Potentiometers for Fender Stage Lead II 212?

[Axtman]

I am repairing a 1983 Fender Stage Lead II 212 guitar amplifier. The amp has been used and abused. Some of the potentiometers I cleaned with DeOxit while a few are unsalvagable and need to be replaced.

Where can I buy replacement potentiometers?

If I cut the "wing reinforcement" tabs off this pot will it fit?

https://www.tubesandmore.com/products/R-VSN-50KA-DS

Thanks,

[Axtman]

Just to clarify, I am referring to the physical size of this type of potentiometer not the resistance value or taper.

I am going to be buying the rest of the replacement parts for this amp (knobs, reverb tank, power cord, etc.) from Antique Electronic Supply and the winged potentiometers that they sell seem to be the only ones that might fit (with modification).

[52 Bill]

If the correct pots are not available from Fender, then nearly any 16mm pc mount pot will work as replacements.

The problem with the pots that you have shown is that the flat spot on the shaft may not be in the same position as the originals, so the knobs may not line up correctly on the replaced ones.

I have used solid shaft pots as replacements before, I just file the flat spot on the shaft where it is needed. I have also used knurled shaft pots, but then the knob has to be reamed out to fit.

Have you tried searching the Fender part numbers online?

[oc disorder]

.. https://www.futurlec.com/PotRot.shtml

[Axtman]

No luck Googling the Fender part numbers.

Excellent!

Thank you OC Disorder!!

[Axtman]

Shoot! I may have spoken too soon.

Futurlec does not seem to have reverse audio tapered potentiometers with a "D" type shaft.

[oc disorder]

Mmm try here

ALPHA 16mm Single Gang - (Reverse Taper) Solder lugs Potentiometer

Haven't tried it myself....

Simulating a reverse log pot using a linear pot

and here http://music-electronics-forum.com/t3084/

[52 Bill]

Have you tried the Darren Riley site?

[J M Fahey]

Those hare brained "simulations" do not work, period.

They either do not have the correct curve by far, or heavily load electronics driving them or throw tone contrtol crossover frequencies off as much as 5X away ... would you call that "usable?"

I much prefer a honest linear pot and live with the difference.

[oc disorder]

"would you call that "usable?""

Sorry Mr Fahey.

Didn't realise there were so many hares with an electronics hobby.

[Axtman]

Thanks for everyone's help and advice.

What I ended up doing was ordering the "winged" pots from AES. I already had other items that I was ordering from AES for this amp. I was able to quickly and easily break the wings off the pot by bending them back a forth.

i soldered them in and so far so good!

[Enzo]

Great.

If I need to remove the wings, I take them off. They are held on by the four bent tabs that anchor the pot cover, bend them up straight, slip off the wings, and bend them back down.

[Axtman]

Enzo,

I first tried what you just explained. I bent the 4 tabs up but only the back came off. The sheet metal wings are attached to the shaft of the pot. :-( So my only way of removing them was to metal fatigue them off. I tried large diagonal cutters but that did not work, either.

[Enzo]

OK, sorry. Some brands of pot can come apart more than others.

Bending is fine, I'd do that before using my Dremel.

[Axtman]

I replaced a majority of the pots, put amp back together and it worked great but......some of the knobs were wrong. I could not figure out why some knobs when from 0 to 10 just fine but others stopped at 5. (Did I mention that the shaft was a "D" shape?) What was even more puzzling was that some of the new knobs on the new pots did this. Then a light bulb went on (in my head not the amp).

The amp has two boards. It has a main board mounted trace side down and an auxiliary board for the clean channel controls and preamp. The auxiliary board is mounted upside down (trace side up) and connected to the main board with a ribbon cable (which I had to repair). The auxiliary boards pots are mounted upside down so that's why they only go to 5. So I pondered all the possibilities of how I could mount those pots right side up or modify the knobs. No easy fix came to mind. While removing the knobs and taking the boards out (yet again) one of the knobs was wedged in too tight and I accidentally pulled the shaft out. But this was a lucky accident because I determined that I could reinsert the shaft in "upside down" and my controls would now work.

So after modifying a few pots, all the controls now work correctly!