pots of choice

[steviea55]

What type of pots did ken use? I would like to be able to solder onto the backs as with the original design. I have read that the taper is the most important aspect. I have used CTS and alpha in the past,however this is my first Express build. All the CTS and Alpha I have found are .5 watt. Is the wattage critical. Mouser has the Alpha for real cheap, and correct me if I am wrong but I believe the Kelly amp used Alpha. Any advice will be appreciated

[M Fowler]

You can use standoffs rather than solder to the pots as well.

I do not like CTS or Alpha and have a hard time finding a pot that suits my builds. So I continue to use Bourns 3/8" diameter and long shaft which works well going through the chassis and faceplate with 1/4" shaft for knob. (Bourns pots from Steve at Apexjr) You can solder to the backs of these as well.

I know that the Bourns is not the best as they are not that smooth but other then going with PEC I can't find anyother decent pots to work with.

[Ron Worley]

There is also the Clarostat line, which are just as nice (and expensive) as the PEC.

Best price on PEC I've found is at AES- www.tubesandmore.com

[steviea55]

Dave@Westlabs says" All professional grade pots have stainless back covers, and therefore can't be soldered." Further, he feels no pot should be soldered on the back and that it is un-necessary and bad practice. His Best Pots in the world are made by Clarostat. Has anyone used them?

[M Fowler]

I can agree with that I have ruined a few good pots soldering to them.

[paulster]

I've used the Clarostats from Dave. It's one of the easier places to get the log value pots.

[FYL]

His Best Pots in the world are made by Clarostat. Has anyone used them?

Dave West buys parts from industrial distribs and then retails them. His pots are exactly the same you can buy from Digikey, Allied or other sources.

I've ordered a sample of his pots a couple of years ago and got PEC pots instead of Clarostat's.

When notified of this, er, discrepancy, Dave answered me that he had delivery problems and that the PEC pots were the same (they aren't). He added that he would send me the Clarostat's I had ordered ASAP but he must have slipped into a temporal crevice as I've not heard of him since then.

[fishy]

Dave@Westlabs says" All professional grade pots have stainless back covers, and therefore can't be soldered." Further, he feels no pot should be soldered on the back and that it is un-necessary and bad practice. His Best Pots in the world are made by Clarostat. Has anyone used them?

I used the Clarostats on my Express. I idn't realise the best pots in the world came from Mexico. They also can be had for much less than the asking price at Westlabs.

[steviea55]

T.A. Webber has a 1meg , 2-watt, sealed pot with a conductive plastic element, and a solderable cover that includes a soldering tab for under $5.00. Has anyone tried these. On the subject of soldering to the back of a pot. One must use caution not to over-heat but we have all done it many times, however, I have been using carbon element type pots. I can see how this could be a problem when using the plastic element type pots. I believe Ken soldered the copper ground buss onto the back of the pots for a sonic reason and not just for convenience. He could have done it other ways. Does anyone know the type and wattage of the pots in Francesca?

[mlp-mx6]

I believe Ken soldered the copper ground buss onto the back of the pots for a sonic reason and not just for convience. He could have done it other ways.

Just curious - why do you believe this? (I am not challenging your belief, I am seeking to understand it.)

[steviea55]

thanks for the reply mlp-mx6. when I said" I believe Ken soldered the ground buss to the pots for a sonic reason", it was out of faith in his methods and not based on my own knowledge. Ken was one of the greatest minds in the industry. He studied and experimented with all the details and options. This is my first Express build so I have not done enough testing of the options to know yet but Iv'e got an idea it has something to do with where he wanted the pots to be in relation to the way the current is suppose to flow in this circuit. Thick wire, thin wire, length of wire. type of wire,how the wire attaches etc.(get the picture) this could change the placement when your are dealing with mili-seconds. A ground is not just a ground,everything matters. Now back to the Pots,they matter also.

[SkinPimp]

Hey Guys !
Weird place to jump in for a first post.. But, I wanted to say I was at my local Fry's, and found they carry PEC pots through NTE $6.95. They had all the values but the 1MA . I checked with NTE, and they are available, just need to get through a distributer , I guess. the NTE part numbers for an Express are .. (1MA) NTE501-0026- (5K) NTE501-0009 - (25K) NTE501-0012.. May , or may not be old news.. But $6.95 each ?? I am not sure if Fry's takes requests of things to stock , but worth a shot.

[steviea55]

Thanks for the info SkinPimp. Yes I found the same pots at a local outlet. I weighed in with Nik@ceriatone.com (I purchased an un-assembled board set from him.) I got It un-assembled because he uses teflon wire,and I wanted to use 20 AWG solid copper with PVC coating. Now for the pots. Nik said "we use the .5watt Alpha, they are $1.30 each or you can use the Mil spec PEC or others but they are pricier." AH-HA

[prslespaul]

So you can get away with the 1/2 watt pots? Hmm.

[steviea55]

Apparently you can use .5 watt. Hopefully we can get some more insight on this subject,from some folks with more experience.