Need advice on volume & tone pots replacement

[Steven Mabona]

Hello friends
I am in dire need of an advice. My Yamaha BBN5 bass has a broken volume pot. The size of all of its pots is 100k each. Unfortunately I cannot find these pot sizes here in South Africa, even at the Yamaha Corporation here. What I need to know is what can I do. Can I use the 250k pots or the 500k pots without causing any damage to the bass. Please advice and or suggestions, I am very desperate.

 

[Matthijs]

Hello Steven, they wont do any damage, but probably will not be very practical to use. Did you try funding them trough regular electronics channels? The guitar parts suppliers might not carry them, but its a very regular item for a electronics shop.

 

[line6man]

You can't damage a bass by changing pot values. It's like selecting the wrong camera lens for a picture. The camera doesn't care what lens you put on it, but if you choose the wrong lens, your pictures won't turn out the way you had planned.

The best thing to do is make a 250k or 500k pot into a 100k by placing the appropriate value resistor across the outer terminals. That's exactly the same as having a 100k pot, except for a minor difference of taper.

For 250k, you want a resistance as close to 166.67k as possible. For 500k, you want a resistance as close to 125k as possible.

 

[Matthijs]

South Africa has ample options for retailers in electronic components. Rabtron is one. You should check on the exact dimensions for mounting hole etc., but this might be an option: Link Removed

 

[Steven Mabona]

Thanks for your quick response Matthijs. I did not find anything in Johannesburg but I will search Pretoria as well