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A blender pot is a specially-modified pot that replaces one of a Strat's tone controls, and allows you to combine the neck and bridge pickups together. The remaining tone control typically becomes a master tone. Blenders are modified to eliminate bleed-through when turned fully clockwise. Here's how they operate:
The normal position for a blender pot is fully clockwise. At this position it is completely removed from the circuit (think true-bypass switch) and does nothing, so the guitar effectively becomes a two-control guitar with master volume and master tone. In this position, the blender does not load the guitar's circuit.
Turning the pot counter-clockwise will blend in either the neck or bridge pickup, whichever is not selected by the 5-way switch:
- 1 (neck pickup): blender blends in the bridge pickup
- 2 (neck and mid pickups): blender blends in the bridge pickup
- 3 (mid pickup): blender does nothing
- 4 (bridge and mid pickups): blender blends in the neck pickup
- 5 (bridge pickup): blender blends in the neck pickup
After manually modifying hundreds of normal pots to turn them into blender pots, we finally had them made for us by CTS, and they are now more consistent.You will know Acme's blender pots because they actually have the word BLENDER stamped into them by CTS.
When Acme blender pots are manufactured, a section of the carbon trace is removed near one end. When the pot is turned fully CW, the internal wiper falls into the recessed area left by the carbon removal, which will be felt as a subtle detent. This is normal operation and does not signify a problem.
Blenders are sometimes confused with pan pots, which are completely different. A pan (or ganged) pot is actually two pots stacked on top of each other, and sharing a common shaft. The two pots have revered tapers, so that turning the shaft (in either direction) simultaneously turns one pot 'up' and the other 'down'. There is usually a detent at the middle of the rotation; at this position, both pots are 'on'. These pots are sometimes used in basses with two pickups. Instead of a pickup selector switch, you select which pickup is on with the pot. Our blenders do not work this way, and cannot be used as a pickup selector in this way.