Volume pot issue

Cadorman

Cadorman

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So, the neck volume pot on my SG Modern has stopped working for about the first ten degrees of rotation at the full volume end. Absolutely no sound until you get it turned down some. I have one of those pot attachment tools for shooting deoxit into the pot, but does anyone think that will work? It's not noisy, just dead. I'm thinking it will need to be replaced.
 
Cadorman said:
So, the neck volume pot on my SG Modern has stopped working for about the first ten degrees of rotation at the full volume end. Absolutely no sound until you get it turned down some. I have one of those pot attachment tools for shooting deoxit into the pot, but does anyone think that will work? It's not noisy, just dead. I'm thinking it will need to be replaced.
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You need to shoot deoxit inside the pot then rotate the pot several times.
Deoxit 5, Deoxit D100, Deoxit G100, LPS-1, all work pretty good.
If you clean it and the problem doesn't stop, then replace the pot.
The problem can just be dirt or oxidization, so always try to clean it first before replacing it.
 
It’s possible that some of the resistive material has worn off or come loose in the pot.

You can try the deoxit, but I usually take these sorts of occurrences to be an indicator that it’s time for a new pot. Even if a pot just gets scratchy, I’ll use the deoxit for immediate, temporary purposes, but make plans to replace it.
 
I'll try the Deoxit when I get home. Looks like a new replacement is about $25 from Stew Mac. I was hoping to avoid messing with this one as I have been extremely happy with it. I like the "P90" sound of the neck pickup and it blends nicely with the bridge pickup. Stupid thing is only 4 months old.
 
Cadorman said:
I'll try the Deoxit when I get home. Looks like a new replacement is about $25 from Stew Mac. I was hoping to avoid messing with this one as I have been extremely happy with it. I like the "P90" sound of the neck pickup and it blends nicely with the bridge pickup. Stupid thing is only 4 months old.
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I had something similar happen to my SG a few months back. It ended up being a wire issue. Open the cover and move the wires a little see if the sound comes back. All I did to mine was tuck the wires in better and its just fine.
 
I had a cranky tone pot on my Strat. Lost volume. If I pushed on it or pulled up on it, all was good. Do you know how hard it is to play when you have one hand pulling up on a tone knob? And no…. It wasn’t a push/pull pot on purpose. :pound-hand:

I used that as an excuse to replace all three with quality pots. Problem solved.
 
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Cadorman said:
I'll try the Deoxit when I get home. Looks like a new replacement is about $25 from Stew Mac. I was hoping to avoid messing with this one as I have been extremely happy with it. I like the "P90" sound of the neck pickup and it blends nicely with the bridge pickup. Stupid thing is only 4 months old.
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I'm not sure which type pot that is, but push pull DPDT switch I think.
$25 is kindda high price.
You can usually get Bourns push pull pot for about $8 US + shipping.
Gibson original genuine replacement parts I am guessing, cost more.
 
Amp Mad Scientist said:
I'm not sure which type pot that is, but push pull DPDT switch I think.
$25 is kindda high price.
You can usually get Bourns push pull pot for about $8 US + shipping.
Gibson original genuine replacement parts I am guessing, cost more.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's a Gibson genuine. Going to try to keep it stock for once. It is a CTS piece by the markings on it.
 
smitty_p said:
Sad to hear, but I’m not surprised, unfortunately. Hopefully, it will come in quickly so you can get back up and running.
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Ha! It still works. I just don't have that little bit to push it over the edge. You know, when you're on 10 and need that little bit where are you going to go? I broke out the V last night. Maybe I'll rotate through the Les Pauls now.
 
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