Sourcing pots

[fender3x]

Trying to find mini pots my ESB-4 project.

Using Dano pups, so I need odd value pots. Looking for two audio 100K two audio 1 meg pots. Full sized pots won't fit through the f-holes. So I need the minis (16mm).

The other problem is that the top on this beasty is relatively thick. The pots that came with the kit have a 10 mm threaded bushing, which is fine. Most minis have a 6mm threaded bushing that is a bit too short. I found this out when I got a set of Alphas that were the right values but too short.

(I know folks here don't like Alphas, but I figured if I got a handful I could pick a few good ones and chuck the rest... now I have a bunch of them).

I did find some CTS pots that were the right value but wrong housing. 250k and 500k CTS minis have 10 mm bushings, so I thought I might perform the old CTS wafer swap... but it turns out that CTS minis with very narrow shafts have a smaller hole in the center of the wafer than the ones for guitars. I could try to ream or drill out the center of the wafer, but that seems like a good way to mess them up.

So I am wondering if anyone has a good source for mini 100k and 1 meg audio pots?

I have tried Digikey, Mouser and Arrow. Maybe there's a model of pot that will work that I am missing? Or maybe a better source?

Thanks for any advice!





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[WeirdBits]

Mammoth (http://www.mammothelectronics.com/) or GuitarElectronics (http://www.guitarelectronics.com/) may have what you're looking for.

[dingobass]

Check out Bournes, they may have what you need

[fender3x]

Thank, guys. Will report back if I hit paydirt.

So far I can find Bourns in the right value but wrong size, or the right size but wrong value. Continuing to look.

It looks like GuitarElectronics may have 100K pots that may work. I put a call into them to check. Also inquired about the 1M pots. They don't list any on their website, but it's worth checking.

Mammoth has 1M and 100K audio minis listed on their website, but does not indicate shaft lengths...so I sent them an email.

Will report back with what I learn. Thanks for the leads!

[Dedman]

https://www.amplifiedparts.com is worth a look too

[fender3x]

Hit partial paydirt. They have a long shaft mini 100K pot at GuitarElectronics. I was skeptical when I read the specs because they are so rare, but got confirmation from the staff there.

Mammoth had neither, but I have to say that I'll keep them bookmarked. Their staff sent pics of what they did have, with a ruler so I'd know exactly the sizes what they have. Service seems great, and their inventory is impressive even though they did not have what I needed.

Thanks DM for the suggestion about another place. That's my next stop ;-)

[fender3x]

This is a great site, DM, thanks for the advice. I did not find anything on it that I would not have to modify to make work...but it is by far the largest source of 1 meg pots I have seen.

I am going back to my original plan "B." Which, to recap, was to do the old wafer swap trick with CTS minis. I did find mini pots in the right values, but with the wrong kind of shaft and a short bushing:

CTS models 270X232A104B2A1 and 270X232A105B2A1

The problem is the hole in the wafer is too small for a normal CTS shaft to fit through, although it seemed identical to a "normal" CTS wafer in every other way.

So I took PabloPepper's suggestion from another thread (http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=5339&page=7), and got a reamer

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/knUAAOxyFjNSPzc~/s-l300.jpg

With that I gently enlarged the hole in the wafer until it fit on the larger CTS guitar pot shaft. Tried it and the modified pot seems to work well. I was reluctant to do this if I could find pots with the right values, because I was not sure that I could cut the hole cleanly and perfectly centered, but the reamer turns out to be a great tool for this. My thanks to Pablo! Unfortunately, I only had a linear pot for my experiments, but I now have some 100K and 1M pots on order to do the mod with, and I should have them in a few days.

FWIW, the site is a pain to navigate, but I found these pots at Arrow (https://www.arrow.com/). The site not only has a huge selection, but is also relatively inexpensive.

[fender3x]

I got some more info from the guys at GuitarElectronics, and wanted to give them their due...and provide this as a resource to anyone interested (foolish enough?) to want to put Dano pups on en ES style guitar with a center block.

In addition to the long shaft 100K pots that GE folks have, they also have 1 meg minis from Bourns with a push-pull DPDT switch. I don't have a use for the switch but one could certainly put it in and ignore it. I have one of these pots, and if does fit through the f-hole just fine. I also got a note from the GE guys that they may get a stock of Bourns 1M minis next week. Not sure if they are linear our audio, but I have to say they they have been very accommodating!

The Allparts 100K's look like Alpha's from the case, and would fit the hole already in the body. The Bourns would require enlarging the hole a bit. The splines are different, too. The good news is they both have 18 count course splines so they should use the same type of knob.

It did not occur to me to use the push pull pots, and I had already ordered some CTS pots to cannibalize by the time I heard from the GE guys...so I may still go the swap wafer route. Still it's nice to have options!

[stan]

good work, you will be the site pot guru after this

[fender3x]

Ha! I just like to take things apart. Wierdbits actually understands how these things work ;)

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[stan]

Ha! I just like to take things apart. Wierdbits actually understands how these things work ;)

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are you sure we're not related, haha

Weirdy is the king of electrons for sure, an awesome asset to the site