Advice for Guitar Repair?

Mr. C

Mr. C

New member
My step-son handed off his friend's Agile "Les Paul" style guitar to see if I could fix it. When I plugged it into my amp it made a loud hum type noise. I strummed the guitar but really couldn't hear anything, as far as I could tell, over the hum. When I grabbed the end of the cable plugged into the guitar the hum was not as loud. I opened it up but I don't see any loose wires or such. I notice that two of the pots are loose as I moved the wires around to inspect it. I also noticed that the bridge humbucker is loose. Anyone have any ideas what I should look for? Maybe the pots are bad?
 
First off, I'd tighten everything up. Have you tried the different pickup positions, and does it do the same thing in every position? Wiggled the toggle switch to make sure it's not either in the switch itself, or the wiring at the switch? Could be, while not a loose wire per se, a bad solder joint. Has anyone done anything to the guitar lately? To me, it sounds like a ground wire is shorting out, but I guess I have no real basis for that, just a guess. I'd like to hear what it turns out to be, for future reference for myself.
 
The loose pot's might be a clue. They could have been spun around a few times, and shorted some wires. How does the wiring look?
 
Get yourself a multimetre and check each component individually. I suspect you have a hot going to earth somewhere or a break in the earth shield. Probably post the pots or inside one of them. Also check the jack socket is making a clean contact.
 
Shorts usually lead to silence. I'd be willing to bet that the ground wire has come loose somewhere between the jack and the pickup. Or the jack itself is fucked.
 
I'm no guitar tech. I don't even pretend to be one. But every loud hum or buzz I've ever encountered with an electric guitar has been grounding/shielding related. Grabbing the input jack and the hum minimizing tells me that you are probably becoming the ground. Check that all the ground solders and tiny ground wire is intact and connected. All those loose parts rattling around could have easily ripped something loose.
 
ashcat_lt said:
Shorts usually lead to silence. I'd be willing to bet that the ground wire has come loose somewhere between the jack and the pickup. Or the jack itself is fucked.
Click to expand...

Not always. It depends where the short is and what is in the path before the hot bleeds out... Best to check each component in turn starting with the pickup and working back to the jack socket. If that fails to highlight the culprit then you turn to the cable and amp...
 
My first thought when I turned the amp on and heard the buzzing is that it is a ground problem. But, as Greg has said, I'm not a guitar tech either so I just might be wrong. I like your idea Muttley of starting at the pickup and working my way back. I don't know what he did to this guitar but the pickup is nearly falling out of the cavity! I know it's not the amp because the problem was there before I plugged it into my amp with my cable. So it has to be the guitar itself. I'm hoping to get a good look at it this weekend.
 
Found the problem. I started at the bridge humbuck, all wiring seemed solid there. Looked at the wiring in the cavity again, still looked good. Tightened up the pots then decided to pull the input jack out. Sure enough one of the wires to the jack was broken. I was in a hurry so didn't check to see which one, but I think it's the wire for the sleeve. The jack itself looks worn so I'll probably just replace it.

One thing I've got to say is it's the most disgusting guitar I've ever seen. This kid must never clean it at all. There is so much gunk on the fretboard you would need a wire brush to get it off. Here and there the screws are rusting and the bridge itself too. I'll be wearing those heavy rubber gloves the next time I handle it!!:eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top