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how tough to replace a volume pot?


Pieman

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I have a Mirage II, 2 pick up version, one vol pot, one tone pot.   The volume pot is wonky.  The seller disclosed that when I bought it and he gave me a replacement kit.

Yesterday I shot some cleaner into the pot.  The ground wires came off.  I resoldered that but now the pot isn't working at all. I looked at a couple of you tube videos.  I am inclined to do this myself.   This is no f-hole, four-way controls project

Any tips?  For starters, the pot is a Fender pot. Not sure if it is 250 or 500. Should I stick with that or get something else/better like a CTS pot?  Should I upgrade the cap? To what?

Any favorite pot replacement videos on the internet?

One other thing. The wiring doesn't look like the neat wiring i has seen on my other Hamers.  Looks like somebody else has tinkered with this in the past.

Thanks in advance.

t

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mirage II is two humbuckers, correct? Use a 500K pot for volume with buckers. I like CTS pots, the Fender-stamped pot may actually be one. I think the EIA code for CTS manufacture is "137," look for that digit series on the pot body. If you replace the tone pot, also use a 500K pot and I like a .022 value cap. I personally use Orange Drops on the shop's bench unless someone brings me or specs big-dollar paper-in-oil Russian yada yada. The other trick I'd give you that you can't get on most YT videos is to take an ice pick and scratch several tic-tac-toe-like marks on the back of each pot to help give the solder holding the grounds something coarse to cling to. Murkat Jay also taught me to clean the manufacturing/lubricating oil off the backs of the pots with naphtha prior to soldering and that definitely helps with the solder adhering as well. You can actually see the grayish oil off the pot back on the rag after you do it!

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If I can do it, you can do it. I am horrible with working on things.  All the advice here is GREAT.  You may also want to get some clamps to use as a heat-sink, so you can put them on the legs of the pot below where you solder, and on the legs of the capacitors. This keeps the heat from frying the components.

Make sure your soldering tip is clean and tinned nicely. Also tin the wires before attaching them.

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If you can't physically slide a lamp cable under the rim/lip of a guitar's knobs, do this.

Regardless of the method, don't jerk/yank, you want a steady and firm pull. And secure the guitar adequately with the non-pulling hand. 

 

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24 minutes ago, Jeff R said:

If you can't physically slide a lamp cable under the rim/lip of a guitar's knobs, do this.

Regardless of the method, don't jerk/yank, you want a steady and firm pull. And secure the guitar adequately with the non-pulling hand.

Rim, lip, jerk, yank, pull...

Damn, Gator, you're getting me horny.

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I have never tried the cloth method but I have removed stubborn knobs with a loop of lacing cord. This works well when there is minimal clearance between the bottom of the knob and the body of the guitar since lacing cord is strong but very thin.

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I was making an order with stewmac and got their plastic knob puller. OMG it is so worth it. It just works.

 

https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Tools_by_Job/Tools_for_Maintenance/P-51_Knob_Puller.html

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Thank you all. I expect Stew Mac to deliver new pots, caps, wire, etc today.

Dumb question.  Do you wire everything together and then mount the pots to the guitar or vice versa.   This is a two humbucker one vol one tone project through the opening in the back of the body.    

Not sure if I am going to just replace the bad vol pot - - and if successful redo the whole thing. As I may have mentioned, somebody was already inside this replacing at least one pickup and the work is none too tidy.  Nothing to lose here.

Again, thanks for all your advice. I am grateful.

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Put the parts in first then solder. Assuming it is presently wired correctly, draw the circuit on a piece of paper so you know how to reconnect everything.  There are circuit diagrams at the seymour duncan website if you want to check it or change it.

There are few things you can do before you install a pot.  Sand or scratch the back like Jeff said.  Use some needle nose pliers bend the pot terminal that goes to ground. Bend it over to the pot casing and solder it.  I use a vice with rubber grips to gently hold parts while I solder them.  Pots will just roll around when you are trying to solder them.

It's really easy to mess up other wires when you are soldering inside a control cavity.  It can be useful to use alligator clips or something similar to hold wires out of the way while you are soldering to avoid melting the insulation on other wires.

Try not to melt solder all the way down the terminal of the pot, to where it connects to the rest of the pot mechanism.  That can sometimes cause some problems.

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Mission accomplished, I think.

I decided to replace only the volume pot. That went okay.    500k cts pro pot.   There doesn't seem to be a lot of variance in the volume, however..   Not sure if it is my imagination. 

So, I learned a bit.  And I would have spent money and time having somebody do it. I had a solder gun etc., so there was no cost there.

Here's the "doh" moment - the tone pot is some squarish push-pull control. I never thought to try it out. It had replace Gibson nobs, so I put the original nurled knobs back on.  There is an audible "clank" when pushed down and it hits the hex nut.  I adjusted the knob height but it is still clunky.  Will tinker more tomorrow when I have some time.

All in all, I feel more kinship with the guitar now.  

Thanks for all you advice.  I do appreciate it.

 

 

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