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Topic: Cleaning Or Replacing Pots On 1939 Gibson Ege-6784 7 Strin |
George Rout
From:
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 19 Apr 2015 5:38 am |
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All of a sudden both pots one of my favourite guitars are dirty or worn. They're cutting out (sometimes) at the higher end of the controls.
I've attached two pics, top and bottom. On the bottom are two bolts. I removed the original knobs while for the time being.
What happens when these bolts are loosened, it looks like an assembly of the pickup and controls must come out from the top? Is it a delicate operaation???
Does anybody know if the pots can be accessed for some attempted cleaning?
Thanks
George
_________________
http://georgerout.com
"I play in the A Major tuning. It's fun to learn and so easy to play. It's as old as the hills....like me" |
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Stefan Robertson
From:
Hertfordshire, UK
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Posted 20 Apr 2015 6:14 am
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Send it to a luthier to be serviced properly.
_________________
Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com
"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist" |
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Stefan Robertson
From:
Hertfordshire, UK
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Posted 20 Apr 2015 6:16 am
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Gibson is still the sexiest shape and tobacco sunburst lap steels I've ever known. Nice looker.
_________________
Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com
"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist" |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Posted 20 Apr 2015 7:03 am
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I've never been inside one, but I think that you are correct that the pickup has to be removed to get to the pots.
As near as I can tell, my best guess is that these pics show what you have inside. If so, it looks like you can fairly easily get the whole harness out to work on it and or send it off to a pro for a little TLC.
.
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Some misc pics of my hand crafted steels
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George Rout
From:
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 20 Apr 2015 7:37 am
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Thanks so much Stephan and Tom. The pictures are fantastic, just what the Dr. ordered. And I think, I'll take your advise and have a pro do it. I love playing this guitar.
Geo
_________________
http://georgerout.com
"I play in the A Major tuning. It's fun to learn and so easy to play. It's as old as the hills....like me" |
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James Hartman
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 20 Apr 2015 8:26 am
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Original pots on the old Gibsons are different construction than modern pots. If yours are original and you're tempted to replace them, you may find a rather different taper and response from the replacement. Or not - just raising the possibility.
I posted a query on this topic some weeks back and learned a bit more about those particular pots from Mr. Hawkins response: http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=281168&highlight=gibson+pots |
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George Rout
From:
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 20 Apr 2015 8:44 am
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Thanks James, I'm really fussy about the tapers and the response. I'll check that out. I'm hoping that cleaning may give them a stay of exectution.
Geo
_________________
http://georgerout.com
"I play in the A Major tuning. It's fun to learn and so easy to play. It's as old as the hills....like me" |
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Frank James Pracher
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 20 Apr 2015 9:23 am
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I'm very fussy about the taper and feel of my pots. I haven't found any new ones that compare. Those old ones were made quite well. I bet a good cleaning will do it. I thought I was going to have to replace the pot in my Oahu Tonemaster (1940, and well used) recently but a good cleaning did the trick. Now it's back to noise free operation. If you can handle working on old radios, and what not, I'm sure you can handle this. If you do take it to a luthier make sure they know what they are doing. Some are definitely better at others.
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"Don't be mad honey, but I bought another one" |
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George Rout
From:
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 20 Apr 2015 2:55 pm
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Hi Frank James, thanks for your input. I hear where you're coming from on where to take it. Some are DEFINITELY better than others!!!!
Geo
_________________
http://georgerout.com
"I play in the A Major tuning. It's fun to learn and so easy to play. It's as old as the hills....like me" |
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Don McGregor
From:
Memphis, Tennessee
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Posted 21 Apr 2015 3:43 am
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Have you tried dribbling a little Deoxit 5 cleaner down the side of each tuner shaft while the knobs are off? I would first try this, and hand turn each pot all the way back and forth maybe 50 times, or as long as you feel or hear it helping. It can be plugged into an amp so you can hear if some of the scratchiness goes away.
My experience with pots this old has been kind of 50/50. Sometimes the pot cleans right up if accumulated dirt was the problem, and other times the pot is just flat worn out, and needs to be replaced. If this doesn't do the trick, and you do take the innards out, you will likely find an small opening on the body of the pot where you might have better luck getting the Deoxit 5 where it can do some good.
Also, this is what a good neighborhood luthier is for. He of she will likely do what I have said before recommending replacing the pot. Also, if you replace the pots, I would keep the old ones, as they are original parts. BTW, Beautiful Instrument. |
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George Rout
From:
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 21 Apr 2015 4:02 am
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Thanks a lot Don for your kind help. I hate the thoughts of having to replace the pots. The volume is the worse of the two, but it's only bad at about 3/4 of the way turned. The tone is just slightly bad about the same distance. I haven't tried Deoxit, but that is my next move.
Yes, I love the sound of this guitar, and the funny part of it is, when I use it playing out, it always attracts sompliments on the sound. It has a warm tone. I love it. I picked it up about four years ago for $125. I was so happy, I gave the chap $150 (big deal!!!!!).
Geo
_________________
http://georgerout.com
"I play in the A Major tuning. It's fun to learn and so easy to play. It's as old as the hills....like me" |
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George Rout
From:
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 4 May 2015 4:49 pm
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Following Stefan, James, Tom and Frank's suggestion, I took my Gibson EGE-6784 to the most respected luthier and custom shoppe here in Niagara, FREDDIE'S FRETS:
http://www.freddysfrets.com/
He did a beautiful job on it. Thanks guys for heading me in the right direction.
Geo
_________________
http://georgerout.com
"I play in the A Major tuning. It's fun to learn and so easy to play. It's as old as the hills....like me" |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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