I'm not sure if this is the right place...

A

austin4130

New member
but I need some help!

The output jack on my les paul crapped out on me, finally. I say finally, because the mounting plate broke probably a year ago and the output has just been "hanging out" ever since!

Today I went and bought a new plate to see if mounting it would fix the problem. I shoved the wire back into the guitar and put it on without screwing it all the way in, and it worked fine.

THEN, i screwed everything back in, plugged her in, and it worked for a minute then it went right back to humming.

Would replacing the output fix this? or do you think it's the wires or pots or something?

If this isn't the right place, just point me in the right direction, please! i need to fix my baby!
 
it's probably just a bad solder joint or broken wires from hanging by the wire for a year. just take the jack back out, check it, and resolder if necessary.

you'll want to check where the wires connect to your pots too. they could be close to breaking from all the movement from not having the jack supported.
 
Alright, I took off the back plate and plugged the guitar in. It was humming, and then I wiggled the output a little and could manage to get it to work. But since the output is now screwed in, the wires weren't moving whatsoever so yeah I'm thinking its the output.

Any tips for desoldering the existing connection or replacing it? I don't think there's anything special I need to do, is there?
 
austin4130 said:
Alright, I took off the back plate and plugged the guitar in. It was humming, and then I wiggled the output a little and could manage to get it to work. But since the output is now screwed in, the wires weren't moving whatsoever so yeah I'm thinking its the output.

Any tips for desoldering the existing connection or replacing it? I don't think there's anything special I need to do, is there?
Click to expand...

hah. should be a 'piece of cake'. a de-soldering tool from radio shack will make removing the old one easier. if you have never soldered before, get someone to show you (or look it up on the net) and practice a bit. it's not hard but there is something to it.


good luck.
 
The 'buzzing' most likely means that there is a broken or intermittent ground in the output connection. But while it is open and the soldering iron is hot, go ahead and redo the hot output connection as well as the ground so that everything is as solidly connected as it can be.

Try for nice connections like in the attached picture!:)
 

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  • Output Jack-1.jpg
    Output Jack-1.jpg
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i've soldered before. i just put a new jack on it and it's still buzzing. the wires didn't look like the picture you posted though.

i'll try to explain


it was one wire, then there's something silver wrapped around it, then that part was soldered to one part of the output, then the end of the wire was soldered to the other part. i recreated that almost exactly with the other jack and it still hums, sooo i have no idea
 
austin4130 said:
i've soldered before. i just put a new jack on it and it's still buzzing. the wires didn't look like the picture you posted though.

i'll try to explain


it was one wire, then there's something silver wrapped around it, then that part was soldered to one part of the output, then the end of the wire was soldered to the other part. i recreated that almost exactly with the other jack and it still hums, sooo i have no idea
Click to expand...

Perhaps it is time to let a guitar tech look at it. It's possible you got the interior and exterior wires of the coax (the wire with "something silver wrapped around it") swapped; they are not interchangeable, or you might have overheated the wires when you soldered them and whacked the insulation, or you might have made a cold solder joint which is conducting poorly. It ain't rocket science, but there are some details that you need to watch. From your description, and I mean no offense, it sounds to me like you don't really understand the basics of what you are trying to do.
 
austin4130 said:
i've soldered before. i just put a new jack on it and it's still buzzing. the wires didn't look like the picture you posted though.

i'll try to explain


it was one wire, then there's something silver wrapped around it, then that part was soldered to one part of the output, then the end of the wire was soldered to the other part. i recreated that almost exactly with the other jack and it still hums, sooo i have no idea
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's exactly what that picture shows.
 
ggunn said:
Perhaps it is time to let a guitar tech look at it. It's possible you got the interior and exterior wires of the coax (the wire with "something silver wrapped around it") swapped; they are not interchangeable, or you might have overheated the wires when you soldered them and whacked the insulation, or you might have made a cold solder joint which is conducting poorly. It ain't rocket science, but there are some details that you need to watch. From your description, and I mean no offense, it sounds to me like you don't really understand the basics of what you are trying to do.
Click to expand...

You're right, I really don't. I've replaced 2 jacks before.... maybe 3 years ago!

Usually my guitars work perfectly, so I know more about playing them than having to fix them!


And to the other guys, that picture looks a whole lot different than how mine looked, even before I redid it. Perhaps its very similar and that picture is just a weird angle, who knows. But, thank you very much for the useful input!

I just bought some new p90s so I'll wait for them to get here and take it to the shop and have them take care of everything. Thanks for the help guys
 
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