DIY No Load Pots - How to Make a No Load (Blender) Pot

[@alexisdrosopoulos]

Just a word of caution if you're planning on following the same technique by using a dremel, be careful with that carbide bit. You can overdo it and cut all the way to the other side of the pot. One good alternative is to use a small triangular file if you don't own a rotary tool. Extremely helpful video once again!

[@SixStringSupplies]

yes that is a very good point. Whatever tool you are using, you do need to be careful!

[@alexisdrosopoulos]

@@SixStringSupplies It's just easier to control how much material you're taking off by hand than it is with a power tool. Nevertheless both need caution. I recently did a half blender wiring on my strat and I must say that I really enjoy the new tonal options. Blender pots are pretty cool.

[@janattaaya]

Thanks a lot for this video! I did this mod the quick and dirty way, opened up the pot without even unsoldering anything and scratched a couple of mm off with a small screwdriver. Worked fine.

[@carolinastringband]

Nice, right to the point and clear instruction. Thnx Amigo!

[@brettking2800]

Great voice for Star Wars

[@blowera1]

It seems quite difficult to get a 25k no load pot for my active pickup set up and I was contemplating just getting a 250k to see how it sounds. Thanks to this video I can now just mod the existing pot. Thank you :)

[@booitsnick]

Most guitar center has then packaged by allparts for 2.99 they are mini alphas like most old emg pickups used before the new no solder stuff. Tbh that’s the only reason I like emgs. You can get conversion leads for older solder emgs so u can use the quick connect stuff. It’s worth it.

[@booitsnick]

Also Amazon. Musiclily sells 25ks. You really need 25k pots for actives or it’s going to sound like hot trash

[@LithiumSix66]

Only need to scrape through down to the base material. The track is glued on/ impregnated on. Just scrape through until dust from the printed circuit board material starts to appear. You can also scrape inside & outside of the track to raise the pots value, i.e ., 280-300 +. Apply some dialectic grease after to prevent scratchy pot syndrome.

[@slates1969]

Just about to do this on a blend mod for a stray, following you're other instructional video on that but had got new standard pots without realising the normal need for a no load type. Hopefully this will work for me

[@frownonline]

I'd consider ramping the end of the track more, so the wiper doesn't jam in that slot and bend / damage the contact. That square end from the cut seems a tad crude to me.

[@SixStringSupplies]

A fair comment. However there is little danger as the gap in the track is too small for the wiper to get caught. Or at least, we have not had any problems so far doing it this way. Thanks for your feedback 👍

[@oldasrocks9121]

Tricky on a push-pull or push-push but possible. Thin rubber bands to hold the wiper in the case, a gob of bluetac on the table to help hold the pot in place and steady shaft down, as either a very small circlip on the shaft just below the knob splines or a rivet on the bottom prevents pulling all apart . The diamond grinder bits for the Dremel work a bit more like fast sand paper and wont grab the lugs disc out of your hand nor cut clean through the disc unexpectedly as the carbides can.

[@craigh5156]

Thanks for this. In my Firebird, I literally just used the existing 2 tone pots for spin-a-splits for each of the pickups. So both are 500k, it sounds fine to me, but are you saying I wouldn't really notice much difference in tone anyway, if I made them no-load pots using this method? I heard that by them not being no-load, this means they wouldn't give a true humbucker output, is that a myth? Cheers.

[@akhellwig]

Have you done this mod to a DPDT push pull pot? If so I would love to see a video on that please.

[@pete3767]

The process is the same I'd think - just the disassembly/reassembly has a couple more steps as you've got to take more stuff apart (same process, it's all held together by little metal tabs you pry up/down).

[@seijblanco]

So you're saying is whether it's a normal audio pot or a blender / no load pot, there is no difference in terms of the blend control build? So there's no need to do this?

[@sbrod7469]

Hi. Question here. I have a wiring diagram for an HSS strat with volume, tone, and blender pot. The diagram labels the blender pot as "cut wiper." Is that the same thing as cutting the track in this video? And my second question is that if I purchase a no load blender pot, the wiper has been cut already (so I would not need to do this)? Thanks...just want to be sure before I purchase.

[@fleetwooddave]

What if I run a jumper from the 3rd lug to the second after grinding the off channel at zero, will this cause the full 260 k to be in the circuit?

[@joec1360]

So for a reverse taper pot you’d still just cut it on the side that reads 250k then?

[@olive5636]

Does anyone know how a no-load pot affects a spin-a-split mod? I'm planning on doing a mod to my guitar where I have a pull-pot that in the down position works as a regular tone pot (with this DIY no-load mod), and in the up position the pot can blend between double or single coils in my humbucker (spin-a-split mod). side note; if anyone knows of any schematics for this particular modification I'd be very grateful.

[@davidlloyd9598]

Any luck doing this to a push pull tone pot?

[@83RED]

And, in a normal use May I use this mod to select from full signal A to Full signal B gradually?

[@rockvillemike6062]

If you castrate the pot like that how does the signal get thru to the output jack?

[@Bob-Whiting]

Thanks for another great video, very useful! I have spoken to you before and have been a subscriber for over a year now I think. I have a real puzzler of a question for you, if you don't mind. I recently used one of your vids to rewire my 2016 LP Standard to "classic" wiring using orange drop type caps and it worked and sounded great. Now, 3 days ago I changed out the P90 neck and the hot rails bridge pickups for Pro-bucker Mini-humbuckers. The pickups are loud when picking an OPEN string, but as soon as I fret I get a very thin sound and weirdest yet is I get the SAME NOTE all the way along the fret board?! WTF? I have never seen this before, but I am an amateur luthier and at 62 have much to still learn. My personal guess is I have one of the pickups PHYSICALLY out of phase (magnetically) The screwable posts are facing opposite directions currently, neck posts towards neck, and bridge p.up posts towards the bridge. Sending up a flare... NOW! S.O.G. LOL

[@SixStringSupplies]

Hey there Robert. To be honest that is not something I have come across! To get no change in note as you move up the fretboard is a new one to me. Thanks for watching and subscribing and I hope you get your guitar sorted soon!

[@Bob-Whiting]

@@SixStringSupplies Thanks for the reply. Actually, I've discovered that if you lower the pickups down in the pits of hell, then you do get some change but not much and of course you lose 80-90% of your volume and what little tone ya did have. Thanks again, I'm gonna pull the bridge pickup tomorrow and flip it around to see what happens. I will let you know what I find, K?

[@Bob-Whiting]

@@SixStringSupplies I feel really foolish right about now and I Could Have kept quiet about it but that would be Dishonest. I forgot that when I had the stings off and re-tightened the bigsby that I also decked the bridge thinking I would set my action again AFTER the pickup install. Um-hmm, I forgot to set the string height. It is impossible to electrically to re-create that phenomenon. I sat here thinking about what you said and I decided to play the guitar without plugging it in, and Voila! The action was so freaking low (chuckling to myself) that when I fretted it was... tinny and did not really change notes. Duh! Sorry I wasted your time but I sure did learn a lesson today, Geeez. LMAO like a dork. Cheers.

[@lewisbowers7401]

@@Bob-Whiting thanks for the giggle guess I have 10 years to catch up and make a similar mistake and then have the maturity to admit it 😉

[@Bob-Whiting]

@@lewisbowers7401 I REALLY didn't want to admit I had made such a dumb mistake! In the end tho, honesty won out. lol

[@johnb4024]

Wouldn't the unmolested pot be the one with no load?

[@crimadellaphone9374]

Hello, I hear you say it and it's in the tittle but you do not show how to wire a pot to be a blender. I can't seem to find any diagrams, only links to buy a "blender" pot, can't find anything on how to "make" a blender pot.

[@SixStringSupplies]

Hi - you've misunderstood the video title - it shows how to make a no load (or a blend) pot using/converting a regular log taper pot, nothing to do about wiring it. For wiring, please refer to this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnbYiYp_h8-cmMU or our wiring diagrams sixstringsupplies.co.uk/pages/guitar-wiring-diagrams

[@Tone-Oz]

I am naïve as hell when it comes to this stuff, but I've given it a go and changed all three strat pots to no load pots and nothing is working. Can you use no load (stock) pots for all three controls? i.e Master volume, and two tone knobs? I've got 5-way switch on a squire. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to what I'm doing wrong and how to fix please? Thanks in advance

[@mbgamer5437]

Oh no man… you don’t want to no load each pot XD No worries, I once thought of doing the same thing. But then you think about it a little further: “if a no load pot means it’s out of the circuit at 10, that means a no load volume pot at max volume (where you’re leaving it at most of the time) is out of the circuit (no current will go to it), and since the volume pot takes your signal and sends it to the jack, well if there’s no more volume pot at 10, then there’s no volume at all!” Your guitar is going to be silent at 10, since nothing is sending the pickups’ signal to the Jack (goes to the amp to produce sound). At 9.9 it will be working fine, volume pot no longer no load. So master tone knob and blend knob no load is perfect, no load volume pot goes against what a volume pot does.

[@Tone-Oz]

@@mbgamer5437 thanks for the reply mate. I've since bought a solderless wire harness by obsidian wire and it's doing the job fine. But your reply explains why it wasn't working now to me! Cheers

[@taylordiclemente5163]

Don't make a volume pot no-load. At 10, it will turn off the volume!

[@mbgamer5437]

@@taylordiclemente5163 Exactly what I explained to him. Good summary though, it's literally this simple. I think Anthony understands now!

[@waynegram8907]

How can you make a standard pot into a low friction pot because I'm not sure what makes a low friction pot different from a standard or regular standard pot

[@keithclark486]

Take it apart and wipe the grease out of it. That will cut down on friction.

[@waynegram8907]

@@keithclark486 Low Friction pots mean that are faster. Taking the grease out would make them slower and harder to move up and down with your pinky finger

[@waynegram8907]

@@keithclark486 I would like to know what type of GREASE they used in guitar pots from the 60's to the present time because the type of GREASE used make a big different in the fiction sweep

[@keithclark486]

@@waynegram8907 We were wiping the grease out of them back in the 70's to get less friction for volume sweels' is that what you're after? I saw a video a couple years ago where a guy demonstrated how to do it. Google ' Will Hackett music videos. The video is about 6 years old ' he shows and explains how to do it.

[@waynegram8907]

@@keithclark486 so the grease is causing more fiction slower volume swelling? Different pot brands use different type of grease

[@AngelLaHash]

just as easy to do with a Knife and Scratch the Track away

[@jerryrussell2600]

use a Bourns brand pot that has an off position, and it clicks to the off position. You can hear it click to off (if you are in a quiet room), instead of taking a pot apart to convert it to have an off position.

[@neilcharkow5598]

I appreciate the information but this seems like a bit of work to save $10. This is very useful if you want to use your existing pots and don't want to spend any money. Thanks

[@MechanicForGMCCars]

Im wondering if those set up wuld work for distributor pick up coils I have realy difficulty to understand pwm ac generator control 😬 The reason I need that staff is to retard ignition timing it is similar to guitar pick up after all. I did suposedly do it wrong way around and ended up with wire resistance problems and used b500k potenciometer . Evry thing ended in havoc engine worked porely realy but it did retard ignition timing even tought insted compresion ignition I ended up at exaust ignition. So some how some where I ended up at phase shifting pick up coil at 180° out of phase. So preaty much desaster experiment. Can some on please help me? How capacitors and resistors effect pick up coils and how to advance retard phase shift be only 10-20° +/- value. Im realy anoyed no where can I finde information how to control that strange pick up coil or the ignition module. Hoppe some one has calculation methodes for pick up coil phase shifting . Also was wondering if remote controled circuets exist because wires made a mess be me trying it out on me car.

[@wayahedia9989]

Wait. This is the same as just not connecting the 3rd lug isn't it? This seems so silly.

[@musiciansdesert710]

The un-molested pot. 😂

[@SixStringSupplies]

Nope 😂

[@xjohn1970]

waste of time when you can buy them done

[@mattfisher401]

Most people will be using the existing pot that came in the guitar. So a waste of time and money to buy one.