Unsatisfied with volume and tone knob quality

JGillenTrio

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Jan 18, 2017
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Hi all. Owner of a PRS Hollowbody II. I think the guitar is a dream in every area except one: the pot knobs. They have a lack of quality in my opinion compared to the rest of the guitar. I'm looking for something that feels a little more dense than what feels like a cheap plastic for my tone knobs. Does anyone experience this as well with their PRS guitars? Has anyone replaced them with better knobs? If so, I am open to suggestion. I almost feel like taking knobs off of an old gibson because they feel like a much better quality. Thanks.
 
Not sure what you've got on that HBII, or if they're original; but I've got a '16 R8, and I much prefer the PRS lampshades to what's on the R8. However, I've never been a fan of the speed knobs.
 
I like speed knobs better than lampshades. Haven't had any concerns about the quality, though. Of course they're plastic, so how good can they be?
 
Personally I think the lampshades are the best knobs out there, but to each their own.

If you like Gibson knobs better then go ahead, it's your guitar after all.
 
I loved the Lampshades because they look classy, until last week when i was all sweaty and i tried to pull up on the tone knob to do split coil, total failure, could not grip it. Im gonna look for something that has some grip to it. The lampshade era on my guitars is over.
 
Hi all. Owner of a PRS Hollowbody II. I think the guitar is a dream in every area except one: the pot knobs. They have a lack of quality in my opinion compared to the rest of the guitar. I'm looking for something that feels a little more dense than what feels like a cheap plastic for my tone knobs. Does anyone experience this as well with their PRS guitars? Has anyone replaced them with better knobs? If so, I am open to suggestion. I almost feel like taking knobs off of an old gibson because they feel like a much better quality. Thanks.
Do you dislike the feel of the knob itself, or how the knobs turn? If you want more turn resistance, you may need different pots.
 
Lampshades rule, other knobs drool! I will gladly swap your lampshades with the speed knobs from my '02 HBII. It's non-piezo though, so I only have two.

I loved the Lampshades because they look classy, until last week when i was all sweaty and i tried to pull up on the tone knob to do split coil, total failure, could not grip it. Im gonna look for something that has some grip to it. The lampshade era on my guitars is over.

The trick is to not grab the knob. Instead get your middle finger under the edge and pry it up, like a lever. Works great for me, even during outdoor gigs in 90+ degree heat.
 
It is unlikely that you can feel the density of the knobs.

Now, if you are referring to the mass of the knobs and their low inertia (low resistance to turning), that is a property of both the low mass of the knobs and the ultra smooth turning of the PRS pots.

If you want it stiffer, you will need more than just more massive knobs, you will need to change the pots too.
 
If it's the pots that are the issue, it might be good to know that PRS spent a lot of time on the audio taper of these pots, in other words, the rate at which their rotation affects the audio frequencies.

So if your preference is simply a pot with more friction, and you decide to replace it, you might want to consider how that might affect the operation of the guitar.

Some players, myself included, appreciate a pot we can turn with just the pinky finger while playing, so a very light resistance is appreciated. Some want the knob to offer more resistance, which makes this technique more difficult.

Unfortunately, you can't have it both ways.

If it's just about the type of plastic used, man, that's just too weird to contemplate.
 
If it's just about the type of plastic used, man, that's just too weird to contemplate.

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If you don't like the resistance of the PRS pots, you don't necessarily have to change the pots and loose the grat taper and audio quality in the process.

Just get yourself a couple of medium sized rubber O-ring sealing washers, pull the knobs, put the O-rings on the shafts and press the knobs on top. That will give you a decent amount of friction with the original pots.


If you dislike the lampshade knobs themselves...... well,....... there are many other styles out there. I personally would stick with original PRS parts though.
 
RS guitarworks makes a modern PRS wirIng harness for like 50 bucks, the one i got has more resistance when turning the pots.
 
Some players, myself included, appreciate a pot we can turn with just the pinky finger while playing, so a very light resistance is appreciated. Some want the knob to offer more resistance, which makes this technique more difficult.

Exactly. I just got my first PRS guitar and noticed right away that the push/pull tone knob was in place solidly but the master volume knob had a little wiggle side to side and was super easy to turn. The craftsman who made it did that on purpose so you can turn it super easy with your pinky like you said. In fact, just to make sure, I went to GC and took a look at a very expensive PRS guitar and it was the same way. You could blow on the volume knob and it would turn. It also wiggled side to side a little bit where the push pull tone knob didn't. Also, the inexpensive PRS from mexico, didn't have this feature. All knobs were solid as a rock. So I guess you have to pay up for easy turning knobs. lol.
 
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