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#289758 - 17/11/11 03:08 PM
Volume pot new fault?
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Oldjono
Professional Forumite!
Registered: 15/09/09
Posts: 852
Loc: Dorset
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Well I'm stumped. I put a .1uf cap accross my volume pots on my SG400 and they do help keep the brightness up when lowering the volume.
Snag is the Bridge pick up goes all the way to volume off but the neck does not fully close the volume. It is slightly audible when wound right back. I've checked the wiring and everything is as it should be. There are no blobs of solder and nothing is loose.
Would I be right in thinking that blowing the pot out with a air cleaner could mend it or, as is my guess is, I'll need to get another pot? If so which one? I don't want to get a pot that goes from one extreme to another but would rather have a gradual volume increase without a jump in volume after half a turn if you get my drift.
Techies please help... Thanks...
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#289760 - 17/11/11 04:10 PM
Re: Volume pot new fault?
[Re: Megi]
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Megi
Old Timer
Registered: 08/07/11
Posts: 1271
Loc: Lincolnshire
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I can maybe add a bit more actually - just my personal experience, but I find log taper pots (AKA audio taper) give the smoothest effect for both volume and tone use. If you put a treble bleed on with a 100K resister in parallel with the cap, this does have a further effect on the volume taper i.e. to me it seems more even still - which I like, this is my preferred setup. However, I understand some people don't like this, as without the resister, the initial effect of turning down the pot is more marked, which they prefer. Hope some of this is useful in some way!
Edited by Megi (17/11/11 04:12 PM)
_________________________
Graham, jazz guitar nut!
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#289772 - 17/11/11 11:40 PM
Re: Volume pot new fault?
[Re: Jocko]
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Oldjono
Professional Forumite!
Registered: 15/09/09
Posts: 852
Loc: Dorset
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The ones I put in were £0.27p each. I might have to reinvest more serious cash then... Maplins it is.
I have seen recommendations for the .1uf on other forum sites. It might be different for single coils but I'm not totally sure either way. However, am I right in thinking that I need a resister as well? The pot is probably in need of an upgrade too by all accounts. Though I think the Maplins ones aren't going to be of the quality I need. Some people are raving about CTS 500K for Humbuckers. Is this correct or just advertising hype? Thanks again...
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#289773 - 18/11/11 12:00 AM
Re: Volume pot new fault?
[Re: Oldjono]
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Megi
Old Timer
Registered: 08/07/11
Posts: 1271
Loc: Lincolnshire
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Hi again - for a treble bleed, I don't think it's at all critical what type of cap you use, simple ceramic disc ones will work fine. But 0.1uf is definitely way too high a value - in fact that's a bit too high even for use on a normal tone control pot. I think Jocko is correct that 0.001 is about right for a treble bleed. Don't get the 2 things confused either, they are not the same.
It's possible to do a treble bleed with or without putting a resistor in parallel - I like adding the resistor, but you may find it unnecessary. Again, please have a look at the link I posted to a thread on the GuitarNuts2 forum about treble bleeds.
This YouTube video shows a chap testing various values of treble bleed capacitor, so you can judge for yourself about the value to use. Youtube re treble bleed cap values
If you want to make the choice of what to buy really simple, Axesrus sell a "kit" - they probably do pretty well regarding profit on this, but then they don't charge any postage, so maybe it's fair enough. Anyway, I've used these on all my Guitars, be they humbuckers or single coils, and they always seem to work well: Axesrus page - scroll down for treble bleed kit
For the pots, I tend to like the CTS ones - the feel and general quality seems a bit better. They do have a wider sized thread though, which doesn't usually fit the holes drilled on Far Eastern made Guitars, although you can always drill them out if you need to. If you have narrower holes, and don't want to do any drilling, I find the standard Alpha brand pots to be perfectly fine, if not quite as nice as the CTS. Whichever brand you choose, for humbuckers, definitely I'd go for 500K log/audio taper (in fact I prefer these for single coils too, but that's just me!). Axesrus is not a bad place to buy your pots also! 
EDIT: I notice Axesrus list the cap in their treble bleed as 0.01 uf, not 0.001uf. That seems high to me, maybe it is a typing error. Anyway the important point is that the kit works well, whatever the values used!
Edited by Megi (18/11/11 12:03 AM)
_________________________
Graham, jazz guitar nut!
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#289786 - 18/11/11 01:05 PM
Re: Volume pot new fault?
[Re: Megi]
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Oldjono
Professional Forumite!
Registered: 15/09/09
Posts: 852
Loc: Dorset
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.001 it is then, The Alpha pot seems reasonable too. Will update when all sorted out. One thing I have noticed is the crocodile clip as a heat sink can be replaced by using bent ended pliers or similar too.
Many thanks.
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#289788 - 18/11/11 01:33 PM
Re: Volume pot new fault?
[Re: Oldjono]
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Megi
Old Timer
Registered: 08/07/11
Posts: 1271
Loc: Lincolnshire
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Apologies if I'm partly telling you things you already know, sometimes that's hard to avoid with this sort of thread! Bent pliers is a good tip cheers for the idea. I guess croc clips are handy for getting to awkward spots when there is not a lot of room still. I think you'll be fine with the Alpha pots - I'm not a fan of their push-pull pots, but the standard ones are pretty good IMO. Hope you can get it working how you want it, and do put in an update, I'll be interested cheers!
_________________________
Graham, jazz guitar nut!
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#289822 - 19/11/11 12:22 AM
Re: Volume pot new fault?
[Re: Megi]
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Oldjono
Professional Forumite!
Registered: 15/09/09
Posts: 852
Loc: Dorset
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.001uf now fitted and volume closing off fault found with earth wire on back of pot on neck humbucker, so everything goes off. The vol pots will need a refit but they can wait awhile. The treble stays a lot brighter when windding down the volume.
The caps cost £0.17 from Maplins and are Mylars with ceramic covers. So far so good and no burns fom the soldering iron. Thanks for the help.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/mylar-film-capacitors-371
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#289826 - 19/11/11 09:53 AM
Re: Volume pot new fault?
[Re: Oldjono]
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Megi
Old Timer
Registered: 08/07/11
Posts: 1271
Loc: Lincolnshire
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Sounds like you are on top of things - glad to hear it was a simple thing with the volume pot. I really must check out Maplins a bit more, clearly I could save a few quid on things like capacitors and resistors!
Edited by Megi (19/11/11 09:54 AM)
_________________________
Graham, jazz guitar nut!
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