olliedf89 Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Hi all, I've got a lovely Ibanez ATK500 (The Koa top one) and it needs a bit of work on the electronics side of things. Had it a while, and its been like it since I got it on here a year or two back. Used it last night and it sounds great except for the excess noises. The treble pot just sounds like a hurricane when you move it, the bass and mid are also quite scratchy. The volume pot is a bit temperamental, it works, but for some reason it seems to do full volume at about 75% of the way up, then drops again at fully open. It's also very noisy generally, and you get random 'clicks' and 'pops' without doing much too. Its signal also started to break up randomly last night, which is odd. Either way, I think it basically needs all of the pots replaced. The triple selector switch is fine, that was replaced a while ago. I dropped this bass to a local tech a year ago and got the response that it wasn't possible for him to find replacement parts. I've had a look around the recommended parts sites mentioned on the pinned post here and if I'm honest I don't really know which pots are suitable and which aren't. I'd really like them as close as possible and with the centre detents on the EQ pots too. The one thing I want to preserve (if this is even something to worry about in this situation) is that the output volume seems to be fairly low for an active, as in.. it works very well with fuzz and octave pedals (ie the 3leaf Octabvre/ Boss OC2) which my other actives don't do so well, and I'd quite like to keep it that way if possible. I've found this on eBay, would this be suitable for the tone pots? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dual-Gang-Centre-Click-Potentiometer-16mm-Stereo-Pot-With-Center-Detent-Linear-/121155542903?var=&hash=item1c356edf77:m:mPnu-fwWhuVhXYY9_K8fUbg"]http://www.ebay.co.u...huVhXYY9_K8fUbg[/url] Anyway... any advice on what to look for greatly received, thank you, I'm happy to do the work, just not entirely sure what would be a good or equivalent replacement! I believe the volume pot is A20K, the EQ pots are a bit weathered but I think they are B20K The order of the pots from left to right is Bass, Mid, Treble. Volume top centre, and triple selector switch top right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 What the tech means was he did not wanna do it as it is a sh*t job with the pots on the board Ibanez sell the pots though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olliedf89 Posted April 16, 2017 Author Share Posted April 16, 2017 [quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1492351830' post='3279588'] What the tech means was he did not wanna do it as it is a sh*t job with the pots on the board Ibanez sell the pots though [/quote] Fair i guess! Thanks, I'll give ibanez a shout then, see if anything comes back from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 [quote name='olliedf89' timestamp='1492358769' post='3279661'] Fair i guess! Thanks, I'll give ibanez a shout then, see if anything comes back from them. [/quote]they are pretty spot on with spares Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olliedf89 Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 Can't seem to find decent email details for Ibanez, just their UK distributors... any more info on that? If anyone happens to know what I'd be looking for here, or even if they could recommend some alternatives for me, that'd be great too! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 (edited) The Pots you highlight are Dual pots, so totally unsuitable. The only way to find a replacement, unfortunately, is take the pre-amp board out, remove a pot and measure it. All the pots seem the same size, just different values. RS Components stock Bourns pots, which are good and they do an awesome range of sizes. They look reasonably standard PCB mounted ones but things like shaft diameter/length etc will be critical to getting the right fit. This is probably why the guitar tech didn't want to do the job. [color=#26282A]"B" indicates it is a linear taper pot. "A" indicates it is an audio taper pot[/color] Edited April 19, 2017 by BassBunny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olliedf89 Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 [quote name='BassBunny' timestamp='1492621848' post='3281739'] The Pots you highlight are Dual pots, so totally unsuitable. The only way to find a replacement, unfortunately, is take the pre-amp board out, remove a pot and measure it. All the pots seem the same size, just different values. RS Components stock Bourns pots, which are good and they do an awesome range of sizes. They look reasonably standard PCB mounted ones but things like shaft diameter/length etc will be critical to getting the right fit. This is probably why the guitar tech didn't want to do the job. [color=#26282A]"B" indicates it is a linear taper pot. "A" indicates it is an audio taper pot[/color] [/quote] Ah I see, thank you! Great explanation. That's all fine by me, I'll crack on and have a better look at them. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twincam Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Is it not possible to use normal pots of the correct size and value (of course). Just bend the wiper tabs over gently. The tabs may need a trim to fit into the holes. Then be careful refitting and tightening up. Or if the tabs won't bend over, just solder on some small wires to the board then to the tabs. Even without the exact correct pots it looks a easy enough job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 [quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1492636584' post='3281960'] Is it not possible to use normal pots of the correct size and value (of course). Just bend the wiper tabs over gently. The tabs may need a trim to fit into the holes. Then be careful refitting and tightening up. Or if the tabs won't bend over, just solder on some small wires to the board then to the tabs. [/quote] +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 There shouldn't be any problem with getting the right pots. The crucial part is the "thread" length as the pots are used to secure the pre-amp into the bass by the look of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olliedf89 Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 [quote name='BassBunny' timestamp='1492682996' post='3282240'] There shouldn't be any problem with getting the right pots. The crucial part is the "thread" length as the pots are used to secure the pre-amp into the bass by the look of it. [/quote] This is what I was hoping for... So theoretically, as long as the threads are the right length and the pots are the correct value, I shouldn't have a problem? So, for example, the volume pot thread measures 15mm from the body of the bass to the top (when in situ, haven't had time to take it out) making it about 17mm in total I would guess. And saying A20K on the bottom, I would assume then that as long as the thread is 17mm and the pot is of 20k value and is an Audio Taper Pot, I should be on target? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 [quote name='olliedf89' timestamp='1492683924' post='3282250'] This is what I was hoping for... So theoretically, as long as the threads are the right length and the pots are the correct value, I shouldn't have a problem? So, for example, the volume pot thread measures 15mm from the body of the bass to the top (when in situ, haven't had time to take it out) making it about 17mm in total I would guess. And saying A20K on the bottom, I would assume then that as long as the thread is 17mm and the pot is of 20k value and is an Audio Taper Pot, I should be on target? [/quote] That's pretty much it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olliedf89 Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 [quote name='BassBunny' timestamp='1492684948' post='3282259'] That's pretty much it. [/quote] Happy days. Thank you kindly, I shall do some more investigating and get myself some nice shiny new pots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Single-Linear-Potentiometer-1K-2K-5K-10K-20K-50K-100K-250K-500K-1M-/272391515777 Try this seller he seems to have stuff along the lines of what you need could be worth a message to see what he can do (btw the seller is nothing to do with me) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 [quote name='olliedf89' timestamp='1492619868' post='3281719'] Can't seem to find decent email details for Ibanez, just their UK distributors... any more info on that? If anyone happens to know what I'd be looking for here, or even if they could recommend some alternatives for me, that'd be great too! Thanks! [/quote] When I was after a stacked pot for an old Ibby I some with the distributor and they ordered one for me. I took a couple of weeks or so, but they delivered an original component of the right value. I think mine was a 50k/50k. It wasn't cheap, but I guess the quality, in the small size costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olliedf89 Posted April 22, 2017 Author Share Posted April 22, 2017 Thanks for your help all, I've found a couple on eBay I'm looking at, looks to be about right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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