Westone Knobs

TVill25,
What colors do you have available?
I am restoring a dynasty and I painted it with color shift from blue to purple with a white stripe.
I was thinking maybe white, blue or purple...

Thank you,
Rick

Ahhh... check out the dates on those happy posts, Rick... they were 6 years ago!! I don't think tvill is around much anymore, sadly...

Yes I see

I am going to see if I have one of the originals.  I don't think I do, but if so I might try to make my own, I also know an injection molding guy that might help me out for a small run.  But I would have to have the die made I think... Hmm....  

Do you know what this guy was using for resin?

Yay!
My Pantera has one!

No, but I assume it was standard resin....

You know, watching YT vids of the the process of making a silicon mold of the knob and then pouring it in resin doesn't look too daunting...

corsair wrote:
You know, watching YT vids of the the process of making a silicon mold of the knob and then pouring it in resin doesn't look too daunting...

Awesome - I will order some when your first batch is done mate 

Does anyone have these anymore? I feel like I can't live without them lol. Thanks!

Timing is everything eh? No idea if anyone is making these anymore Bruno.

TVilll25 was dong an amazing job while he was here, but he appears to have left the Forum quite some time ago.

The Switchmaster knobs were unique to Westone and are now stupid expensive in the second market. Sorry.

I should be able to make them
I made a few awhile back

I’m on vacation but can look into it next week

Good on ya!

If only I were older then haha. And they are tbh the most practical knobs ever made for coil taps. And sounds good just let me know when you are back I'd love to see! Thank you so much

I don't know if you're still making these but I could do with a couple of knobs for a Spectrum ST if you're still manufacturing. Cheers.

I could also use at least 3 !

There's a 3d print file freely available online. I printed a couple off at my local library. Total cost was 80c for 2.

They're not as precise as molded but they're a lot cheaper and much quicker to make.

I read about the print file.  I don't have the facilities and there is no one in my area that does this kind of work that I know of.

How are you attaching them to the pots?

My pots are split shaft for whatever reason, so I just open them up and force the knobs on. Or, if they're solid shaft you can use electrical tape or friendly plastic over the shaft then push the knobs on.

They are threaded for a set screw, I just don't need it with the split shaft.

I'll do a local area search for a printer.  One of the guys in my model airplane club used to do custom CAD cutting, so he may know.

I'm not sure where I read about them.  do you still have a lind to the file, and does the file  specify what material to use.

I can't link the file annoyingly. If you Google switchmaster knobs thingiverse you'll find them.

They don't come out with the cupcake edges though, presumably that'd taka forever to program, but due to the printing they have a textured surface which I quite enjoy, makes them very easy to grab on to.

Material is whatever's in the printer. They come out made of solid plastic so very tough little knobs.

First attempt:



Maybe that worked? It's very difficult to add photos on the mobile version of this site.

"Maybe that worked? It's very difficult to add photos on the mobile version of this site."

Mobil versions of ANY site seem to have similar issues !

Thingiverse... yeah, that was the site!  I've been toying with getting a small CNC cutter, but I may change that to a printer.  There is an affordable small unit over here that might fit into my overcluttered apartment.

Check with your local library, they might have one you can use. On mine you book the time and buy the filament at cost. I saw a kid printing his own skateboard wheels. There's gotta be a 3d printer somewhere in your town.

Interesting.
I can't tell from the picture but they appear not to have as much of a draft angle as the original Switchmaster knobs? That would greatly improve the lifting effort needed.

Barry wrote:Interesting.
I can't tell from the picture but they appear not to have as much of a draft angle as the original Switchmaster knobs? That would greatly improve the lifting effort needed.

Nah they're not perfect 1-1 replicas. But what they are is also not $50 or whatever silly prices people are demanding.

They work just fine. The nature of 3d printing means those grooves up the side provide a tactile surface to grip onto, and they're fluted more than regular guitar knobs.

I'm not saying they're the greatest thing ever, but they look the part, do the job, and are very economical.

The main thing is that they function the way you expect eh?

When Tom Presley invented these they were a happy accident in that he inadvertently drilled the mounting hole from the wrong end.

Because it was done the night before a big guitar show, there was no time to correct the boo-boo. It turned out to be a terrific idea!

It's hard to imagine them mounted with a reverse draft angle as originally planned, and it's a big disappointment that they never became an industry standard.

I can't understand why people threw these  knobs away.

Barry wrote:The main thing is that they function the way you expect eh?

When Tom Presley invented these they were a happy accident in that he inadvertently drilled the mounting hole from the wrong end.

Because it was done the night before a big guitar show, there was no time to correct the boo-boo. It turned out to be a terrific idea!

It's hard to imagine them mounted with a reverse draft angle as originally planned, and it's a big disappointment that they never became an industry standard.

I can't understand why people threw these  knobs away.

When I bought my Spectrum it came with strat knobs, with the VOLUME and TONE written on there. They're terrible knobs. Cheap yes, functional barely. 

There was a lot of innovation coming  out of the MIJ market in the 80s, have a look at the old Japanese Ibanez Artist guitars. They were amazingly thoughtfully made with some very clever touches. The Westones, albeit much cheaper, tried to do something new and their own and graphite nuts on an 80s guitar is 20 years ahead of its time. 

The knobs are really quite great, on par with the Ibanez Sure Grip knobs from back in the day. I don't why we settle for the crap we get on 99% of guitars these days. 

I agree with you entirely, it's to everyone's detriment that they're not standard equipment on more guitars.

The main thing I like about them is that they're legible with stage lighting. Fender-style versions or those with numbers on them aren't always easy to use in terms of knowing if a control is at a certain level, especially the former unless they're Jazz-like. I have a Peavery T-40 which has metal controls and they work well, but the white dots on my Spectrum DX bass have always been easy to 'read' at a glance.

1point5 wrote:When I bought my Spectrum it came with strat knobs, with the VOLUME and TONE written on there. They're terrible knobs. Cheap yes, functional barely...

Yeah I've seen that a lot too.
The Spectrum is a Strat-like guitar but it has the coil cut function which really demands a properly functioning knob to utilize it. I think those who replaced the Switchmasters either wanted to make the Westone look more like a Strat, or didn't realize there was a coil cut function.

I'm not crazy about the Strat design, it's more traditional than functional so people think it's needed I guess. My second favourite knob style is the Mats version of the Speed knob which did appear on the Vantage line a lot.

Jerry_B wrote:The main thing I like about them is that they're legible with stage lighting. Fender-style versions or those with numbers on them aren't always easy to use in terms of knowing if a control is at a certain level, especially the former unless they're Jazz-like. I have a Peavery T-40 which has metal controls and they work well, but the white dots on my Spectrum DX bass have always been easy to 'read' at a glance.

Such a simple idea yet extremely effective.

My push pull is very difficult to shift. When I got it it was totally seized but loosened up with some contact cleaner, now it's getting stiff again. This is made doubly difficult by the crappy strat knobs on there.

Also, not sure about yours but the tone is more like an on/off switch rather than having an actual taper to the rolloff. It's all or nothing.

These are the knobs, fresh out of the printer and I added a dot with a paint pen. The tops can be smoothed down if you like but the grooves on the side are really helpful for the push/pull, so much so I might run another set for another guitar. This is the Thingiverse file mentioned above.

Not too bad at all.

I think a buffing up of the top and a little edge chamfering would make them a bit more presentable aesthetically but otherwise quite serviceable methinks.

Barry wrote:Not too bad at all.

I think a buffing up of the top and a little edge chamfering would make them a bit more presentable aesthetically but otherwise quite serviceable methinks.

100% but for literally straight out the machine this is certainly passable. I have another set that I'll give some TLC to to see if that changes anything. 

I'd also like a bigger dimple for the marker position and a bigger hole on the underside for where the pot shaft goes. I think these are around 6mm as stock and it's very very tight... I don't think these are coming off easily.

1point5 wrote:... I don't think these are coming off easily.

Geez I hope not, that would make a switch to a coil cut just a tad difficult eh?

Anyone know where to find a volume p/p knob for a Pantera x275, that is close to the original?