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Tight pot/pot turning torque

orangedrop

Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2002
Messages
324
I’ve been having trouble finding a volume pot that is easy to turn.
The original CTS and replacements pots have a high turning torque - I tried several methods (and different pots too) to get less friction, spraying this and that into the shaft and so on, without real success.
Then I bought the “Vintage Inspired Pot” and apart from having a desirable ohm reading it did turn quite easily. Problem solved? Yes, regarding a Gibson neck volume pot (which I like above 500 K ohm) but not for the bridge volume pot (which I mostly like below 500 K ohm).
And for the Strat – there was no such alternative at 250 Kohm. Today, when looking at “Vintage Inspired pot” they seem to come out with 280 Kohm pot in November 2019? I will try that option when it becomes available.
For me, when playing a Strat the volume knob is of major importance – I need it to be easy to turn. And so, being a tinkerer, I took both pots (CTS and VIP) apart to see what separated them.

As you can see from the pictures below, they are quite different species. The VIP pot seems to be of a higher build quality.

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The CTS depends on an upward pressure, from the housing, in order to stay in contact with the carbon runway. The shaft is loose/not secured. When turning there is very little resistance in the shaft (CTS). The resistance, when turning, is generated from friction from the housing and the plastic bottom of the pot (arrows).
The VIP shaft is secured in position - as in pic. Actually, it is not in contact with the housing at all.

Is there a fix to the CTS pot problem?
Using a sandpaper on a flat surface I grinded the bottom plastic ring (indicated with an arrow above) 1 - 2 mm, lastly using a very fine sandpaper. I also raised the wipers a wee bit. Putting it all together again was easy (after cleaning, and some new grease). The pot now was very easy to turn and did its thing as it was supposed to do. Worked like a charm. I can recommend it.

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One small problem that can occur is that the housing has a “heel” inside that prevents the pot to be turned >360 degrees. After lowering the plastic bottom, the heel may need to be lowered a bit to avoid contact (not always - depending how much material that was removed).

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