Where the hell to find Gallien-Krueger 250ML replacement knobs?

[Rick Lee]

GK support said they haven't sold them for many years and know of no alternatives. I have two 250MLs and one 250RL. All need new knobs with the gray caps or inserts. I can't find anything close. Not the end of the world, first world problem, blah, blah. But surely someone makes something close.

 

[RaceU4her]

theres a million knob sets on ebay looking now, something has to fit?

 

[napalmdeath]

GK support said they haven't sold them for many years and know of no alternatives. I have two 250MLs and one 250RL. All need new knobs with the gray caps or inserts. I can't find anything close. Not the end of the world, first world problem, blah, blah. But surely someone makes something close.

Those are killer amps. I got the 250RL as a loaner when I was having a Marshall fixed, and I didn't want to give it back! Loved playing that era of Iron Maiden with it.

 

[Rick Lee]

Lots of other knobs fit, but I'd like to get pretty close to the original look.

FWIW, I play in a Rush tribute and will be using this one for a big upcoming gig, where we're doing a lot of the GK-era tunes.

 

[Robostyle]

Do they look like this?

BTW not my pic

 

[Rick Lee]

Yes, they look very close.

 

[griff10672]

do you know the shaft diameter ??? are they knurled/spline shaft ??? Smooth ?? D Shaft ?

is this it ??

If so .... the shafts are plastic knurled/Spline shaft

I have these on a Ibanez Bass amp .... same knob with black top though

 

[Rick Lee]

Yes, they're knurled/spline. Dunno diameter, but seems to be the same as a regular guitar pot.

 

[Snave]

Look into the Re'an P861-H-0-S6. They're 19mm wide and fit a 6mm pot.

 

[Rick Lee]

That looks close. When I Google'd that part, I also saw these caps. Think they would fit?

https://www.rapidonline.com/re-an-t861-h-89-grey-cap-to-suit-19mm-knob-32-0345

 

[Rick Lee]

Actually, I'm sure they would fit. But I can't find them in the US and ordering three sets of everything from their dist. in the UK would run about $77. Not sure I want them that badly. Need to find them in the US.

 

[Hamer95USA]

https://www.gallien-krueger.com/

 

[Rick Lee]

As I mentioned, they don't have them and said they don't know who else makes them.

 

[Rick Lee]

I think I'm getting warmer.
https://mou.sr/4bOgMxy

 

[mon2]

Amazon has quite a few options:

https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=potentiom...=potentiometer+knobs,aps,124&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
* these are Canadian links as I am in Canada

Also try Aliexpress.

 

[Rick Lee]

There a gazillion options that will work, but none that are the same as the original. They just don't exist anymore. I ended up with some expensive ones from Israel that look just right, but are a bit larger.

 

[mon2]

Noted. Have a unit in for service and the client is missing the rectangular black cap on the front side. Using AI, it appears that the following from Digikey could work - will order it and test for tomorrow:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/e-switch/1CBLK/101370

Will update this thread if it is a fit. Being so cheap in price, will order a few to make the look the same. Not sure if the shiny polished black look will be there but better than breaking a finger nail to use this button.

 

[Rick Lee]

I'm to the point that I'm keeping an eye out for a non-working beater, sold for part only, just to use for occasional spare parts. Really wish GK would reissue these amps and support them.

 

[DanTravis62]

I'm to the point that I'm keeping an eye out for a non-working beater, sold for part only, just to use for occasional spare parts. Really wish GK would reissue these amps and support them.

agreed

one of the most underrated amps of all time, and probably my favorite solid state gain structure ever

 

[mon2]

We have had this brand in for repair before. The last one was tube. Company is solid and has public schematics available. Not sure about the hardware but I think we can extend the life of these models, thanks to their schematics. Measuring the pushbutton shaft dimensions to find the closest cap fit from Digikey.

The 250ML pushbutton measures to 12 x 6 on my micrometer. Is rectangular with a concave indentation for a nice finger press action.

Based on this measurement, I do believe the following replacement cap will be a proper fit:

TA12-BLK by E-switch

https://www.mouser.ca/en/ProductDetail/E-Switch/TA12-BLK?qs=7Bi7Dg8SEnwn4UwptAqdGQ==&srsltid=AfmBOopQ9-Nsk3sS4b0tYjCTQBkNm2O_NPTd5TcjlBveBuWo-qUiLEqk
* Canadian pricing

https://www.ebay.com/itm/376856451266

Digikey is showing as EOL yet Mouser has ample stock (at this time of writing).

E-switch is the manufacturer of these:

https://dev.e-switch.com/product/ta12/