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I have a bass with concentric potentiometers/Dual-gang potentiometers for some combined tone and volume controls. I noticed the other day that, sometimes, when I turn the inner pot it moves the outer pot. Obviously, it would be convenient if this didn't happen. The effect is not uniform along the rotation of the pot.

Some questions:

  • Is this to be expected - are dual pots a two-handed operation?
  • If not, how do I fix it? I'm not entirely sure if this was already the case (I just started playing with these pots). The only theory I have is that, somehow, the pots picked up some stickiness from some adhesive film nearby. I tried some wd-40 to dissolve this. Would so lighter fluid help? Should I get someone to replace the pots?
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    Have you tried separating the knobs themselves a little? So they don't touch each other at all.
    – Tim
    May 8 at 16:55
  • I have not. I will try.
    – Att Righ
    May 8 at 22:46

1 Answer 1

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This is usually not a problem with the pots themselves but with the control wheels touching. Sometimes they are fixed to their respective axles with small inset screws: you can then loosen them and try to adjust the controls so that they stop touching. Sometimes they are only held by friction. Pushing the outer control back as far as it will go (and checking that the front plate nut is still tight behind it) and leveraging a bit of a distance with fingernail or a thin blade between the two controls such that a thin piece of paper will fit in between will be enough.

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  • Hey, I inspected the pots and saw that each has a screw that can be turned with a a hex key. Might try to adjust this.
    – Att Righ
    May 9 at 12:15

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