suck it up or get it fixed

60's Bluesman · #1 02-16-2010, 06:45 PM

i posted a while ago about my bass making weird nosies well its deffantly the pots, my friend cleaned them agian and it still crackles or dont play at all if i dont have the volume tuned just right (somewhere between 9 and 10) but if i dont bump the volume it sounds just fine. my question is how much would replacing the pot cost me, ballpark est, or since i dont do gigs should i just suck it up for a while?

xXxTWO FACExXx · #2 02-16-2010, 06:52 PM

Under 50 bucks.

Time Consumer · #3 02-16-2010, 07:05 PM

Yeah, there's one place near me that does it for 30, another guy who works out of his house will do it for 25, just look around, ask fellow musicians(how I found out about these places).

Big Daddy Mac · #4 02-16-2010, 07:25 PM

Bite the bullet and get all the pots replaced at the same time. All the pots are the same age, probably get a fairly even amount of operation. You might as well do it while your bass is open for inspection. I replaced all the pots in my '77 4001 several years ago and brought it back to that sound it had back when I bought it new.
I'm real lucky that I have a good friend who does this kind of work. He is a very skilled musician and also a music teacher. He makes a (rather good) living teaching people to play guitar. He also does 90% of the set up on new guitars for one fo the music stores in our city.
Call around to some guitar teachers to see who they deal with. Chances are most of the musicians around use the same one or two guys for repairs and such.
Hope this helps.

M0ses · #5 02-16-2010, 07:27 PM

A new pot? Like, $10, and half of that is shipping.
(Assuming you already own solder & iron)

johnnyrocket867 · #6 02-16-2010, 08:15 PM

depends on what your local store might charge. the one i work at charges around $20.00 plus the cost of the part.

trunkshope6 · #7 02-16-2010, 08:34 PM

umm a pot costs about 2 bucks-5 bucks,if u knwo how to solder u can do it yourself,or pay a shop to do it

M0ses · #8 02-16-2010, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyrocket867

depends on what your local store might charge. the one i work at charges around $20.00 plus the cost of the part.

No offense, but that's a pretty big ripoff. I understand, it is business, and I don't have a problem with it. But I would never pay for that.

60's Bluesman · #9 02-16-2010, 08:38 PM

yea idk how to solder, thats why my windows dont roll down in my car anymore lol

nightcityburn · #10 02-16-2010, 08:39 PM

A pot should be less than $5, a soldering iron can be had for less than $10..you should just figure it out and do it yourself. It isn't hard, I have done several with zero experience before hand...so far so good.

nightcityburn · #11 02-16-2010, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 60's Bluesman

yea idk how to solder, thats why my windows dont roll down in my car anymore lol

If you don't know how, go to youtube, watch a couple videos and practice a bit. It isn't hard, just a little tedious.

mrwink · #12 02-16-2010, 08:43 PM

Suck it up and learn to do it yourself... you're not gonna hurt anything... permanently!

levis76 · #13 02-16-2010, 08:59 PM

Where abouts you at in Michigan? I got a guy you can go to if you don't live too far from Livonia. If your close to me, I'll put them in for cheap. I redid my 'vette and it turned out great.

60's Bluesman · #14 02-16-2010, 09:33 PM

im down by the michigan/ohio line

levis76 · #15 02-16-2010, 10:03 PM

It's a bit of a drive to Livonia, but here is the guys site. www.dajosguitars.com. I'm not promoting his site or endorsing him in anyway. I had some work done and he did a great job. Specifically, he made and installed a custom bone nut, levelled the frets, adjusted the neck and pick ups, and filed the bridge saddles so they actually fit the strings properly. Now my neck has nearly zero relief, intonates perfectly, my action is nice and low and it's buzz free for over a year now. All this for $140 and it only took him a week and a half. Totally worth it. If I were you, I would save a few bucks and have him work his magic. It's just like what getting a new bass feels like, but better since it costs less.

60's Bluesman · #16 02-16-2010, 10:38 PM

thanx ill look into it

bassbenj · #17 02-17-2010, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrwink

Suck it up and learn to do it yourself... you're not gonna hurt anything... permanently!

Right. As a solder noob I'd recommend that you move the wires from the old pot to the new pot one at a time keeping the pots sort of in the same positions so you don't get things mixed up. A seasoned repair person would just rip them all out and then using the wiring diagram put the new ones back. But for a beginner you could get confused.

In any event, sooner or later you should learn to do this yourself. So if you are too chicken to do it now, try to find a repair guy who will let you watch him do the job. It's not a big task. That way you'll see what is involved and consider the $20 as lessons in pot changing!

::::BASSIST:::: · #18 02-17-2010, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 60's Bluesman

thanx ill look into it

While you're at it, you might ask him to do a fret dressing and a setup. You're bass will be much more enjoyable to play and the extra cash it will cost will be so worth it. I'd much rather play a well set-up cheapo than a boutique bass with poor action.

calebbarton · #19 02-17-2010, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 60's Bluesman

i posted a while ago about my bass making weird nosies well its deffantly the pots, my friend cleaned them agian and it still crackles or dont play at all if i dont have the volume tuned just right (somewhere between 9 and 10) but if i dont bump the volume it sounds just fine. my question is how much would replacing the pot cost me, ballpark est, or since i dont do gigs should i just suck it up for a while?

buy pots......i just bot some for 6 bucks each. buy a soldering iron. mine cost me 20 bucks. learn to fix guitar wiring.....thats free.

now i charge people to do it. great way to make string money.