500K or 250K in Fender Tone and volume?

[Ken Fox]

Did the Fender tone and volume originally have 250K or 500K pots? I took out the tone pot years ago and have been using a 500K for volume. If it was 250K would it be as good or better to put two at 500K for the volume and tone controls?

[Donny Hinson]

I like the 500K for volume...that's what Fender used originally. The tone pot isn't critical at all. I've seen values from 100K to 1 Meg. used. Most players just use the tone control for the old "doo-waa" effect, and not for controling their playing tone. You need that pot to come on pretty fast to give a good "doo-wah"!

[Bob Tuttle]

I bought a brand new Fender tone/volume pedal in about '57 or '58 and it had two 250K pots in it.
Bob<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bob Tuttle on 17 June 2001 at 08:26 PM.]</p></FONT>

[Tim Whitlock]

My Fender vol/tone pedal came with what I believe were the original pots, matching 250k's. When the volume pot finally became too scratchy, I found out how difficult it is to find the exact replacement. While 250k pots are readily available at your local music dealer for about $5, it is difficult or impossible to find one with the long shaft and easy action required by the pedal.

I tried a 500k replacement, but I found that the response from the tone pot was reduced and I couldn't get that good doo-wah out of it. Finally I put in a stock Tele style 250k pot, with slight modification and it worlks pretty good, although they seem to "scratch out" in about a year. The Fender pedal is cool but very cantankerous, requiring frequent adjustments. Good luck with yours!

------------------
Tim Whitlock
'58 Fender 1000, '56 Fender Stringmaster

[Ken Fox]

Thanks for the input. I thought they were 250K!! I've got mine to put the tone control back in and another to replace the tone control (it had a 10K pot in it!). Perhaps the 10K was for a faster doo-wah effect??