Need a 1K wah-style pot

[lowell]

Hello all!
I'm trying a fun experiment w/ an EH Wiggler pedal. I have rigged the "rate" so that it is controlled from a gutted wah pedal. I'm using a stereo cable to connect the 3 old terminals in the Wiggler to a stereo pot that I put into the wah pedal. I have rigged the 1k linear pot from the wiggle inside the wah pedal. I'm afraid this pot will not take the abuse that a wah pot can take so I am searching for a sturdier replacement. If anyone has any suggestions on this I'd love to hear 'em. As it stands this setup sounds great, just afraid it won't last long.

[Mark Hammer]

A couple of points:

1) The lifespan of the pot is partly a function of the amount of lateral play in the shaft. While wah pots tend to be large-ish affairs, you can also get smaller pots that have a nice sturdy shaft.

2) I use this stuff called "Stabilant" (www.stabilant.com), which is a contact enhancer, rather than cleaner. It is a stable, nondegrading, nondrying polymer that provides a kind of liquid solder joint between two points of contact. It also has a kind of lubricating role for the wiper and reduces how much the wiper rubs off the surface of the resistive strip within the pot through friction. Highly recommended.

3) The lifespan of pots is also partly a function of the even distribution of pressure on the pot shaft. If the gear on the pot shaft is closer to the base of the shaft, the pressure is applied more evenly. If the treadle mechanism moves in a smooth manner perpendicular to the floor/pot-shaft, the pressure will tend to be more evenly distributed.

4) You can probably purchase rack-and-pinion systems to install into a pedal of your own devising. I know Small Bear Electronics sells them as does Antique Electronic Supply.

[dai h.]

would it be possible to put a small resistor across a wah pot so it basically functions as a 1k pot? I'm not sure if that will work (or work best) but I recall seeing that sort of thing in schematics. And get one of the wah pots that are supposed to have longer life (conductive plastic?).

[lowell]

thanks for help guys. I tried the restistor in parallel w/ the pot trick w/ a heavy duty 100k wah pot and it did not work. I don't know why, but it didn't. maybe the wah pot has a custom taper that doesn't work w/ this setup? i tried a resistor in parallel with the entire pot as well as in parallel w/ the center lug and outer 2 lugs. i'll check out the rack and pinion options.

[52 Bill]

I would think that you could order a high quality 1K Bourns or Clarostat pot that will fit in the pedal, but then you will need to find a way to attach the gear.

I know that Dunlop has used a number of different methods to attach the gear through the years, including thru-pin, D-shaft and glue. Dearmond pedals used to use a gear that attached like a pot knob with a set screw.

Taper will also come into play here, as you'll only find linear pots in generic form. Is the original pot marked for taper?

[lowell]

Bill yes the pot is linear.