Stocking up on Pots

[toddvirgil]

So I'd like to stock up on Pots -- does anyone have a good list of which pots are most commonly used, etc? What's a good mix if I was to buy 50 or 100 of them?

[Vince]

A100k
B100k
B500k
A500k
B10k
B1k
B2k

Those are what I seem to use a lot of, especially in fuzzes but I'd try and get a few of all the others too. Say 5 of the less popular ones like 50k, 250k, 5k,  etc as you'll come across a build and wish you had that value pot.

[Beaker]

Pots are the one thing I don't stock up on. Too many variables and too great an expense.

I tend to buy guitar pots 100 at a time - you only really need a couple of values, but for pedals, it's easy to end up with dead stock.

What I do is to look at the next few pedals I have on my hit list, then order those, plus a couple of spares when it's time to place an order with Dr. Tweak.

Ordering the couple of spares usually means you are well placed for an "emergency" build.

[Madferret]

I've just about managed to do the same thing but I've done it in stages, the ones I go through the most are:

Linear:

100k
500k
1M
10k

Log:

100k - Virtually every pedal uses (or can use) one for Volume so these are absolutely essential
500k - Often used for gain in op-amp designs
1M

Obviously these won't see you through every build so you'll also need some of the following but in smaller quantities:

200/250k Lin
50k Lin
20/22k Lin
5k Lin
2k Lin
1k Lin
50k Log
10k Log

Reverse log pots aren't really used that commonly but some MXR designs use C500k, the Crowther Hot Cake (great pedal) uses a C50k and C1k works great for fuzz control on a Fuzz Face.

I'd order at least 10 of the first list and 5 of the ones in the second, that way you'll be able to build almost anything and then every order after that you can keep topping up and you'll get a better feel of what you use most.  These are just what I use most but hopefully they'll get you into the right area.

[GoranP]

It amazes me that noone mentioned 25k lin (MF was close). That's the one value Tayda refuses to stock and for some reason it keeps coming up in my prospective builds. I ordered a few from Banzai but those are long gone. I've even passed up on a few builds until I get my hands on some more.

[Vince]

I always use 20k linears inplace of 25's. I've never noticed any difference.

[JaviCAP]

I mainly stock B pots:

10k
50k
100k
250k
500k
1M

I use to stock a good amount of each  of these values

A logs, usually don't stock many, but always use to have at least five units  of these values:

A100K
A500K
A1M

Antilogs just use to have one or two pieces of every common values:

C100K
C500K
C1M

and purchase new ones on demmand. Really very few C pots cannot be replaced by a B one, so, never in a hurry to get more.

[alex.s]

I hope no one minds me steering the thread a wee bit off topic, but might be interesting for others too...
We've all seen quite a few good deals on lots of 100 pots of the same value for very little money, but does anyone know of anywhere where you can order, say, 100 pots but pick and mix the values without having to pay non-bulk prices?

[Madferret]

You can get deals like that on Ali Express, really cheap too.  The down side is that they're pretty crap, they're ok for testing out a layout to see if you like it but you wouldn't want them in a pedal you intended to use live or sell etc.  Here's the link anyway:

http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/217076303.html

[alex.s]

That's a very good deal indeed...! Do you have experience with these? Are they pretty filmsy compared to standard alpha/tayda ones?

To be fair I buildlots of boards I don't box up, so these could be a great way to test them and keep them on the side. I can then tidily rewire the ones that get boxed with alphas in their own enclosure...

Thanks a lot for the heads up!

[IvIark]

I've bought from this seller a few times, around 22p each looks good for lots of 50:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Asia-Engineer/_i.html?_nkw=50pcs+15mm+Potentiometer+Pot+-off+-dual&submit=Search&_sid=149380788

[GoranP]

Any leads on log pots?

[toddvirgil]

Goran--Seriously, seems like every layout I wanna do has one! I found some at smallbear, not the cheapest, but they're not easy to find. http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=688

[toddvirgil]

Thanks all! I made my order from Tayda last night. Let the fun begin!

[Madferret]

Alex: I've bought 100 of these in different values so that I can use them to try out a circuit without having to commit decent pots to it.  I'd say they're fine for the most part but now and again you get one that's dodgy and I had one set on fire when I was using it on a +9v in.  I'm glad I bought them as it's saved me money on circuits that I build and then never box, if I like a circuit I tend to redo it with better parts before boxing it.

FYI, the link Mark posted looks identical to the ones on Ali Express, I think you're offered buyer protection with both but ebay's probably a little more user friendly.

[Geiri]

I've been using the ones Mark mentiones for a while now. I've probably bought close to a thousand of them. They're good, nothing wrong with them. If you're used to Alphas then you will feel a slight difference. None of them have failed yet and I've got hundreds of them in stock in all values. I only have linear pots and it works out fine. The feel of the knobs sometimes isn't perfect but good enough.