Epiphone pots

[BowerR64]

Little story i wanted to pass on.

 

I traded a jetcity amp for my first EPI custom pro off craigslist. I was so impressed with it i started collecting more les pauls. Never been a fan of them in the past but this one really changed my view on LPs.

 

Anyway, the second one i got was a worn cherry studio from guitar center. One thing i went back and forth with was a buzz the guitar had, an electrical buzz i couldnt seem to figure out. I tried everything i could think of, i removed all the pots and lined the inside cavity with foil and grounded the foil and back plate still had a buzz, i then replaced the lead going from the cavity to the switch and back with a 4 lead shielded USB cable that helped a little but the main thing and THIS is what i want to point out. The Alpha control pots were the issue.

 

IMO the Alpha pots are good quality, they are well built and the wipers inside them (i took one of them apart) are built as good as the best pots you can buy. The problem i found with them by accident is they arnt grounded. The back case of the pot (the ground part) can become UNGROUNDED over time the metal parts oxidize and the tabs that wrap around the front that bond the back case to the front threaded part develop and issue with their connection and THIS is where my buzz was coming from.

 

I took all my pots out and i unbent 2 of the tabs on each pot, i used a dremel and i roughed up the tabs and the spot they touch on the front housing and then bent them back. Then the buzz was gone Completely! last thing i would of thought would be the cause.

 

Ive read people say to replace all the pots, this can fix it but the issue may come right back over time. I think these parts from the factory have a coating put on them so they dont corrode at the plant before being built that causes connection issues.

 

Wanted to pass this on

[Steve112]

Good info on a somewhat obscure problem. Goes to show that sometimes the most unlikely glitch does in fact occur. I've not heard of this before, thanks for the posting, BowerR64.