How to Change a Guitar Pot | Guitar Tech Tips | Ep. 21 | Thomann

Let's see what you need to know about swapping potentiometers on guitars and basses.
There's the obvious part: shaft length, if you need a 250k, 500k or 25k pot, etc.
There's something else though, that many seem to forget... The shaft width.

Check out the video for details. Enjoy Guitar Tech Tips! :)

Interesting bits and pieces:
0:00 Introduction
0:38 Two standard shaft widths
1:06 Let's change this potentiometer
1:42 The soldering iron
2:15 Don't drill from the inside
3:19 Wiring the new pot
5:35 Check if it works
5:47 The old knob will not fit anymore
6:07 Time for a test ride
6:36 Outtakes

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[jamesbeaver]

Make sure to clean the exposed wire ends and terminals with alcohol before soldering. Clean the soldering iron tip with brass wool too. Clean components and tools will produce much lower impedance (resistance) connection -->> cleaner signals. I'm an electrical engineer and a class 3 soldering certified in my day job. Hope this helps.

[szymonszymanski]

Thomann should start offering Custom guitar body and necks and take over Warmoth clientele in Europe. Brilliant video Kris 👏 Thank you 😁

[martinhiggs]

Great post ! I just completely upgraded my Japanese TELECASTER ! first I dumped the low output pickup's (extremely bright) for a set of Seymour Duncan "hot tele's" with more midrange ! switched the mini pots for Fender vintage 250*K standard size, with a orange drop .047 capacitor, WOW completely different guitar now ! the pickup's have more dynamic range and the neck pickup has more output level ! yes I had to drill out everything as well ! it was well worth it

[DethronerX]

Thanks
Please do a video on replacing Tone knob with Volume for Bridge and upper volume for neck pickup only, so I can change their volumes individually. Also, I'd like to know how a guitar would sound like if you took away the tone, or would we have to drill a third socket to add tone for both

[johnlackner]

Quite a few soldering tips I never knew about before watching this. It's never too late to learn something new. Lots of "why didn't I think of this"? Great video.

[brianmckenzie]

Great video!!! I would imagine many are shocked when switching out pots that the shafts are different on import guitars!

[peter]

Good call on using a counter sink bit. Normally I just tape over the hole, cut the tape covering the hole then hope for the best while drilling 😂.

[goncaloveiga]

This video series is amazing! Great work!

[okanaganguy]

Can you talk about the advantages of upgrading pots, please?

[PooNinja]

Voiding warranties is my business and business is good 🤘🏽.
What If’n I gots humbuckers and wanna add coil splits? there’s so many opinions, add a new switch of some type, change a pot to a push push (preferred) or push pull (more common), how do ya add a phase reversal switch? And what’s the deal with logarithmic Vs linear and what’s for what!!!

Asking for a friend !

[karloseklasamentes]

I would like to see you changing pots on a semi hollow guitar or bass like the HB 60...It seems almost impossible.

[wadecourtney]

How about a video on switching from passive to active electronics on a bass. Or maybe telling what exactly the difference is between active electronics and active pickups and the advantages ot disadvantages of each. That actually might be a few videos!

[philsequeira]

On a SC 550 are the pots long shaft or “regular”?

[megatedassaultituary]

Nice, always on point and easy to understand. Also YOu play pretty good man. not too many guitar techs are known to actually play guitar lol 🤣😄

[countblue]

I had to swap a pot in my Harley Benton "Cabronita" and I noticed the wires were absoutly short so there was almost no way to maneuver. I had to mount the pot into the cavity before soldering so I could reach the pins with the wires.
Thats not very servicefriendly. ;-(

However it still worked because I know how to solder in thight spaces as I am a professional in that area.
Thats the reason I do all the electronic stuff on guitars myself.

The first pickup I swapped was in 1975 I think.
I put a De Armond Humbucker into a Fender Tele Neckposition.

[nourdinenourdine]

Please Mr kris, knobs of my Maybach lester 59 broken easily what knob will last longtime I m not even agrissive !!! Thanks for sharing with us your big experience s . We miss your second live on the river please

[beenay]

Can you show us how to remove the volume knob flush to the guitar surface? I cant put up with the obstruction to my picking hand anymore

[FingalPersson]

So my guitars have 0 warranty but the components does however... My Fender Player Series 2023 Price 960$.. Has Seymore Duncan pickup and DiMarzio Pickups ( they have warranty but the guitar does not? ) My tuners swapped for Fender locking tuners that has warranty ( the guitar looses its warranty? ) Swapping the 250K pots tomorrow for Fender 500K pots and has warranty ( guitar still lost warranty and why? ) The pickguard that came with the guitar brand new had 2 outward pointing dents, and the shop I bought it from sent me a new one and told me to swap it my self... ( did I also loose the warranty on the guitar for doing so? ) Next month my Fender Professional II scalloped rosewood neck arrives and has warranty and cost 810$ and I'm going to swap that too ( the guitar looses its warranty and why? ) I would really like some elaboration on this because what exactly is it that looses the warranty? what if i swap the tremolo bridge to a US tremolo bridge with warranty and saddles with warranty. And if I then buy Fender locking straps that also comes with warranty.. then my guitar components that has warranty still has warranty, but you're telling me that the body it self, the backplate for the neck, the springs to the tremolo, and the pickup switch and the jack input just lost it's warranty because I made these changes with original parts yet all the components clearly states that they come with warranty when I buy them... how does that work? can you elaborate because I don't think that's correct to say that guitars looses warranty because you modify it, especially if you are only using original parts like I have done, and swapping pickups is as common as changing rims and tires for your car.. I don't believe that my Strat has lost warranty on the few remaining parts that I did not swap but please do elaborate on that. If what you elaborate makes sense to me, Ill buy just buy the few remaining parts I mentioned that I have not swapped into new Fender Us original parts, which means only the body it self lost the warranty and if that's actually true and something would happen to my guitar body, I could just buy a new Strat body from gear4music and have 5 years warranty on that too, then everything on my guitar has 5 years warranty which then means that my guitar has not lost warranty at all... See where I'm coming from? Also noticed Thomann's guitars sells a Strat body with 3 year warranty, the exact same body sold over at gear4music comes with 5 years warranty... And in Norway if something has 2-3 years of warranty you have the right of complaint for 5 years by law, which is probably why gear5music gives a minimum of 5 year warranty and they offer a 10 year warranty if you pay a little under 30 bucks more for the product as a sales pitch on their website for every product I've seen they sell..

Now with that information convince me that my guitar lost any warranty for any changes I've done to it with all these original parts that comes with 5 year warranty because I really have doubts about that... The only way I can see you loose warranty is if you use unoriginal parts ( which never the less the parts you buy has it's own warranty ) and if you alternate the guitar, such as I had to do with my Squier Affinity Telecaster when I put the MiM Strat stock tuners on it when my Strat got Fender locking tuners. I had to fill the old plug holes and drill new ones as the measurement from Squier to Fender tuners plugs was not the same, on that occasion I can understand if the headstock or the neck it self lost warranty, but then again I could just buy an original Telecaster US made neck that comes with warranty and have the right measurements to just put in the Fender Strat tuners without alteration. And yes that neck does fit perfectly without any sanding or alteration needed on the neck to make the fit snug.. Even says so on Fender.com if you look at the telecaster necks that they sell and I quote Fenders own words on their own page "This replacement neck is for a Fender or Squier® by Fender guitar." I am very convinced that you cannot convince me that my guitars will lose any warranty from any modifications that I do or have done while using original parts from Fender no matter what part i swap...
The only way I can think of that makes someone lose the warranty of their guitar is if they drill new holes in their body like you did here instead of using parts that fit because it has the right measurements ( original parts is the way to go ) and if you start using unoriginal electronics or rebuild an passive guitar to an active guitar that requires major alterations to the body or if you convert your guitar from a standard tremolo bridge to lets say a Floyd Rose bridge system which also require alteration such as the body will need additional routing, new holes drilled, and you'll want to add a locking nut to be able to use the Floyd Rose without the guitar going out of tune that will make the guitar lose warranty for sure. and that's pretty much all I can think of that will void the warranty on a guitar... Tell me I'm wrong and explain to me why, and don't tell me some gibberish that It's because I'm not a schooled a luthier because the only thing I believe needs to be done by a luthier to keep warranty is if you want to have your Strat converted with say Floyd Rose bridge since that is not something everyone can do, but for everything else I've mentioned above, such as swapping to another original neck, pickups, electronics etc. is something everyone can do and would not cost you the warranty of your guitar. That's like saying you can't adjust the trust rod, raise or lower saddles, or intonate your guitar without being a luthier to not lose warranty.

Sorry for the long comment, but had to elaborate everything I could think of before you come back to me with an answer @ThomannsGuitarsBasses and I want you say your answer out loud to your self before commenting it to me, just so you can hear you self and make sure it makes sense for you and that it will make sense to me as well!

You probably don't have to elaborate on it as much as I did if you have a good enough answer, but you DO have to elaborate on " Please remember, if you modify your guitar, you will loose the warranty" for me, and please I beg for you to answer this comment because I've sort of commented on another video you made saying the same thing without answering my comment so this time I hope you will elaborate on it, or just easily tell me if I'm right or if I'm partly right tell me where I am wrong!

If you actually answer I will subscribe and put a like on the video, deal? 🙂

[mathewburns]

Yo great tutorial!
Thank you so much, will definitely be subscribing.

[greggw]

I have a squier strat can you give me tips on changing out the pots it came with 2 volume 1 tone
I just want 2 volume I don't use the tone pot I use it on my amp 🎸🔊