The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi all. I have an old Sho-Bud pot pedal. About 3 years ago it began to "bind up". I could not see anything wrong so I loosened the set screw a little in the brass coller on the pot shaft so as to free the pot from the equation. The pedal then became a smooth as silk. I changed the pot and since the string looked old, I put in a new string. Pedal worked great. Now, 3 years later its doing it again so I repeated my test and decided that I needed another new pot. This time I re-used the same string because it looked fine. This time the problem was not fixed. Maybe it was the string the first time. Before I do anything else, did anyone else ever have this in a string/pot pedal and how did you fix it ? Thanks, Steve

If the string overlaps itself, that could cause the binding. The windiings should be parallel. Also if you put something sticky, like fiddle rosin, on the string, that will make it stick to itself.

Also, if the pot's not used regularly, it may "gum up". I always oil a new pot BEFORE I install it, and then every year or two afterward. The gook in the bushing not only causes "stiffness", but can also cause a lot of noise, which sometimes leads people to replace perfectly good pots! Occasionally, the only way to make it work properly is to remove the pot, and disassemble and clean it. For anyone interested...I'll provide detailed instructions.

I know on a Goodrich that the string pully cannot be up against the pot face, if so it will start to bind up within minutes! I had this happen on an old pot. Pulled the pot and it loosed up nicely. It looked worn, so we put in a new one. Within a few minutes it bound up tight as a drum head! I reset the pully a little further away from the pot face (after freeing up the pot shaft) and it was fine.

Thanks for all the tips guys. I look into all of these things.

I had similar problems with a Goodrich after about a year. I took out some slack that had developed in the string. That helped but didn't eliminate the problem. Then I got some spray lubricant for electronic parts (forget what the name was) at Radio Shack and sprayed that at the pot. Eventually the lubricant worked its way into the pot and cured the problem. I didn't even take the pot apart, but that would probably be the ideal thing to do. This spray also helps EQ and volume dials on old amps.

Donny, I would like to know. I just went thru that pot problem a week ago.

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1985 Emmons push-pull, Nashville400, 65 re-issue Fender Twin, Fender Tele

Maybe It's binding up on the pin it pivots on. Try a few shots of WD40.
Erv