Good replacement for cheap Alpha 100KA Pots?

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tictac
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Post by tictac »

Just built my first RAT clone and while I'm digging the tones I'm discovering the volume cut outs and or lack of control of volume and gain are coming from the 100KA Alpha Pots I'm using. (The RAT needs 3) For instance, the volume control wasn't working, i.e. full on all the time but if I use a probe to push on the phenolic terminal mounting I can get it to work. The First 100KA Alpha I used was the opposite, no volume unless you pushed the terminal mounting around a bit.

The nice thing about the Alphas is they fit on the side the BB size chassis. (I like to mount controls on the side of the chassis whenever possible) Bad thing is they're cheaply made and sometimes fail even when new out of the box.

What are some decent quality pots that are Alpha size or smaller that yall have been using?

TT

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Lovekraft
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Post by Lovekraft »

I've had problems w/100K Alphas as well. No probs w/other Alpha values, odd. I had a few Chupacabras (modded Rat) come back for intermittent operation, problem was the pot. Annoying. Wish I knew of a higher end brand. I saw someone mention Pipher on this forum, not sure if we get them here in the US.

Ethan

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RnFR
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Post by RnFR »

not sure if that was just a typo, but the brand is Piher. some people use CTS pots as well.

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soulsonic
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Post by soulsonic »

CTS is way better than Alpha. It's what original ProCo Rats used too before they started getting them made in Asia. The current US made Rats (like the "You Dirty Rat") may still use CTS.
Old Fender amps use CTS as well.

For something small, there are some decent 9mm ones made by Alps.
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cpm
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Post by cpm »

Piher are made in spain, i think. They are nice quality

My problems with those Alpha pots were always caused by bad soldering techniques, too much heating, etc. When done carefully they dont trash any more than other medium quality pot

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tictac
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Post by tictac »

Thanks for the suggestions; I give an update if I find a good source...

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