Emerson Pro CTS Pots
Lower drag, tighter tolerance and smoother taper. Individually tested control pots for demanding pro guitarists, developed by Emerson in cooperation with CTS.
- 8% tolerance
- Smooth, even volume taper from 1 to 10
- Low drag for the smoothest feel
Why a "pro" pot? Emerson's Mitch Ingram explains:
"Pro CTS pots from Emerson Custom were designed to be the premium choice for the discerning guitarist looking for optimum performance and tonal response from a guitar potentiometer. They feature a longer-life brass shaft and bushing, and a tighter ±8% resistance tolerance. Each and every Emerson Pro CTS pot is hand tested to ensure that it meets or exceeds our stated tolerances. The proprietary custom audio taper was specially designed for a very smooth and accurate response when you roll up and down on the controls. Crank your guitar up to 10 and the volume swells all the way—no abrupt flattening to choke your playing style."
Erick Coleman, guitarist, repairman and StewMac tech advisor, adds:
"I use Emerson Pro CTS pots and really like the way they perform, as do the clients whose guitars I've installed them in. Precise, and with an even taper. No sudden jumps or cuts as you turn the dial. Low drag means they're easier to turn, giving you faster control. The bottom of the pot has the vintage look, too."
Emerson Pro CTS pots are available with fine-knurled split shaft, or with smooth shaft for set-screw knobs. A long-shaft split-knob 500K-ohm version fits Gibson Les Paul® and similar carved-top solidbodies.
Each pot includes a flat washer, lock washer, and two hex mounting nuts for custom height adjustment on a pickguard or control plate. 3/8"-diameter (9.52mm) mounting hole required.
| Shaft diameter | 0.235" (5.95mm), fine knurling | |
| Thread | 3/8" x 32 | |
| Threaded portion height | 3/8" | (9.52mm) |
| Threaded portion height, long shaft | 3/4" | (19.05mm) |
| Required mounting hole diameter | 3/8" | (9.52mm) |
Solid shaft pots
| Shaft diameter | 1/4" (6.35mm) | |
| Thread | 3/8" x 32 | |
| Threaded portion height | 3/8" | (9.52mm) |
| Required mounting hole diameter | 3/8" | (9.52mm) |
Which pot value should you choose?
500K pots are standard controls for humbuckers, and 250Ks are usually used for single-coil pickups. A 250K gives a slightly warmer tone than a 500K, and bleeds off (attenuates) some of the high frequencies to ground. A 1-meg pot bleeds off even less than a 500K—try one if you want to hear your guitar "wide open."
1-meg pots are also ideal for piezo pickups, as the ultra high impedance piezo element is more adversely effected by conventional, lower-value pots than magnetic pickups.
