Orange Amps Forum

With mixing boards, the thinking is that you always return the faders to the off position to avoid any carbonizing to take place.

Why wouldn't that apply to guitar amps? Scratchy pots result from carbon build-up where the wiper sits in the pot - am I wrong to think that if we turned all the pots to zero after each time we use an amp that it would eliminate scratchy pots?

What do you think?

I suppose it does help. It would help keep the tracks "wiped". Perhaps recording studios are a bit more anal about it for recording purposes. Not sure it would eliminate it, but help. Depends also on the environment and quality of the pot.

i think just a weekly or monthly 0-11-0 turn would work.. but your point is valid.. other than a small gain change for volume my knobs get little action.

Mystic38 wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 25, 2018 7:47 pm

i think just a weekly or monthly 0-11-0 turn would work.. but your point is valid.. other than a small gain change for volume my knobs get little action.

This is basically what’s needed. It’s not that one needs to zero the pots, it’s that they need to be “exercised” once in a while.

Since using Deoxit Gold fader lube I've found scratchy pots are a thing of the past (no I'm not a spammer!!) in amps and guitars.

I have one SS amp and it's a fender rumble 100. SS amps have that annoying pop when you turn them on, so I always turn the volume pot to zero. As it happens, my volume pot is scratchy and no others are. This amp is about a year old, so I doubt it's worn.