Broken Fender Amp Pot

[Drumdame]

I just purchased this Fender Princeton 65 amp today at a second hand shop for only $32. I just tested it and everything works except I didn't realize when I bought it that the treble knob was missing. I thought maybe I would just replace the knob but it looks to me like it's a bigger job then I thought. Is it as easy as just replacing the knob or do you have to take the amplifier apart because I wouldn't know how to do that. Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

 

[JimmyM]

You do have to take it apart to a degree. Not something you want to do if you have no experience. However it’s a relatively cheap repair.

 

[Drumdame]

You do have to take it apart to a degree. Not something you want to do if you have no experience. However it’s a relatively cheap repair.

Thank you JimmyM. Do music stores do the repair?

 

[JimmyM]

Thank you JimmyM. Do music stores do the repair?

Some do, some don’t. Some farm out repairs to a favorite tech.

 

[Drumdame]

There's two music stores near me I'll call them tomorrow one is Union music and the other one is Guitar Center. What shall I tell them is wrong with it?

 

[JimmyM]

There's two music stores near me I'll call them tomorrow one is Union music and the other one is Guitar Center. What shall I tell them is wrong with it? And do you think I should buy the parts or let them do that?

Let them. It won’t save much money. Just tell them you have a Princeton with a broken treble pot. It’s a fairly common repair.

 

[Drumdame]

Let them. It won’t save much money. Just tell them you have a Princeton with a broken treble pot. It’s a fairly common repair.

Thank you.

 

[Drumdame]

Believe it or not I bought it because I thought I could use it for my microphone but my son said it's a guitar amp... I didn't know that at the time I bought it. Can it still be used for a mic?

You wouldn't believe the equipment that my husband had... 11 pairs of speakers, 4 receivers, at least a hundred different cables for music and whatever else, video players, CD players all kinds of things and I sold most of it after he died not knowing that I would ever use any of that stuff or need any of what I sold. Now I look back hindsight and wish I kept some of the very expensive musical equipment.

 

[JimmyM]

Believe it or not I bought it because I thought I could use it for my microphone but my son said it's a guitar amp... I didn't know that at the time I bought it. Can it still be used for a mic?

You wouldn't believe the equipment that my husband had... 11 pairs of speakers, 4 receivers, at least a hundred different cables for music and whatever else, video players, CD players all kinds of things and I sold most of it after he died not knowing that I would ever use any of that stuff or need any of what I sold. Now I look back hindsight and wish I kept some of the very expensive musical equipment.

You can but it won’t have much brightness without a tweeter. Classic guitar amp though. Great price too.

 

[Drumdame]

You can but it won’t have much brightness without a tweeter. Classic guitar amp though. Great price too.

Can you please suggest an amplifier for a microphone set up?

Also I still have my Sennheiser E865 mic and when my husband and I lead Worship in the church we used these mics and I remember him saying that they need special cables. I have no clue what kind of cable for this particular mic and I probably sold both of them along with everything else. Would you happen to know what kind of cable I need for this specific mic?

 

[JimmyM]

3 pin xlr for the mic, and a small mixer with a powered monitor works great for a mic.

 

[Drumdame]

3 pin xlr for the mic, and a small mixer with a powered monitor works great for a mic.

Thank you so much. And just for the record my husband had 2 gorgeous mixes and I sold them... who would have known I needed all this equipment.

 

[Drumdame]

Thank you so much. And just for the record my husband had 2 gorgeous mixes and I sold them who would have known I needed all this equipment.

By the way...

Happy Birthday JimmyM!
Hope you have a Smashing Day!
May drumming bring you much happiness throughout the years.
"And The Beat Goes On"

Cheers!
Drummer_D

 

[C. Dave Run]

@Drumdame ,knobs are typically pressed on to a post and held in place with friction (just like an oven, car, guitar, anything with knobs really). If you can dig out the broken piece off the post, you can just buy a new knob and put it on.

If the pot itself isnt working, then it must be disassembled. But to take it apart, the first thing that is needed to be done is pull the knobs off. So it's back to that step anyhow.

 

[Drumdame]

@Drumdame ,knobs are typically pressed on to a post and held in place with friction (just like an oven, car, guitar, anything with knobs really). If you can dig out the broken piece off the post, you can just buy a new knob and put it on.

If the pot itself isnt working, then it must be disassembled. But to take it apart, the first thing that is needed to be done is pull the knobs off. So it's back to that step anyhow.

I just turned it with my fingers but here is a picture below... is that part of the knob or the pot because I tried to take it off with needle nose pliers and it really doesn't want to budge. I'm afraid I'll break something further. Let me know what you think.

 

[C. Dave Run]

I just turned it with my fingers but here is a picture below... is that part of the knob or the pot because View attachment 120659I tried to take it off with needle nose pliers and it really doesn't want to budge. I'm afraid I'll break something further. Let me know what you think.

This is a Fender potentiometer (or pot). It is "D" style, which is what your amp uses according to numerous google searches. It is called "D" because one side is flat like a D:


Being that the shape inside the hole is a hexagon, that's the back of the knob. However, I can see some of the pot shaft in the pic you posted:


If tasked with removing it without disassembly, I would try to stick a needle between the pot shaft and broken piece to create a little space. I'd then go at it with some small tweezers.

If you just try to use needle nose pliers, you are squeezing the broken part tighter to the shaft. You either need to create space between the parts or make a cut somehow in the broken plastic.

If you can get something behind the plastic part to pull with that would work also.

Knobs are tough. Try pulling off one of the others to see how much force is required.

If it was my amp, I'd just take it apart. But I have tons of experience with that.

 

[GetAgrippa]

Does the control work when you turn it? If so and just need a new plastic knob-you can go to Home Depot and buy that epoxy resin that comes as a clay with a catalyst that you meld together before use. Back in my research days I made knobs using the epoxy then painted it and added my markings. It wasn't fancy but worked just fine. It's harder than those plastic knobs. The stuff is great-I've used it to rebuild plastic parts to lots of things when you can't get those parts anymore-saved me replacing the whole thing.

 

[doggyd69b]

I just purchased this Fender Princeton 65 amp today at a second hand shop for only $32. I just tested it and everything works except I didn't realize when I bought it that the treble knob was missing. I thought maybe I would just replace the knob but it looks to me like it's a bigger job then I thought. Is it as easy as just replacing the knob or do you have to take the amplifier apart because I wouldn't know how to do that. Any suggestions will be much appreciated. View attachment 120646

Normally a guitar amp will not sound too great when plugging in a mic, you could get a powered speaker such as this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084KZCY5...d_r=c16118e9-3fc5-4f13-9ab1-7ee2e89b3b50&th=1 Those are designed to cover a wider frequency range so they are used for PA applications therefore ideal for a mic.

 

[Drumdame]

Normally a guitar amp will not sound too great when plugging in a mic, you could get a powered speaker such as this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084KZCY5...d_r=c16118e9-3fc5-4f13-9ab1-7ee2e89b3b50&th=1 Those are designed to cover a wider frequency range so they are used for PA applications therefore ideal for a mic.

Thank you so much. Would I need a mixer with that?

 

[doggyd69b]

Thank you so much. Would I need a mixer with that?

No, the speaker has mic and instrument inputs already plus is powered in essence it has a "built in" little mixer.. but again in a mixer you can have multiple inputs and control the volumes independently, it appears that you can do that with this little speaker.. However if you are going to use it with acoustic drums, I recommend get the 15 inch..
you would not need to crank it up so much as compared to the smaller ones.