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Joined:
April 2017
Posts: 40
| Hi, all. I have a 2006 Celebrity with an OP20 preamp. It all works fine, but the slider controls exhibit some static and/or crackling when they are moved. I know better than to spray WD40 down into this preamp. I have some Deoxit that I often use on electrical circuits and connections. BUT getting to these sliders does not appear to be an easy task.
Has anyone here been successful at cleaning these controls up?
They are probably the same as in the OP30 also.
Thanks to anyone who can help. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Haven't a clue...
Couldn't you just spray the Deoxit (or drip it if it isn't a spray) into the slots?
Slide the sliders back-n-forth and hope for the best?
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | I bought an aerosol bottle of circuit cleaner from Radio Shack, about 20 years ago. Seems to "cure what ails", as long as the connections are intact. |
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Joined:
April 2017
Posts: 40
| Success!
So here's what I did:
1) Removed the preamp and, of course, the battery.
2) Removed the 4 screws holding the back of the preamp to the front and gently mostly separated them.
3) Removed the 3 screws holding the circuit board to the front of the preamp and gently partially separated them.
4) After that, I could pull the 4 slider "knobs" away from the sliders while leaving them inside the front.
5) Removed the black felt dust shield that protected the sliders from dust. Yes, it was dusty. Cleaned it off with a toothbrush.
6) Sprayed (lightly) Deoxit (no more Radio Shacks in my area) into each slide control and exercised them up and down for a bit for good contact/cleaning.
7) Reinstalled the black felt dust shield but as the original adhesive was all dried up, I used just a tiny dot of Super Glue to reattach it to the sliders.
8) Started attaching the 4 slider "knobs" as I worked the circuit board back to the front of the shell.
9) Put the 3 screws back in the circuit board, replaced the back of the preamp and screwed the 4 screws down.
10) Installed the battery and inserted the preamp back into the guitar.
No more scratchy/static sliders. Works like new! |
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Joined:
February 2016
Posts: 1802
Location: When?? | If you can get your hands on some MEK in aerosol form it works great without having to tear much apart. I trust it much more on pesky board sliders than on precious guitars, but just give it a quick, light blast down in there with a straw tube. The stuff evaps almost instantly and it's safe to power up in a minute or so. At lest that's been my experience with it.. and I remember motor oil in a round can with a spout. |
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Joined:
April 2017
Posts: 40
| IMO, the problem with just spraying something down in there is that the dust shield 1) doesn't allow the lube to get to the sliders and 2) deflects the spray everywhere else except where I wanted it to go. That's why I went through the pain of disassembling it. Hopefully, I will get quite a few years out of it before it acts up again.
Thanks to everyone for their input. |
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OP20 Lubrication?
