Mounted Pots vs Wired Pots....

[peAk]

One thing I have noticed that most people on here board mount their pots. I understand this enables you to not have to deal with wiring them which keeps things cleaner as well as having your PCB secure but it also pigeonholes you into having to have your knobs wherever they are located on the PCB which can take away some of the DIY fun IMO. 

For me personally, I like the freedom of placing knobs wherever I want them and a lot of times that depends on the graphics and/or enclosure. I have yet to board mount a pot and I am almost afraid to because I think the ease of it might convert me. It is irritating dealing with the extra wire and fitting stuff in tighter places....no doubt.

I am just curious what other people thought about this.

Discuss

[GermanCdn]

Originally I was against the idea of board mounted pots, specifically because my brain works exactly backwards for where the Gain and Level pots should go on most boards; I like my gain on the left hand (output) side and the level on the right hand side, as when I'm looking at my amps, typically gain is left, then BMT, with level on the right.

But then, as I built more and more board mounted pcbs, it is soooo much more convenient and fast in the building process, and typically results in a far cleaner build, so I tend to just give in to that.

The compromise I sometimes make if I really don't like the knob layout is to board mount one pot and then wire up the rest, that way it still holds the board in place.

On builds with multiple toggles and pots, I tend to board mount the toggles and wire up the pots.

[ckim715]

The compromise I sometimes make if I really don't like the knob layout is to board mount one pot and then wire up the rest, that way it still holds the board in place.

SUCH A GENIUS IDEA!!!!!

[culturejam]

The compromise I sometimes make if I really don't like the knob layout is to board mount one pot and then wire up the rest, that way it still holds the board in place.

This is something I've done in the past as well.

There is no rule that you must board-mount pots that are laid out for that kind of mounting. Just ignore that and wire it up manually if you want a different hardware layout.

[selfdestroyer]

Same here.. on vero builds I try to get at lease one pot board mounted with solid copper wire to hold the board in place. I am a huge fan of board mounted pots mainly due to the fact that I had velcro or double sided tape in side my builds.

Cody

[juansolo]

I board mount whenever possible, but I don't always stick with the prescribed layout.

[davent]

One thing I have noticed that most people on here board mount their pots. I understand this enables you to not have to deal with wiring them which keeps things cleaner as well as having your PCB secure but it also pigeonholes you into having to have your knobs wherever they are located on the PCB which can take away some of the DIY fun IMO. 

For me personally, I like the freedom of placing knobs wherever I want them and a lot of times that depends on the graphics and/or enclosure. I have yet to board mount a pot and I am almost afraid to because I think the ease of it might convert me. It is irritating dealing with the extra wire and fitting stuff in tighter places....no doubt.

I am just curious what other people thought about this.

Discuss

Ditto!

For me outer esthetics totally trumps inner convenience so in that regard, for the most part, pcb mount don't do it for me. Seems i can usually discern which builds have pcb mounted pots without ever having seen the pcb or a gut shot.

Convenience for me is edge-of-pcb pot/switch-pads and pcb space for stand-offs.

... and... takes me forever to finish a pedal.
dave

[alanp]

Tell you what, all you lot must, in penance, build a Lovetone Meatball clone.

Not a musicpcb Meatsphere.

Not one of my Rissole boards.

Or a copy of the original Lovetone PCB.

But with flying wires, to ALL the rotaries. This is the McMeat project, you can google it.

Since board-mounting is nanny-state hand-holding, and all

[ggarms]

OBAMACARE FORCES PEDAL BUILDERS TO BOARD MOUNT POTS

/pedalalexjones

[davent]

I'm in canada, my health care's covered no matter what... ok  i'd have to pay for the ambulance ride but that's like flat rate bus fare.

[Droogie]

See my latest build report for Socialist over-reliance on board-mounted pots. It's dragging this country straight down in a blaze of distorted, fuzzy madness. 

[lincolnic]

He said if I was happy with my wired pots, I could keep them...thanks, Obama.

For real, though, I love how board-mounted pots make a build easier and cleaner. It does mean you have to be more careful with your drilling, but I'm pretty lazy, so convenience generally wins if I'm given the option. Wiring is my least favorite part of a build.

[blearyeyes]

Really depends on how well the board mounted pots are laid out...  Some are great, some are stupid...

[gtr2]

OBAMACARE FORCES PEDAL BUILDERS TO BOARD MOUNT POTS

What if I can't log into the website?

[ckim715]

OBAMACARE FORCES PEDAL BUILDERS TO BOARD MOUNT POTS

What if I can't log into the website?

We appreciate your patience as the Board Mount Exchange undergoes renovation. We assure you we have the most qualified people addressing the issues that have been identified. That being said, an alternative is the VERO program, located at https://www.ohmygodihavetosolderhowmuch.com/thisisgoingtotakeforever/italllookssougly.aspx.

Thank you for your patience, and we look forward to your enrollment in the Board Mount Program (BMP) in the near future!