# Noisy guitar pots



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

On my custom shop 52 tele, with the volume turned all the way down, if I wiggle it a bit volume seems to go in and out. Even in the off position some times volume comes through. When I roll it up theres static noise. It mostly happens from off to a little to up about 1/4 of the way. Past that there is no noise and it seems to be normal. 
I suspect I may need to have the pot replaced but before that would it be a good idea to spray something with contact cleaner? If so, what would I use? Deoxit? Where would I get that? And what exactly would I spray it on.
My strat has a bit of the same problem. Although its much milder. Just a little bit of noise up at the top of taper.


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

To be sure, I would remove the pot, disassemble it and inspect the resistive track with a magnifying glass for wear.


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## Alan Small (Dec 30, 2019)

Canadian tire auto section sells compressed air for blowing out dust....and they have a contact cleaner without "residue" that works well.


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Shoot it with DeOxit first if you have it. That said, most pots nowadays don't compare to the quality of those made in the past. You might just want to replace it.


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Alan Small said:


> Canadian tire auto section sells compressed air for blowing out dust....and they have a contact cleaner without "residue" that works well.
> View attachment 418014


Be careful with cleaners that have no residue as they tend to remove all the grease from the pot making it stiff to turn. Some can also remove the carbon track which will condemn the pot to landfill.....especially new production pots.


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## Jackvulcan9000 (Sep 4, 2021)

DeOxit has worked well for me. Spray directly in the crevice opening.


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## mick.335 (Sep 23, 2020)

A lot of time this will clean up if you run the pot from stop to stop repeatedly with the side of your hand. Probably just a build up of dust and crud. As previously stated, I find Detoxit works the best as a cleaner.


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## Latole (Aug 11, 2020)

Like mic.335 wrote ;

First turn knob 0 to 10 at least ten time if not 20 times.
It often work.
No need to replace volume, just use Deoxit or any good contact cleaner.
You need to remove control chrome plate

To keep any kind of pot in good shape, turn them often.
Don't leave them in same position for months


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

Understanding Potentiometers


Potentiometers are the humblest electronic component we have in our modern day labs. Every time we turn a knob in our music system or play games with joysticks, we are actually turning a potentiometer (or pot) inside them. Plus they are cheap and readily available. These pots are extensively...




www.engineersgarage.com


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Latole said:


> Like mic.335 wrote ;
> 
> First turn knob 0 to 10 at least ten time if not 20 times.
> It often work.
> ...


I've done the turn it up and down many many times. The only thing that makes me think that its going to be a new pot is that its not so much that its just noisy but that the volume cuts in and out. When the volume is off and if I move it just slightly the volume comes on like its half to 3/4 up and cuts in and out. Any of the noise or the volume cutting in and out only happens from off to slightly on. Once I get 1/4 the way up and to full there are no issues. In my experience, usually a dirty pot is noisy all the way. But maybe not. I'd like to spray and clean in there and see if it does clear up before taking it to the tech.
And just to note, this issue has been this way since I bought it new almost 3 years ago. I got it from a US music store so I didn't say anything at the time. It didn't really bother me too much, although doing volume swells was a bit annoying. Since I got a volume pedal its not an issue at all, but I'd like to get rid of the issue one way or the other anyway.


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## Latole (Aug 11, 2020)

" In my experience, usually a dirty pot is noisy all the way."
guitarman2

Wrong. 
*____*

With good product you can fix the pot and know how.
Spray inside; remove chrome plate before

After rotate 10 to 20 turns


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## Latole (Aug 11, 2020)

Spray where there are holes to go inside the pot


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

We tend to think that crackly pots become that way because dirt "gets in". While that is certainly true, to an extent, we forget that pots generate their own internal dirt. The only reason they work as pots is because the wiper (the movable contact) *rubs* against the resistive strip inside the pot to make contact. Friction is fundamental to pot functioning. Depending on the design of the wiper (they're not all the same), and how the pot gets used, the wiper can scrape off little bits of the resistive strip material. It's not unlike the way that a road, nicely quiet to drive on when freshly paved and smooth, eventually becomes noisier as vehicles using that road dislodge tiny bits of the road surface, creating both pits and loose gravel.

Sprays like DeOxit address oxidation on the wiper, and can also loosen accumulated residue. Of course, both the residue and spray have to GO somewhere, so a schpritz of compressed air inside the pot is a useful accompaniment.

That said, many contact cleaners are expensive - when you figure how often you're actually going to use them - and nobody likes getting electrical spray in their instrument. So, a cheaper, tidier, if cumbersome, fix is to remove the pot, gently pry up the tabs holding the back cover on (and just enough to loosen it), and expose the inside. One can then take a plain ordinary Q-tip and wipe the sludge off the resistive strip. No chemicals required to purchase or to clean up. The caveat is that, since the cotton tip is comprised of compressed fibres, make sue you don't leave fibrous material inside the pot. If you want, and have the stuff on hand, you can even wet the cotton tip with contact cleaner and use that to wipe down the resistive strip.

I like to use this remarkable contact-*enhancer* product made in Richmond Hill, called Stabilant 22, after I've cleaned the strip, but it is bloody expensive.

And note, while those tabs CAN be pried up to get inside, they are not meant to be pried up and down regularly, or wriggled in any way. So, do a decent job the first time.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

mhammer said:


> We tend to think that crackly pots become that way because dirt "gets in". While that is certainly true, to an extent, we forget that pots generate their own internal dirt. The only reason they work as pots is because the wiper (the movable contact) *rubs* against the resistive strip inside the pot to make contact. Friction is fundamental to pot functioning. Depending on the design of the wiper (they're not all the same), and how the pot gets used, the wiper can scrape off little bits of the resistive strip material. It's not unlike the way that a road, nicely quiet to drive on when freshly paved and smooth, eventually becomes noisier as vehicles using that road dislodge tiny bits of the road surface, creating both pits and loose gravel.
> 
> Sprays like DeOxit address oxidation on the wiper, and can also loosen accumulated residue. Of course, both the residue and spray have to GO somewhere, so a schpritz of compressed air inside the pot is a useful accompaniment.
> 
> ...


That sounds like a good idea. If I were any kind of handy with these things I'd give it a go. But I find more ways to screw things up when it comes to things like this. I think I'll just try the compressed air and deoxit. I'd likely end up breaking the tabs.


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

I had a pot straight up die on me a while ago. No sound at all. Before buying new pots, I hit it with a couple of shots of NuTrol. It's worked fine ever since.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

The miracle of Stabilant 22 is that it works like a liquid solder joint. It is an electroconductive polymer that never dries out (hence the "Stabil" in the name) and used to be marketed to audiophiles under the brand name "Tweak", before rebranding as a more general-purpose contact enhancer. The down side of never drying is that you can't build up layers. I like to joke that, in the land of electrons, a one-micron gap is like the Grand Canyon. The stuff works like a charm, but if you've been playing "White Room" and "Tales of Brave Ulysses" every night in a Cream cover band for the last 40 years, Stabilant will not necessarily save that wah pot. There are limits to what gaps can be closed.


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

Textbook dirty pot. Deoxit twice a year. Do the toggle too, or it too will eventually act funny.

I have 15 year old guitars with original electronics. Like any mechanical part, they need maintenance.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

BGood said:


> Textbook dirty pot. Deoxit twice a year. Do the toggle too, or it too will eventually act funny.
> 
> I have 15 year old guitars with original electronics. Like any mechanical part, they need maintenance.


Any time pots give me trouble I just replace them. I think I'm gonna have to try this DeOxit since everyone gives such glowing reviews. Not that I really mind replacing them for the whole 5 minutes and 4 dollars.... but 30 seconds and 50 cents sounds a whole lot better


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I used to go through master volume pots on my stage guitars, because of my habit of using them as quasi-noise gates.

For me, they're either on or off. I'm not a guy who uses them to clean up the sound. I do that by switching sounds on the amp or engaging and dis-engaging pedals.

But, I used to slam the guitar volume pot on and off to silence noise in quiet passages and had to replace them once a year or more often as needed.

It's an easy fix.


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## Dru Edwards (9 mo ago)

Where are people buying their DeOxit in Canada? L&M has it but it's $. I don't see it at Canadian Tire or Home Hardare.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Industrial electronics distributors will carry it.

Just a little addendum. I noted in a previous post that a share of the gunk inside pots that make them crackly is internally generated, by the wiper constantly scraping against the resistive strip. Many contact cleaners, like DeOxit, also _lubricate_ the surface of the resistive strip, such that, over the long term, there is less abrasion of it. So such sprays can not only "cure" noisy pots, but also serve as _prevention_. As such, BGood's strategy is spot on. Still, getting the spray onto the resistive strip and _not_ just all over the control cavity of the guitar, is a skill requiring practice and planning.


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## diyfabtone (Mar 9, 2016)

I bought a couple of cans from Amazon.ca a few months ago.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Dru Edwards said:


> Where are people buying their DeOxit in Canada? L&M has it but it's $. I don't see it at Canadian Tire or Home Hardare.


Not sure where you are but I'm going to take the 35 minute trip to Burlington to Parts Connexion and grab Deoxit from there. Its saying they have stock.
I'm a bit confused by all the different kinds, DN5, Gold GN5, etc. But it looks like the one I want is D5. Its the same one that Stewmac has on their site for contact cleaning. 









CAIG DeoxIT® D-Series D5 Spray D5S-6


Love This : CAIG DeoxIT® D-Series D5 Spray D5S-6



www.partsconnexion.com


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

WD40 now makes a dedicated contact cleaner. In a yellow can if I remember well.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

guitarman2 said:


> Not sure where you are but I'm going to take the 35 minute trip to Burlington to Parts Connexion and grab Deoxit from there. Its saying they have stock.
> I'm a bit confused by all the different kinds, DN5, Gold GN5, etc. But it looks like the one I want is D5. Its the same one that Stewmac has on their site for contact cleaning.
> 
> 
> ...


The various formulations of DeOxit are, I gather, intended to remove oxidation from different kinds of contacts, depending on composition and functioning. Not sure if it's on your way, but consider stopping in to Nutech in Hamilton, on Parkdale Ave.. They might have it, and since they tend to deal in parts for getting something up and running again, rather than obscure components for audiophiles who simply want bragging rights, they may be cheaper than Parts Connexion (I have to wonder just what on earth a $1500 speaker cable, or $300 capacitor would change in the sound).


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

mhammer said:


> , rather than obscure components for audiophiles who simply want bragging rights, they may be cheaper than Parts Connexion (I have to wonder just what on earth a $1500 speaker cable, or $300 capacitor would change in the sound).


I love you. I have been trying my very best to convey this to so many people over so many years. I am losing the fight.... but someday I might win the war


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

mhammer said:


> We tend to think that crackly pots become that way because dirt "gets in". While that is certainly true, to an extent, we forget that pots generate their own internal dirt. The only reason they work as pots is because the wiper (the movable contact) *rubs* against the resistive strip inside the pot to make contact. Friction is fundamental to pot functioning. Depending on the design of the wiper (they're not all the same), and how the pot gets used, the wiper can scrape off little bits of the resistive strip material. It's not unlike the way that a road, nicely quiet to drive on when freshly paved and smooth, eventually becomes noisier as vehicles using that road dislodge tiny bits of the road surface, creating both pits and loose gravel.
> 
> Sprays like DeOxit address oxidation on the wiper, and can also loosen accumulated residue. Of course, both the residue and spray have to GO somewhere, so a schpritz of compressed air inside the pot is a useful accompaniment.
> 
> ...





https://www.amazon.com/Stabilant-5ml-Kit-Makes-30ml/dp/B001E50GQS



It says made in usa...


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

mhammer said:


> The various formulations of DeOxit are, I gather, intended to remove oxidation from different kinds of contacts, depending on composition and functioning. Not sure if it's on your way, but consider stopping in to Nutech in Hamilton, on Parkdale Ave.. They might have it, and since they tend to deal in parts for getting something up and running again, rather than obscure components for audiophiles who simply want bragging rights, they may be cheaper than Parts Connexion (I have to wonder just what on earth a $1500 speaker cable, or $300 capacitor would change in the sound).


I called nutech and they do carry the Deoxit D5. Unfortunately they aren't open Saturdays of long weekends. The only hours I can get there is a Saturday. They are a fair bit cheaper than Connexion so I think I'll just wait till next Saturday as I'm not really in a hurry. 
Thanks for that suggestion.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

You're welcome. Happy to give them the business.


player99 said:


> https://www.amazon.com/Stabilant-5ml-Kit-Makes-30ml/dp/B001E50GQS
> 
> 
> 
> It says made in usa...


The kit may well be put together in the USA, but Stabilant itself is a Richmond Hill product.and company.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Finally got around to getting a can of Deoxit D5. Sprayed the pots on both my tele and strat and now they're working perfect. I thought for sure I'd have to replace the pot in my Tele it was so bad. Now it works perfectly.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

That is great news!! Spray can is easier than take it apart every time.

I need to get some myself, I have an old pedal I need to clean up and my acoustic amp is in rough shape from being left alone for a few years. I cannot be bothered to change all of the pots but if I could just spray them, that would be stellar. Your success shall drive me forward!


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## Alan Small (Dec 30, 2019)

Auto parts stores
Electrical wholesalers


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