The Steel Guitar Forum

I have noticed that when my volume pedal is engaged and I strike a sting there is a scratchy noise for a brief moment, then it goes away. Is this a sign of a bad "pot" in the pedal? Obviously I am new to this whole deal, so bear with me.

Yeah, sounds like a bad pot...they get scratchy like that after a while and you have to replace them.

Also try plugging the guitar straight into the amp and see if you still get the scratchy sound...if you do, then it's a problem with the amp or possibly one of your cables...but most likely it's the volume pedal pot.

That's also the same symptom of a dirty pot. Get a can of contact cleaner from an Electronics store and give it a squirt and work it back and forth. There are many times some openings that you can shoot some cleaner into.

If you had a syringe or dropper you could squirt some rubbing alchohol into it, followed by a blast of compressed air would serve the same purpose.

David, this is one reason I went to a Hilton pedal over 12 years ago as I never have a problem anymore. I was going through at least two pots a year before I went to the Hilton and many times I would get a new pot that was scratchy when I put it in the pedal. I quit selling pots and pot pedals about 8 years ago and only sell the Hilton now. My personal Hilton is again over 12 years old and like a new pedal, never had a problem.

Herby Wallace

P.S. Of course the Hilton has several other advantages over a pot pedal.

David...If the pot is bad in the volume pedal, the scratchiness should be more pronounced as you work the pedal back and forth. If you decide to replace the pot, the Dunlop units that Tom Bradshaw sells are the best that are currently available IMO.

Herby Wallace makes a strong point! Hilton pedals are well worth considering for their minimal care and having no loss or coloring of your guitar tone.

The "scratchy" sound is dirt or loose carbon interfering with the slider contact in side the pot. Often this will be very pronounced when you first begin playing and then will subside as the loose gack is pushed aside as you continue to work the pedal. Sometimes you can get a few more weeks or months out of it with a cleaner spray, other times it may crap out altogether, particularly if the spray is chemically agressive and the wear is already severe.

With the increasing difficuly of finding good replacement parts and the rapidly decreasing quality of what is available switching to one of the various pot-less pedals such as the Hilton, Goodrich or Evans units makes more and more sense every day. Every one of these pedals sounds and performs differently so best to try before you buy.

If you do decide to replace the pot in your existing pedal I agree that Tom Bradshaw's Dunlop parts are probably the best you can get anymore, the best I could find locally were marketed by a well-known guitar suppy company and are rated for "3,000 rotations" or about four days of steady picking.

Of course there'e always Ernie Ball at $90 a pop, when it goes bad you just go buy another one....

Before you buy a new pot, try prying off the metal back plate on the pot. Usually it is 4 little tabs to bend up. Then squirt it with contact cleaner, and work the pot back and forth. Blow dry the pot, and then replace the back. You might be good for another year, if it isn't worn out. If it starts to scratch again, repeat the cleaning.

If you go the contact cleaner route, be sure it is a cleaner/lubricant.

Gotta' keep in mind, too, that the pots in mass produced products are probably a 2 dollar component.

I you are not moving the pedal and the noise comes when you pick a string. If it makes a scratchy sound without moving the pedal try this. check all female connectors at guitar, both in and out on pedal and at amp. Make sure they are secure and clean. Check the ends on the cables too. I had a guy trip on one of my cables on stage one day and I had a problem. I was lucky another steel player at the show used his cables and we got it right back working. Found that the guy had broke one wire in a fitting and that was the trouble, had to rework the plug at home. No problem after the repair. Then go to the pot that could be the problem. Good Luck and Happy Steelin

My friend Darrell Combs would clean the old A&B pots out for me in the old Sho-Bud pedals and kept them working for a long time. I went to the Hilton pedal many years ago and love it. The tone is a bit clearer but I've never found a way to get that gutting sound with it as it doesn't respond quite is fast as the old pots do. I got an NOS A&B pot from John Bechtel and he put it in my old Goodrich and that's what I use for live gigs now. I use the Hilton on sessions. I've got an old Emmons pedal I need just one more A&B pot for and I'll be set for life with two pot pedals and two electronic pedals.