My Guitar Won't Work

[KoRg]

when I plug in my guitar makes the noise like when you touch the end of the cord when pluged into the amp and its on

I have checked the input jack and all the other electronics and I can't find the problem but i figure it is somthing with the input jack

I have also tried difrent amps and cords

is there anything I can do short of replacing all pots swiches and input jack?

[crafty]

You probably only need a new output jack on the guitar, if you've tried different cables and amps and still have the same problem.

[biliousfrog]

might be worth spraying all the contacts, especially the input, with electrical contact cleaner just in case they're dirty. Check the ground wire (if it has one) that is connected to the bridge...on a strat it goes to the trem cavity, Gibson's usually the stop-tail or bridge studs. Check the entire circuit for continuity with a circuit tester. Check all connections for dry solder joints......um, can't think of anything else at the moment

[zjokka]

this means that the casing of the jack is somehow connected to the signal wire. what's happening is your body's picking up interference and you amplify it by touching somehting that in the signal path.

the outside sleeve of the jack is ground

the tip is signal.

If contact cleaner dosn't help, open it up to see te situation. a fingerbend might be all it needs

good luck

[unklmickey]

holy shiznit, you guys are so close you can almost smell it, but nobody quite hit the bullseye.

when I plug in my guitar makes the noise like when you touch the end of the cord...

okay, that's an important clue

You probably only need a new output jack...

ooh, real close, right outta the gate.

...Check the entire circuit for continuity with a circuit tester. Check all connections for dry solder joints...

not too far off, dry solder joint .......... loss of continuity.

this means that the casing of the jack is somehow connected to the signal wire....

yer sooooooo close, but you have it the wrong way 'round.

it's everything that SHOULD be connected to casing of the jack ......... isn't.

the wire connecting the sleeve of the jack is broken.

the only path for the strings is through the pickup winding, eventually to signal wire, and then to the tip of the cable.

[westhemann]

that is tough to understand,mickey..let me put it another way

the ground to the jack is inturrupted in some way...bad solder joint,most likely...since it is tough to acrtually break the wire while it is inside the guitar..but it could happen if you were mucking aroound in there.

my bet is on the bad solder joint at either the input jack or the common ground..

[crafty]

Solder joints don't go "bad". What is this malarchy?

Broken wire or worn output jack? My money's on worn output jack.

[westhemann]

bad solder joints in bad korean guitars DO stop working.they DO pull away,and if the poster wired his own guitar(he doesn't say)he COULD have made a cold joint.pay attention.

worn output jack?good grief.

[crafty]

bad solder joints in bad korean guitars DO stop working.they DO pull away,and if the poster wired his own guitar(he doesn't say)he COULD have made a cold joint.pay attention.

worn output jack?good grief.

"I've got this great new idea that's going to make me rich! It's called JUMP, TO, CONCLUSIONS!"

Why are you insisting that I pay attention to something the original poster never said? Why are you assuming that a random "cold" solder joint just suddenly "broke" off a part where it's next to impossible to break?

Did anyone notice that the original poster hasn't actually posted any other details since his first post, and all this talk of "bad Korean guitars" and "cold solder joints" is utter hubris and assumption?

I've replaced, straightened, or cleaned dozens of worn output jacks over the years on a variety of guitars and other instruments. Never seen a so-called "cold" solder joint or broken wires. Seen plenty of strained and corroded leafs, though.

[westhemann]

sorry...i have to call B.S.

i have seen many solder joints barely bonded at the factory come off after a small time...it happens ALOT

are you sure you are familiar with korean instrument wiring?the first thing i do with a new korean guitar is to rewire it completely.

anyone else know what i am talking about.

crafty...take a deep breath...all i care about is that the truth is there as a possibility...if you think it could be a worn jack(even though if it is THAT worn it slops around so that you can feel it)then just say so...you don't have to try to claim there is no such thing as a cold solder joint from the factory that barely hangs on for a bit then pops loose...it happens all the toime and denying it just appears foolish

i myself have never "worn out" an input jack...even on my 14 year old ibanez sabre...but i don't claim it can't happen

tis the age of aquarius,duuude...take a chill pill...meloooow...

[Robert_the_damned]

"I've got this great new idea that's going to make me rich! It's called JUMP, TO, CONCLUSIONS!"

Why are you insisting that I pay attention to something the original poster never said? Why are you assuming that a random "cold" solder joint just suddenly "broke" off a part where it's next to impossible to break?

Did anyone notice that the original poster hasn't actually posted any other details since his first post, and all this talk of "bad Korean guitars" and "cold solder joints" is utter hubris and assumption?

I've replaced, straightened, or cleaned dozens of worn output jacks over the years on a variety of guitars and other instruments. Never seen a so-called "cold" solder joint or broken wires. Seen plenty of strained and corroded leafs, though.

I've fixed guitars with BOTH problems (though never at the same time!). The clue that gives it away as not being a bent contact is the fact that when he touches the cord it buzzes. This shows that its the sleave of the imput jack that isn't connected properly not the tip. If it were the tip wasn't making contact and the sleave were making contact touching the cable would reduce the hum (in the same way that touching the bridge on a guitar with a string ground does). though having writen that I've now confused myself and I'm not sure anymore

[westhemann]

if the tip doesn;t make contact well the guitar either does nothing or cuts in and out...if the sleeve doesn't contact well it may hum,or not do anything,...if it hums constantly and changes when you touch it,that signals a probable ground inturruption...most likely in a solder joint that was not originally bonded properly and popped loose.

they take thoe wires and they don't try to cut them to the right length..they are just looped around and crammed in there,so all of the joints are under pressure from the wire ...and if a solder joint is barely bonded...it can eventually pop loose.

ibanez has the best qc over theirwiring i have seen...every other maker i have experience with(bc rich,schecter,ltd)sucks in the wiring

[KoRg]

oh

btw

i have a bc rich m7 warlock

not one of the crapy bc riches but a relitvily good guitar

and i have been inside the guitar to do some pickup work but what happened was i was playin with my band and then we all herd feedback and then it happened

[unklmickey]

...and i have been inside the guitar to do some pickup work but what happened was i was playin...

ok, that puts a completely different spin on things!

my apologies to all for starting a whirlwind here.

before it was mentioned that there was work done inside, the most likely problem that fit the symptoms would be a break in the connection to the sleeve of the jack.

often the nut gets loose, and over time and use, the jack gets turned enough to stress and break the wires. sometimes the break actually occurs when the user tightens the loose nut.

if the contact is extremely poor between the sleeve of the jack and the barrel of th plug, it would cause the same symptoms. this is not very common. usually inserting and removing the plug will usually scrape the surface clean enough to restore contact. at least well enough that it works when the plug is jostled.

since KoRg has done some work "under the hood", there's no telling where the problem lies, but it is probably somewhere in the ground circuit.

i think we ALL agree on that.

so KoRg, i think you're just gonna have to take a look inside.

cheers,

unk

[biliousfrog]

what work did you do inside?

have you installed any active circuits...eg. has the battery died? (sorry but gotta ask)

not one of the crapy bc riches but a relitvily good guitar

FWIW, I just did a search for the M7 warlock as I'm not familiar with BC Rich's & ...um.....package deal with amp, strap, lead etc....$299 .....do they do cheaper ones than that?

[westhemann]

they have a $99 warlock as well..so yeah,$299 is middle of the road for import bc rich...doesn't make it good though...the quality control on import bc riches is nonexistent,judging by the nj warlock i have.

as a side note,ibanez has the best qc on import(korean) guitars among all i have seen...

[KoRg]

ok

the problem was somehow the ground wire coming from the input jack broke inside the casing

i cut soldered and heat shrinked the whole deal and its good now

thank you for all the help

what work did you do inside?

have you installed any active circuits...eg. has the battery died? (sorry but gotta ask)

no i just swaped out the neck pickup with the bridge cuz the bridge died and i didnt have time to fix it then

FWIW, I just did a search for the M7 warlock as I'm not familiar with BC Rich's & ...um.....package deal with amp, strap, lead etc....$299 .....do they do cheaper ones than that?

i have the old NJ version of the m7 not the cheesey package deal

[westhemann]

the problem was somehow the ground wire coming from the input jack broke inside the casing

i cut soldered and heat shrinked the whole deal and its good now

badAM!

high five unkmickey!so sad craftyy...p.m. me your address and i will send you a consolation cookie...j/k

[marksound]

Now that the problem is solved I'd like to offer my 2 cents.

I'm not at all familiar with the guitar in question, but if the nut on the jack is loose enough to let it turn in the hole, after a while one or both wires can break. I've fixed more than one like that.

[crafty]

the problem was somehow the ground wire coming from the input jack broke inside the casing

i cut soldered and heat shrinked the whole deal and its good now

badAM!

high five unkmickey!so sad craftyy...p.m. me your address and i will send you a consolation cookie...j/k

I don't see anywhere he mentions a broken solder joint. Kiss my grits.

[westhemann]

it's okay...i know you are just upset from the overwheming aftertaste of crow.....j/k

[Southpa]

How did you finally find out it was a broken wire? There has been good and bad advice given in this thread. In most cases its the simplest solution. That area of troubleshooting could have been easily remedied in the beginning with the use of a multimeter. Just check for 'lectrical continuity between every component, including wires, and you can't go wrong. Everyone should have one.

Those output jacks can take a lot of abuse. If your jack is loose then the logical preventative measure is to tighten the mounting nut back up while holding the unit steady from the other side.

Plug ends get pushed around causing the contacts inside to bend making for a loose connection. Use the appropriate style cord plug. I use an L-shaped plug in all my guitars with edge mounted jacks and the straight plug on strat style jacks.

The idea of buying parts right away without going thru the proper troubleshooting procedures is the shotgun approach. "I'm not quite sure but I hope this will fix it...?" . Sort of reminds me of most auto dealerships. They'll replace the alternator and battery before finding out the voltage loss was because of a simple loose wire. Then tell you it needed to be done anyway. Thats BS and a waste of perfectly good serviceable parts.

[crafty]

it's okay...i know you are just upset from the overwheming aftertaste of crow.....j/k

dude, seriously, just admit you were flat-out wrong and I was the closest to being right...no need to get nasty...

[Mickguard]

I've fixed more than one like that.

Not 'literally dozens'?

[unklmickey]

Guys!

don't look at troubleshooting as being a competition.

sometimes even the most unlikely cause, is the one that applies.

most of the suggestions posted were based on reasonable possibilities.

even though i picked one that was very likely, i could have been wrong.

and i wouldn't have felt the slightest bit bad about it!

the point is, there were several possibilities suggested, and KoRg was able to find the problem, and repair it.

i call that success, by any measure.

congrats to all.

unk