Help! ARGH! Bent volume pot shaft

[pbass2go]

OK.. no more gig bag for the Bongo!

I've used the Bongo for the last two weekends, 5 gigs total since started using it with the band, and it has already sufferred damage.
I pulled it out of the gig bag Friday night and the volume pot shaft is bent.
Pot works fine, thank goodness, but as you can see in the pic it is very obvious.

It has been removed from said gig-bag and placed back in the nice case BP provided with the bass. (sorry BP, wont happen again)

I have yet to open up the compartment to see what is involved in replacement.
I know I have seen it up here before, but who would I contact for a new pot?
The local GC does not stock anything and the guy I spoke to did not seem to be "in the know" enough to help me out.

By the way, Bongo 4HH w/flats through my LMII = Bass Nirvana

 

[koogie2k]

I had that happen to me once. The pots are on a circuit board and it takes some soldering to remove and replace. I pulled the knob off and bent the shaft back into place. (NOTE - I see the jokes coming on this...be easy on me fellas). Just have to be careful if you decide to bend it back. VERY careful.

 

[bassmonkeee]

And, if you do like I did, and bend it back and break it, you just need to contact customer service and order a new one. They're cheap. There is a minimum shipping charge, so you might want to get some wonder wipes, or a new pickguard, too.

I've been ordering multiples so I have spares on hand. Bullet jacks go bad after a while, so I have a spare when I need to replace another one.

 

[adouglas]

Ah.

Hm.

If y'all need me I'll be in the bunker.

(That's a three-year-old reference for you new guys. Longtime knuckleheads will get it.)

Seriously, as was mentioned just bend it back, carefully. That worked for me. If you snap it, call CS and they'll hook you up. This is NOT a common, off-the-shelf part that your local guitar tech or Radio Shack will have on hand...I've never seen a pot that looks like it. Replacement involves removal of the entire preamp assembly and soldering.

By the way...good tip for bullet jacks. They go bad because they tend to loosen, stressing and cracking the solder joints...it's very hard to tighten these jacks securely enough to keep this from happening.

Go into the electronics cavity, loosen the nut while holding the jack still, put some blue Loctite on it, and retighten carefully and firmly. Should be nice and solid forevermore.

 

[syciprider]

LOL, the first thing that popped in my head was "adouglas"

 

[syciprider]

And to the OP: What gig bag were you using so we can avoid it? Or was it a mishandling issue?

 

[bassmonkeee]

I've used gigbags with my Bongos since the beginning (Feb 04)--they aren't the problem. Simply being in a gigbag will not cause the pots to bend. It's the bashing the gigbag into stuff that causes the trouble.

I take two Bongos to every gig in a double gigbag, and the only time I bent a pot is when I was putting a bass down in a hurry and it swung like a pendulum at the exact height so the pot hit the edge of a cabinet.

 

[T-bone]

LOL, the first thing that popped in my head was "adouglas"

I hate it when that happens. For some odd reason when ever I see fried chicken he pops into my head - dammit.

tbone

 

[Eggman]

I hate it when that happens. For some odd reason when ever I see fried chicken he pops into my head - dammit.

tbone

BBQ turkey leg..........

 

[pbass2go]

And to the OP: What gig bag were you using so we can avoid it? Or was it a mishandling issue?

It is a Levy model EM8, per the tag. I think it must have been a mishandling issue. I was using the same bag for my other basses befire I started taking the Bongo out.

Thanks for all the help, folks. I will try to "adjust" the shaft first and go from there.

 

[MingusBASS]

LOL, the first thing that popped in my head was "adouglas"

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