How To Remove Electric Guitar Knobs

This mail service contains chapter links, meaning, if you click through and brand a purchase, I may earn a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. Larn more.

Removing a guitar knob is pretty like shooting fish in a barrel, correct? You'll expect for a little screw in the side of the knob, or if you don't find a spiral and then yous presume you can just yank that sucker off at that place, right?

Incorrect.

Well, sometimes that'south wrong.

Actually, the vast majority of guitar knobs are indeed i of the 2 types I just described: they either spike with a piffling screw, or they tin exist pulled off (like a Stratocaster) with a little elbow grease.

However, there'south another blazon of guitar knob–called a collet knob–that is neither a printing-on knob nor does it fasten with an obvious screw that's attainable from the exterior. If y'all've never encountered a collet-style guitar knob and, in your ignorance, try to yank it off, you run the risk of damaging your pot, your guitar, or both. I speak from personal experience here.

Behold: The Collet Guitar Knob

So what does a collet knob look like? Well, they look like any other guitar knob really, but are usually beefier and higher quality than your boilerplate guitar knob. Many times, they're some combination of metallic and prophylactic. Here'southward a photograph of the collet knobs on my Ibanez RG2228 Prestige.

An unassuming collet guitar knob on my Ibanez RG2228

Equally yous tin can see they're a bit fancier than well-nigh all-plastic or all-metal knobs. These have a nice grippy rubber wrapped around an otherwise all-metallic knob. Dainty, premium quality knobs, but they'll drive yous mad if you determine to change them and don't know how the heck to remove them.

Video: How to Remove a Collet Guitar Knob

Using my Ibanez RG2228, I made a brusque video demo of how to remove a collet-style guitar knob. It's quick–only about iii minutes. If yous lookout man this video, you'll exist all set; no demand to read the footstep-by-step instructions below it, unless yous actually desire to.

How to Remove a Collet Guitar Knob: Pace-by-Pace

For those who can't (or don't want to) watch my slick video, hither are the pace-past-pace instructions in old schoolhouse words and photos.

1. Hold the knob firmly betwixt two fingers to prevent it from spinning

Use your thumb and index finger to hold the knob steady and foreclose information technology from turning in either direction. You'll see why this is necessary in the next stride.

Concord the knob with 2 fingers to prevent it from spinning

2. With the fingertips of your your other mitt, unscrew the metal cap

Imagine this collet knob is a tiny jar of peanut butter, and the metal cap is the "hat." Use your other manus to unscrew this cap past turning it counter-clockwise while you hold the knob with your other hand to prevent the rest of it from spinning. This might take a decent corporeality of effort, but proceed at information technology until it begins to loosen. Be certain y'all don't accidentally press downward equally yous're trying to remove the cap. Yous don't want to put undue pressure level on the pot.

Twist the metallic cap counter-clockwise, as if opening a tiny jar of peanut butter…

… and eventually it'll loosen and screw right off the top

That's not a flat-tip screw you're seeing down in at that place. That's just the dissever-shaft of the pot. Y'all actually need a hex wrench to make it there and finally remove the knob from the shaft.

3. One time the cap has been removed, catch a hex wrench

My Ibanez collet knob requires a 3mm hex wrench. Yours may be the same or different, and so use whichever size fits your item knob. Information technology will well-nigh probable be somewhere around 2.5 or 3mm.

Catch a hex wrench. Here I'm using a 3mm hex from my Ibanez multi-tool

4. Agree the knob to foreclose it from spinning, insert the hex wrench and turn counterclockwise to loosen the clench.

Belongings the knob steady with 1 had, employ your other hand to turn the hex wrench counterclockwise. Yous'll experience a lilliputian resistance at first and the knob will try to spin between your fingers, just eventually the little internal clamp will release and your hex wrench will brainstorm to spin freely.

Y'all only want the inner hex bolt to plow, not the entire knob

5. One time you've loosened the clamp, elevator the collet knob off

You'll feel the clamp come free underneath your fingers, and at that betoken y'all can but elevator the collet knob right off.

In case you were curious, this is what the underside of a collet knob looks like

Final Thoughts

That's all there really is to it. It'south very simple if you know you lot're dealing with a collet knob. So, the next time you decide to change a guitar knob and tin can't find a tiny screw to loosen, see if you can't unscrew the top before you assume it's the type of knob you but pull straight off.

Source: https://www.guitaranswerguy.com/how-to-remove-a-collet-guitar-knob/

Share this post