IOMMI Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Hi there. My 60th Anniversary 1961 Gibson Les Paul Custom(Polaris White) has developed some issues with the volume pots. I have never, with any guitar, had a problem like this. I am the original owner. Bought it new last April from Guitar Center. The bridge volume pot started making that typical static sound that they do whenever they're dirty like a few months ago. Thought nothing of it. I just turn the knob till it goes away. Still happens every now, and then. The neck volume has developed an issue where if I turn it exactly to zero, sometimes, it will put out a very loud ground buzz, or a sound as if the guitar doesn't even have a guitar cable in the jack. If I keep turning the knob from zero to 10, and back to zero, it eventually stops. This has happened a couple of times now. Tonight, the guitar has decided to develop a bad fizzing, and over distorted sound(when I play notes) as if the speaker in my amp is blown, which it is not. This particular issue is very apparent when the toggle switch is set to the middle position. I do not abuse this guitar, or subject it to harsh environments. I play it at home, wipe it off after playing, and put it back in the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 That is unusual. They will be premium electrical components. You can at least drop the switch out, clean the contacts and inspect the wiring. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOMMI Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 7 hours ago, merciful-evans said: That is unusual. They will be premium electrical components. You can at least drop the switch out, clean the contacts and inspect the wiring. Yeah. The guitar is definitely made of the best parts. I couldn't be happier with it. Everything looks fine inside the control cavity. I'll take a look at cleaning the contacts on the switch, but I'd have no idea where to begin on that, or cleaning the pots(as to not damage the finish with cleaner). Thanks. :] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 (edited) 39 minutes ago, IOMMI said: Yeah. The guitar is definitely made of the best parts. I couldn't be happier with it. Everything looks fine inside the control cavity. I'll take a look at cleaning the contacts on the switch, but I'd have no idea where to begin on that, or cleaning the pots(as to not damage the finish with cleaner). Thanks. :] Spray the switch contacts in the cavity. It should not affect the finish there. You can also unscrew the pots and spray them inside the cavity too and it will be away form the finish. I have no idea if contact cleaner is nitro friendly not much is. But crazy as it seems lighter fluid for Zippo's lighters is. Edited March 10, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOMMI Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 17 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Spray the switch contacts in the cavity. It should not affect the finish there. You can also unscrew the pots and spray them inside the cavity too an it will be away form the finish. I have no idea if contact cleaner is nitro friendly not much is. But crazy as it seems lighter fluid for Zippo's lighters is. I'll take a look. Thanks. I know deoxit isn't very safe for the finish. Oopsies on that one once by a friend. Sounds like lighter fluid would be even more dangerous, but I guess not? Ha. Anyway, I was messing around with the guitar just now. The pots makes noise mostly in the middle position(other positions rarely). I moved the switch very lightly in the middle position, and only the bridge volume turned on, and off the sound. Neck did nothing. I moved it again, and the middle position would only turn on with both volumes on. 🤔 lol. So, I guess it could be the switch contacts? I'll have to take a video of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 (edited) 14 minutes ago, IOMMI said: I'll take a look. Thanks. I know deoxit isn't very safe for the finish. Oopsies on that one once by a friend. Sounds like lighter fluid would be even more dangerous, but I guess not? Ha. Anyway, I was messing around with the guitar just now. The pots makes noise mostly in the middle position(other positions rarely). I moved the switch very lightly in the middle position, and only the bridge volume turned on, and off the sound. Neck did nothing. I moved it again, and the middle position would only turn on with both volumes on. 🤔 lol. So, I guess it could be the switch contacts? I'll have to take a video of it. No don't use lighter fluid to clean the pots and switch, use contact cleaner. I was just mentioning it is safe on nitro. Unscrew the nut that holds the pot to the body and pull the shaft through in to the cavity to spray it. Put a rag around it, so the spray only goes where you want. The can should also come with a long skinny straw thing to direct the spray where you want. Spray all 4 pots and the switch, and maybe the jack contacts too. Then turn all the pots from 0 to 10 a bunch of times and it might solve your issue. Edited March 10, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eracer_Team Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 I use Naphtha (aka lighter fluid) to clean the body and neck only I've never had an issue with Deoxit contact cleaner and the nitro finish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted March 11, 2022 Share Posted March 11, 2022 Could be mainly a problem with the pickup selector switch. If you leave the guitar in the case with the switch either up or down it stresses the little plate in there, and it won't make good contact when the switch is in the middle position. Easily corrected by removing the back plate for the selector switch and squeezing the switch plates to make better contact in the middle position. Sounds like the pots need a good cleaning too which was covered above in other replies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IOMMI Posted March 11, 2022 Author Share Posted March 11, 2022 13 minutes ago, Twang Gang said: Could be mainly a problem with the pickup selector switch. If you leave the guitar in the case with the switch either up or down it stresses the little plate in there, and it won't make good contact when the switch is in the middle position. Easily corrected by removing the back plate for the selector switch and squeezing the switch plates to make better contact in the middle position. Sounds like the pots need a good cleaning too which was covered above in other replies. Thanks for the tips as well. Yeah. I never really thought about it before. I leave my guitar switch in the bridge, or neck position in the case. I appreciate the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.