A4 potentiometer bent from factory

I’ve had this A4 for a month. Just today realized that the F pot is tilted to the side to the point where the shaft is touching the metal housing (see image below). It’s brand new and I haven’t been rough with it, so it must have come like this from the factory. It works totally fine, I wouldn’t have even noticed it if I hadn’t been idly admiring the layout while on a work zoom. Do you think it’s worth following up on? I’m past my return date.

I think it’s worth following up. I had a wicked loose pot on an OB-6 that DSI told me was totally normal…not on a $3k machine. Similarly here, I think this thing is expensive enough to meet minimum standards and that pot is not up to minimum standards.

Also think about resale one day…don’t want to have to be explaining that to a potential buyer.

You deserve a perfect machine for the money you paid.

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You could have someone de solder then solder it back in place in 2 mins? :man_shrugging:

FWIW, I don’t think the price even matters. A product should be made correctly. I understand that less expensive gear probably has less expensive components, but they should still be assembled well. I’d look into just getting the unit replaced by the retailer.

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Exactly what you want to do with a brand new machine.

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Does the shaft rotate on axis ? Your title say it’s bent. Is the shaft bent, and wobbles when turned ? It looks like it’s attached at an angle, or bent at the attachment rather than along the shaft.

Regardless, you should contact Elektron support – the standard answer to these sorts of things. They should be able to give you the best answer.

Me – I’d lean toward getting it repaired, although it may well work out as a more cosmetic, rather than functional issue that would shorten the life of that component. Again get Elektron’s input.

BTW: It’s an encoder i believe.

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Yeah, sorry, encoder. And your right, it’s not bent, it’s tilted.

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These are indeed potentiometers, they work by having two phased resistance tracks, so called sin-cos. This allows the two readings to be interpreted as position with more accuracy than digital encoders

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Just to put a bow on this gripping story, I reached out to Elektron and they are going to do a warranty repair on the encoder. And I only have to send it to Los Angeles. I was worried I’d have to send it to Sweden or Germany (i’m in the US).

Moral of this story: Always use sun screen.

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