Join the FlyGuitars mailing list

Expand the categories below, or go back home

Bass Strings
Buying and Selling
Epiphone
Forum
Gibson
Basses
Books
Guitars
Parts (bass)
Bridge
Cases
Custom parts
EB Cutaways
EB Neck Joints
Logos
Pickguards / Scratchplates
Pickups
Potentiometers
Tuning Keys
Publicity
Serial Numbers
Home
Interviews
RSS Feed
Search
Sitemap

Hipshot bridge to replace the Gibson three-point bridge
Hipshot bridge to replace the Gibson three-point bridge

A direct replacement bridge for your Gibson 3-point bass bridge that uses your existing hole pattern. Gold, Black or Chrome.
Hipshot bridge to replace the Gibson three-point bridge
Hipshot bridge to replace the Gibson two-point bridge

A direct replacement bridge for your Gibson 2-point bass bridge that uses your existing hole pattern. Gold, Black or Chrome.
welcome to Fly Guitars! The home of the hippest, badest, and coolest vintage guitars

New Gibson basses
SGs, Thunderbirds, Les Pauls
www.musiciansfriend.com
Gibson Bass Parts
pickup, bridge, tuners
www.guitarandbassparts.com


Potentiometer Codes On Gibson Bass Guitars

Wiring loom from a 1977 Gibson Grabber. Notice the pot code 1377719 which indicates that it was made by CTS in the 19th week of 1977
Just like the basses themselves, the potentiometers (the volume and tone dials) have a serial number stamped into them. This is an invaluable tool for dating vintage Gibson Instruments. The Gibson serial number system can be very difficult to interpretate to say the least - whilst the pot codes had a simple system in which the date of manufacture was encoded into the numbers stamped into the casing. Usually on the back, as shown in the picture here, or sometimes on the side.

How to Read Pot Codes

Most Gibson basses use pots made by a company called CTS (Chicago Telephone Supply), which has a manufacturers code of 137. CTS codes are in the format 137-year-week. So in the example pictured 1377719 would indicate a CTS pot, manufactured in the 19th week of 1977. Gibson did use pots by other manufacturers, but less often - one such manufacturer is Centralab, code 134, which appears on a lot of early 60s guitar pots.

The other number on the pot 70-031 is the Gibson part number. For more information about part numbers, and ratings, see the VintageGuitar Gibson Pot Database

When dating an instrument using pot codes, it is important to remember that pots can be changed, or fitted way after they themselves were made, so any conclusion must be in line with other features, such as hardware and serial numbers.



US ebay listings

Vintage 1959 Gibson Centralab LES PAUL BURST 500k Pot Set 1958 1960 STANDARD

Current price: $995.00
buy it now
Time left: 19d 53m
CTS 450S1804 5K OHM 2 WATT 20% Audio Log Taper Potentiometer - 290 Pieces

Current price: $450.00
buy it now
Time left: 18d 5h 29m
VINTAGE 1975 ORIGINAL FENDER JAZZ BASS CTS 250K POT CAP CONTROL PLATE GOOD

Current price: $300.00
buy it now
Time left: 5d 4h 42m
VINTAGE 1976 ORIGINAL FENDER JAZZ BASS CTS 250K POT CAP CONTROL PLATE GOOD

Current price: $300.00
buy it now
Time left: 27d 8h 23m
VINTAGE 1967 CTS 250 k FENDER STRAT Pot.

Current price: $299.00
buy it now
Time left: 4d 9h 59m
Vintage 1955 Gibson Les Paul Jr. Junior Wiring Harness Pots, Potentiometer, Cap

Current price: $299.00
buy it now
Time left: 6d 4h 26m
VINTAGE 1967 CTS 250 k FENDER STRAT Pot.

Current price: $299.00
buy it now
Time left: 6d 12h 8m
VINTAGE 1967 CTS 250 k FENDER Pot.

Current price: $299.00
buy it now
Time left: 6d 12h 14m
(3) VINTAGE 1976 ORIGINAL & GENUINE FENDER STRATOCASTER CTS 250K POT CAP 035865

Current price: $275.00
buy it now
Time left: 1d 11h 4m
1959 GIBSON LES PAUL JUNIOR 500 K POT

Current price: $245.00
buy it now
Time left: 27d 8h 17m
Partial 1959 Gibson Les Paul Jr Wiring Harness (pot and input jack)

Current price: $200.00
buy it now
Time left: 17d 7h 53m
VINTAGE 1965 KALAMAZOO GIBSON KG-1 MELODY MAKER LOADED PICKGUARD,PICKUP POT GOOD

Current price: $200.00
buy it now
Time left: 23d 21h 54m
Vintage 1965 Gibson CTS Pot Set Volume Tone 1964 1966 SG Standard Custom harness

Current price: $195.00
buy it now
Time left: 4d 8h 43m
Vintage 1982 Gibson Explorer E2 Volume Pot & tone set~ Nice restoration part!

Current price: $149.00
buy it now
Time left: 2d 18h 1m
Vintage 1957 Gibson Centralab Pot Tone 250k Les Paul Jr. Junior Burst 1956 1958

Current price: $149.00
buy it now
Time left: 8d 3h 22m
Vintage 1957 Gibson Centralab TONE Pot 500k - BURST / GOLDTOP 1958 ES-335 1959

Current price: $145.00
buy it now
Time left: 4d 8h 54m
Vintage 1957 Gibson Centralab TONE Pot 500k - BURST / GOLDTOP 1958 ES-335 2/2

Current price: $145.00
buy it now
Time left: 4d 8h 56m
20-300KLinear Pot 3/4" Long Threaded CTS Split Shaft Allparts EP-4888-B00

Current price: $131.79
buy it now
Time left: 19d 29m
20 500K Audio Pot 3/4 Long Threaded Bushing CTS Split Allparts EP-0686-B00

Current price: $126.69
buy it now
Time left: 19d 28m
Vintage 1967 Gibson CTS Pot Set Volume Tone 1966 1968 SG Wiring Harness WOW LOOK

Current price: $125.00
buy it now
Time left: 4d 9h 3m
See more results on eBay here


UK ebay listings

Vintage 1959 Gibson Centralab LES PAUL BURST 500k Pot Set 1958 1960 STANDARD

Current price: £657.24
buy it now
Time left: 19d 53m
VINTAGE 1975 ORIGINAL FENDER JAZZ BASS CTS 250K POT CAP CONTROL PLATE GOOD

Current price: £198.16
buy it now
Time left: 5d 4h 42m
VINTAGE 1976 ORIGINAL FENDER JAZZ BASS CTS 250K POT CAP CONTROL PLATE GOOD

Current price: £198.16
buy it now
Time left: 27d 8h 23m
(3) VINTAGE 1976 ORIGINAL & GENUINE FENDER STRATOCASTER CTS 250K POT CAP 035865

Current price: £181.65
buy it now
Time left: 1d 11h 4m
VINTAGE 1965 KALAMAZOO GIBSON KG-1 MELODY MAKER LOADED PICKGUARD,PICKUP POT GOOD

Current price: £132.11
buy it now
Time left: 23d 21h 54m
Vintage 1965 Gibson CTS Pot Set Volume Tone 1964 1966 SG Standard Custom harness

Current price: £128.81
buy it now
Time left: 4d 8h 43m
Vintage 1982 Gibson Explorer E2 Volume Pot & tone set~ Nice restoration part!

Current price: £98.42
buy it now
Time left: 2d 18h 1m
Vintage 1957 Gibson Centralab Pot Tone 250k Les Paul Jr. Junior Burst 1956 1958

Current price: £98.42
buy it now
Time left: 8d 3h 22m
Vintage 1957 Gibson Centralab TONE Pot 500k - BURST / GOLDTOP 1958 ES-335 1959

Current price: £95.78
buy it now
Time left: 4d 8h 54m
Vintage 1957 Gibson Centralab TONE Pot 500k - BURST / GOLDTOP 1958 ES-335 2/2

Current price: £95.78
buy it now
Time left: 4d 8h 56m
20-300KLinear Pot 3/4" Long Threaded CTS Split Shaft Allparts EP-4888-B00

Current price: £87.05
buy it now
Time left: 19d 29m
20 500K Audio Pot 3/4 Long Threaded Bushing CTS Split Allparts EP-0686-B00

Current price: £83.68
buy it now
Time left: 19d 28m
Vintage 1967 Gibson CTS Pot Set Volume Tone 1966 1968 SG Wiring Harness WOW LOOK

Current price: £82.57
buy it now
Time left: 4d 9h 3m
NEW - QTY 20 - CTS 1 Meg Linear Pot, Split Shaft

Current price: £69.35
buy it now
Time left: 25d 4h 1m
VINTAGE 1974 - 1975 GIBSON LES PAUL SG GUITAR CTS 300K POT GOOD (#1)

Current price: £66.05
buy it now
Time left: 14d 10h 59m
VINTAGE 1974 - 1975 GIBSON LES PAUL SG GUITAR CTS 300K POT GOOD (#2)

Current price: £66.05
buy it now
Time left: 14d 11h 2m
VINTAGE 1974 - 1975 GIBSON LES PAUL SG GUITAR CTS 300K POT GOOD (#3)

Current price: £66.05
buy it now
Time left: 14d 11h 3m
VINTAGE 1974 - 1975 GIBSON LES PAUL SG GUITAR CTS 300K POT GOOD (#4)

Current price: £66.05
buy it now
Time left: 14d 11h 5m
Vintage 1961 Gibson Centralab Tone Pot 250k - Les Paul Jr. Junior Burst 1960 SG

Current price: £62.75
buy it now
Time left: 4d 13h 4m
20 Pack-250K Audio Taper Pot CTS Solid Shaft Allparts EP-0885-B00

Current price: £58.85
buy it now
Time left: 19d 26m
See more results on eBay here

Comment on this article

All comments are moderated. Name and email details are required.

Name
Email address
Your comments

Anti-spam question - just to prove you are human

How many legs does a cat have?



Flatwound bass strings
Perfect for that vintage tone
www.musiciansfriend.com
D'Addario bass strings
All scales and guages
www.musiciansfriend.com


Home | Sitemap | Contact | Bass Strings
Vintage Guitar Information | Vintage Guitars For Sale