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Post subject: Fender Hot Rod 70 jazz
Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 8:40 am
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Hobbyist
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Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2014 8:37 am
Posts: 3
I just picked this baby up from Sweetwater. Great black Friday deal.

The 2 volume pots seem very loose and actually go a notch farther than they feel like they should. Also the tone pot is extremely hard to turn. Is this normal?

I also have a new Squire Modified Jazz bass that the pots work very smooth and I only paid $179 for that!! ;-)


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Post subject: Re: Fender Hot Rod 70 jazz
Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 12:19 pm
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Rock Star
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Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2011 5:14 pm
Posts: 3169
Location: Linningrad
No that's not normal at all. All pots should sweep smoothly.

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One day they shall name a GREAT city after me, and they shall call it LINNINGRAD


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Post subject: Re: Fender Hot Rod 70 jazz
Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 2:42 pm
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Rock Star
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Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
Posts: 6355
Location: Albemarle, NC
Sounds like the volume pot that seems to be slipping has a loose nut. This not unusual in any instrument that just went through shipping. It also happens due vibrations in normal usage. You'll have to remove the knobs to tighten the nuts. This is not uncommon in any instrument. The tone pot should not be stubborn of course. Wondering if maybe the tone knob is pushed too low and binding on the control plate under the knob or even on the threaded pot collar. Checking pot nut tightness is just part of routine maintenance and should be corrected at the first sign of slippage. Most good techs will check them for tightness along with the jack nut plus every screw on the instrument at each setup.

Try this simple 3 step thing right now. You will need a hex wrench to fit the set screw on the knobs. And get a SAE socket set if you have one, if not get some pliers.
1. Loosen the set screws in the little holes on the side of the knobs using a hex wrench and the knobs will easily slip off.
2. Carefully and fully tighten all three pot nuts just until snug by hand. Also check the jack nut for tightness. (I use a socket from a wrench set and just hand tighten the nuts without using the wrench itself as the pot shaft pokes through the hole where the wrench shaft goes and using the wrench you could over-tighten and cause the pot to spin or worse. Using pliers will work but is riskier because just one slip can make a scratch.)
3. Put the knobs back on and tighten the set screws, but don't fully seat that tone knob this time before tightening the set screw leaving a mm or 2 of space and see if that cures it. I think it might be binding on something such as the pot collar or even the control plate.

Hope that fixes it. Let us know.

Also it is a good idea to use properly sized screwdrivers to check the tightness of each screw. They should all be snug, but do not over-tighen them! Don't neglect the strap button screws which are super important. Also check every tuner screw, all 16 of them. Check too that the neck bolts are snug plus give each pickguard screw and control plate screw a little tweak to check that they are all snug. Don't worry about the pickup screws because that impacts pickup height and unless you are doing a full set up they are not likely to need adjustment at all. They are under pressure from foam beneath them and not as likely to loosen in shipment like the other screws. Besides shipping vibration, temperature changes and just the vibrations from normal play can cause screws and pot/jack nuts to loosen themselves, so check them periodically. Every string change or at least every other string change is a good time.


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