Loose / Flimsy tone Pot on J-Bass (after cleaning)

Dr3thepooner

Dr3thepooner

Nov 5, 2009
266
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4,856
Glorious Canada
#1
Hello, Good folk.


First off, I did a search and found bunch of treads on loose pots, as in not attached to the wiring panel properly, this is not the case.

The force required to turn the pot on / off , left / right is negligible.

The story is, we had a recent EP recording and our gear was checked by some uber pro luthier, which set everything up precisely in terms of action / intonation - which i love the way the instrument feels.

I always had a scratchy tone pot on my J-bass, and he cleaned it, it does not scratch any more - but it just flies around, and there is no satisfying substance behind the movement...

Maybe he applied to much cleaner and washed out the intended grease inside the pot?

I wired this bass myself and can replace the pot, but is it possible to add some grease to it to add some resistance to save the trouble?

Any ideas?
 
#2
Dr3thepooner said:
Hello, Good folk.


First off, I did a search and found bunch of treads on loose pots, as in not attached to the wiring panel properly, this is not the case.

The force required to turn the pot on / off , left / right is negligible.

The story is, we had a recent EP recording and our gear was checked by some uber pro luthier, which set everything up precisely in terms of action / intonation - which i love the way the instrument feels.

I always had a scratchy tone pot on my J-bass, and he cleaned it, it does not scratch any more - but it just flies around, and there is no satisfying substance behind the movement...

Maybe he applied to much cleaner and washed out the intended grease inside the pot?

I wired this bass myself and can replace the pot, but is it possible to add some grease to it to add some resistance to save the trouble?

Any ideas?
Click to expand...
when you cleaned it you removed the Potentiometer grease that provides some friction and smoothness from the pot. Either lift tabs on front of pot that hold the metal back on then apply some of the Potentiometer (dielectric-non conductive) grease.
 
#4
Nope, the control is ruined and not repairable.

The grease or damping compound is located in a area that is not accessable, which is why I so often caution against liberal use, as well as being very specific as to what is acceptable (only Caig DeOxit D5 and only a tiny amount sprayed into the slot that the terminals exit from.) Under no circumstances should it be sprayed through the bushing like some guitar techs seem to think, as it will ruin the pot just about every time. Over time, it may go from free moving to seized up, and depending on where the grease ended up, an intermittent pot (but for a different reason).

Fortunately, pots are relatively inexpensive, but IMO, your tech should replace it under warranty for ruining your (probably) otherwise good pot that might have benefited from the proper procedure. This is just my thoughts, as I see this over and over again that these guys seem never to learn that such internet myths are simply bad practice. Good luck.
 
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#5
agedhorse said:
Nope, the control is ruined and not repairable.

The grease or damping compound is located in a area that is not accessable, which is why I so often caution against liberal use, as well as being very specific as to what is acceptable (only Caig DeOxit D5 and only a tiny amount sprayed into the slot that the terminals exit from.) Under no circumstances should it be sprayed through the bushing like some guitar techs seem to think, as it will ruin the pot just about every time. Over time, it may go from free moving to seized up, and depending on where the grease ended up, an intermittent pot (but for a different reason).

Fortunately, pots are relatively inexpensive, but IMO, your tech should replace it under warranty for ruining your (probably) otherwise good pot that might have benefited from the proper procedure. This is just my thoughts, as I see this over and over again that these guys seem never to learn that such internet myths are simply bad practice. Good luck.
Click to expand...
I never thought about anyone spraying anywhere but in the slot. The only grease I have seen was on the inside of the back of the pot cover. Thanks for the info. I agree pots are cheep.
 
#10
If you are able to disassemble the pot to the level of separating the shaft from the threaded section of the housing, (like some CTS pots), you might be able to restore the damping/lubricating grease. I don't know what the manufacturers use, but I would try dielectric grease. I use a dielectric grease made by Permatex that I assume is silicone based, (I have not tried it on a potentiometer shaft), and the viscosity seems to be about right. I don't know at what temperature it might flow out of the shaft bore, and make a mess inside the pot, and probably ruin it, but I would not be reluctant to try it on a piece of equipment that I owned. I would not try this to repair, (especially for money) something I don't own, unless the owner agreed to take a chance that it is a bad idea.

If you have a scratchy pot that is a hard to find form factor, and taper, that might warrant an attempt at reapplying grease to the shaft.

Otherwise, pots are not very expensive, and are easy to replace. If a pot has been in use long enough to require cleaning, it may be nearing the end of its useful life anyway. If you clean a pot with Deoxit, and it works for a while, and then becomes scratchy again, it's time to replace it.
 
#12
If it was my bass, with the price of pots being so cheap, it would be best to replace the pot. If it was a vintage pot, it would likely be worn out, and a replacement would last a lot longer than trying to eek out any life of the old pot..
 
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