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Which Volume Pot do you like best?
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The Steel Guitar Forum
Pedal Steel Archive
Which Volume Pot do you like best?
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This topic was originally posted in this forum: Pedal Steel |
| Author | Topic: Which Volume Pot do you like best? |
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Jay Ganz Member Posts: 1626 |
posted 09 September 1999 07:49 AM
Goodrich has their 500K & 10K models. George L has one as well. Which have you tried & how did they compare? I've still got some old Allen Bradleys, but after those are gone.....then what? ------------------
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Jack Stoner Sysop Posts: 8119 |
posted 09 September 1999 08:38 AM
The 500K pots are still available. Clarostat bought out Allen Bradley. The same pot is still being made, just says Clarostat on them now. However, the price has went through the roof - about $20 discount each. The Goodrich 10K model has basically a matchbox built into it. If you already have a matchbox, matchbro, etc., then you don't need the 10K model as two of the same devices in series tends to degrade the tone. Also, if you run the volume pedal in the effects loop of an amp such as a Peavey Nashville 400, the 10K will not work as it overloads (distorts) and thins out the tone. Keith Hilton is building an infrared pedal. Electronic but without the problems inherent in the old photo cell models.
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Dennis Detweiler Member Posts: 1700 |
posted 09 September 1999 01:20 PM
I've always used the 500k. I also use a Match Box. I believe Keith's infra red is a step ahead of everybody at this point. Keith is constantly looking for ways to improve on an existing product and his own electronic gear. The price of his pedal will probably turn away a musician, but any latest major improvement on an electronic device is expensive. Dennis |
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C Allen Member Posts: 441 |
posted 09 September 1999 01:40 PM
J.Stoner. I want to be clear on this. Are you saying, that if you do NOT have a matchbox, and you use the 10K pot, and go through the efx loop with the V.pedal, it's not good?? I have considered the 10K pot in the past, and if this is true, I'll just stick with the 500K. ------------------ |
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Jay Ganz Member Posts: 1626 |
posted 09 September 1999 02:05 PM
I've heard those Clarostats ain't the same as the old Allen Bradleys. The taper is different or something along those lines. |
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Jack Stoner Sysop Posts: 8119 |
posted 09 September 1999 03:17 PM
Jay, the Clarostat pot is the EXACT same unit. The only difference is that Clarostat's name is stamped on the back of the Pot. They are made in their factory in Mexico. Allen Bradley had moved their production to Mexico before Clarostat bought them out. Clarostat just took over the operation and the only thing that changed was the name. There were Clarostat pots, made by Clarostat before they bought Allen Bradley, that were supposed to be the same but were not and never worked properly. That's probably what you were hearing about. C Allen. If the Goodrich 10K model, e.g. L10K, is used in the effects loop to control the amp volume, or used in the Pedal In/Out on a Session 500, the amp will distort and it will change the tone. It doesn't matter whether you have a device such as a matchbox between the guitar and amp in - you can basically do what you want in that part. It's just the effects loop, and I'm not sure if the pedal is not loading the loop properly or if the amplifier is over driving the pedal input or if the pedal output to the amp is the problem. I never really took an oscilloscope and checked it out.
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Jay Ganz Member Posts: 1626 |
posted 09 September 1999 07:22 PM
Jack, That must be how the "inferior" Clarostat story got around. So, are these newer ones labeled Type J like the (mexican)Bradleys I have here? Are the ones they're making now just called a 500K Audio taper & that's it? I have some electronics parts catalogs where I get my stuff for servicing. If any of them list Clarostat pots, will those be the same? |
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Jack Stoner Sysop Posts: 8119 |
posted 10 September 1999 03:15 AM
The current production Clarostat pot, that is used in volume pedals, is the EXACT same pot as the Allen Bradley's you have. I've never seen this particular pot listed in any Electronics supply catalog. You have to be careful and only get that one particular type. From what I understand that particular type can only be purchased direct from Clarostat and it may even be a "limited production" item, since it is a "Mil Std" (Military Standard) part - not a commercial production item. The replacement 500K pots that Goodrich and George L's are the correct model. They are expensive, and about 4 years ago George Lewis was complaing that his price for the pot (in relatively large quantities) was $12.00 and the "distributer" price is probably even higher now.
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Palmer Member Posts: 120 |
posted 15 September 1999 02:42 PM
I bought one of the new Keith Hilton volume pedals. It has a much clearer quality sound than the conventional pot pedal. It is rather expensive but worth the money. ------------------ |
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Kenny Dail Member Posts: 2583 |
posted 15 September 1999 07:17 PM
I have no degrees in electronics but if you are using a PV amp and it has the "pedal" patch capabilities, it is my understanding that the "match box" an/or other impedence matching devices are no long effective or needed. I use a PV Session 500 and have never used any of these devices. I have from time to time taken them for "test drives" and found them to be useless so far as my ears could tell...but then again I have "tinitus" so it might just disqualify the above statement. If someone on the forum that reads this could qualify this...I would appreciate your input. ------------------
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Jim Cohen Member Posts: 8715 |
posted 16 September 1999 06:01 PM
I really can't remember what kind of pot I like best. It's been too long ago, man. [This message was edited by Jim Cohen on 09-16-99] |
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Bruce W Heffner Member Posts: 328 |
posted 20 September 1999 07:16 PM
Jim, my favorite "POT" is the Tea Pot in 24k gold. |
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Jay Ganz Member Posts: 1626 |
posted 21 September 1999 08:16 AM
Well, I knew I had that one comin', but I didn't feel like spelling out POTENTIOMETER (did I get it right?) |
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Jim Cohen Member Posts: 8715 |
posted 21 September 1999 09:01 PM
Jay, You knew we wouldn't let you down, didn't ya? 
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Doug Jones Member Posts: 543 |
posted 24 September 1999 08:41 PM
Back to the Pot question; what's the difference between the Type J and Type EJ Claristat pots? Does one have a quicker taper or different tonal characteristic? Any comments? |
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Keith Hilton Member Posts: 1649 |
posted 25 September 1999 06:48 PM
The real truth of the matter is that you have "NO" choice when buying a standard 500K steel guitar potentiometer. You "MUST" buy a George L Pot,or a Goodrich Potentiometer. These two companys are the only ones willing to invest enough to get these pots made. Clarostat is making them all, and their plant is in Mexico. No company in the world is making stock--500K log taper pots like steel guitar players use. Everything is special order. Any other taper WILL NOT WORK. Audio will not work and linear taper will not work. No one has been successful in altering the taper of (audio--or--linear)pots with resistor configurations to make them work just like a log taper. I know, I've tried every possible combination. I thought about selling pots made by a company in Canada. The cost is about $7.00 if you buy 1000 at a time. I don't really blame retail dealers for charging close to $30.00. Steel Guitar audio is demanding and players can hear every pop and every scratch. So, you sell pots and guys are calling you up saying, "I've only had this thing a month and it sounds scratchy."----"This thing cost $30.00 and it has not been a year and it's popping." So---no thanks to selling pots, even if you could make $100.00 per sale. If I were you, I would expect to pay more and more for your next pot. There is just to much complaints about popping and scratching, and the time they last. Beside, pots are a thing of the past. Most modern electronics don't even have pots in them. Pots were in the 1940's and 1950's when there was just AM radio. The new music amps don't even use them in their control knobs. Everything is going to digital chip systems, voltage controlled OP amps, photo resistor, transistor, and other means of controlling voltage. POTS are ancient history in modern electronics. There have been many types of pedals made that don't use POTs. In the steel guitar world Goodrich makes a pedal that gets away from the standard 500K pot. Still, the Goodrich pedal has a pot, a 10K pot. My new pedal has NO pot. My new pedal is NOT a light beam pedal. There has never been anything like my new pedal. I am trying to bring the steel guitar foot pedal from the 1940's to what is possible in 1999. The result is a better sound, with no more $30.00 pots to complain about. ------------------ [This message was edited by Keith Hilton on 09-25-99] |
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