How to Connect a Mini Volume Control

Many musical instruments, as well as other electronic components, use mini volume pots.

The technical term for a mini volume control is ‘miniature audio-taper potentiometer.” A common term is a mini pot. A pot is round metal casing with a ceramic wafer inside the casing. When you turn the shaft that protrudes from the font of the pot, the volume of the equipment goes up or down depending on the direction you turn the shaft. You can use a mini pot for many things other than a volume control. Therefore, when you wire a mini pot, you must wire it so the pot functions as a volume control.

Things You'll Need

• Soldering iron
• Silver solder
• Wire

Instructions

1. Locate the solder lug located on the right side of the mini pot. To ensure you select the correct solder lug, look at the pot casing so the solder slugs are positioned under the casing.

2. Bend the lug so it touches the pot casing and then solder the lug to the casing with silver solder. If you solder the left lug to the casing, the pot will work in reverse. This means, when you turn the shaft clockwise, the volume will go down instead of up.

3. Locate the lead wire from your electrical circuit and then solder that wire to the far left solder lug. As an example, if wiring guitar electronics, locate the lead wire coming from the guitar’s pickup and solder that wire to the left most lug. If soldering an electrical component, locate the lead wire coming off the PCB board, then solder that wire to the left most lug.

4. Solder a ground wire to the casing of the pot and then solder the other end of the wire to the chassis of the equipment.

5. Solder a lead wire to the center lug and then solder the other end of the wire to the speaker positive solder lug on an output jack.

References

• "The New Book of Standard Wiring Diagrams"; Les Schatten; 2004
• Seymour Duncan: Guitar Wiring Circuit