New pickup but should pots get swapped too?

[Triple_Jazz]

Hello everyone, I’ve decided to replace the Kent Armstrong set neck humbucker on my Peerless Monarch with a Benedetto A6. I’ll be doing the install myself since I’m very handy with solder and electronics. Since I’ll have it all apart would you recommend changing the tone and volume? I don’t have an issue with them and I’ve read conflicting opinions on how much a difference it makes.

Thanks!

[Jimmy blue note]

Pots and especially input jack to a switchcraft. The ones in there will function but electronics are the area, especially in Asian production guitars, where stock ones will function but not stand the test of time, and the company saves that money. I like Bournes but there are other good ones out there. Gut the whole thing, use good wiring and allow yourself enough secured lead wiring so you can do future work with ease. This had become a standard switch out/upgrade I did for clients who just bought new Asian or non custom guitars. Good luck with your new guitar!
My humble opinion anyway.

[Little Jay]

I like the large sized (Asian made) Alpha pots the best: they feel nice and tight and have a workable taper. I much prefer them over US-made CTS pots; those feel too loose and have a flaky taper, both linear and log. At least the ones I got from Stewmac did.... they were supposedly CTS.

So if your Peerless has the big Alpha pots I would happily leave them if they have the right value for the PU’s (humbucker: 500K, single coil 250-300K with the exception of P90s - they like 500K best as well).

That being said: the best pots are in my ES-125. Old pots with a bakelite top. Central Lab? Dunno... The Gibson-stamped pots in my ES-333 are great as well. Don’t know the brand of those either....

As for caps: only the value matters to me. The cheapest asian caps work fine for me. IMHO bumble bees or PIO caps are a waiste of money.

For wiring I like vintage braided wiring best, or push back cloth wiring. I think I have 22 AWG.

[deacon Mark]

Get good CTS pots not worth the trouble to figure out anything different. Think of the pickup as the window that shows the light but the seal is not good lets in water.

[Spook410]

Absolutely swap the pots and the jack. Takes a little patience in an archtop but OEM pots in all my Asian guitars have been pretty bad. I've never had a problem with CTS.

[Little Jay]

Okay, after some google-ing it seems that there are several pots sold under the CTS-brand name, including ones made in Taiwan and maybe also other countries. I don’t think they are all of the same quality! The ones I got from Stewmac are definitely of inferior quality than the Alpha pots I have!