Scratchy pot in a new L120

Allen Peterson · From: Katy, Texas

I bought a brand new Goodrich L 120 at the Texas show in March. The pedal has hardly ever been used and it has a scratchy noise in the pot, I assume. What should I do? Don't tell me to buy a Hilton. I don't want a Hilton, I want a Goodrich without the scratchy noise.

Thanks
Allen Peterson

Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

I had good luck with KA5041S28 from Digi-Key Corp. www.digikey.com
I copied this from an old thread that you may want to read: http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum11/HTML/007346.html

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

EB. On the DigiKey KA5041S28, there was a "warning" on the referenced thread about the fact that the shaft, past the threads, was only 1/2" long. I'm trying to to understand the basis of this concern.

I looked at the DK catalog - that dimension appears to be correct - 2.223cm including threads, 0.952m for threads, giving 1.271cm shaft length, or 1.271/2.54 = 0.500" shaft length.

I opened up my Goodrich 120 - on this unit, the center of the set screw is about 1.8cm from the start of the shaft, including threads. This comes to about .85cm along the shaft, from the threads, or .33" along that 0.5" shaft. Looks like it should work to me. Is that your experience? Perhaps some Goodrich 120 pedals require a longer shaft?

The reason this is important is that these appear to be the Precision Electronics carbon comp 500KOhm pots that many people say work well, and for a very good price, as you point out - thanks.

Like many, I really like the Goodrich 120 a lot, and naturally, one of my pots is scratching.

Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

The shaft is plenty long on these pots.
At least we don't have to cut it off like we used to years ago.

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

Thanks.

Jim Walker · From: Headland, AL

I too bought a L120 this year and had the same problem. I bought a PEC Canadian pot off of ebay and so far it is working great. The short shaft on the pot was not a problem still plenty of room for the string.

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Clark Custom D10 8&5
Fender Steel King
B-bender Telecaster
Line 6 Flextone II Plus
www.jimwalkeronline.com

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

If it were me, I'd contact the boys at Goodrich. Since your pedal is nearly new, they might be willing to help you out. Couldn't hurt to call and ask.

Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

my pot went in less than two months, and I hardly used the pedal. Maybe Im a fool but I expect more for $140...which brings me to...why are these things so expensive anyway? Its just a casing with a potentiometer, and a peice of string...they should cost $40, not $140.

John Bechtel · From: Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.

Ben;
To help keep U.S. Currency circulating, I guess!

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“Big John”
a.k.a. {Keoni Nui}
Current Equipment

Larry Jamieson · From: Walton, NY USA

I have been using the Goodrich H10K pedal for a few years now. I have played hundreds of gig with it, and it is still quiet and reliable. You have to change the battery once in a while, but it lasts a LONG time as long as you unplug the cables when not using the pedal. Larry J.

Nick Reed · From: Russellville, KY USA

I was just talking about this on another thread. When my old Emmons Volume Pedals would get scratchy, I had always replaced the pots. This can get pretty expensive, not to mention being able to find Clarostat replacements. Well I found out you can remove the cover on the pot and clean it with high quality electronic contact cleaner. I use CAILUBE MCL cleaner and it seems to work well. I had 3 old pots in a junk box I had hung on to over the years, I cleaned them and now they work fine. I'd like to thank Big John Bectel for telling me about this little trick.
NR

[This message was edited by Nick Reed on 09 June 2006 at 08:44 AM.]

Gary Preston · From: Columbus, Ohio, USA

Allen i just replaced a pot in my Goodrich pedal with a Dunlop pot that i bought from Tom Bradshaw and it is quiet as a mouse .The shaft is about an 1'' or so long and works just fine . $25.00 including the shipping . The solder joints are different than some of the others but just follow the instructions on the package and you wont go wrong . I hope this helps . Best regards , Gary .

Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

The Dunlop "Hot Potz Super Long-Life Edition 470K Volume" pot can be found online as well as thru Tom Bradshaw. I just put one in today. We shall see how long it lasts.
It feels a little stiff; i.e. the pedal is kinda hard to move, but that could be my imagination.

David C. Wright · From: Mt. Juliet Tennessee, USA

I bought my 120 in August and it got bad scratchy all of a sudden. I took off the bottom panel, and poped the back off the pot, sprayed it with contact cleaner and it works perfect. I'd also like to thank John for telling Nick, and Nick for posting so I could see the remedy.

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David.C. Wright
GFI SD10 LDG Dynacomp RV-3 Evans SE200 Strats POD Fender Deluxe Reverb

William Steward · From: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

From what I understand there are open and closed pot types...spraying a closed one will be a waste of time. When I look at the pot on my Ernie Ball it is clearly open and the spray has some affect....the Allen Bradley on my Goodrich is obviously closed so i don't bother. I think George L sells relacements - I would trust them to sell something reliable.

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

Nick's thread is about removing the closed back, cleaning it, and then replacing the back. Here's that thread: http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum11/HTML/008969.html

James Dixon · From: Illinois, USA

I have a Goodrich 120 I bought just over a year ago. I was of course quite upset after paying 139 dollars for this pedal and get a scratchy pot. Since I am trying to learn Pedal Steel, and don't have a ton of money.
What I did was:
Remember the old contact TV tuners?
I went to Radio Shack and bought a can of:
Control/Contact Cleaner & Lubricant, be sure it has the quill on it.
Remove the bottom Plate on your pedal (4) screws.
The Pot shaft goes through the mounting bracket.
There is a little space between the pot and the bracket.
With the quill inserted in the nozzle, place the end between the bracket and the pot on the shaft and spray, work the pedal up and down and repeat (2) or (3) times working the pedal up and down each time you spray.
The cleaner cost around $11.00 dollars. Way back when it used to be around 2 or 3 dollars.
I did this to mine and the pedal is as quiet as it was when I first got it new.
I don't know if it will work 100% of the time but it worked for me.
Oh yea I'm new to the forum as a member but I have visited quite often and have learned a lot from all of you.
SURE HOPE THIS OUT.
Jim
Mullen D-10

Russ Wever · From: Kansas City

Hey Jim,
Glad to see ya active on the for-um here.
Hope this is the year you can make it to St Louis ISGC.
~Russ

Webb Kline · From: Orangeville, PA

Wanda Cooper sent me a George L pot for mine. Goodrich had put one of those Canadian pots in it for me after the original went bad in less than 2 months and the Canadian pot didn't even last one gig.

I've had the George L in there for 4 or 5 months now and so far it's working fine.

Allen Peterson · From: Katy, Texas

Hey guys thanks for all the suggestions. I think I will try to clean the pot and then if that doesn't work I'll contact Goodrich. Thanks again for all the ideas.

By-the-way, I got my old 120 out of the closet and took the bottom plate off and cleaned the post that the string attaches to and guess what...it works as good as new. Glad I didn't throw it away when I got the new one. I only bought the new one because the old one wasn't as smooth as it was when it was new. I bought the old 120 from Herb Remington in the middle 80s.

Allen Peterson

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