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Crackle could be a speck of dust but if its on the pot you over soldered it may be heat damage.
If you are using the stock pots this is real easy to do..
So, try giving it a blast or if you have it give it a squirt of contact cleaner as there could be some oxides formed from over heating..
If that dosent work replace the pot with new ones.. After swearing loudly for five minutes :)
If your in western side of Melb I have about a hundred large sized B500K pots if you need to replace a pot..
It's what can happens if you buy 20 from China they send you 150.
PK
The crackle could be caused by the pot getting a little too hot when soldering or dust/crud getting in it. Just work the knob a bit and see if it clears or give it a blast of air in through the gaps in its casing. If that doesn't work you can get a can of electrical contact cleaner and give it a squirt of that... but, if it's cooked it may just be cheaper to replace it eventually.
Edit: too late, DB and PK already have you covered.
I have no words for how awesome you guys are. I only just now really looked at the electronics upgrades, those better pots look insane compared to what i tossed in there. This has been one of the greatest learning experiences Ive ever had, Ive always wanted to know all about this stuff. Im almost glad Ive run into so many hurdles, because of you guys Ive fixed them all and now im far smarter because of it. My next guitar build will be epic, Im not even done this one yet and I cant wait for the next one. you guys are the best.
We all started in the same way as you Nick, knowing very little :)
I have been refurbishing, ressurecting, repairing and building for 30+ years.
Through the generousity of the guys on this forum I reckon I have learned more in the past few years than in all the time before!
It has been a great pleasure watching peeps take those first tentative steps and gradually develop into competent Luthiers :)
Just a tip - using solder lug washers instead of soldering ground to back of pots avoids all of these issues :) can find them on ebay/electrical stores easily
Quote:
Originally Posted by nickflook
it might just be that the pot is a bit dirty and you just need to give it a spray with some Electrical Contact Cleaner, you can buy a can of it from most good Electronics Components stores (eg: Jaycar Electronics, Mouser), the stuff you want to buy is the stuff that doesn't leave an oily residue behind once it evaporates, if that doesn't fix the crackling you might need to replace the pot with a new one and be careful with the soldering, hope that helps.
Personally I always connect up the backs of my pot casings, but I also cut a plastic guard out of milk bottle for each and every pot to make sure the lugs can't contact the shielding. It's basically a wierd shaped washer that corresponds to the underside profile of the pot, with a hole for the shaft to stick through. I'm happy to take a little extra time connecting the pot casings if it means I dont have to troubleshoot shorts with the lugs!
cheers,
Gav.
great tip Gav on the milk bottle plastic guard for the lugs to stay clear of the shielding, especially when the pots are recessed this can happen very easily. I'll try that tip next time !
Crackly pots can sometimes be fixed just by working them a little. Roll it back and forth to it's limits a few times. Zing!