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so i've had a $200 Dean that has been my beater guitar as of late, and the crappy electronics just stopped working. I'm looking to redo EVERYTHING in the guitar, new pickups, etc, and i was wondering what i need to redo the electronics. I don't know if i need new pots, or whatever else i need, so i figured i'd come here and ask for some assistance.
thanks!
-max

you might as well replace the pots if ur redoing everything, especially if your rewiring the whole thing

On cheap Deans, everything will eventually break (I have one, and have basically rewired it over time due to shit coming undone), so you'll need pots, caps for the tone knobs, a jack, and maybe even a new 3-way switch. Not to mention new pickups. But, if you like how the guitar plays, it's totally worth it. I now love my Dean, that has nothing but a 3-way switch, a covered humbucker, and a Duncan SH-5.

surprisingly it plays pretty nicely, but everything on it just seems a little cheap. it's extremely light and i actually enjoy the neck. i'm planning on putting a set of duncans in there, and i planned on getting new pots as well. this guitar is also a little learning project of mine, as i've never really done work on guitars, though i have always wanted to. i have an american strat, so the dean seems much more project worthy.

any particular brand sell really good pots, jacks, etc?

for pots i would go with alpha pots, theyre very good and reliable, get 16mm size pots for you guitar,

the Life Aquatic wrote:for pots i would go with alpha pots, theyre very good and reliable, get 16mm size pots for you guitar,

what's the difference between 500KA, 250, etc? always wondered, just never seemed to ask

ms1012 wrote:

the Life Aquatic wrote:for pots i would go with alpha pots, theyre very good and reliable, get 16mm size pots for you guitar,

what's the difference between 500KA, 250, etc? always wondered, just never seemed to ask

They're the resistance value of the pot. A 500KA is a 500K ohms log pot. When the letter is B, it means that is a linear pot.

ms1012 wrote:any particular brand sell really good pots, jacks, etc?

Bourns is my favorite. They feel great, which is important for guitars. But they're expensive. (although, they have some that are only about 5 bucks each)

Most places sell Alpha. They're great in pedals, but I don't dig the feel for guitars.

You can get everything at Mouser.com, except maybe knobs (which you may need if you upgrade pots).