Wheel pot?

[Sp4zRX]

I started thinking today about doing a blender pot and came up with the idea of a little wheel, rather than a knob, that I could roll back and forth to adjust the blend amount. The wheel would be recessed and only a small portion of the wheel would be sticking up. Then I could just roll my finger over the wheel to adjust.  I don't know how else to describe what I am thinking of and I hope it makes since. Does such a thing exist?

 

[Sp4zRX]

Something like this:



While I doubt this particular one would work, for several reasons, this is a good example of what I was thinking of.

 

[croquet hoop]

If you can find the value you need, there is no reason you cannot do it. You just need to figure out how to attach the wheel knob. I would try like something like that (intended for a toggle switch):

For this to work, you'll have either to find wheel knobs that can be mounted on such a bracket (which you can make out of ~0.5mm steel sheet), or solder the knob to a bit of perfboard that you'll attach to the bracket.

The most delicat part, to me, would be to cut the top of the guitar (or the pickguard) to let the wheel portrude slightly.

 

[Cagey]

Fender has been doing that sort of pot arrangement on Jazzmaster/Jaguars for a long time, so the pots, brackets and wheel knobs are all available.

 

[croquet hoop]

Yes, I think they just use regular knobs mounted horizontally and a wheel knob. It works well, but it will be bigger than using a usual wheel pot, which does not matter if discretion is not the most important matter.

I wonder how practical those recessed wheel thingies are, though. I mean, how do you know it's set to 2 or 8? I think a regular pot with a small pot would not take more real estate on the top of the guitar and be more practical, especially for subtle controls.

 

[Cagey]

No the pots on those Fender units were mini-pots, and very easy to break. Also, there's a difference between the US and Import shaft sizes, so you have to be careful when buying the wheel knobs. They both mount the same, so the same mounting bracket will work.

I agree they're not easy to see where they're set. Actually, they're not really easy to use, either. I suspect that's why they only got used on a couple designs. Looks like a better idea than it actually is.

 

[line6man]

It's called a thumbwheel pot. They are easy to find from any electronics distributor, if you can find the value and taper you want.