Set of Four (4X) Bourns 500K SHORT Split Shaft Audio Taper Low Friction Potentiometers

These are a great alternative to CTS or Fender pots. Smooth and very consistent from one pot to the next. These are preferred when replacing vol and tone controls.

Would buy again

I bought these Bourn 500K pots for a Billy Bo Guitar I'm building. In the mean time I was upgrading my Gibson Les Paul Junior, and so I bought some CTS Audio Taper 500K and 250K pots to match the vintage specifications. Then it was time to measure the pots; the 500k measured at 461K and the 250K measured at 238K. I decided to break open the Bourns I had. The measurements on the four pots were 500K, 498K, 505K, 488K. I installed two in my Junior with a Jupitor .022 Bumble Bee capacitor, and it was tremendous! Yes! Very smooth. Need I say more.

If you use your guitar's controls a lot and like a super smooth, easy touch, then this is a great potentiometer for you. This is a high quality pot, suitable for installation in any guitar from bargain to boutique. I installed four of these in a old Les Paul to replace the custom CTS Super-Pots that were in it, which were fine except they were so hard to turn it felt like molasses got on the shafts. I like when I can feather the volume with no effort and these Bourne pots are made to be low torque, smooth, and quiet and they deliver. The taper is excellent and very usable across the entire range. Don't confuse its smoothness or low force needed with cheapness. Bournes also makes a guitar potentiometer with high torgue if you prefer that that's provides longer life but this one will last for years. This is the model that EVH and Seymour Duncan sell with their name on them for double the price. The "looseness" (not really loose--it's low torque) is by design and signifies a high quality component. Regarding the resistance values the ones I've received have been well within the specified tolerance of ±20% and actually averaged out overall to within ±2% with the furthest out (457K) being about 9% under. The others in the most recent set measure 505K, 505K, and 492K. I've got bags of CTS and Alpha pots that are not this consistent or as near to nominal value so as far as these being "all over the place" that is no more so than with any make or model and well within specifications. Even a ±10% pot can range from 450K-550K and be within specs. It's not that important as long as they're in the ballpark. Use whatever slight variance to your advantage. There's no such thing as a "matched set" unless somebody picks through them and doubles the price. The wipers are quiet. If you're hearing noise it's being caused by something else. I'm very glad I changed to these pots and only wish I'd done so sooner. Highly recommended unless you want more drag in the rotation and then you can go with the other Bournes model available. These are as pleasure to use.

One of the ones I received produced random static-like noises when turned

Exelente potenciometro de volumen lo mejor es que no se pierde tono

These specific pots are being used in a mod of a Fender Stratocaster and Fender Telecaster guitar. Humbuckers were installed, so 500k ohm pots and a 0.047uF capacitor are needed. I am a Certified Fender Guitar Tech. The short shaft versions are for mounting to the thin strat pickguard and tele control panel and not too deep so that the pot will fit within the body route. I use a Soviet paper in oil (PIO) cap for better tone. These pots are noiseless and smooth with good control and tone. They have very low friction, so they turn readily. They have a history of high quality in vintage radios. I like them in my guitar builds and mods. They have provided years of noiseless (i.e., No pops, scratching, hiss, or other white noise) control of tone and volume. They solder easily, are durable, are designed against dust and dirt intrusion and tend to last without need for cleaning or other maintenance. They are a staple in my guitar repair shop inventory. They predate CTS pots and are every bit the quality of CTS pots. I prefer them over CTS: they tend to last longer, have a better 'feel' when operating on the guitar, and are relatively 'unknown' outside of audiophile circles, so they often cost less than similar CTS pots.

I purchased these based on the abundance of positive reviews and thought I'd give something new a try, Unfortunately, I haven't been satisfied with the quality or the feel. The "low friction" is indeed low friction. It feels cheap, unsatisfying, and imprecise. I'm using them as volume pots-mistake. They're too easily moved out of position. Two of the four pots don't work properly. On one of them, turning to full volume kills the sound completely. You have to slightly roll back on it from the 10 to the 9 position to get the volume back. With the second, the sound would cut in and out depending on whether or not there's downward pressure being placed on the shaft. I haven't tested the other two. I'm new to these particular pots, but not to working on guitars, and I've never experienced this before. Maybe it's a quality control issue with the batch I received, but either way the feel probably isn't for everyone. I would not recommend them.