Short circuit & loose frets :: Ibanez BTB775PB [9.8 lbs]

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A beastly Ibanez 5 string bass in for an intermittent short circuit and fret buzz.  I traced the output issue to a bad 25k volume pot that needed to be replaced (see video below for the replacement).  As for the fret buzz, treble side fret ends 12-20 were playing it high and loose.  The inexpensive fix was to glue and clamp them back down.  Doing a fret level after they were locked back down would have further improved clean playing up the neck.

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Late 60's Gibson Trini Lopez Standard [8.7 lbs] :: refret & bad pots

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Late 60's Gibson Trini Lopez Standard [8.7 lbs] :: refret & bad pots

This guitar had the deepest fingerboard divots I have ever seen.  These divots were addressed along with receiving new frets.  The pots were dirty as well since the "control cavity" is exposed to the elements on hollow guitars.  When attempting to pull the harness to clean it I was surprised to find that the knobs were glued on!  The neck volume pot broke upon removal and the bridge volume was replaced as well due to a bad taper.

Look for a blog post with more details sometime next month.

Late 1960's Trini Lopez :: volume pot destruction

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<Sigh> just what I thought - someone glued this neck pickup volume knob to the shaft on this '60s Trini (actually, all knobs were glued). Tried heating the knob to release the glue but the glue bond trumped the shaft-to-pot connection. Bummer.  Oh well, it's going to be replaced along with the bridge volume pot (volume drops off around 8) with Emerson Custom Pro CTS pots.

Tribute G&L L-2500 5-string :: dirty pots

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Some pots can not be saved by cleaning.  Time to put down the can of Deoxit replace them.