A Curve vs B Curve Guitar Pots - Audio vs Linear Taper
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- Are the pots in your guitar the best type? A-curve and B-curve (audio and linear taper) is a subject of confusion for musicians and luthiers alike.
In this video Sean from hancockguitars.com talks about the difference between the two types and what you might expect to hear from your guitar controls.
A wide variety of A and B curve pots can be purchased from Australian Luthier Supplies through this link:
luthiersupplie...
I've seen people start the craziest fights over this one topic lol In rookie terms, starting with tone controls, Audio versus Liner just shifts the range of values you have the most control over. So when you play, if you frequently use very small cuts to your tone, you would probably benefit from Audio because you can get a lot more practical values out of the lower range of the pot. Once you get past noon or 1 oclock, the jumps will be more dramatic. But if you jump all around, or often pick one value and leave it there, a linear would probably be fine. So it's just what fits how you play. If you don't know yet, start with linear -- equal access to all the values, and the control works how your mind is thinking it should. For volume, the prevailing wisdom is this: since loudness and how we hear is not linear (look up how decibel changes are perceived by the listener), an audio pot will let your volume changes match the practical changes to the loudness of your signal (or at least the perceived changes). Don't tell anyone on the internet that, though, because you'll be told your an idiot by at least one clique. I only use audios for volume, and have never been disappointed. But here's how you can decide for yourself: put in a linear. If you find that you can't tweak the volume with out it suddenly jumping from "close to what I want" to "too loud" then you've hit the common problem with the linear pot (as a volume control) and you should switch to audio. BUT, if it works perfectly for how you play and you set the control (e.g. if you use a volume pedal, the type of volume on your guitar probably won't bother you much either way), then stick with it. At the end of the day, these are controls to let you manage your tone -- find what you like, and go with it, and if someone tells you you're doing it wrong...well...you know what you can tell them to do with their opinion ;-)
Thanks for your comment. Good points and again evidence it's a lot to do with personal preference. That's a good suggestion to try swapping out to the other type of pot if you are curious what the difference will be like :)
NICE to see you back on here!
thanks for the nice video!
i have CTS Mojotone Vintage Taper pots on all volume and tone knobs. If i understand correctly, these Vintage Taper pots are somewhat a mix in between Audio and Linear taper. I love them to bits. I find the swell to be very natural and without abrupt change. I've tried both A and B pots for both volume and tone but personally for me these Vintage taper sound best. Would recommend to anyone who hasn't tried them.
Somewhere in between A and B, it sounds like a good option if the two standards are a bit extreme in the way they change the sound as you turn the knob. Thanks for your comment!
I read that linear pots should be used for the tone control, the logarithmic for the volume…
And I think that, instead of 2 linears, one linear and one logarithmic or two logarithmic should be used for tone and volume.
At least, that makes sense to me.
Thanks for the explanation.
Great video, straight to the point.
Thank you for your comment and glad you like the video :) That is a common combination, there are also a lot of guitars with the opposite (linear on the volume, logarithmic on the tone) getting around. It's confusing!
That was my view also for a long time, but I've come to go only with logarithmic pots as they sound "right" to me. I have yet to find a satisfying use for linear pots, even if they are intriguing in theory.
My Yamaha Pacifica has a linear volume pot. It is by far the best experience I've had with controling the volume on any of my guitars. Why anyone would suggest audio taper is a better solution for volume knobs, is beyond me.
Thank you for the feedback! Sounds like you've tried both types of pots extensively and Linear is the winner for you!
I'm personally not a fan of audio taper and prefer the linear because I think it gives me more control. I also have vintage pointers on most guitars so I know exactly where I want to set it and I know that's how much signal is coming through. I would only use audio taper if I was constantly doing volume swells, which I dont....
Great comment and some good points! That makes sense for volume wells the Audio could give a more even change and that the Linear can allow more control otherwise.
I am in your camp 100%
Great presentation. Clear explanation in layman's terms. I've found that the majority of my clients prefer audio taper pots for both volume and tone controls. However, for precise applications, such as pickup blend, linear taper pots work better.
That's good feedback thanks! It seems like both the audio and linear pots have their applications.
@@AusLuthierSupplies You are most welcome, sir. Looking forward to more videos from ALS.
I am a fan of B curve or Linear pots, completely subjective but I feel I have more control of tone and volume having a wider range to choose from.
Good summary of the B curves, thanks for your comment!
Very well said.👍
Thing is, volume pot is no used in the electric guitar to lower volume but to lower gain, so it doesn't matter how our ears perceive loudness... There's an excellent video demonstrating the differences between A and B pots for both, tone and volume here: ruclips.net/video/3fUQjuX4MoY/видео.html and yet another probably better one here: ruclips.net/video/g8SHJvmpNZE/видео.html It all boils down to a matter of preference anyway...
Nice video. So logaritmic and audio pots are the exact same thing?
Yes that's right logarithmic and audio taper (also a-curve) are the same thing. Glad you like the video :)
I found out by mistake that I had replaced an Audio taper with a Linear taper on Strat tone control and dicovered they sound clearer than Audio(same capacitor) to me.
That isn't a result of the audio/linear difference, that's more about the quality of the parts. Or maybe placebo tbh. The way well-constructed pots work, there should be no way for that to happen, since they are just a variable resistor. Is there any chance you changed the value of the pot, like from 250K ohms to 500K ohms, or maybe 500K ohms to 1M ohms?
I did take reading from 3 pots (linear) and found 220k, 248k, 270k so I just put the 248 in. Maybe you can help because these were the only CTS pots I could find in the local radio repair shop, I also replaced the volume with the 220k and I really can hear (clean) each inrease 1-2-3 etc very clearly until 9 and then it seems to sound unhindered and loud. I was going for the regular 5 way Straticaster wiring( no treble tone) but decided to put a tone .047 in neck and a .022 on middle and just straight on the bridge, it got to the point where I was happy with the clarity so I bound the wiring and sealed it all up. I know it's not the exact wiring for a 65 but now I hear the middle pickup and really like it(almost Ventures/ Hank Marvin tone). The pots that were replaced were alpha, they looked good and had a more rigid resistance when turned. I also discovered that different wire gauges could alter the tone drastically too so I stuck with the cloth covered type that the Guitar had before. Took me weeks to get it the way I liked but I really wanted to do my own repair just to get to know why/how it all worked together. Thanks for your time. I am learning by ear as I go along but the best thing is I am not afraid of dismantling Electric Guitars anymore. It's all fun but serious too.I tried measuring the Alpha pots but the readings were different everytime, sometimes working sometimes just going all over the place without touching the dial. Tried them in another simple 1 pickup Guitar and they made it crackle when I played above a certain spot on the dial( 7 onwards)?
Fender uses A, Gibson uses B. I prefer B because it allows me to clean up a 1 channel over-driven amp before the volume drops. I noticed that my volume drops too suddenly on my Strat's.
Can i use B for Volume and A for Tone?
Yes that will work though it's not a common setup.
I prefer all my pots to be linear simply because of control.
Thank you for your comment. It makes sense, more predictability and control.
Where is the sound comparison?
We'll aim to post one, good point!
That explains it. Thank you
Great!
Just picked up this video. Log pots, correct about the relationship with our ears. sound travels through air as a logarithmic function. (decibels are a logarithmic function). In your experience, does tone (with respect to the tone pot)) also reflect a linear or logarithmic function? regards
Yes it works the same way on the tone, the change in tone is heard more evenly if logarithmic (A-curve) pots are used on the tone controls.
Does the polarity on the pot matter?
Do you mean which of the lugs you use? You will need to hook it up with the correct wires on the correct lugs for the control to work as it should. If you mirror the wiring the control will work the opposite way when you turn it. If you were to wire an A-curve pot mirrored, the taper would be weird (there are left-handed A curve pots for this) but a B curve would be fine wired mirrored as the taper is even.
I’m wiring up my first custom Strat pickguard. I’ve bought audio taper pots for my tone controls, but a linear pot for my volume. My rationale is that I don’t intend to use the volume control to adjust the audible volume, more as a clean up tool when playing with gain stages. Is this a logical approach to take?
It seems logical but it's a bit out of our scope of expertise. Maybe someone else can reply who has more knowledge of the subject of gain stages?
Yes, that's why I prefer my SG with linear taper pots, it cleans up the signal before dropping the volume. I have a couple of 1 channel amp's so instead of having to stomp on pedals to clean up the gain I'll just roll back my volume control.
I had thought (hoped?) a linear pot would be better for doing a lot of Jeff Beck type swells. The usable percentage of the volume and tone pots of virtually all my guitars is too low for my desire. I'm sure they're all audio taper.
That's worth giving a try, changing the pots to the liner and see if it helps even out the volume swells. It makes sense but it's hard to say for sure without doing the experiment!
I believe Fender uses A audio taper on their Strat's and Tele's
Without trying it yourself you don't know which pots suit you. And once you get into overdrive/distortion your preference may change - so it depends on your musical style as well
Good point about overdrive/distortion, this may be a factor too. There are a lot of variables for such a simple decision as A vs B Curve! Definitely trying the two types is the best way to find out which you prefer.
I want a volume pot for volume swells so essentially go from nothing to something quickly , even act as on/off which pot would be better?
The B-curve pot will swell quickly from 0 up so it is a good choice. You could even install a left-handed A-curve pot, which would accentuate the effect even more, so that most of the change happens at the beginning of the turn.
@@AusLuthierSupplies good advice, thanks.
A lot of people give really scientific answers but never tell you what they actually do.
Glad you like ours :)
Demonstration?
We'll try to find a way to demonstrate the difference between the A and B curves. We'd need to build a rig with one of each pot to try them on the same guitar.