scratchy amp pots help please

S

Stevie M

New member
I could do with some advice from clever electronical people (or person) please:)

I've just picked up an HH Studio 60 amp, and some of the pots are a bit crackly and scratchy. Would a squirt or two of electrical contact cleaner be likely to sort it, or would it best to replace them?
If it's a replacement job, are the different pots -----volume/reverb etc etc-----special types or just generic ( as in guitar pots) and the difference in use down to capacitors and electronics and stuff? I haven't taken it apart yet to check what's fitted in it.

Cheers.
Steve.
 
Re: scratchy amp pots help please

Not Contact Cleaner no, thats for switches.

You need something like DeoxiT. As long as the cleaner has lubricant in it you should be alright.

Just regular Contact Cleaner will wear away the lubricant in the pots and make it worse.
 
Re: scratchy amp pots help please

Be sure you understand the risk of opening an amp. There are voltages that can injure or kill you. If you feel comfortable then buy some electronics cleaner spray and spray a stream into the troubled pots then work them back and forth 10-15 times and if the pot is still good it will likely be fine after doing this.

Here's what I use and it works great:

LINK
 
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Re: scratchy amp pots help please

First things first. Turn every knob from 'zero' to 'maximum' and back about twenty times with the amp switched on and turned up a bit. Yeah, it can be a pain for the wrist on an amp with a lot of knobs, but very often you will hear the scratching subside as you perform this procedure. Basically it's just clearing accumulated dust away from the signal path.

It may not always solve the issues but it is the best place to start ... it doesn't involve opening the amp, using any fluids or replacing any pots, and very often it's all that's needed.
 
Re: scratchy amp pots help please

Ok, Thanks guys.

Soooo---- Some fast twiddling of knobs first, I think.
Then down to a few squirts of something. I don't seem to able to find that spray over here BB, but I checked and it seems WD40 is ok for it. Got nothing to lose by trying it anyway:fingersx: And yep, I know which bits not to touch, 'cos it can make you go :argh:!!!


Any ideas about which type of pots, if it comes down to that????

Cheers.
 
Re: scratchy amp pots help please

Right, I've just about sorted the scratchy prob-------lots of fast twiddling did it.
But now I think I've got a real problem with it ----a nasty Hum. It's solid state (not Tube) and the hum increases when I turn the Vol up. Makes no difference if a guitar is plugged in or not. None of the other controls affect it at all, apart from the Saturation, then it gets a bit louder as I turn this down.
I tried changing the lead, moving to a different room, even took it outside to my workshop just in case there was something affecting it, like PC/Refrigerator etc etc. No difference.
I've opened it up to check for any obvious grounding issues, but can't see anything , like loose or misplaced wires and stuff.

Any ideas????

By the way,this hasn't happened after fiddling with the pots, it was there from the start.
 
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