigger difference than the pots in tone......

+1 I'll look into those pots as well. Sounds like I can use them in my Strat's.

I've been wondering about these pots myself.
Do you play with your volume pot a lot? I love my Paul, but its volume pots are like full on - no tone. I was wondering if the Alessandro would allow for more range in this department, you know, riding the volume pot to go from clean to rude.

Do you play with your volume pot a lot? I love my Paul, but its volume pots are like full on - no tone. I was wondering if the Alessandro would allow for more range in this department, you know, riding the volume pot to go from clean to rude.[/quote]

i know what you mean man. my old pots were flat out full on bogus. they definitely do clean to different shades of rude no problem. i constantly play with my volume and tone knobs. the only pedal in my rig is a wah. so i lean on my volume and tone knobs to get different sounds. do yourself a favor and get new caps while youre at it. you'll be glad you did it.


dan

Paul86 wrote:I've been wondering about these pots myself.
Do you play with your volume pot a lot? I love my Paul, but its volume pots are like full on - no tone. I was wondering if the Alessandro would allow for more range in this department, you know, riding the volume pot to go from clean to rude.

i know what you mean man. my old pots were flat out- full on bogus. they definitely do clean to different shades of rude thing no problem. i constantly play with my volume and tone knobs. the only pedal in my rig is a wah. so i lean on my volume and tone knobs to get different sounds. do yourself a favor and get new caps while youre at it. you'll be glad you did it.


dan

Thanks for the reply!
And thanks for the gas pains too!

Waste of money iMO. CTS have perfect feel and even cheaper Alphas are very good, although i dont like the backpressure or resistance or "feel" of the Alphas as much as CTS.. I love the feel of CTS pots. I hate the ones with plastic inside though.
CTS Pots are problematic to solder. Alphas take solder real well. I don't know.
I wouldnt mind spending the xtra money for Allesandros, but you just said they feel loose. I hate that. I need some resitance.