Name:    Steve Kennedy
Email:   steve@pacair.com  
Subject: Music Man Knobs... Alert!
Thread:  5
Time:    Tue, 22 Feb 2000 22:55:50 GMT

I thought I would mention an interesting phenomenon I ran into in regards to the knobs used on Music Man amplifiers.


Generally, these knobs are similar to the knobs Fender uses. However, there are several cosmetic differences:


1. Fender knobs have a shiny chrome insert, Music Man knobs have a slightly larger brushed aluminum insert.


2. Fender knobs are numbered 1-10, while Music Man knobs are labeled 0-10. Music Man knobs use a "square" font resembling Eurostile or Microgramma (1970's "hi-tech"), while Fender uses a more traditional "oval" font.


3. Fender knobs have "engraved" & filled numbers, while the Music Man knobs have numbers that are simply silkscreened on the surface of the knob skirt.


What these facts can mean to you:


1. You cannot use a current Fender replacement knob to substitute for a single or small group of Music Man knobs without the cosmetic differences being obvious. You CAN, however, replace ALL the knobs with Fender replacements and no one will be the wiser (unless you know what these differences are and look for them!).


2. Because of the surface silkscreening used to apply the numbers on Music Man knobs, you will find knobs with numbers scratched, worn and flaking off. On Fender knobs these problems don't typically occur, however, the "engraved" numbers can fill-in with dirt and beer-gunk over the years and are hard to clean out without removing some of the white fill material.


3. When cleaning or restoring a Music Man amplifier, NEVER take all the knobs off and soak them in soapy water (or anything else for that matter!) in order to get the "grunge" off. I have done this! What happens is that the silkscreened numbers either float off or rub off while drying the knob. One thing is for sure, soaking in soapy water harms the markings! This is what caused me to have to buy several dozen Fender replacement knobs! They look great, but only as a complete set!


Gently clean Music Man knobs by hand, one at a time, using rubbing alchohol (Isopropyl), WD-40 and/or Armor-All and a smooth cloth (like a diaper or t-shirt). Even this may not be entirely satisfactory, but 25 year old knobs have fragile markings and must be treated with respect!


FYI,


Steve
where are the threads?????//
Name:    Ed Goforth
Email:   goforthsound@yahoo.com  
Subject: where are the threads?????//
Thread:  308
Time:    Fri, 7 Dec 2001 10:58:01 UTC

What happened?????????/
Did I miss something or did the site get crashed?


:(
Ed Goforth