Fender Solid State Volume Pot

Vajazzled

Vajazzled

New member
Is there a wiring trick or pot-swap out there to get a more even transition from volume positions 1 or 2 to 3 and up, without all the crackling jumping dramatic spikes and drops in volume?

I got a Fender 212r and my vol. pot is very touchy going from too quite to WAY TOO LOUD
at a finger's touch.:crying:
 
Re: Fender Solid State Volume Pot

:/

Get high quality pots like bourns or cts to avoid the scratchiness, or just clean the pot you already have. Though if it's old, there's a chance the actual resistive strip inside the pot is degraded or partially eroded, which would require a new replacement, brand wouldn't really matter. You need an audio taper pot for a volume control, typically. Though the culprit in your case might be more complicated than just a pot swap (ie it could be a result of the amp's circuit design itself).

do a google search and see if other 212R owners experience similar problems.
 
Re: Fender Solid State Volume Pot

Looks like the V Pot is 50k.
I would try shooting an email to Fender.
Explain your dilemma, and ask them if there is a Better/Different taper pot you can install.
I have never had my hands inside one of these amps. I will assume the pots are all PCB mount. Who knows what MIGHT be involved with changing just one pot.
But you can ask Fender That Also.
best
 
Re: Fender Solid State Volume Pot

The amp is only like 5 years old, but it was only $300-something...So wiring and pot quality might both be an issue.
The main reason I like the amp is because of its watt rating (100w) and it has REAL spring-reverb, which I am a sucker for.
The guy at my local music shop said the 212r only has a 100-buck resale value anyway.

I'll look into changing the pots for now, but I might end up looking for a new amp if there are wiring problems
(Fender Excelsior looks cool)
...of course I am always open to suggestions for a good combo amp
 
Re: Fender Solid State Volume Pot

Who knows what MIGHT be involved with changing just one pot.
Click to expand...

I'd say 9 times out of ten it's a real pain in the @ss. Sometimes it's even a pain in the @ss to simply clean them.

I'd recommend buying a can of deoxit to try and clean the pot. If that doesn't work, sell it or trade it in.
 
Re: Fender Solid State Volume Pot

Vajazzled said:
The amp is only like 5 years old, but it was only $300-something...So wiring and pot quality might both be an issue.
The main reason I like the amp is because of its watt rating (100w) and it has REAL spring-reverb, which I am a sucker for.
The guy at my local music shop said the 212r only has a 100-buck resale value anyway.

I'll look into changing the pots for now, but I might end up looking for a new amp if there are wiring problems
(Fender Excelsior looks cool)
...of course I am always open to suggestions for a good combo amp
Click to expand...
Do you live near me.?
Your local music store guy hits on an interesting dilemma of "cheap" amps.....if something goes wrong, and you cannot fix it yourself, the amp can quickly become a throw-away item.
BUT, for the same reasons, these kinds of amps are also a great learning platform. If you screw up...it is really no big loss.
If you have some mechanical aptitude, and a soldering iron.....I would say give it a shot. You may have to pull All or Most of the pots, just to access the main board for all the pots. That is, they might all be mounted on ONE PCB.

But if you can fix this, you will have an amp that does clean pretty well, and has a reverb tank you are pretty happy with.
That amp is the polar opposite of a Tube Twin...it is a LOUD 2x12 that is also Light Weight.
Like your guy says...if you can even find a buyer...it is probably a 50-150 dollar sale.
I would try to hold onto it. It can do gigging volumes ( I would imagine)...and like a lot of Fender SS amps, it sounds pretty good at Low/House Volumes.
Another amp.?
I would not repeat the "mistake" you made with this amp.
For 300-700 bux you can buy a damn decent tube amp...used of course...but maybe something hand-wired, or at least an amp that was built with Maintenance/Access in mind.
The new VHT stuff comes to mind, and they are a Joy to work on.
good luck
 
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Re: Fender Solid State Volume Pot

BrainS. my guitar tech uses that deoxit stuff, it's pretty snazzy!

I'm a one-man-band and I DO like the clean channel, and I use pedals, but I am new to "F-ing" with the internal components of amps. You do make a good point, zzmoore, I ain't got much to lose by trying...I got a Rogue 65r SS as a back-up anyway.
 
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