9. Summary

We have now reached the end of our short guide on potentiometers. Thankfully we didn't go into that much technical detail! Let's summarise the most important points:

• a potentiometer is a variable voltage divider consisting of two resistors;
• there are potentiometers with grooved and with smooth shafts, which require different knobs;
• rotary knobs' threads my be of different diameters and measured in either inches or centimetres;
• pots are effective only for a part of their mechanical rotation; at either end, 15% of the rotary angle are ineffective;
• logarithmic potentiometers have a direction of rotation, linear pots do not;
• in electric guitars, potentiometers with an ID resistance of 250kOhm or 500kOhm are the common choices, whereas pots with 25kOhm are intended for active systems only.

Finally, a few words of warning

For a guitar player, pots on the guitar are like the strings - they are subject to wear and tear and need replacing every so often. If you possess a serviceable soldering iron, you can do that yourself without endangering life or limb.

Replacing potentiometers in other electronic devices, particularly in those connected to the mains, is usually not that easy and not always safe, either. Those who are not experienced in dealing with higher-voltage items should leave this to experts. You may feel good saving a little money doing it yourself, but you can't use that money you've saved when you're dead, can you?