Bad Pot?

[Guitar Gal]

This may be a simple thing, but thought I'd post it here and get ideas/suggestions.

I've been enjoying my new Agile, however, I have noticed that my bridge volume pot does not always turn the volume off when I dial it down to zero. Sometimes it does turn off the volume and sometimes it does not. Other times, the volume is off when the knob is on zero, but then it suddenly comes back on again. When I move the knob is also sometimes sounds scratchy.

Is it a bad pot or something with the wiring? Something else? I have little experience with guitar wiring, but am always willing to learn. :R

GG

 

[oldguy]

Well, here's a suggestion... you could remove the back plate that covers the controls and take a peek to see if anything looks loose, like a wire that wasn't soldered correctly/completely. You can turn the pot up/down and peer in there w/ a flashlight and see if anything looks suspect.
If I was guessing, I'd say it's a bad pot, just a guess, tho.
Hope that helps.

 

[tunghaichuan]

It sounds to me from your description that either the pot is dirty, or failing.

If the pot is just dirty, you can get pot cleaner from Radio Shack, but it is not the best stuff. A better choice would be Craig Deoxit. These cleaners remove buildup/debris from the conductive track inside the pot.

You'll need to take Oldguy's suggestion and remove the cover. Inspect the wiring to see if anything is loose. If it all looks intact, you can clean the pot by squirting some cleaner into the slot near the solder lugs. Then rotate the shaft all the way up and all the way down several times to work the cleaner into the pot.

If the pot is failing, cleaning it might be just a temporary fix and you may have to eventually replace the pot. This involves soldering which is easy to learn, but hard to get right without some practice. By the time you acquire a new pot, a suitable soldering iron, solder and some cleaner, it might be better to just take it to a guitar tech to have the pot replaced.

If you want to take a shot at replacing it yourself, let me know and I'll dig up some soldering resouces for you.

EDIT: Forgot to add that a few years ago I bought a bunch of surplus 1 meg pots. I used one as a volume control in an amp that I built but the amp would still have some signal bleeding through even with the volume turned all the way down. It drove me nuts until I pulled the pot and measured it with a digital mulitmeter (DMM). It turned out that there was a few ohms of resistance even with the pot turned all the way down, just enough to let some signal bleed through. So I guess this is a long-winded way of saying that you'll also need a DMM if you want to start working on your guitars. Oh yeah, and safety glasses, always wear safety glasses when soldering.

regards,

tung

This may be a simple thing, but thought I'd post it here and get ideas/suggestions.

I've been enjoying my new Agile, however, I have noticed that my bridge volume pot does not always turn the volume off when I dial it down to zero. Sometimes it does turn off the volume and sometimes it does not. Other times, the volume is off when the knob is on zero, but then it suddenly comes back on again. When I move the knob is also sometimes sounds scratchy.

Is it a bad pot or something with the wiring? Something else? I have little experience with guitar wiring, but am always willing to learn. :R

GG

 

[mrmudcat]

Sounds like a failing pot. If ya need a us cts 500k pot let me know .(yours free)

 

[Spudman]

Wow. The title of this thread really threw me.:messedup:

 

[duhvoodooman]

Wow. The title of this thread really threw me.:messedup:

Yeah, it was like college in upstate NY all over again!

Seriously, if the pot is doing that when it's brand new, it almost has to be defective. Unless a look-see in the back shows some obvious wiring/solder problem, I'd just replace it....

 

[wingsdad]

GG-
The pots and sometimes the caps and wiring on that Agile, like most, if not all, inexpensive imports, are pretty low quality. Upgrading them is a relatively simple and inexpensive uprgrade that can significantly improve your pups' performance.

CTS are good pots, I've gone with 500K DiMarzio Audio Taper types as my personal pref cuz my local shop's tech recommends them. About $5-6 a piece.

 

[Guitar Gal]

Wow. The title of this thread really threw me.:messedup:

I thought the title of this thread might get some notice!

Thanks for the reply guys. Looks like I've got a project on my hands. I might just replace all the pots and wiring while I'm at it so everything will be new and updated. I've been looking at this: http://www.rsguitarworks.net/rsstore/product_info.php?cPath=31_60&products_id=399

Although I will initially spend some $$ to do this myself, in the long run it will pay off. Plus, I will have the satisfaction of knowing I did it myself :AOK: I already have a soldering iron, solder, The Guitar Player Repair Guide and a wiring DVD by Dan Erlewine.....but I don't have a multimeter : http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for:_Electronics/Portable_Digital_Multimeter.html Good thing I've been a good girl this year and Santa is soming soon!

Looks like the perfect project for the upcoming cold weekends ahead :beer: I'll keep everyone posted on my progress once things get going.

Thanks again ude:

GG

 

[Spudman]

Don't spend $60 for a multimeter. For your needs you can obtain a digital multimeter at many different locations such as tool discount warehouses, big box department stores, etc. Should cost $10 or less.

 

[Guitar Gal]

Don't spend $60 for a multimeter. For your needs you can obtain a digital multimeter at many different locations such as tool discount warehouses, big box department stores, etc. Should cost $10 or less.

Thanks for the tip :AOK:

GG

 

[mrmudcat]

G.G. you will not need the longposts kit(3/4" long). These are for most modern carve top gibsons(with the control plate) Go with the short shaft kit(3/8"). If ya do go with rsguitarworks tell paula mrmudcat(larry) says hi.ude:

They do have a prewired kit for about the same no switch or jack(most times these stock parts can be used again if trying to save a few coins) You then solder the switch jack pups!!(easy breezy:whatever: ) Anyways a short shaft non prewired is $50 and ive bought atleast a dozen of these kits!!! The jensen oil and paper caps are the shiat!!:deadhorse:

 

[bigoldron]

I agree with Spudman and Mrmudcat. You don't need to spend that much on a multimeter. You should be able to find one at a local home improvement store for around $10. An electronics upgrade kit is also the way to go. Muddie recommends the rsguitarworks kits which are very nice, good quality stuff. I ordered a kit from www.specialtyguitars.com which worked out real nice for me. It came with CTS 500k pots and Tone Pro Vitamin Q caps which really sound good.

By all means, jump on this project! There's plenty of people here who can help, mrmudcat being one of the top experts. The kits come with wiring diagrams plus you can go to the Seymour Duncan site to get additional diagrams. Of course, if you go with the prewired kit you save a lot of time and trouble.

Good luck to you whichever way you go! :AOK:

 

[mrmudcat]

That link ron gave is good ive used them a few times. And the parts are good.RSGUITARWORKS has been good to me. I dont know of any company who would send me a free kit ($50+ $20 t-shirt) for my birthday!!!! It took alot of extra effort in my opinion and im a customer for life!!:crazyguy: