Strat knob removal

[Superyob]

Hi guys. I suspect that the middle pick up tone pot is faulty on my CV 60s. How do I remove the knob?

[BluesierByGuitar]

a small pair of snips generally works. Failing that a pair of dinner knives will do in a pinch. The important thing is to use something that will help apply pressure evenly to the knob base.

Hope this helps.

BBG

[Billy]

It is only a press fit on, so you want something thin enough to slip under the knob…i use a little plastic knife with a groove cut in it so it fits around the shaft…

..Billy..

[Maradonagol]

@steve B

Sorry to contradict prior methods….but nothing sharp near your guitar…ever!! Take the laces off your sneakers…put one between the knob and the guitar surface…..wrap it under there until the lace is pressuring, and slowly pull up….be careful not to have your face in the way, they can pop up with great power!!!

What specifically is the pot doing? If scratchy sounds, then use an electronics contact cleaner spray inside the pot…plenty of videos online on how to do it…..if no sound or doesnt work at all, then may need to be replaced.

Roberto

Roberto

[JohnStrat]

Roberto I would not imagine a blunted clean plastic knife would be likely to scratch or mark in any way a fender pickguard. That said a wedged section pair pressed together perhaps wooden ones from either side and sloted would have the advantage of a parralell push. Might the lace method risk fracturing the edges?
John Strat

[Maradonagol]

@johnStrat

Hi John, I’ll leave the decision to each person….I’ve seen much in 45 yrs of guitar-human interaction with tools…..I have used the sneaker lace method for that long and never an incident, Strats, Les Pauls, 335’s and other brands. Sneaker laces are usually thick, or I use 2 of them if the space is large….the pressure from the thickness pushes evenly under the edges of the knob, works great….to the point that I used to keep a sneaker lace in my gigging guitar case…..the knife method or other non-circular methods forces one to place pressure on one side at a time…I have broken knobs that way….on a Les Paul…

Roberto

Roberto

[GnLguy]

I’ve heard of the method mentioned by @Maradonagol many times and thinks its worth a try.
I’ve never had much of an issue just pulling them off by hand…….

Here’s a little gizmo designed to remove knobs.

https://reverb.com/item/2401028-new-guitar-control-knob-puller-tool-for-strat-tele-les-paul-sg-guitar-knobs?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shop-Parts(BSC)&utm_term=1101012208558&utm_content=Shop-Parts

[JohnStrat]

Roberto thanks.
Seeing you have used it I would certainly give it a try. I did take mine off some time back and I pulled them off by hand with quite a lot of difficulty I recall one being very tight. With your lace method do you pull upwards to lift them off or is it more a pull in the plane of the pickguard to swell the lace under the knob and thereby raise them?

[Maradonagol]

@johnstrat

Hi JOhn,

The way I do it is to wrap the lace around a couple of times under the knob until it is causing upward pressure….and then I help it up using the ends of the lace, on occasion I’ve used two laces, no fingers just a sort of tighten and pull up gently…and they can fly!! Obviously, I’ve had cases where I just used my fingers, especially on older guitars, and they just come off.

@Steve B

Steve, dont know about Squiers, never owned one, but in 45 yrs have only had a POT go bad once on a Gibson…I would say it happens but is rare. What specifically is it doing? If the problem is crackling or noises, try the electronic cleaners into the pot itself, if there is nothing, or no sound, tone etc. then it needs to be changed. If you are going to do it yourself I assume you are good at soldering it is required to take it out and replace it. If not I would take it to a tech to do it correctly. Stratocaster POTS are 250K so you’d have to stay in spec, and then you can pay for higher quality model or not. Here is a std strat POT $5, many available online.
https://reverb.com/item/282741-fender-pure-vintage-250k-solid-shaft-potentiometer-volume-or-tone?gclid=CjwKEAjwzKPGBRCS55Oe46q9hCkSJAAMvVuMf2BG32fh2UdSC0_a5n93wwGXMgFN3LAGbVRhUtpTqxoCigPw_wcB&pla=1

If you are going to open her up, you might as well replace them all and the switch, you’ll notice the difference.

Roberto

Roberto

[Superyob]

Thank you for your suggestions guys. I ended up using a Fender heavy pick in conjunction with a lighter one and got it off no problems.

Next questions. Is this a common fault with Squiers (tone pots not working) and if so, what sort of pot should I replace it with?

Thanks in advance.

[GnLguy]

Superyob wrote:

Thank you for your suggestions guys. I ended up using a Fender heavy pick in conjunction with a lighter one and got it off no problems.

Next questions. Is this a common fault with Squiers (tone pots not working) and if so, what sort of pot should I replace it with?

Thanks in advance.

Most will use CTS pots to replace pots on most guitars. I prefer Bourns because they are the most widely pots used by mid & high end audio equipment and amp builders. Bourns pots are typically more smooth in their sweep and will increase with a more gradual incremental gain without a quantum leap in volume or tone.

Bourns pots are readily available on Ebay and you probably need a 250k audio pot to replace the one in your Strat

[woodoc7]

I’m glad you were able to get the knob off easily. I used an old credit card, just working around the edges until it popped off.

[Billy]

Superyob wrote:

Thank you for your suggestions guys. I ended up using a Fender heavy pick in conjunction with a lighter one and got it off no problems.

Next questions. Is this a common fault with Squiers (tone pots not working) and if so, what sort of pot should I replace it with?

Thanks in advance.

Not that I know of, so far we have no idea if the pots are originals or replacements and a lot of the electrics get swapped out from new. Have you tried contact cleaner in and around the switches, have you checked out the wiring and solder joints to make sure all is as it should be before you start swapping parts out?.
That would be my plan of action. check the wires and solder joints, contact cleaner and then check the part numbers stamped on the pot/pots you want to swap out, If the parts have no numbers then you are going to have to do a bit of googling of the stats going by the serial number of your guitar..

..Billy..

[JohnStrat]

Be aware also of dry solder joints. In case you are not familiar it is a problem in electronics that is frequently found. Joints are some times made where the solder has been melted directly by the iron and the solder covers the colder wire or tag and immediately cools this can look like a join and act like one but at some time in the future insulation will build due to corrosion etc and resistance occurs perhaps to the point of total failure to conduct correctly.

This is a very common fault in the electronics world so to check it out look at your solder joints carefully and see if it looks like the solder was melted because the wire and tags it was applied to were in themselves hot when the joint was made sometimes it is clearly visible that the joints have not been formed correctly. Next you need to measure the resistance across the joints to ensure they are functioning as intended.

Just a pointer JohnStrat

[Maradonagol]

Yes, great points….solder joints can do the trick….

Roberto

[Superyob]

It’s fixed itself. Inexplicably. Somehow. It’s a mystery to me…

[Author]

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