Gremlyng Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 Hi All, I got hold of a 2007 ES-339 over the weekend, that was the first year of production apparently..... I noticed that the one volume knob was a little loose, I took the knob off and tried to open the splined shaft a little to get it to grip the knob better and sadly it snapped the post or shaft with virtually no pressure. I'm trying to work out what POT is needs as the shaft was brass and not knurled, completely smooth which is making me thing it is possibly a 500k CTS pot... Anyone know for sure? Cheers in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 Quick google search says the vol pots are 500k log but doesn't give a mfr name. Probably would be CTS though. Good luck! 🎸 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 If you get a new pot and it's loose put a small piece of paper in the knob to take up the slop. They'll snap if you look at them funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlyng Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 11 hours ago, jdgm said: Quick google search says the vol pots are 500k log but doesn't give a mfr name. Probably would be CTS though. Good luck! 🎸 Thanks for that, yes I did the same search and found the correct pot in the end.... I was sure the shafts were un-knurled for some crazy reason but I was wrong... New pot on it's way should be with me today...... Then the fun will begin! Not looking forward to pulling the Pot out of the 'F' hole. I'm thinking I'm probably going to need to drop all four pots to get enough slack on the one I need to unsolder and replace 😕 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlyng Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 34 minutes ago, SteveFord said: If you get a new pot and it's loose put a small piece of paper in the knob to take up the slop. They'll snap if you look at them funny. Yes, I already knew that.... I attempted to open the shaft with this in mind but as you said they just fall apart 😞 Have done the old masking tapre around the shaft as well as PTFE tape etc... I just wanted to get it a little tighter without adding tape or anything else 😞 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10PoundLester Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 4 hours ago, Gremlyng said: I'm thinking I'm probably going to need to drop all four pots to get enough slack on the one I need to unsolder and replace 😕 You are correct sir. And most likely the switch as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JO'C Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 5 hours ago, Gremlyng said: Thanks for that, yes I did the same search and found the correct pot in the end.... I was sure the shafts were un-knurled for some crazy reason but I was wrong... New pot on it's way should be with me today...... Then the fun will begin! Not looking forward to pulling the Pot out of the 'F' hole. I'm thinking I'm probably going to need to drop all four pots to get enough slack on the one I need to unsolder and replace 😕 Tie thread or string to the shafts before you remove the nuts. Then you can pull the strings to get the pots back into the correct holes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted December 20, 2023 Share Posted December 20, 2023 1 hour ago, JO'C said: Tie thread or string to the shafts before you remove the nuts. Then you can pull the strings to get the pots back into the correct holes. Yes. I had occasion to fish out the jack socket from a 339. i recall it being easier than expected. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wound_Up Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 On 12/20/2023 at 3:37 AM, SteveFord said: If you get a new pot and it's loose put a small piece of paper in the knob to take up the slop. They'll snap if you look at them funny. I was told/taught to NEVER try to pry the shaft apart as it'll break every time. The material they're made of doesn't stretch & bend. It cracks and breaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlyng Posted January 3 Author Share Posted January 3 Yep I was aware that pot shafts can be brittle I took the chance and paid the price. All done now though I replaced it with a like for like Gibson stamped pot. The whole split shaft thing is somewhat confusing though isn't it? I mean what purpose is there in having a split shaft on a pot other than to slightly adjust the fit of a control knob? Non-split shaft pots tend to have a slight flattened surface on the shaft so that you can secure a control knob in place with a small Allen screw through the side of the knob. I'm sure the original intension of these split pots was to allow adjustment of fit.... Bit naughty that whoever make the knobs for Gibson make them from chocolate imho. I have managed to adjust plenty of pots shafts in this manner on strats, teles's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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