My Yamaha trbx204 is 3 weeks old and the volume pot evidently went bad. The upside is that it’s “stuck” at full volume and I can control it at the amp.
Ive decided to replace it myself. The local luthiers want to keep my bass for a week and that’s a no-go. After a ton of research on the net it looks like I need a 250k ohm linear pot for volume. I know how to solder so I’m not really worried about that part. But there is soooo much conflicting info out there regarding a-type (audio sweep) or b-type (linear sweep).
I have not done it myself, but if it were me I would first try to get a warranty repair through Yamaha. But since you’ve said that time off is a no-go, I would get a part number off the part and try to do a like-for-like replacement. It can be pretty hard to find a seller who sells individual components, but this may be a good start.
Bravo @Kopusetic for wanting to do it yourself. I think more people should learn to work on their own instruments. But be careful… pots are a sort of gateway drug… before long you might find yourself wanting to built your own instruments.
As for linear vs log for volume pots, it’s a matter of personal preference.
Linear pots are good for doing volume swells or cleaning up distortion since a small adjustment of the knob (when near the 10 position) makes a big difference in volume. As an example (I don’t have the exact numbers, sorry) , you may have a linear pot that is 100% volume at position 10 but is only 20% volume at position 5. This is because our ears do not perceive loudness linearly. The linear pot at position 5 is giving us 50% of the pickup’s voltage but we hear much less than 50% volume. Our eyes though, do perceive light in a linear manner. So if this same pot was used as a dimmer for a lightbulb, when the pot was at 5 we would see half the light that we would when it’s on 10.
Log pots on the other hand have a tapered resistance so that their electrical output more closely matches perceived volume. In other words, the pot at 10 is 100% volume and at 5 it’s 50% volume. These are what most people prefer for volume.
But, since pots are pretty cheap, the best thing you could do is buy one of each and try them both to understand the difference between them and to decide which you prefer.
Prophetic words!!!
So I was thinking that while I’m under the hood getting ready to replace a pot, I might as well just see What’s out there…aaaannnnddd I have new EMG pickups on the way along with EMG pre-amp and control set. I think I may need an intervention
