Eternal Crackle and Scratchy Volume Knobs

[bgEN]

@shigginpit

One thing that was actually a very good suggestion I once heard (which sometimes I forget about) is that the crackle usually develops in an area close to where you most frequently set the volume, so if you turn the volume all the way down when you’re done using a device, it’s more likely to develop a crackle down low (if it does at all) which is less likely to affect the user. I can’t say if this is definitely the case, but it sounded good and made some sense.

Nice tip–my Rytm mk2, used but pristine, is already developing a crackly main outs knob. I’ll try this to see if it works.

[shigginpit]

Hope it might help, I suppose it depends on how much you can work through the existing issue (whether it can be tamed by working the knob up and down a bunch of times etc) but in general, it does seem like keeping the physical volume knob at max low when not in use proves to be effective as preventative maintenance.

My digitakt was only crackly in the left channel, oddly enough. I suppose though, in that it deals with a dual gang stereo potentiometer, it would make sense that one side could be impacted and not the other (dual gang pots have 2 sides, front and back, electrically isolated from each other).

[darenager]

When turning the knob in an attempt to clear the crackle, applying some downward force helps, don’t overdo it but put a little pressure (downwards only not side to side) as this will bring the wiper in more contact to the track inside the pot.