What pots?

Wizard

Busy doing the wiring for my strat.

Bought three 250k CTS pots ... only to discover that one of them was solid shaft and wouldn't fit the strat knobs. (oh no)

Popped into Marshall's today and got a DiMarzio 250k "custom taper" pot

An interesting issue - the shaft seems to stick out just a little too much, so no matter how much force I use, or how "flushly" I attach the pot ... the knob doesn't sit flush with the pickguard.
The shaft is slightly longer than the CTS pots.

What am I doing wrong?

Gearhead

The picture shows two nuts on the shaft; if yours does have that (most don't) you can set the height. It is not a trainsmash if your buttons on Strats do not sit completely flush with the pickguard, many guitarists use the volume pot as 'reference' for the picking hand.

Wizard

Aha.
Perhaps that's the question I should have been asking: "how high off the pickguard are the bottoms of the knobs supposed to be?"

So ... I gather then that it's the correct pot & I can safely proceed with the wiring.
Useful.

Wizard

I see you can get mini-pots and full sized pots.
What are the pro's and con's of each?

AlanRatcliffe

Size. Small pots are, well... smaller, while big pots tend to last longer. Quality is an issue - most guitar supply houses have the cheaper small pots, so generally stay away unless you know it's a CTS, Bourns or other good brand.

I had a few CTS pots open the other day. All from different suppliers and they were all different. CTS is just a manufacturer who builds to order for anyone willing to buy in quantity (RS Guitarworks, DiMarzio, Gibson... whoever), and there is quite a range of differences between them. I like the ones with medium length cast threads, brass shafts and phenolic wafers.

nick

Wizard wrote Perhaps that's the question I should have been asking: "how high off the pickguard are the bottoms of the knobs supposed to be?"

Mine are almost level with the pickguard, probably about 1-2mm space

Wizard

Found a way to attach the pot so that the knobs are a reasonable height.
Made sure I used the very last bit of thread to attach the nut.

nicovlogg

Just as an aside, what pots do Stewmac sell? They don't list a name, but they look like CTS - although they're too cheap!

AlanRatcliffe

They are usually Alpha pots. Not bad, but not wonderful either. I'm not a fan of most of their electronics as it's mostly inexpensive Asian stuff where I prefer brands like Switchcraft, CTS, CRL, Grigsby, etc..

Wizard

I see that Acme Guitar company also sells the electronic bits ... and they appear to be the real deal ... and they also ship.

Wizard

I decided to buy a new pot - I don't think that EP1200 is designed for Strat knobs.
The spares are building up ?

What wire do I use to connect up the electrics?
Will "scooby doo" wire be ok?
Flex?
What?

AlanRatcliffe

Are you aware that there are two different shaft sizes for pots? The US-made pots like CTS are 1/4" (6.35mm), while the Asian pots are a rounded-off metric 6mm. Knobs must be the right size to suit. Split shaft will squeeze together, to accept the smaller diameter knobs, but they won't go all the way down. Strat knobs you can ream out a little and get them to work.

Wizard

Alan Ratcliffe wrote Are you aware that there are two different shaft sizes for pots? The US-made pots like CTS are 1/4" (6.35mm), while the Asian pots are a rounded-off metric 6mm. Knobs must be the right size to suit. Split shaft will squeeze together, to accept the smaller diameter knobs, but they won't go all the way down. Strat knobs you can ream out a little and get them to work.

aha !!
That could be it !!