Potentiometer Refurbishment

[Hutton]

Does anyone know of anywhere I can send the potetmiometers from my precision to be refurbished? When I got the bass the volume pot was included in the sale but had been replaced as it wasn't working properly. I would like to get it sorted and refitted to the bass. Thanks!

Edited February 13, 2016 by Hutton

[hubrad]

Just get new pots. Not worth the hassle if it needs more than a squirt of cleaner.

[Twincam]

Have you tried seeing if it's just dirty spraying in contact cleaner. Or you could try just replacing the case off the new one for the old one assuming you want to keep an original look.

[BigRedX]

Why do you want to refit the original pot? Is a vintage bass?

The most common reason for pots to fail is because the carbon track becomes worn, and if this is the case then it will need to be replaced, which would involve opening the pot up. This will be noticeable no matter how skilful and careful the person doing the work is and will still result in a non-original part. If you want to restore the bass back to all period correct parts you are better off looking for another pot of the correct type and age that is still in full working order.

[4stringslow]

[quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1455369202' post='2978485']
Just get new pots. Not worth the hassle if it needs more than a squirt of cleaner.
[/quote]

Yep - try a squirt of this: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/servisol-super-10-switch-contact-cleaner-200ml-jp17t

If that doesn't work then it's new pot time. Unless it's an historically important bass no one refurbishes a pot when a new one costs a few quid at most.

[Hutton]

Thanks for the replies. The precision is a 1981 and one of the last of the 70s era in construction and looks. I would happily replace the pots with new items but there seems to be an infatuation that everything must be kept original on a vintage bass or it loses its value. Personally I think that originality is being carried to the 'nth' degree when the bass must have its original pots. They are items that wear out after all. However, some potential buyers want to see pics of the electrics including the pots and the codes if they are to maintain their interest. I can understand that pots help to date a bass but so do serial numbers, and end of neck stamps. I just want to maintain the value of the bass.

[KingBollock]

In that case I like Twincam's idea of cannibalising a new pot and putting the innards, or just the track into the old pot. But I am not sure of the ethics of such a plan.

[Twincam]

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1455371343' post='2978525']
In that case I like Twincam's idea of cannibalising a new pot and putting the innards, or just the track into the old pot. But I am not sure of the ethics of such a plan.
[/quote]

Yes you would need to state this in an ad if sold. Or you could of course look for an old pot with the correct date might be difficult but not impossible.

[MoonBassAlpha]

Just never sell it! then you can do what you like with it.

[discreet]

I had the pots replaced in my 76 P as they were knackered. The new ones are CTS solid-shaft and a worthwhile upgrade on the originals, which were plastic shafts. Now it works properly. However, I've kept the originals in case I ever move the bass on, the original pots will go with it. Same deal with the pickup foam, which needed replacing too.

I suppose I could have kept the bass 100% original and just looked at it now and then. But now I can still play it, which is what I bought it for in 1976. Of course It wasn't a desirable vintage bass then. The general consensus at the time was that it was a piece of cheap crap that was nowhere near as good as an early 60s Fender.

Edited February 13, 2016 by discreet

[EBS_freak]

Put a new pot in for your use... keep the old pot in the case. Then if you ever come to sell it, then you have given the buyer some options.

EDIT: as discreet says.

Edited February 13, 2016 by EBS_freak

[NancyJohnson]

I had a 79 Precision for a long time. It was knackered when I got it and the pickup (s) and loom were changed several times during my ownership.

Personally, I would forget repairing the pots, just change them for something new but at the same time keep the original units so they can move with the bass should you reach a point where you want to move it on.

While basses from this period are slowly becoming 'vintage', from a monetary perspective they're never going to be worth as much as 50s/60s models. Just get it working, enjoy it and leave the duff parts in a box at home for someone else to worry about in a few years time.

[Norris]

Changing worn out pots on a vintage guitar is a bit like replacing worn out brake pads on a vintage car. It's a necessary evil to make it roadworthy. However old brake pads are a lot easier to re-line!
Try to find some NOS parts if you can to keep it period correct, and keep the originals.

[BigRedX]

What are you going to do about the frets when they wear out?

[Chienmortbb]

Vintage pots will be carbon track as said before. They often go noisy before the crap out completely.

The US made basses and guitars were fitted with CTS pots as they were the cheapest US made pots at the time. So you have a number of options.

1. Try to get the current pot repaired. Do you have a picture of it from the front and back? Sometimes you can readjust the wiper contacts to avoid bad portions of the track. I will be happy to look at it for you, but as I am in hospital at the moment I cannot promise when it would be done.

2. Fit a new pot. If you are keeping the bass go conductive plastic. Be aware that there are two sizes of pot spindle. 6mm or 1/4".

Now 1/4" is only 6.35 mm but that 0.35mm makes all the difference. Make sure you get the right one. Also some are straight and some are splined. If the knob is wobbly that will be s bigger no no than a mom original pot.

3. Spray inside with Deoxit. It is expensive for just one pot but often works.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Chienmortbb

[Hutton]

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1455460706' post='2979258']
Vintage pots will be carbon track as said before. They often go noisy before the crap out completely.

The US made basses and guitars were fitted with CTS pots as they were the cheapest US made pots at the time. So you have a number of options.

1. Try to get the current pot repaired. Do you have a picture of it from the front and back? Sometimes you can readjust the wiper contacts to avoid bad portions of the track. I will be happy to look at it for you, but as I am in hospital at the moment I cannot promise when it would be done.

2. Fit a new pot. If you are keeping the bass go conductive plastic. Be aware that there are two sizes of pot spindle. 6mm or 1/4".

Now 1/4" is only 6.35 mm but that 0.35mm makes all the difference. Make sure you get the right one. Also some are straight and some are splined. If the knob is wobbly that will be s bigger no no than a mom original pot.

3. Spray inside with Deoxit. It is expensive for just one pot but often works.
[/quote]

Thanks man. An excellent and helpful post. Hope your stay in hospital isn't too long and you are up and about soon. Take care!

Edited February 14, 2016 by Hutton

[Chiliwailer]

Problem is, if you need to take out the pot to fix it then the solder isn't virgin anymore....

Seems like a waste if time to me. I'd just replace it and include it in a sale IF someone is that bothered. Done it myself a few times on more vintage bases than an 81.

[Hutton]

[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1455464230' post='2979292']
Problem is, if you need to take out the pot to fix it then the solder isn't virgin anymore....

Seems like a waste if time to me. I'd just replace it and include it in a sale IF someone is that bothered. Done it myself a few times on more vintage bases than an 81.
[/quote]

That's fine as far as it goes and I agree with you. However, when someone says that they can't offer you what you are asking for your bass because it isn't 100% original because of the replaced pot despite it being included in the sale then that is a problem. How much are you meant to knock off for an original pot not being fitted but included. Seems daft to me.

[Chiliwailer]

[quote name='Hutton' timestamp='1455468819' post='2979340']
That's fine as far as it goes and I agree with you. However, when someone says that they can't offer you what you are asking for your bass because it isn't 100% original because of the replaced pot despite it being included in the sale then that is a problem. How much are you meant to knock off for an original pot not being fitted but included. Seems daft to me.
[/quote]

I hear you mate. I'd think that the 'buyer' is either trying it on, or that it simply isn't the bass for them if they are that picky about a pot and subsequent discount. If they want it all original then why are they not bothered by new solder? I wouldn't want to be pushed into a corner by someone that anal.

There is no discount rules, just depends on what you're both happy with.

[Chiliwailer]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1455446362' post='2979084']
What are you going to do about the frets when they wear out?
[/quote]

Take them out and sell them on eBay as 'original vintage' and for a bargain £250.

[Dad3353]

[quote name='Hutton' timestamp='1455468819' post='2979340']
That's fine as far as it goes and I agree with you. However, when someone says that they can't offer you what you are asking for your bass because it isn't 100% original because of the replaced pot despite it being included in the sale then that is a problem...
[/quote]

That same buyer would equally want a discount if the pot was original, but scratchy. Buyers like that want a 'win-win' sale, where they get a brand new vintage bass. They are, indeed, top dollar for collectors, but that's all. The way to maintain a new bass in that condition is to store it safely under the bed and never play it. Any played bass, 100% original or not, will be priced down from museum prices, because of reasonable wear and tear, repairs, upgrades etc. If you're selling the bass at too high a price, it's normal that a buyer will point out the reasons for discounting. If you've already taken this into account, just wait for another buyer, that's all. If the bass is fairly priced, it'll sell. Simple, really.

[Macker5]

I wouldn't knock much off at all! It sounds like somebody is trying to get the bass at a bargain price. I'd prefer a great playing and sounding bass with a changed pot over a 100% original bass with a maxed out truss rod and high action! I guess we are all different though!

[BigRedX]

If you are looking to keep the maximum possible re-sale value for this bass then anyone who is pedantic enough to want original pots will probably also want original un-altered pots and will most likely be unimpressed by the fact that at one point the original pot as been swapped out, so even replacing the changed pot with a working one of the correct year will not satisfy them as the solder connections will no longer be original. In that case your only option would be to replace the whole of the electronics from the pickup to the output jack with a period correct unaltered set from another P-Bass.

Alternatively you could leave the bass as it is with the new working pot and keep the original faulty pot in case you ever want to sell the bass.

[iiipopes]

1) Try to simply turn the pot wiper back and forth through its full range of travel repeatedly and quickly, but not roughly. This usually clears the pops and crackles most basses have.
2) If that doesn't work, then as above, apply the slightest squirt of a commercial de-oxidizing spray into the pot, immediately wipe up any overspray, and repeat #1.
3) Repeat steps #1 and #2 if there are still crackles.
4) At the last resort replace the pots.
5) As far as taking the pot apart and replacing the wafer, it's not cost effective unless that is the only way. I do have an early '70's Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi that one of the controls died. It has a nylon half-shaft pot, so it could not be replaced. It had to be rebuilt using a wafer from another pot. But the wafers have been made the same for decades, so it was a drop in repair by a qualified tech.
6) Cleaning will probably be the best bet. Pots just don't wear out that quickly. Many 50+ year old electric instruments have their original pots and continue to function perfectly.

[rmorris]

[quote name='Hutton' timestamp='1455468819' post='2979340'] That's fine as far as it goes and I agree with you. However, when someone says that they can't offer you what you are asking for your bass because it isn't 100% original because of the replaced pot despite it being included in the sale then that is a problem. How much are you meant to knock off for an original pot not being fitted but included. Seems daft to me. [/quote]

Yes - it is rather daft - pots are electromechanical bits that wear out = esp cheapish carbon track versions.
On a similar principle, though not exactly the same point, if you were buying a 'vintage' Neve mixing desk for your studio (it'd be Vintage in the same context of an 80s bass being vintage) would you pay more for one with all original capacitors rather than one which had been periodically re-capped (with similar or better capacitors) at significant cost as good practice would recommend ?

Anyway, is there an actual potential buyer who is raising the pot issue or is it a "What if" scenario ?