Weird balance pot problem

[The Thinker]

Hello all:

This is really strange. Sometimes my bass goes "dead", and the only way to bring it back is to turn the balance knob back and forth. As I do this, it will cut in/out, and finally will be ok.

What's even stranger is I've noticed if I get a small static shock while holding the bass (I practice on a carpet, and sometimes when I stand my calf touches the metal leg of my chair, giving me a tiny static shock), the bass instantly cuts out.

My electronics are:

Dimarzio Ultra Jazz pups

EMG BTC preamp

Controls are Volume, balance, stacked bass/treble. The Vol is a push-pull to bypass the preamp. The problem happens in either active or passive mode, but seems more frequent in active mode.

Any ideas?

[ehque]

the dead knob is probably a dead spot inside your pot. open your cavity, unsolder the pot (remembering where everything goes) then put in a new one. a balance pot is a special one, its got two stacked pots controlled by one knob, so you must buy the right thing.

the static, im not so sure. im thinking your building up static by playing and grounding out through your strings. what do you mean by "cuts out"?

[Magneto]

I agree with ehque about the blend pot having some bad spots in it, but I'd MOST DEFINATELY try cleaning it before replacing. Many pots will have this problem, and most of them can be cleaned and restored to good working order.

The static shocks and cutouts are odd. I know that in dry weather, it's very easy to get static shocks when moving about on carpet and then touching something metal. However, I see no reason why something like that would cause your electronics to cut out.

Perhaps you should simply try cleaning ALL the pots with some good quality cleaner. If possible, try to use a syringe with needle to get just a small amount into the openings on the casing of the pot. Work the knobs back and forth while injecting the cleaner.

Mag...

[The Thinker]

Thanks, guys. Will try spraying out the pot.