Vintage Fender "Pot Shots"

[socknroll1]

I searched this but to no avail.

When I see an old Fender bass for sale here on TB, the owner usually includes a picture of the pots (potentiometers) from below, with the control plate or pickguard in a dis-assembled state. If the owner does not include such a photo, they are often asked for one.

Why is this? What can be determined from looking closely at the underside of the pots? Are there dates in incredibly tiny text that I haven't noticed? I personally don't see any usable info there, but I would like to learn.

Examples would be great if anyone has clear photos! Thanks.

also there was once a Japanese ska band called Potshot.

 

[joel the bass player]

Pot Codes Can Help Date Your Guitar

 

[2saddleslab]

Yes, the pots are dated. Plus, you can get an idea if the wiring was ever tampered with, which could affect overall value and help to determine authenticity.

 

[mikeswals]

Old Fenders cannot and will never be dated by a serial number alone. Since day one way back in 1951, the serials even then were scattered and not used in sequence order. It did get a little better, and the word "generally" starts coming into play, but was still a grab bag.

Pots have always had date codes stamped on them by both the manufacturers: CTS and Stackpole. This gets you close, but remember that the pots had to be made, then shipped to Fender.
Most years had neck date written or stamped. But again the neck was completed then left on a rack til it had a body to mate to.
By 1966, the pickups got build dates written or stamped on them. So this really helped too since these were made in-house, you can use all the parts to zero-in on the build period.

But yes, with pot shots you can also see if the electronics have been replaced or monkeyed with.

So if you see a pot code with 137 6642; that means CTS made in 1966 during 42nd week.

Another of mine is 304 6540; so Stackpole made in 1965 during 40th week.

 

[socknroll1]

Ask and you shall receive. Thank you all.

 

[Bill Whitehurst]

You will find a lot of 67/68/even 69s with 66 pots.
Fender expected to sell a lot of guitars and basses that year and ordered pots to cover the sales.
They had left overs for a while.
The pot date code will not tell you exactly when it was made, only that it was not made before the pots, but likely soon after.

 

[mikeswals]

Same with the lot of 1982 stack knob pots for the 62 reissue Jazz Bass. All of them from '82 thru '89 have the 1982 pot date as it was a huge batch they orderd. Maybe even some into '90.

 

[MotorCityMinion]

Pots. The naughty bits. 2 pots, a cap, and a jack on a P-bass. Nothing to see here. Unless you are paying a premium for a vintage bass, it's not worth turning the screws to find out.

 

[SulzerType2]

If the pots wear out and are replaced it is worth keeping them in the case due to their residual talismanic properties. Or something.

This is where the vintage guitar market gets to 'baseball card collector' for me. Pots are consumables and the wiring on '60s Fenders isn't exactly exemplary. Replacing one or both seems like a sensible option and, to me, won't impact the performance of the instrument. Collectors only want originality, even on the bits you never see and which can badly impact the performance of an instrument if allowed to wear out.


On a side note, the date codes only tells you how old the pot is. You can buy old harnesses on Reverb. It's a bit like the confidence of saying 'the neck plate date states this guitar was made in the third week of June 1971'. Yup, that is when the neck plate was stamped, if it isn't a forgery. At best you can build a picture of the date of a Fender if the full breadcrumb trail points in the same direction, but every pencil marking, tell-tale router chew mark, filled nail hole or paint stick shadow can and will be faked. We've been documenting this stuff in macro detail online for decades, and you can find rare, under-the-bed grade custom color Fenders on Reverb any day of the week now... call me skeptical.

 

[Rabidhamster]

If the pots wear out and are replaced it is worth keeping them in the case due to their residual talismanic properties. Or something.

This is where the vintage guitar market gets to 'baseball card collector' for me. Pots are consumables and the wiring on '60s Fenders isn't exactly exemplary. Replacing one or both seems like a sensible option and, to me, won't impact the performance of the instrument. Collectors only want originality, even on the bits you never see and which can badly impact the performance of an instrument if allowed to wear out.


On a side note, the date codes only tells you how old the pot is. You can buy old harnesses on Reverb. It's a bit like the confidence of saying 'the neck plate date states this guitar was made in the third week of June 1971'. Yup, that is when the neck plate was stamped, if it isn't a forgery. At best you can build a picture of the date of a Fender if the full breadcrumb trail points in the same direction, but every pencil marking, tell-tale router chew mark, filled nail hole or paint stick shadow can and will be faked. We've been documenting this stuff in macro detail online for decades, and you can find rare, under-the-bed grade custom color Fenders on Reverb any day of the week now... call me skeptical.

The pots in these old basses have such thick carbon traces they can be repaired in some cases, and they should be whenever possible.
Modern pots are consumables because they’re made so poorly, yes even the high quality boutique ones, you absolutely cannot find a new vintage spec potentiometer anymore, they cant be made anymore.