Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Knackered Pots?


Basscabman
 Share

Recommended Posts

Try the quick & easy fix first - electrical contact cleaner spray - it chemically removes the kind of corrosion (oxidation) you get on electrical fittings. That solves a good many problems like this without ever having to replace anything.

If it doesn't solve it though....

Take your pickguard off carefully, and have a look at the pots in question - there'll be some markings that will give away what you're looking for. Generally speaking, for most pickups they'll use a 250k pot. Then you've got the choice of audio taper or linear taper (audio=logarithmic scale, linear=ratiometric, go for audio if in doubt), then you need one with the right shaft - take the control knobs off your pots to find the answer here (split shaft, solid shaft) and the right length (short, medium, long).

Then you need to find someone that sells what you're after. Lots of choice here, random selection in no particular order:

https://www.wdmusic.co.uk/

https://www.axesrus.co.uk/

https://www.allparts.uk.com/

https://www.northwestguitars.co.uk/

(I have ordered stuff from all these places, never had a problem with any of them)

 

And finally, you need to choose how much to spend. No matter what you spend, they'll all be incredibly close to each other in terms of quality. CTS are a common choice, as they're what would be found in a high end Fender (CTS = Chicago Telephony Supplies, who were taken over by Fender in the 60's), and they'll be about a fiver. You can get cheaper ones - Alpha are good, they'll come in around £2-3, or you can get some ridiculously expensive pots that claim to give you extra 'tone' (with free snake oil). Either way, they'll pretty much all do the same job.

Soldering them in is simplicity itself if you have ever soldered anything before (just be careful not to heat up the body of the pot too much when soldering earths to it). If you haven't soldered anything before, get some practice at it first, and someone to help who knows how to solder - it's not a difficult skill!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did it all work fine in the past and now it doesn't? That would suggest it's all wired up right, but some component (probably in the tone circuit) is not working right, and there are some strange ways that things fail. The most reliable way to diagnose that kind of thing is just to have some good bits to swap in.

Does the tone control still control the tone?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could be, depending of the type of jack used and if it's an active bass...

Go see someone with a bit of electronics knowledge in your area : it's an easy fix, but if you don't know what you're doing, it will be a dead end... 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's some scary wiring.

Gut reaction, it originally came with three small pots and at some stage the two volume pots have been replaced with better quality full size ones. Soldering is not difficult if you start with some 60/40 cored solder and an iron that gets hot enough to melt the solder so it can flow. Most of that solder has not flowed.

Personally, I'd remove all the wiring to the volume pots and do the job properly. In fact I'd go the whole hog and fit a full size tone pot and a good quality jack socket.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...