Scratchy Volume Pot

[gotto]

Advice anyone?

Greg

[Blue Dog]

Guitar Center used Electric Contact spray on mine . and on the toggle switch on my Lp that cut out when toggling. have not had a problem since.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Max-Professional-2053-Contact-Cleaner/dp/B0030MKAV4/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1520215579&sr=8-10&keywords=electrical+contact+spray

[Six String]

As Blue Dog says, contact cleaner may do the trick.  That said, I would be concerned about what contact cleaner might do if it got on the finish of some guitars, so I'd advise a cautious approach.  Take care to make sure the spray doesn't splatter on the guitar or bleed through around the shaft if it takes multiple attempts. Note that it can be difficult to get the cleaner inside the pot as there are not any openings designed for that.  There will be splatter and you might need several attempts, but like Blue, I have had success doing this.  Just take your time and wipe up any excess between attempts and it might solve your problem.

Now, if that doesn't fix it, you might consider replacing all the pots which is actually a fairly common and inexpensive way to upgrade a guitar . Good pots and caps are not particularly expensive (and many companies use really cheap ones even on nice guitars), but do play a fairly significant role in your signal chain.  

For many popular guitar models (LP, Strat, Tele, SG, Flying V, etc) you can buy a completed harness with all new pots, a switch and output jack all soldered and ready to drop in your guitar.  Going that route minimizes the skill required and you'll only need to solder a couple of points.  If you are more adventurous and have intermediate soldering skills, building your own harness would not be massively difficult.  If you aren't comfortable doing even the minimum soldering for a drop in harness, its something any shop should be able to do for you inexpensively.

These are upgrades that are often done on even higher end guitars and would be a definite improvement on a something like a Squire or Epiphone so I'd consider it, even if the pot cleans up with the contact cleaner as I'd always worry the gremlin would return at an inopportune time.  

FWIW I've done full harness replacements on my Gibson LP Traditional and my Epiphone Flying V.  Great improvements for both guitars.  My Epiphone SG currently has a scratchy pot, so I'll likely eventually do a full harness replacement on it as well.  

[Blue Dog]

3 hours ago, Six String said:

As Blue Dog says, contact cleaner may do the trick.  That said, I would be concerned about what contact cleaner might do if it got on the finish of some guitars, so I'd advise a cautious approach.  Take care to make sure the spray doesn't splatter on the guitar or bleed through around the shaft if it takes multiple attempts. Note that it can be difficult to get the cleaner inside the pot as there are not any openings designed for that.  There will be splatter and you might need several attempts, but like Blue, I have had success doing this.  Just take your time and wipe up any excess between attempts and it might solve your problem.

Now, if that doesn't fix it, you might consider replacing all the pots which is actually a fairly common and inexpensive way to upgrade a guitar . Good pots and caps are not particularly expensive (and many companies use really cheap ones even on nice guitars), but do play a fairly significant role in your signal chain.  

For many popular guitar models (LP, Strat, Tele, SG, Flying V, etc) you can buy a completed harness with all new pots, a switch and output jack all soldered and ready to drop in your guitar.  Going that route minimizes the skill required and you'll only need to solder a couple of points.  If you are more adventurous and have intermediate soldering skills, building your own harness would not be massively difficult.  If you aren't comfortable doing even the minimum soldering for a drop in harness, its something any shop should be able to do for you inexpensively.

These are upgrades that are often done on even higher end guitars and would be a definite improvement on a something like a Squire or Epiphone so I'd consider it, even if the pot cleans up with the contact cleaner as I'd always worry the gremlin would return at an inopportune time.  

FWIW I've done full harness replacements on my Gibson LP Traditional and my Epiphone Flying V.  Great improvements for both guitars.  My Epiphone SG currently has a scratchy pot, so I'll likely eventually do a full harness replacement on it as well.  

Your right Six I was worried the it would mess up the finish on my schecter and the lp but there was no run off. and the Tec didn't seem to worried about it but it's been a year and no problems. with the pot or the toggle switch. 

[Six String]

2 minutes ago, Blue Dog said:

Your right Six I was worried the it would mess up the finish on my schecter and the lp but there was no run off. and the Tec didn't seem to worried about it but it's been a year and no problems. with the pot or the toggle switch. 

Yeah, Guitar Center is pretty famous for not being concerned about other peoples guitars. lol 

Seriously, no one cares as much about our guitars as we do, which is why I like to do any chore that falls within my skill level while (hopefully) not over estimating my capabilities.

Edited March 5, 2018 by Six String

[gotto]

Thanks guys. This is my Suhr Tele, a $2K+ instrument so quality of pots should not be the issue. I suspect dust or other contaminants to be the issue. I can send it back to Suhr for repair as they offer lifetime warranties, but a bit of a hassle for a relatively minor problem. Think I might best contact them for advice on products to lubricate or clean the pot..

 

Greg

 

[Six String]

49 minutes ago, gotto said:

Thanks guys. This is my Suhr Tele, a $2K+ instrument so quality of pots should not be the issue. I suspect dust or other contaminants to be the issue. I can send it back to Suhr for repair as they offer lifetime warranties, but a bit of a hassle for a relatively minor problem. Think I might best contact them for advice on products to lubricate or clean the pot..

 

Greg

 

Yep.  Definitely not a cheap pot issue.  Interestingly, my buddy had the same issue with his US made PRS, so even good pots can go bad.

The issue happened while we were playing here at my house and I did the contact cleaner treatment, which solved the problem at least for the rest of that session but I was very concerned about getting any cleaner on the finish of his very nice guitar as you might have guessed from previous comments.

 

[Blue Dog]

This might help Spraying you pot . and they have the cleaner to .

 

http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Tools_by_Job/Tools_for_Maintenance/Pot_Cleaning_Cap.html

 

http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Cleaners_and_Lubricants/CAIG_DeoxIT_Pot_and_Switch_Cleaner.html

Edited March 5, 2018 by Blue Dog

[Randy120]

You can always use painters tape to protect your finish. 

[gotto]

The Suhr folks recommend Detoxit spray, as Blue Dog suggests. Dust and or corrosion likely the culprit. Going to head to Walmart or Office Depot.

Greg

Edited March 6, 2018 by gotto

[Popeye]

I have had an occasional scratchy pot, before you do anything else, run the volume knob back and forth half a dozen times to try and clean and clear it. Detoxit is second step for me.

 

[gotto]

The wiggle thing lasts for the immediate moment, but scratches recur when you fire up again, I have found out.

Greg

[Steve Krenz]

Greg Voros addresses this on the live lesson we just had with him...

 

[Tuninghead]

Over the counter electrical contact cleaner and Q-Tips work for cleaning the toggles. Very little risk of spill/overspray. If that doesn't work, open the back and spray clean the switch.  If you put a rag in/around the switch it should catch any excess spray. The Q-Tip cleaned my LP toggle quick and easy.  It's amazing how much dirt accumulates there.

[John Wells]

You have a bad pot. Spray won't make it good. Replace it.Lotsa luck.

[gotto]

Fixed! Deoxit spray from Guitar Center, remove the screws for the switch, pots cover, carefully lift out the assembly so as not to affect the soldering, spray a quick blast of cleaner in the pots and switch, reassemble/attach cover plate, quick spray of knob posts, wiggle vigorously to lubricate and replace the knobs. Easy peasy. No scratching, no affect on the finish. I did use a cloth to cover the exposed guitar body surface.

Greg

Edited March 12, 2018 by gotto