Pot taper for a 2nd/3rd Gen build

[Matt J]

Hey everyone,
I have one of Erwin's chassis for a 2nd/3rd Gen build and I'm curious about the 30% pot taper shown on the layout. I've used J-taper pots from CTS before for the volume and treble controls and really liked them in my 50 watt #102, but have never used them in the middle, bass, and level position shown on the layout. How crucial is the J-taper curve to tone stack or should I stick with the standard audio taper Alpha pots I normally use?
Matt J.

[marcos]

Hi Matt,
I would recommend a 10% or 15% taper for the bass control. The 30% taper used in the real Dumbles (such as mine) makes a smooth control of the bass difficult, there is a switching effect at about 60k to ground, when in "Rock" mode. It works really well in "Jazz" mode, though. With the "Middle" control , either taper will work, not too much variation in tone, due to the 10 nF cap. Hope this is helpful, have fun
Marcos

[Matt J]

Hi Matt,
I would recommend a 10% or 15% taper for the bass control. The 30% taper used in the real Dumbles (such as mine) makes a smooth control of the bass difficult, there is a switching effect at about 60k to ground, when in "Rock" mode. It works really well in "Jazz" mode, though. With the "Middle" control , either taper will work, not too much variation in tone, due to the 10 nF cap. Hope this is helpful, have fun
Marcos

Ah, thank you Marcos! That does help a lot! Would you recommend a 10% or 30% taper for the Level control?
Matt J.

[marcos]

Personally, I would stick with the Fender-style 30% taper, but again, either one will work just fine. Have fun with your build
Marcos