cleaning pots? [message #20386] |
Sat, 29 March 2014 21:27 |
vintagefan
Messages: 166 Registered: March 2014 Location: Dallas
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Just acquired my 1st Kustom amp, which I am learning about as I unpack and fire it up.....A black K100C-8 with 4 speakers. Looks like new condition and sounds awesome with sustain that never ends. Probably was stored for 40 years. Some pots must not have been turned in decades. Tone was a little flat until I started turning the pots many times and the brilliant hi 's are coming alive the longer I play it. And bass too. There's not really much scratchiness turning the pots, but rather for a brief bit the tone changed the bass and treble tones to weaker, then stronger. After turning knobs several times tones seem mostly normal now. Turning the bass knob seems to slightly tax the amp's power and the blue light ever so slightly dims then brightens. But after turning the knobs many times they seem to have loosened the internal oxidation and are performing as they should for the most part.
What should I use to clean the pots? I use Radio Shack electronics spray cleaner to spray into my Fender pots. An old broadcast engineer says no; use Radio Shack electronics lubricant spray.
The reverb has a very short decay, but it's
loud, just not as long decay as Kustoms I hear on Youtube. When the amp arrived via FedEx, a 10" spring had fallen out of the amp into the box.
It 's not broken. Haven't opened the back yet. First things first
firing it up to evaluate condition. Loose spring sound like the short reverb decay issue?
What year of manufacture is serial # 46458?
I hear what the Kustom amp owners are raving about now. Wish I'd of found one years ago.
thanks.....
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: cleaning pots? [message #20390 is a reply to message #20386] |
Sun, 30 March 2014 13:02 |
chicagobill
Messages: 2005 Registered: April 2003
|
Senior Member |
|
|
I'll second the DeoxIt recommendation, there is no better cleaner on the market. As for the stiff controls, they just need a little spray to soften the old grease that is inside the back of the pot. With age, the grease hardens and makes the wiper harder to turn. If you spray too much, the grease can actually get washed away, so just use a little to remove the basic layer of dirt and oxidation.
The reverb tank is a Type 4 tank, meaning 4 springs inside. It looks like there are only two long springs, but each of those is made up of two counter wound springs joined at the middle with a crimp connector. The two long springs are different lengths, creating a thicker reverb sound. If the longer spring is missing from the tank the reverb could sound shorter than normal.
If you open up the tank, you can look at the ends where the springs connect to the transducers. There are very thin wires that have a little black ferrite magnet bead attached to them that come out of the transducers. The springs hook onto the end of these wire. On older tanks the springs just hook on to the transducers. Later ones were glued with a drop of epoxy. If you are lucky, the spring will just hook back in and you will be on your way. If you are not so lucky, the transducer wire will be broken off and the little bead magnet will be stuck somewhere to the metal tank. If the wire is broken, there is no easy way to repair it and a replacement tank will be in your future.
[Updated on: Sun, 30 March 2014 13:04] Report message to a moderator
|
|
|
|
Re: Getting to the reverb pan [message #20399 is a reply to message #20395] |
Tue, 01 April 2014 12:13 |
chicagobill
Messages: 2005 Registered: April 2003
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Yes, remove the 4 screws and the chassis should slide out the back of the cabinet.
The pilot lamp holder is similar to a vintage Fender one, except the jewel lens is blue. The lens portion should unscrew and the bulb will be visible. It is a bayonet type socket, so press in on the bulb and twist it to the left and it should pop right out. If you have problems gripping the bulb, a small piece of rubber tubing or heat shrink slipped over the bulb will help make the removal easier.
The only problem could be when the lens is screwed in too tightly, the entire threaded mounting section sometimes comes loose. If this happens the internal hold down nut will need to be tightened up from the inside of the chassis.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|