250K vs 500K pots for a Stratocaster Humbucker

The age old question that haunts Strat owners! If you want a bridge hum bucker, what pots do I need? 250K or 500K, does it even matter!?
I hope this video is useful and gives some guidance.
I've used:
Fender Player Stratocaster
DiMarzio DP100 Super Distortion
A 3 way loom with all 250K pots
A Obsidianwire loom with 500K pots when in humbucker position
Amp settings remain constant, same strings were used, pickup hight remained unchanged etc.

[@tyz5604]

You were right for the wrong reasons. 500k ohm pots have more resistance than 250k ohm pots, ohm being the unit for resistance and k meaning thousand. This higher resistance helps keep the higher frequencies from going to ground keeping them in your signal output for longer as you sweep from 10 to 0 on your volume/tone pots. I highly recommend the video by @DylanTalksTone on this topic as he covers the basic science and its effects on tone very well.

[@Motocoupemusic]

Haha, can’t win them all. I’ll pin your comment so others see this and learn from my rookie error! Thank for pointing it out! 🙌

[@ryantyznar2247]

@@Motocoupemusic hey just noticed this message thanks for being cool man. it was a simple thing to mix up no big deal. i guess i thought id save you some confusion it definitely took me a while to even find the right info.

[@rockduds]

Thank you I was searching for this

[@tonyyoungblood1165]

Once you start dialing volume on the guitar the clarity will start changing on both pots. Whether it’s for better or worst is up to what you prefer. Some people even use 300k to try and get the best of both. I have a couple of guitars with 250k and a couple with 500k. I just try and dial them to what sounds the best for the situation. Nice video by the way, I’m kinda addicted to comparison videos, it helps me to decide on what mods I might wanna go with.

[@pmd7914]

Thanks. Convinced me swapping 250k standard pots on Squier Bullet Mustang HH to 500k pots is a good idea.

[@timbuk1126]

That's a beautiful guitar.

[@Motocoupemusic]

Thanks man!!

[@waltseher7115]

I was really hoping to see you demo the volume knob, but you left them both at 10. What I've discovered is, a 500k pot is a little more fussy than a 250k, when you dial it back. Its like it goes from 0 to 60 like a race car. Less room to cruise. Or dial in some overdrive like a 250k pot does. With a 250k pot, you can adjust how subtle your signal breaks up. I'd love to see someone demonstrate that. Too many Spinal Tap fans, pushing their volume to 11! Lol

[@trevorhart2009]

I like the 500k sound better definitely an improvement

[@RTGuitar73]

Thank you!

[@Doctorfingertips]

Thanks bud.

[@MaartenAnna]

Hi mate, very insightful, thanks. I’m putting together a guitar for my kid, with a (purple) humbucker, and chameleon purple/blue finish (but that’s besides the point. However, you reckon I should go for a 500 pot with a 470cap or a 250 pot with a 227pot? I have both of them lying around here.

[@Motocoupemusic]

Thank you! First of all, there is no wrong combo and it all comes down to preference. If it’s a HSS and you just want standard 5 way wiring then I would recommend 250 and do the rest with the cap, this will keep the versatility. But if it’s all about the humbucker and high gain go with a 500. But at the end of the day pots and caps are cheap, so if you don’t like it change it!🤘

[@stevelaferney3579]

@@Motocoupemusicsays pretty well done. Definitely change twixt the two with 250 sounding weaker and plainly worse Clean than 500k pot which sounds good. 470 cap I assume and wide open? Sounds like it. Thanks for the video. First time hearing a Humbucker on a 250. TY

[@svetoslavslavkov6123]

Heya thx for the video! Question about your vol/tone knobs - are they Fender's aged white or parchment? I'm trying to match something with the DiMarzio's cream color. Thx in advance

[@Motocoupemusic]

Hey thanks a lot. I enjoyed making this vid. Regarding the knobs these are a parchment colour and don’t match the pickups. To be honest none of the plastics match and it really annoys me, but I’m too cheap to fix it! Lol!

[@svetoslavslavkov6123]

@@Motocoupemusic Thanks for the reply! I really like the DiMarzio DP100 and want to get the black and cream version to put in my Player Series Floyd Rose Strat (Polar White black pickguard, currently has parchment covers + knobs) and I'm planning on getting the Fender Aged White knobs/pickup covers in attempt to match the DiMarzio's cream color. Just worried a bit of color mismatch. If nothing match I guess I'll just get 'white' everything dimarzio and covers but I REALLY like the DP100 cream. BTW liked the Paranoid Solo you stuck in there! Rock on!

[@davemish4163]

I understand what you were trying to accomplish here, but I would have liked to have heard what the middle pickup sounded like. That would be the reason a 250k pot was kept in a HSH guitar I would think.

[@hugofioliveira]

Did you notice a overall volume increase? i did the same experiment. I have a squier with one humbucker only. It had 1 volume and 1 tone both 500k. i changed to 250k both and i think it is a little less brighter the sound BUT does that translate to less volume? like master volume? i had wiring issues since my cables were crapy but now it works but it is a little less loud

[@EM-km8em]

I have a gibson 498t pickup on my strat yet im missing more highs and bite. Would adding an orange drop capacitor and a 500k pot help? What else can i add to get that thick gibson distortion

[@ThatCaymanGuy]

the 500k pot definitely make a difference, its more brighter and more clarity and gives life to the tone.

[@draleigh8881]

my question is i have a squier hss, so it has 2 single coils and a humbucker I want to put in a high output Seymour Duncan in the bridge is there a way I can have a 250k pot for the single coils and a 500 for the humbucker? or is it I can only have one pot for all?

[@Motocoupemusic]

You can do this yes, but you would need a super switch and the two types of tone pots. Tbh it’s a bit of a pain to wire a super switch as they are fiddly! I did this very thing but stumped up the cash for a ready wired harness

[@AMusset]

You can have a single pot but you’ll need a superswitch. Check this diagram for example sixstringsupplies.co.uk/pages/hss-strat-wiring-diagram

[@Farewelltokingz]

Do you think I should use 500K pots with Seymour Duncan hot stack jazz bass pickups?

[@Marshall-uy2dv]

If you are using a high output pickup like a Duncan jb or anything in that range with a Floyd Rose trem,the 250k will tame the highs and take away the ice picky shrillness.Guitar makers back in the 80s used to use 250k pots for this reason.An old Van Halen trick as well.

[@shawn2571]

My esp H1000 has seymour duncan jb pickups and they aren't hot. I mean you can get enough gain with a distortion pedal added before the amp. I can a bit of mid frequency boost in them. I recently heard a pair of stock schecter Diamond plus pickups in a schecter C6 deluxe and am thinking about trying to find a pair to replace my seymour Duncan jb's they have twice the gain and output.

[@RGZ112]

You do realize that Edward Van Halen's original frankenstrat had a 500K volume knob and no tone knob with one pickup right? He did not usually use high output humbuckers so there was no reason to tame them anyway

[@Marshall-uy2dv]

@@RGZ112 I have to respectfully disagree with you man. Ed did use high output pickups. If you watch Jim Gaustad's videos he debunks the low output pickup myth. Jim's tone is just too damn close to believe otherwise! He uses a Super Distortion which is in the 13 to 14 k range, a Seymour Duncan JB which is in the 15 to 16k range. These are not low output pickups! Ed liked to use reverse psychology to throw people off of the path., if he said low output he was really using high output pickups. Ed was also a bullshitter, you had to take what he said with a grain of salt! While he might have used a Duncan 59 occasionally he also used a variety of other high output pickups! A good example of Ed's B.S. was him saying he wound his own pickups. You have to ask yourself how is a guy who can't wire a pickup cavity is capable of winding pickups? Watch Jim Gaustad's videos you will see what I'm talking about. He gets very close, scary close! Another component to Ed's tone is the studio reverb and added mike compression, but that is a whole other rabbit hole!

[@RGZ112]

@@Marshall-uy2dv Some of what you're saying is true. But will never know the full truth regarding what Edward did. A lot of people on You Tube like to analyze him after the fact. Have you heard that the humbucker in the Kramer 5150 had a broken coil? Do you think that was a high output pickup?

[@Marshall-uy2dv]

@@RGZ112 Interesting point, and you're right all we can do is speculate! But one thing to consider is there isn't a brown sound there are basically six versions of it all different from the next! Ed was a tinkerer, always changing always evolving, so I can concede that he used both high and low output. Anyway watch Jim's videos, they are entertaining and impressive as to how close he really gets! He is a very talented guy!

[@markkokkalis3614]

I'm having issues concerning a charvel ash body/ebony fretboard I purchased recently...I'll swap out the pups which sound a bit too thin 4 a di marzio super 3 in the bridge & a gravity storm in the neck (high output pups)....should I change from 250k pots 2 500k ? I'd like your opinion...

[@Motocoupemusic]

Hi Mark. There is always a trade off, but personally I would choose 500k pickups for high output humbuckers to allow the high end tightness through. 250k will probably leave the overall sound a bit muddy and flappy.

[@markkokkalis3614]

@@Motocoupemusic thanx bro 🎸💣🤘...btw nice looking dave murray guitar U have there 👊!!!

[@Motocoupemusic]

@@markkokkalis3614 - thanks mate, it’s a good thing!

[@markkokkalis3614]

@@Motocoupemusic Really need your help on this 1...I have an HSS strat upgraded with a super distortion (bridge),area 61 middle & a virtual vintage heavy blues 2 neck...middle & neck R high output single sized humbuckers...should I go 500k pots or even maybe 300k ? 250k pots is out of the question cause pots always measure lower than they say...

[@Motocoupemusic]

@@markkokkalis3614 - I don’t know if this will help you, but (generally) using unusual pots relative to the pickup gives up some tone somewhere along the line. I have just created a HSS Strat, I got a harness that using a super switch which engages a 500k pot for the humbucker and 250k for the singles. It’s just the job and works for me.

[@realmonster8804]

Nice video what are the humbuckers in the strat ?

[@Motocoupemusic]

DiMarzio super distortion bridge and 36th anniversary PAF neck.

[@stevelaferney3579]

If you’re having trouble cutting thru a band I suggest a 250 pot on a Humbucker as it sounds better for that type of situation.

[@bluwng]

I think 500k should be louder it acts as both a voltage divider and a filter. You will have max power transfer so higher amplitude and broader frequency response so more frequencies. You were right on both counts , it’s not an OR statement it’s an AND.

[@muimasmacho]

Think of the volume pot as a *'volume'* pot. Take a 500K pot... and turn it down to 250K... and you end up with less volume. Right? Same here. Volume pots are generally logarithmic, so it's not actually 'half' volume... but you get the idea. The higher resistance will pass higher frequencies as well. Change the capacitance to dial it in. It's a whole lot cheaper, and easier to shape the tone this way instead of swapping expensive pickups all the time looking for the holy grail. Pickups are pickups, and they're only one part of *the overall circuit.* I find 330K to be a good starting point. Especially with P-90s. 😉

[@lennywise_1]

A bit late to the party. But kind of pots did you use (like from what brand)?

[@ivanlow2570]

All the important mids are lost with 500k pots in this guitar. Sounds massive alone but in a mix or live band situation, you won’t be able to hear your guitar that well.

[@TheLowest]

Would've been cool to see how the middle single coil was effected

[@thmmke6926]

always 250k, 500 sound to pitchy in a strat,

[@magalionv6473]

Definitivamente para bobina doble me gustan más los potes 500K. Gracias por la información

[@Michael-jv2cn]

My Yamaha SSH has a 500k on the volume and a 250k on the tone. Why would they do this?

[@Motocoupemusic]

Either, to balance out the different pickup outputs by being clever with the wiring (my vid is basic/standard wiring but if you are smarter than me you can mix pots), orrrrr, they be messin with the tonal balance of space and time to rip your wormhole through the star gate to Alderan. 😎🤘

[@otaviofenderstrat4220]

500k all day

[@philipjanek3864]

True dat agreed !

[@austinknowlton1783]

Notice a lot more difference in tone on the clean channels.

[@JayOneAlumni]

where these the exact strings used or just same brand of strings?

[@apollowavebeats]

still waiting

[@shawn2571]

Sounds like the 500k pots also increased bass frequencies making it sound muddier overall. At least that's what i heard through my headphones

[@carsgunsandguitars]

My best sounding guitar is an HSS partscaster with 250k pots and an Duncan antiquity in the bridge with 2 Fralin singles and a tremble bleed kit.

[@Motocoupemusic]

Sounds awesome!!! 🙌

[@callmehost7594]

Personally I like the darker tone of the 500k

[@CubensisRecords]

It's the other way around!

[@callmehost7594]

@@CubensisRecords oh yea, my bad lmao🤣🤣

[@Olegstuff21986]

500k sounds much better for HB imo, brighter, more clarity.

[@Mr.Goldbar]

I say 500K for all pickups, not just humbuckers. I'd even say 1MEG for all pickups. 250K sounds muffled and I don't like it, even on single coils, it counteracts what a single coil does and should be like

[@Motocoupemusic]

Interesting, why not if you like it! 👍 I love that about guitar mods, the possibilities are endless!

[@timbuk1126]

1 Meg for single coils? I might use 550k super pots but 1 Meg would be pure treble.

[@Mr.Goldbar]

@@timbuk1126 why use single coils if you'll end up muffling them? I'd get a Humbucker at that point. 1MEG sounds to me the closest to no knob at all, which is my personal favorite, gives me the moat raw tone of the pickups

[@ChrisJimenez2010]

Jazzmasters are single coils and use 1meg pots, so not a bad idea

[@stevenclarke5606]

500 K is a higher resistance, apart from that I have no idea how this affects the tone.

[@Esrom_music]

Polly

[@giorgosk2884]

Dave Murray have the same setup with 250k i think

[@Motocoupemusic]

That’s right, I did start this project to replicate Dave’s original (‘Kossof’) Strat! I had a black Strat with the DiMarzio Super distortion in the bridge, vintage single in the middle with a DiMarzio PAF in the neck, all with 250k pots and a three way switch. This was pretty cool but morphed into this guitar. It’s a player Strat with the same pickups but and obsidian wire HSH harness. It’s pretty cool!

[@josuey.80sfloresb.59]

250k A or B uses????

[@Motocoupemusic]

For humbuckers?

[@heyimjoshnicetomeetya]

I honestly notice a difference, but it's not so massive that it's off putting, you know. I actually think Strats benefit from the extra warmth, as they're already so bright anyway.

[@Motocoupemusic]

Agreed, I used to run the hsh with 250k pots and never really minded, after all you can always add some high end back on the amp.

[@the_friendly_shirt]

+20pts for dispatch

[@Motocoupemusic]

Haha!! A fellow fan. They’re great aren’t they!! 🙏🙏🙏

[@99bigjim]

the much harder decision and set-up is what do you use when you are trying to set up a HSS strat...... I still don't know

[@Motocoupemusic]

After doing loads of pickup swaps over the years, my advice, just start with standard Strat wiring and add a humbucker, play it for a bit and see if you like it. If too dark, change the wiring. My HSS Strat has a fender Shawbucker with 250k pots and it sounds great!

[@3500ton]

No one mentioned the tone pot(s). Does 500K Vol + 500K tone sound the same as just a 250K Vol no Tone pot, which is and was stock stratocaster wiring. If it does sound the same the problem is solved by itself for a HSS strat with 3 pots. The problem remains for players who like a single 500K pot (no tone pot for a HB) with a HB in the bridge position and single coil pups in the neck and middle positions.

[@nalukeko]

tone pots are not in the circuit the way a volume pot is. The signal in simple terms goes from pickup through volume pot to output jack. The tone put attaches to a lug on the volume pot and sends treble to ground by sending it to the tone cap as you turn it counter-clockwise. The tone cap rejects the lows but lets the highs bleed to ground.

[@ophidianzoso]

We can't know the difference between the pots because different pickup positions were being used.

[@Motocoupemusic]

All the samples were bridge pickup only.

[@ophidianzoso]

@@Motocoupemusic Ah ok, it looks like the pickup selector switch is in different places.

[@Motocoupemusic]

@@ophidianzoso - prob because in some of the clips there isn’t a knob on the selector switch. Keeping you on your toes!! 😜

[@harryanderson7282]

Ah... But what about 1 meg pots?

[@Motocoupemusic]

That’s just crazy talk!!! 🤣🤘

[@TheKingacevedo]

Spoken in a Hobbit accent. "They come in 1 meg?!?... I've got to get one of those...."

[@justinwood2519]

Stew Mac says that a 250k would sound warmer with a humbucker.

[@mabbatic]

My 2 cents. Easier to dial out highs then add them.

[@papawx3]

Dimarzio makes a true single coil bridge pickup for the Strat type guitars that is VERY good and punchy, it cuts, gets dirty and cleans up well, everything you could ask for. It's called the "Red Velvet". I detest the thought of putting a humbucker in a Strat. if you want a humbucker, get a Paul, SG or a 335.

[@Motocoupemusic]

Different strokes for different folks. I personally don’t detest anything, for me variety is the spice that makes guitars so fun! 👌

[@papawx3]

@@Motocoupemusic I know your type. You're the reason why everything is so phuked up. Sorry excuse for a man, you stand for nothing.

[@Motocoupemusic]

@@papawx3 🤣🤣🤣 have a lovely day man!

[@williambroadstreet3353]

The Seymour Duncan 'Hot Rails' single pick up which for all intents and purposes is a true humbucker made my blue Strat - the exact same colour of the Strat in this video - seriously cracking oomph wise.I have a HSS, Dimarzio Super Distortion humbucker and 2 SD Hot Rails. But I am now going to remove the neck SD Hot Rails and put in another Dimarzio SD into the neck. So it'll look similar to Mick Mars' super Strat "Isabella". It's all about personal choice really. What sounds you want to get. The beauty of a twin humbucker Les Paul is what the icon Ace Frehley once said in that the head stock of a LP is tilted unlike a Strat and SpaceAce believes this gives more sustain. Gibson really do need to reduce their guitar pricing. You can get a Fender HSS with Fender humbuckers/single coils for around $1,200, and once you've modded it the price outlay is still far below the entry level LP.

[@robinbennison9225]

Final Frontier riff 🙂🤘

[@lovecraftmusic8717]

This guitar looks too similar in specs to a Dave Murray signature, except that one was black.

[@Motocoupemusic]

Hehe, yup that’s what I was going for. Good spot. It was a cool guitar, but the HSH wasn’t for me, I think I prefer the HSS. But it was really cool. 👌

[@lovecraftmusic8717]

@@Motocoupemusic he's my fav guitarist along with Mike Davis from Nocturnus. Neck pickup was a paf 36 or a super dist?

[@Motocoupemusic]

@@lovecraftmusic8717 - DiMarzio 36th paf in the neck, bare knuckle boot camp brute force middle (it sucked) and super distortion in the bridge naturally 😆

[@lovecraftmusic8717]

@@Motocoupemusic yeah, aside the middle pickup it was the exact configuration of Dave Murray. I have to try the paf 36 yet. What didn't like about it?

[@Motocoupemusic]

@@lovecraftmusic8717 - It was a DM replica build. But with a SSOASS vibe. Dave used a similar colour ESP Strat on the Seventh Son tour. The 36th sounded awesome, don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it. I just love the sound of a Strat single coil neck pickup. I currently have an Ltd Eclipse with twin 36th PAFs in it and that sounds killer!! I need to do some more reviews! 😜

[@davidparkes7977]

250 k sound better to me

[@mikerobo2112]

250k best,more grunt.

[@linlee7165]

humbucker use 250k sounds better