pots of choice

[Structo]

1/2 watt pots are the normal thing to use in tube amps.

[Ron Worley]

Yes, you can get away with the non-sealed 1/2 watt pots, Ken Fischer used Alphas. But they get scratchy over time, and what's a few extra bucks in a ~$1000 build cost? You gets what you pays for....

[67plexi]

+1 on the PEC 2 watt or any mill. spc.

[jaysg]

I think the old Fenders and Marshalls were 1W pots...correct me if not. It's the reliability and smoothness you should be concerned about.

[KGW]

I have not used the clarostats, but the PECs are nice. I got mine from digikey at $10 a pot. Alpha and CTS are horrible. Some don't even conduct along the full range of the pot. I have a ton of alpha and CTS pots lying around - make me an offer

[steviea55]

You can call me crazy(my wife does all the time), but I have ordered a bunch of different pots to taste test in one of my chassis. So far I have found the PEC to be the over all smoothest. They are sealed 2 watt, however they have large bodys with stainless backs that can't be soldered. The 2 Watt sealed Clarostats are next in smoothness and over-all good feel. They have average size bodys, however their backs are also stainless. The .5 watt open frame CTS are next,they feel like the pots in My super Reverb. They have the average size body with tin backs(easy to solder). The .5 watt open frame, Alpha are the least touch responsive, they are loose feeling like in my Marshall,however they have the average size body,tin backs,and they are what Ken used in the Francesca amp. If you want to use the CTS or Alpha I would suggest that you buy an extra can of DEoxIT. TA Weber at WeberVST.com has a 2 watt ,sealed back ,1 meg, Audio taper,conductive plastic element Pot which has a tin back(easy to solder) , this sounds like it could be a good choice for those who want to stay with the original style ground buss. I have not tried the Weber pot yet, but I will order some to try and post the findings. Weber does not stock the 5k, or 25k Linear at this time. So is it Pots of Choice or Lots of Choice? Honey,I just need one more Amp (FOR NOW)

[v846]

Are those Alpha pots in Francesca ? Maybe they are but the back looks like older cts or something

[Nigel Tufnel]

I haven't seen alphas in any of the pics of Ken's amps floating around, I'm sure I haven't seen them all, I'm damn sure not an expert but I can't help but think that Ken wouldn't have used them unless it was a dire situation. Franny looks just like old CTS to me. Alphas are junk, sure they're cheap but they get much more expensive when you factor in the duds that you have to toss in the trash. Bourns from Apex Jr are a great bang for the buck and far superior to alphas, PEC are where it's at if you have the $ to spend.

[Roe]

some prefer the sound of alphas, esp. in plexis. alphas are CCs whereas most PECs are plastic

[M Fowler]

I prefer the Bourns from Apexjr and always order from him unless it is a value he does not have in the Bourns line.

Mark

[mlp-mx6]

I'm very much looking forward to the report on the Weber sealed units.

[ChrisM]

I'm very much looking forward to the report on the Weber sealed units.

Apparently they are complete garbage. But that's what I heard shortly after they came out, may be different now.

[v846]

some prefer the sound of alphas, esp. in plexis. alphas are CCs whereas most PECs are plastic

Yup Alpha are carbon composition and PEC are hot molded carbon unless I'm looking at the data sheets

FYI
Found this, lists the material used in various pots
http://www2.eem.com/Potentiometers_Trim ... trols.aspx

[v846]

correction, looking at the wrong data sheets

[greatwhitemark]

steviea55, did you notice any difference in noise levels between conductive plastic and carbon pots?

You'd think the quietest pot would be the choice for something like an Express.