Vintage Synth Repair

Hello:AB pots are really good but a new pot of equal quality should not change the performance of your synth.make sure you get the right type of pot (linear or log curve) I have taken the backs off AB pots before to clean them when I couldn't find a replacement,all you have to do is bend up the little tabs that hold the back to the body,I usually use a screwdriver to bend them up ,clean the pot with a good cleaner or 90% alcohol ,also check the surfaces for pits and chips,if its pitted or chipped the cleaning probably won't work and you'll need a new one.if the cleaning does the trick put the back on and bend the tabs back carefully so not to dent the back in.I usually use a pair of channel lock pliers to do this.before you do any of this try moving the pot back and forth rapidly while it is still in the circuit and work it for a few minutes,sometimes you can clean them up by just doing this,if you find a scratchy or intermittant spot on the pot just keep working at that spot,most of the time pots go bad from lack of use and moving like this knocks off the corrosion that is causing the problems.

Good luck,

Tim K.

direct link to my Ebay store.
www.sonicelectronicmusic.com