Very informative. Thanks. Jim in Alberta. Will be ordering some parts tomorrow.

Very informative. Please do a video on how an audio balance pot functions and possible repairs.

Got the $100 in parts I ordered. Thanks for getting the order right over the phone and for the very reasonable prices. I'll definitely be a repeat customer. Jim in Alberta.

@NextGenGuitars

4 жыл бұрын

Glad you had a good experience. Looking forward to hearing from you again!

Great video! Lots of good information here. I will be placing my order for some low friction pots soon. If you must use a knob with a set screw on any split shaft pot (not recommended!) line up the knob with the set screw parallel to the split (or very close to it) so as not to tighten it perpendicular to the split where it can break the shaft inward when tightened. As a guitar tech I learned this the hard way!

Great explanation guys! Cheers

Excellent video thank you very much !

well explain

Another well-done and informative video, Jon. I only have one question: Did I sell you my old Ultraballz pedal, and does it still work okay? Just a few details to add to an otherwise thorough video. My own experience is that the wider the diameter of the pot, often the *less* abrasive the wiper is. As a result, the larger pots tend to have longer service-life before needing either cleaning or replacement. People often *think* that all the dirt inside a pot comes from outside. Some certainly does, but you would be surprised how much dirt inside the pot is created by the wiper scraping carbon particles off the resistive strip. It certainly doesn't happen *easily*, but a few thousand turns and "stuff" happens. A product I like to use to repair/refresh older pots that have seen a little too much use is a Canadian product called Stabilant 22. It can be purchased online, and more recently at Active Electronics. NOT cheap but stunningly effective as a contact *enhancer*. When the continuity between a wiper and the resistive strip has been compromised, this stuff forms a non-drying conductive film over the resistive strip that behaves like a liquid solder joint. Many pro service benches will use a one-two combination of DeOxit to clean, and then application of Stabilant to restore/enhance. If you've been playing White Room or Voodoo Child thrice nightly in a Cream or Hendrix tribute band since 1976, chances are it will not be able to bring your favourite wah back to life, but I've been ablke to restore proper functioning on many older pots, switches, video-game cartridges, and TV remotes. Of course, the best advice is: start with decent pots.

@NextGenGuitars

6 жыл бұрын

Great addition. Thanks Mark! Never bought a pedal from you, but Ultraballz sounds ballzy!

PS, You measure the diameter of the pot shaft to make it easier for people to choose one that fits the knobs on their amplifier or device but you never talked about the diameter or threads of the bushing with which you mount the pot through a hole in the chassis! No one really wants to drill out a hole in a vintage amplifier to fit a pot with a larger bushing if they can help it but even more frustrating is fitting a replacement pot with a smaller bushing than the original into what turns out to be an oversized hole in the face plate of the amp.

@NextGenGuitars

2 жыл бұрын

Correct! Bushing diameter is very important for many people. That's why it is always listed in the product information, along with other pertinent info.

what's the background music? also why are there three pins in pots, whats the third pin for?

@NextGenGuitars

4 жыл бұрын

Music is random improvised bits from warehouse staffers. Center pin is the wiper. Outside pins are the two extremes of the resistive element.

My setup calls for a 35K ohm pot. Can I use a higher value such as 40 or 50K. If I do, what will happen? Will I prevent signal from leaving amp and damage components in my amp? Thanks.

Well I have used WD-40 for decades on pots. Never had one failed.

Next gen guitars, I'm not sure how low friction pots are any different from regular standard pots is there any way or any tips that you might have to upgrade or modifications that you can do to regular stock pots to make them low friction pots because evh use low friction pots and I think he modified his guitars back in the 70s so they were low friction pots I'm not sure exactly what he did to them or how he got the ideas but he somehow did some type of modifications on the mechanism

@NextGenGuitars

Жыл бұрын

1:13 The friction comes from the pressure the wiper applies to the carbon track. More pressure = more friction. Less pressure = less friction. It is set at the manufacturing level. I wouldn't want to try modifying it to lower the friction, but I suppose it could be done. It could be as simple as just trying to bend the wipers back a little to reduce the pressure they apply to the carbon track. Among other risks, there is a risk that you bend them so far back, they no longer keep good contact with the carbon track across the full range.

@waynegram8907

Жыл бұрын

@@NextGenGuitars I think EVH would do this or add lighter fluid or some type of fluid liquid in the pot to make it have less friction . What type of fluid would you recommend using in pot for less friction?

@NextGenGuitars

Жыл бұрын

@@waynegram8907 I can't recommend anything in that case because I wouldn't consider doing that. The only fluid I recommend spraying into a pot is Nu-trol, Deoxit, or some other properly formulated contact cleaner (and lubricant) that doesn't leave unwanted residue. Though, that cleans the tracks/contacts. It doesn't really decrease friction, unless you have a dirty pot.

Sir i need a ink when volume switch carbon is cut in center and which ink is used for

@NextGenGuitars

2 жыл бұрын

No idea where you'd get it, but you can search for "Conductive Carbon Ink". Though, honestly, it's probably cheaper just to replace the pot.

This does fuck all for me with a vintage Clarostat pot.

Was curious how the numbers mean on pods. I have a guitar amplifier and I see bass is labeled - A50K mid is A5K treble - B50K and volume B50K. Was curious why bass and miss are so different and what the numbers mean so I can understand why The numbers vary for mids but are the same for bass and treble.

@NextGenGuitars

3 жыл бұрын

That type of label indicates the taper and resistance of the pot. 3:09 - TAPER A = Audio/Logarithmic B = Linear C = Reverse Audio/Logarithmic RESISTANCE The resistance is somewhat self-explanatory. It's the total resistance of the pot. So, an A5K is a 5K pot with an audio/logarithmic taper. A B50K is a 50K pot with a linear taper. Resistors and capacitors are used to manipulate audio signals in different ways. Different combinations of resistors (including pots) and capacitors in different arrangements within the circuit will have a different impact on the signal. If your amp has those values for the tone controls, it's because the designer of the amp chose those values to accomplish the effect he/she was after when they designed the amp. Can't really be more specific than that, unfortunately. To get an idea of how that works, you could look at free software like this: www.duncanamps.com/tsc/ It includes a couple of basic amp/pedal circuits and allows you to change component values. You can then use the faders at the bottom to see how that impacts the sound/sweep of each pot. Other than that, you'd have to seek out some more in depth educational material on analog signal processing.

@goodun2974

2 жыл бұрын

@@NextGenGuitars , Alps pots are commonly marked with a B even when they are Audio taper! Also, the amount of torque or finger pressure required to turn the pot is often related not to the pressure of the wiper against the carbon track (excessive pressure would cause premature wear to the carbon) but instead is due to the type and viscosity of lubricant used between the shaft and the bushing. This is the main reason why flooding a potentiometer with certain cleaners, or too much cleaner, can cause it to feel dry and rough afterwards; some types of lubricant are easily dissolved and flushed out by the cleaner. Slide faders are the most obvious example of this and often barely move after being sprayed; I recommend taking faders apart to clean them rather than simply spraying them. Some faders will also have have several signal-carrying metal conductors and wipers in addition to the main carbon element/wiper interface, and may have a lubricated rail that the wiper assembly slides on; and therefore there might be more than one type of lubricant used inside a fader (a silicone lube with a syrupy consistency is common). Spraying faders with cleaner often produces poor results because it mixes the differing lubricants together. The electrical contact points of wipers against the metal rails is just as likely or even more likely to cause intermittent action of the pot then the junction of the wiper to the carbon element itself! This also holds true for ordinary rotating potentiometers: the commutating rings that transfer the rotating electrical junction of the wiper to the stationary center terminal are a main failure point due to oxidation and tarnish. Sometimes the only way to clean these metal-to-metal contact points properly on a rotary pot is to polish them with a pencil eraser, and this often requires either dismantling the shaft and wiper assembly from the carbon wafer (you might have to grind off the back of the shaft, and so it might not be possible to put them back together again afterwards 😳); or you may have to do some very tricky maneuvering of a carved, chisel-shaped eraser into the narrow gap between the carbon wafer and the plastic or phenolic disc that holds the metal commutating rings, without damaging the wipers. Not easy to do!

@NextGenGuitars

2 жыл бұрын

@@goodun2974 You're probably thinking of W-taper Alps pots, which are 5B, 4B, etc. Their linear and audio tapers are still indicated with B and A (10A, 20A, etc.) We don't deal with faders at all, so we can't advise on that. Great info, thanks for sharing!

idk why but the music in this video made me think of deathnote

@NextGenGuitars

2 жыл бұрын

Lol. We'll take that as a compliment.