Cleaning Dirty Potentiometers in a Music Man HD-130

Introduction

This is a guide on how to clean dirty potentiometers. In my example I've used my Music Man HD-130 Reverb head, but this guide can be followed for most amplifiers, especially Fender and other tube heads.

CAUTION: Before you begin, ensure that the amplifier is unplugged and has been powered off for at least 20 minutes. Amplifiers are high power electronics and can shock you if not approached with the proper caution.

What you need

Step 1 Cleaning Dirty Potentiometers in a Music Man HD-130

Cleaning Dirty Potentiometers in a Music Man HD-130, Cleaning Dirty Potentiometers in a Music Man HD-130: step 1, image 1 of 3

Cleaning Dirty Potentiometers in a Music Man HD-130, Cleaning Dirty Potentiometers in a Music Man HD-130: step 1, image 2 of 3

Cleaning Dirty Potentiometers in a Music Man HD-130, Cleaning Dirty Potentiometers in a Music Man HD-130: step 1, image 3 of 3

The first thing you'll need to do is remove the back panel of the amplifier. This is done by unscrewing the four screws in each corner.
Be sure to place the screws somewhere safe as you will need them for reassembly.

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Step 2

Next, remove the power tubes from the amplifier head, and place them on a towel for safekeeping.

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Step 3

Next, you will need to unscrew the screws on top of the device in order to remove the head from the chassis.
Once you've unscrewed, carefully remove the head from the chassis and place it somewhere safe.

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Step 4

Starting with the furthest right potentiometer, spray your electronics cleaner into the holes on top.
If you're in a hurry you can just spray into the one that is causing problems, but if you have the time you might as well clean everything as you've already disassembled!

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Step 5

Cleaning Dirty Potentiometers in a Music Man HD-130: step 5, image 3 of 3

Immediately after spraying the cleaner, rapidly turn the knobs to all sides to work the cleaner into all the nooks and crannies.
Once you feel little to no resistance in the knob's rotation, you can move on to the next potentiometer.

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