So i gonna need some knobs for my controller and that's not too easy to find. First of all i'm not completely sure which ones i want and second of all i'm not complete sure which ones will fit. I use these encoders and some others who obviously a slightly different. The shaft is a bit longer but i reckon the same knobs will fit both,right ?
http://iteadstudio.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_inf o&cPath=10_15&products_id=364


Is that called a D-shaft BTW ? Have a vague recollection of that.

Found these at small bear electronics which are pretty decent.

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=547

The diamond knurl ones are pretty cool. And they're metal as well,i like that. If one should go as far as doing capacitive sensing on the encoders that's pretty much a must i reckon.

Then i found these ones on my favourite far eastern trader site.
http://www.aliexpress.com/product-gs-img/496959733-20x-Silve r-alluminum-pot-pointer-knob-D20-3mmXH21mm-wholesalers.html
And they are just too sexy! However they're pretty damn expensive and i'm on a low budget. And they're a bit daft since they kinda suggest a position and there's no such thing on a rotary encoder.But damn they look good.

Then there are these:
http://www.aliexpress.com/product-gs/497033324-1000X-12mm-Ro tary-Encoder-Switch-Flat-Top-Knob-wholesalers.html
Those knobs would be pretty much ideal i think but they come with encoders and you must order a thousand of them at a time. I have searched but i can't find the knobs separately. Should be really cheap if i could find them i think.

I purchased about 30 similar to the one pictured on the right for some foot pedals I am building, as well as some with a grey painted top which look cool.

I searched thru a few online suppliers and then ordered 2 of each of the ones I thought looked ok. I got a dozen or so.

Its far easier to make a decision on which knobs suit when you can actually put them on your unit and try them out. I have found the vibe from the pictures to be quite misleading in some cases.

I'm kinda partial to the diamond knurled one on the left actually. Don't really know why but i have a feeling they're more to my liking. More "bite" to it or something.

I realize trying the knobs in person would be the best but that's not really an option i'm afraid.



Dammit these are sexy but too expensive. Partly because of limited funds and partly out of pure principle.

Found a German site: reicelt.de which had these

which were really cheap. 0.28 Euros a knob and they look decent.

Musikding.de has some great looking knobs as well but too expensive.

It's hard to find smooth knobs for me. If anyone has any reccomendations, or any good websites for quality (non-china), sliders, knobs, and arcade buttons please let me know

Might it be cheaper to buy some broken gear and pull the knobs off? I cant imagine that a small broken Behringer mixer sells for much, and it might have all the knobs AND pots you need. Or take them off an old radio for that retro touch. Car boot sales (swap meets) are a gold mine

That's what i did actually. I got an old mixer for mixer for parts.
2 problems,1 the knobs don't fit on the encoders because the shafts are different. 2 They're ugly as sin.
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=335456&start=0

I did bid on an old broke Behringer but didn't get it. That kinda sucked.

Sliding OT but I've read of people using that Polymorph stuff (http://www.mindsetsonline.co.uk/product_info.php?products_i d=550) or sugru (http://sugru.com/) to 'adapt' knobs for vintage/non-standard equipment.

Though a blob of epoxy resin would probably do just as well..

But I guess clause 2) makes that all irrelevant.

That polymorph stuff is amazing! I've been looking for an excuse to get some for some time now.

The problem is the knobs on the mixer are too small and needs to be sanded/filed bigger to fit. Plus the cost of that polymorph stuff would probably make it as expensive as "real" knobs.

Seems to me that gluing your knobs on will just lead to impossible maintenance down the road. If a pot goes bad, how are you gonna fix that?

I believe knobs would be good clients for 3D printing - not too hard to model, can be monochrome..

STRIKE!!!! I think. Maybe.

http://www.aliexpress.com/fm-store/204613/211245085-53073801 7/20xBrand-New-Transmittance-6mm-15-64-Shaft-Diameter-Plasti c-light-emitting-Encoder-knobs-free-shipping-10000404.html

How about these ones ? I've been thinking about color coding the channels and these ones you can put an LED in and there's a transparent stripe around them that the led shines thru. At least that's how i understand it.

However they come in 2 options. Do i need the plum axis or half axis ? I have no idea what that means and a google picture search yielded nothing.

Ah well the joys of global communication,i send them a message asking which is which and i got an answer.

Clear as mud thank you very much. Oblate shaft WTF ?

just a guess, maybe oblate is a half shaft [D shape] like the blue pot in your top pic.

Also, have you tried looking on ebay there are hundreds of knobs for sale on there.



http://www.ebay.com/sch/Musical-Instruments-/619/i.html?_nkw =knobs&_catref=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m1538

Sounds reasonable however i don't want to order and sit like a kid before christmas and wait 2 weeks and when the presents finally arrive they're the wrong kind.
EDIT:I have sent another message,we'll see if it's any clearer after that.

No i haven't. Don't do Ebay but maybe i'll start now. There's tons of goodies on there. Good tip,thanks. Now why didn't i think of that ?

BTW are the shafts i'm looking for called D Shafts or not ? If not what are they called ? It would certainly ease finding knobs for it.
Last edited by jupiter8 on Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:49 am; edited 1 time in total

That's the most common name for them. The Chinese/Taiwanese/Korean suppliers call them all sorts of strange things if you don't get a rep who speaks english well.