Cts 500k audio taper potentiometers paper-in-oil capacitors

I forgot to mention that My Les Paul Custom does not have the metal grounding plate in the control cavity .

This is what made my '87 Prehistoric/standard come alive - 500K CTS audio taper pots and Jensen paper-in-oil capacitors. Like taking a blanket off of my guitar. If I were to replace the pots and caps in my routed '71 LP Deluxe, that is what I would use.

This is my issue that I am struggling with , I have a early 70's (71-74 ) Ebony Gibson Les Paul Custom that was my first electric as a kid that I bought new and this instrument sounds like dog poo and I can't stand it and want to fix this mess .I opened up the control plate and took a look inside and found this # on one of the pot's R1379223 .With these 2 little beige caps that had two numbers on them the one on top is 207 ,the one beneath it is 100 .The guitar had T-tops pickups with the Patent # stickers which I took out over twenty years ago and replaced them with Gibson 57 classic in the neck and the Gibson 57 + in the bridge (which I have the same set up of pickups in my 1994 Gibson Les Paul Classic Premium Plus Top and my 1982 Gibson Korina Heritage reissue Flying V . The pickups just scream in the other Gibson guitars but sound so darn dull in the Les Paul Custom and this is why I am seriously wanting to switch out the wiring harness to the 500K wiring harness with the audio taper.Pardon me if I used some incorrect terminology but I have to make my childhood Lester scream thru my Marshall 2555X . I also believe that I need the short shaft pots . I also believe that my Lester came from Gibson with Black beauty caps and at some time back in the early 80's when changed out the pickups from the stock T-Tops to Dimarzio pickups to then Seymour Duncan pickups that the original black beauty caps I believe were removed for what reason I do not know.Simply put I want this guitar to scream with tone as to how it sounds like now which is so dull that the only way to get anything out of it I would have to push the front end of the amp with a overdrive/distortion pedal ,which I do not want to do because I don't have to do it with any of my other Gibson's and neither with my Fender Strats or Teles . Please help .

I'd say just buy a pre-wired control kit from someone like RS Guitarworks. Replace the pots and caps all in one go with minimal soldering required. If that doesn't fix your problem, well then the controls were not the problem!

This is my issue that I am struggling with , I have a early 70's (71-74 ) Ebony Gibson Les Paul Custom that was my first electric as a kid that I bought new and this instrument sounds like dog poo and I can't stand it and want to fix this mess .I opened up the control plate and took a look inside and found this # on one of the pot's R1379223 .With these 2 little beige caps that had two numbers on them the one on top is 207 ,the one beneath it is 100 .The guitar had T-tops pickups with the Patent # stickers which I took out over twenty years ago and replaced them with Gibson 57 classic in the neck and the Gibson 57 + in the bridge (which I have the same set up of pickups in my 1994 Gibson Les Paul Classic Premium Plus Top and my 1982 Gibson Korina Heritage reissue Flying V . The pickups just scream in the other Gibson guitars but sound so darn dull in the Les Paul Custom and this is why I am seriously wanting to switch out the wiring harness to the 500K wiring harness with the audio taper.Pardon me if I used some incorrect terminology but I have to make my childhood Lester scream thru my Marshall 2555X . I also believe that I need the short shaft pots . I also believe that my Lester came from Gibson with Black beauty caps and at some time back in the early 80's when changed out the pickups from the stock T-Tops to Dimarzio pickups to then Seymour Duncan pickups that the original black beauty caps I believe were removed for what reason I do not know.Simply put I want this guitar to scream with tone as to how it sounds like now which is so dull that the only way to get anything out of it I would have to push the front end of the amp with a overdrive/distortion pedal ,which I do not want to do because I don't have to do it with any of my other Gibson's and neither with my Fender Strats or Teles . Please help .

I've rewired a few guitars that I've owned, my general rule of thumb now is "if it ain't broke, don't...". So, I've mostly left my '98 R8 alone, except for Antiquities. The neck tone is (was) wonderful.

But now both pots are so dirty that it's totally unusable. So... off to RS.

My Les Paul Custom is a nice Guitar with the exception it does not have the vibe or the essence or the Sound that my other Les Paul's have and I have to do this in order to make it scream .I am hopeful that I will get the parts that I want along with a nice setup and I should be good to go .

My Les Paul Custom is a nice Guitar with the exception it does not have the vibe or the essence or the Sound that my other Les Paul's have and I have to do this in order to make it scream .I am hopeful that I will get the parts that I want along with a nice setup and I should be good to go .I would not even bother messing around with my first childhood Guitar if I did not have to ,because when comparing tone with my other two Les Paul's it just sounds like dog poo. That is not right and this has to be done .Believe me if I did not have to do this I would not touch this in a thousand years .I get spoiled playing my beloved 2014 R9 which has the 500k pots and the reissue Bumblebees and the Custombuckers .The Custom has the Gibson 57 classic in the neck and the Gibson 57 classic + in the bridge ,which I have the same setup in my other Sunburst,and my Korina Flying V .Speaking of the Gibson Heritage Korina reissue Flying V ,what kind of pots and caps do you think are in there from 1982 ?

Just an FYI post on potentiometers for anyone interested in the CTS Tru Vintage Taper pots. I found a source, and I have no affiliation with them at all, for the pots if you're looking to save a few bucks:

http://www.axecaster.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=203

I ordered a couple for my volume pots and with shipping to Texas from England the total was less than $20 bucks U.S.

Hey Gringo,

The RS Guitarworks Vintage stuff is killer and has never failed me.

I'm about to drop in a vintage strat set in 1954 reissue that fell I my lap.

Just call them and ask for Billy he'll walk you though it

(859)737-5300

In Lovely Winchester Kentucky and get an Ale-8-One (nectar of the gods)

Hey Gringo,

The RS Guitarworks Vintage stuff is killer and has never failed me.

I'm about to drop in a vintage strat set in 1954 reissue that fell I my lap.

Just call them and ask for Billy he'll walk you though it

(859)737 Thanks , I have checked them out on there website and I do know a lot of people have used them .

If you think 450k is too low for you, it's easy to hack a pot. Really easy. You just have to scratch a little of the ceramic disc on the pot and that's it, it will measure much higher resistance. Do this by little steps to achieve the resistance you want.

FWIW, I just bought a pair of CTS 500k audio pots for my R4 from StewMac. They advertise +/- 10% tolerance. So when I received my two pots, they both measured 500k ohms, right on the money! Imagine my disappointment when I was hoping for a +10% on the measured value :hee

BTW, after putting them in I found the taper a bit steep for my taste (I wonder if these are 90/10s), but it's not a deal killer; easy to adapt to, really. But the added bonus is that their turning resistance felt right on, like a broken-in pot that is not new/stiff to turn, but not so easy to turn as to make them awkward playing live.

Edward

Good news , I finally was able to purchase the wiring harness that I wanted to get with CTS 500K pots and Bumble bee Caps all vintage from Marks Guitar loft .Big Thank you to Mark . So very soon I am going to straighten out my beloved Les Paul Custom .

The first thing I did when I got my Historic (2003 H6 "Stinger") was to replace the pots and caps and add a bone nut. The Gibson pots were way off the mark for me. I just figured I'd change the caps as well. I bought a kit from RS Guitar Works and I love the feel and sound. I use the pots all the time to control my tone so it's important to me that "7" on the dial gives me the sound I think a Les Paul should have at "7". It responds like the '68 GT I once had.

Thye only reason I'm changing pots on my 2017 R8 is because of the abrupt volume taper. Mine are nothing to all from 7 to 10. I much prefer a gradual volume taper from one to ten.

Just a little update , I have my Les Paul Custom out for work to have the new harness from Marks Guitar loft put in and I am very excited and can hardly wait along with a fresh setup and I will be reporting back with the details and some photos .

It seems to me as time marches on that more Historic LPs may be modded somehow than not. I feel somewhere down the road the few unmolested specimens will hold their value better.

For those who have replaced the pots and caps: is there any audible difference when your pots are all on 10? Are they all completely bypassed or is there some small resistance?

For those who have replaced the pots and caps: is there any audible difference when your pots are all on 10? Are they all completely bypassed or is there some small resistance?

If the existing pots are lower rated than the ones you replace them with then yes, definitely.
Everything in the signal chain puts a load on the circuit.
I've seen pots in pre 2011s that were well under 450k. Once they were replaced 500k plus pots the pickups sounded a lot brighter, and more responsive.