Lighter=better (lightweight knobs)

[joeyl]

On my basses, I have the ACG preamps that come with the stylish chrome knobs, but they really add weight to the bass ~1 lbs, and I am trying to have the bass as light as possible for long gigs (please no comments about going to the gym etc, thanks )
I bought some aluminum Hipshot O ring knobs and they weigh nothing, but the satin aluminum clashes with the all chrome hardware.

Hipshot O-rings on the left, ACG chrome on the right



So what are your favorite lightweight knobs?
I've seen some mini Gotoh knobs in chrome on basspartsresource, and was wondering if anybody tried them?

thanks

[mongo2]

How about polishing the aluminum knobs?

I'd remove the o-rings and screw the knob to a dowel to act as a handle when holding them in a vice for polishing them with very fine emery paper (perhaps 400 then 600) followed by 0000 steel wool and see how that works. Maybe I'd try 0000 steel wool first since aluminum is so soft.

[joeyl]

yep tried that, thanks , the picture is them already polished with 1000-4000 abralon pad, a little better but still no chrome-like shine!

[M0ses]

IMO, no one cares if your knobs don't perfectly match. It wouldn't bother me.

[mongo2]

Originally Posted by joeyl

yep tried that, thanks , the picture is them already polished with 1000-4000 abralon pad, a little better but still no chrome-like shine!

I've seen aluminum polished to a mirror shine. I'd try a buffing wheel.

[Darkstrike]

Maybe have the Hipshots chrome plated?

IIRC, under the chrome, them ACG/John East knobs are solid brass.

[Pilgrim]

Try Simichrome polish. It does nice things. Are you SURE that 3 knobs add a pound? That's mighty heavy! If true, isn't the change enough to shift the balance of the bass to the neck?

[Thunder Pulse]

That's the dirty little secret about those lightweight knobs - they introduce massive neck dive!

[joeyl]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Try Simichrome polish. It does nice things. Are you SURE that 3 knobs add a pound? That's mighty heavy! If true, isn't the change enough to shift the balance of the bass to the neck?

yeah they are that heavy! the bass balances perfectly with no knobs so neck dive is not a problem

[joeyl]

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

Maybe have the Hipshots chrome plated?

IIRC, under the chrome, them ACG/John East knobs are solid brass.

I thought about that, I need to find a shop that does chrome plating

[testing1two]

You can modify standard Fender plastic knobs (or the Allparts equivalent) to fit the concentric pots (Carey Nordstrand does this for all his Nordy basses). You basically take a full size plastic knob and grind the top flat and drill out the hole in the center all the way through the top. Then take a small plastic knob and grind a small portion off the bottom and now you have super light concentric knobs with a traditional look.

My favorite knobs are the ones used on the Fender American Deluxe basses but those don't fit the concentric pots used by most other preamp manufacturers.

http://nordstrandguitars.com/gallery.html#vj

http://www.allparts.com/SearchResult...+knobs&x=0&y=0

http://guitarpartsresource.com/image...4-9411-000.jpg

[grisezd]

Originally Posted by joeyl

I thought about that, I need to find a shop that does chrome plating

Please, please, please try the Simichrome or some other polishing before chroming. I think you'll like the results of the polished knobs (heh) and it really only takes a few hours of mindless fumbling in front of your favorite TV channel. Heh.

Chrome plating is a blight on the planet. Seriously. If you're after shine you can do it without putting more chemicals in the ground.

[joeyl]

ok used a buffing wheel with some rubbing compound: it came close but no bling bling chrome, and since it is alu, it oxidizes back to the dull color after a while

thanks for all the suggestion guys! I may need to go knob-less for a while (heh) maybe get some wooden knobs

[mongo2]

Originally Posted by joeyl

ok used a buffing wheel with some rubbing compound: it came close but no bling bling chrome, and since it is alu, it oxidizes back to the dull color after a while

Clear lacquer?

[joeyl]

ok, I have a favor, anybody with a USA Deluxe Jazz, could you measure the inside shaft diameter of the top and lower knob on the concentric preamp control? Thanks

[testing1two]

I know what you're thinking and if you find replacement pots with the right value, please post them! I'm trying to find a way to use the Fender knobs on a Nordstrand preamp I just got.

Here's the specs on the Fender pot, which unfortunately is 100k while most other preamp pots are 25k or 50k for the eq controls and the volume/pan controls would typically be 250k/500k:

(1) Genuine Fender 100k concentric stacked pot. Center detente on both sections. Upper shaft is 3/16"(4.7mm) diameter and lower shaft is 1/4"(6.3mm) diameter. As used on Fender deluxes basses.

http://guitarpartsresource.com/elect...fenderpots.htm

[joeyl]

so it looks like the knobs will have to be drilled: the lower shaft on more common pots is 8mm and 6mm for the top shaft. I will buy a couple and see if I can modify them easy

[testing1two]

You may also run into a problem with the concentric pots being too tall for the Fender knobs. I will see if I can pull some measurements off my Fender pot and my Nordstrand.

[joeyl]

I ordered 2 sets of Jazz knobs for cheap on ebay. Here is my question: I will need to chop off the top of the knobs, can I stick a cutting dremel disc in my drill press, have some sort of jig to hold the knob and cut it this way, so that it will be clean and uniform in height once I set the press. Or is that a no-no (dremel disc in drill press at low speed)

[darkstorm]

1 lb for knobs is absurd heavy imo. My fave knobs are the black plastic speed knobs. But those dont work for concentric stacked pots, So black aluminum or chrome knobs would be my pick for that.