CTS Pot shaft loose? Almost feels like a push pull pot. Is this normal for CTS?

[Spyder328]

So I recently got 3 CTS pots for my V and I noticed today that with each pot, I can pull the shaft in and out a few millimeters. Its not just a wiggle. It almost reminds me of a push pull pot but they are standard pots. None of my other guitars have this problem. I plugged it in and turned the pots and pulled them and they work fine and don't make any weird sounds, but I just feel like something is wrong with them to have that much movement. All 3 have that movement but one is worse, one is medium, and one has less (but still enough to seem off). They are the standard backed pots. The backs of them say EP086 500K 1536 CTS

 

[ganzosrevenge]

Re: CTS Pot shaft loose? Almost feels like a push pull pot. Is this normal for CTS?

So I recently got 3 CTS pots for my V and I noticed today that with each pot, I can pull the shaft in and out a few millimeters. Its not just a wiggle. It almost reminds me of a push pull pot but they are standard pots. None of my other guitars have this problem. I plugged it in and turned the pots and pulled them and they work fine and don't make any weird sounds, but I just feel like something is wrong with them to have that much movement. All 3 have that movement but one is worse, one is medium, and one has less (but still enough to seem off). They are the standard backed pots. The backs of them say EP086 500K 1536 CTS

I'd venture to say something's not quite right with them. But at the same time, the tolerances of CTS pots comes down to who is ordering them. A company can order CTS pots with a +/- 20% tolerance at 500k, and get pots that are as low as 400k (which for HBs is NOT good). Additionally, the pots can have aluminum shafts or brass shafts, various thickness of carbon tracks, etc., again, at the whim of the company who bought the pots (and then sold you the pots). With these pots, you have to research who is buying the pots, and what they demand in the specs (shaft material, carbon track thickness, permitted tolerances relative to the base spec, etc.,) My strat has RS Guitarworks-spec CTS pots. Yes, they were pricey ($10 to $12 for the tone pots; $18 for the volume pot), but they were higher than spec output (300k vol, 270k tone 1 for neck and mid single coils; 550k tone 2 for bridge). They should have been 270k / 250k / 500k respectively if they were dead-on to spec. With CTS pots, you get what you pay for. Go cheap, and they're worse than alphas; go better, and they'll keep up (and beat) the best from bourns. You get what you pay for.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: CTS Pot shaft loose? Almost feels like a push pull pot. Is this normal for CTS?

Do you have the type with the flat-bottomed resistance track casing and no shaft end showing through the bottom? Those are given to a degree of play in the vertical axis.

Hope this answers your question.

 

[Spyder328]

Re: CTS Pot shaft loose? Almost feels like a push pull pot. Is this normal for CTS?

I got the pots from a seller on eBay and it says in the description "Pot is manufactured by CTS and distributed by Allparts, part # EP 086" so I figured they'd be ok. And yes they are the flat bottomed pots. Not the dish style with the shaft showing thru. I guess I'll just go with it since they sound fine as of right now. How are the ones from stewmac? They say "We've specified these CTS pots to feature a longer-life brass shaft and tighter ±10% resistance tolerance compared to CTS products offered by most other suppliers" so I assume they are better then the AllParts versions?

 

[orpheo]

Re: CTS Pot shaft loose? Almost feels like a push pull pot. Is this normal for CTS?

Check if the bottom is firmly attached to the body of the pot. If not, use pliers to force the little nibs firmly in place. Easy.

 

[Spyder328]

Re: CTS Pot shaft loose? Almost feels like a push pull pot. Is this normal for CTS?

Check if the bottom is firmly attached to the body of the pot. If not, use pliers to force the little nibs firmly in place. Easy.

That was actually the first thing I did lol One was a bit loose but the rest were fine

 

[J E C]

Re: CTS Pot shaft loose? Almost feels like a push pull pot. Is this normal for CTS?

Did you put the knob on and take it off, and then put it back on. If the knob fits really tight, some time you can loosen the shaft were it attaches inside. When this happens you can get extra end play. While taking the knob off, I pulled the shaft clear out of a brand new one once.

 

[Spyder328]

CTS Pot shaft loose? Almost feels like a push pull pot. Is this normal for CTS?

Did you put the knob on and take it off, and then put it back on. If the knob fits really tight, some time you can loosen the shaft were it attaches inside. When this happens you can get extra end play. While taking the knob off, I pulled the shaft clear out of a brand new one once.

I noticed it after I put the knob(s) on for the first time. It wasn't really to tight of a fit. It was stiff but not enough where it should cause problems

 

[dragonfly66]

Re: CTS Pot shaft loose? Almost feels like a push pull pot. Is this normal for CTS?

Did you put the knob on and take it off, and then put it back on. If the knob fits really tight, some time you can loosen the shaft were it attaches inside. When this happens you can get extra end play. While taking the knob off, I pulled the shaft clear out of a brand new one once.

This!

I have an Emerson Custom SG pre-wired harness and the knobs were really tight. Lots of wiggle after installing them. I tried tightening the nut which made it worse. I found out that tightening the nut was pulling the top plate of the pot away from the base. I have the ones wear the shaft shows through the bottom. So I removed the knobs and harness an took pliers and pressed everything down an reinstalled being careful to not over tighten, but as soon as I put the knobs on the wiggled again. I just left it alone, because they still worked.

The pots do not have the extra nut at the bottom only the bottom washer, top washer, and top nut. Could the looseness be avoided if there was a bottom washer?