Fender Serial Number Question

They can, usually due to wear, dust, liquids and/or overheating. Try them. If they work, you're in luck.. . Aesthetics are usually not a huge issue with pots.

yep they f**k up, get scratchy, still hear sound at 0 and don't change the pitch /tone at all.
leads are fun too - ever picked up AM radio on a bad lead ?

i've gotten radio stations. i tune them in with my wah pedal.

I'm starting to play guitar again after a long break. All I've kept is my old Gibson Melody Maker...I really love this guitar, but it's needs some work. At one point back in the early 80s I'd switched out the original pickup for a humbucker, but now I'd like to get back to the original sound.

So, which pickup do I get? A P-90? Single coil? What's the difference between a soap bar and a dog ear?

This is a single-pickup, double cutaway model probably from 1965...if that helps.

Thanks for any help (or links to web help)

Yeah, I was thinking of putting a P90 in there, because of the larger hole... I get the feeling that the humbucker is too close to the strings. I dumped the original pickup (back then it wasn't worth all that much) because
I didn't like the sound...