High Qualtiy Dual ganged pot?

[sepulchre]

I have a place where I need a dual ganged 1M audio pot. I got one online (Antique Elec) and tried it though it only measured 746K on one of the pots. I told Antique about it and they sent me another that measured good.

But when I put it in it didn't seem to work, at least partially. So I put the 746K back in and it worked, but was intermittent. After lots of fiddling I found that the wiper pin was only making contact when pushed down on. I checked out the other one, the replacement, and it had the same problem only it was worse; it had to be pushed on really hard to make contact. Btw, I was checking them out of the circuit, with no extraneous pressure on them. In the circuit I could wiggle the lead on one and make it work (the 746K). The other refused to cooperate at all.

These are both Alpha pots. I use Alphas all the time with no problem. But these 1M audio taper dual ones seem to have problems. I looked around for some other brand but I cannot find any other 1M audio dual pots.

Does anybody know of another brand that makes this value? Any other ideas? I tried squeezing the rivet on one of them - that helped for about 15 seconds. Understand that I am gentle with them as a rule. I make sure they are not in binds, etc. with pressure on the connections.

[Cantplay]

Can you use a 1M stereo stepped attenuator?

John

[Colossal]

Sepulchre,

Check Digikey:
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/e ... -ND/770966

They stock PEC pots (2W, mil-spec, conductive plastic, 10% precision) in dual-gang format. The shaft length (S28) for ALL of the PEC pots they stock are about 1/2" (past the threaded bushing) so plan for that if you decide to use them and want to use a particular knob that may be shorter (like a Marshall knob). Your knob would then potentially float further off your amp faceplate than you might like.

Regards,
Dave

[sepulchre]

cantplay - Well, it's for a master volume. I suppose a stepped attenuator would usually work but this is a kind weird thing. The amp has a Clean/Lead mode switch (relay, actually). The rear ganged pot serves as a parallel to the front when in Clean mode so that the cleans are more balanced with the lead. The rear also has yet another (trim) pot in parallel with it to adjust that balance. So I'm not sure how to rig that with a stepped attenuator.

cbass - Those look great. I was kind of hoping not to pay $25 for one but if that's what it takes . . . I found a Fender one for ~$14, not near as good as PEC but it would probably do.

[Phil_S]

Call Steve at Apex Jr and see if he has something. He carries surplus and sometimes recovered (used) parts that are high quality and low price. You are likely to find something made decades ago when they actually knew about quality.

[sepulchre]

Well, I wound up spending way more than anticipated. I did get the PEC recommended by Dave. (sorry I referred to you as cbass. You can hit me if you can find me. Oh wait, now he's gonna want to hit me too. Oh well...)
Anyway, I got the 2W PEC - I know it will be fine. But I also got a couple more Alphas ($10 w/ship) and another one from Radio Daze. Don't know the brand of it but it's not an Alpha. It has a long shaft that I'll have to cut off but it was only $6.50 w/shipping.

So all told I've spent upwards of $45 on a pot I was hoping would set me back $2.50. The dam thing better work.

[cbass]

I'm sure Dave hates you now.

[Colossal]

I'm sure Dave hates you now.

Haha, not at all! I knew Sepulchre meant me, but you had just posted cbass so I gathered he had just read your post and then posted this thread...with cbass on the brain

Those look great. I was kind of hoping not to pay $25 for one but if that's what it takes.

Yes they are spendy for sure. As for $25 for a PEC dual gang though, that's actually pretty good! They used to be $34.10. Rare that a price goes down. They are quality pots and usually very well balanced on each side...an important consideration when using them for master volumes.

[sepulchre]

Actually, it's not for a stereo master. I'm using it to balance the Rhythm mode and the Lead mode on an amp. For Rhythm mode the third stage is simply skipped:

[img543]http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj55 ... 610b22.jpg[/img]

Without any kind of balancing the Lead mode is Way louder than the Rhythm. So I set out the fix it. I tried lots of angles but wound up with this:

[img:622:368]http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj55 ... 8c89ff.jpg[/img]

Of course, the further the master is turned up, the less balanced the two modes are. But for 'around the house' volumes - 9:00 to 1:00 oclock - it works great.

[sepulchre]

Well, I got the PEC in today and it works great! But all the other pots are scared to death of the monster pot casting a huge ominous shadow on them.

Yes, it's a little longer than regular Alphas but I shimmed inside the chassis with a nut and it was only about 1/16" taller than the other. So I raised their knobs and everything is level.

Thanks, guys!