Stupid input jack...

[Farview]

I know they used to be junk. These jacks seemed identical to the switchcraft or Fender ones I had in my pieces parts drawer.

That's why I said most. They carry both the good and the bad, that's why I told him if he didn't know the difference, go to the guitar shop.

There are alos a few different kinds on guitar jacks, a guitar shop should have all of them.

 

[Light]

Bending the contacts back in (or "retensioning" as the vintage amp guys call it) can help for a while, but it really is mostly a temporary fix. It is also impossible with enclosed jacks. More to the point, with many of the cheap jacks used in most production instruments, it is as likely to snap the contact as to "retension" it. Personally, I think it is usually better to replace it with a good quality switchcraft jack. If your bass is active, you will need a stereo jack (unless it is stereo and active, in which case you need a 9 pin jack, which may be hard to find).

Most jacks are really cheap, though, so there is not much reason not to replace them.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[ggunn]

FWIW, I retensioned the output jack on my '61 Strat in about 1988 or so, and the repair is still holding. Temporary it may be, but 21 years (and counting) is pretty good for a temp fix.

One tip for doing this is to hold the metal clip a little ways out from the jack with a pair of needlenosed pliers and do your bending out past that point instead of bending it more right there at the jack where it's already bent 90 degrees. Less metal fatigue.

 

[travelin travis]

i've re-bent a few jacks myself and never had a problem. it does'nt take much, just a couple of degrees is plenty. if someone breaks a jack by re-bending it, i would guess that

a) the jack was about to break anyway
b) that person is completely incompetent

 

[Rokket]

Thanks for all the input (no pun intended!). I am going to open her up tonight and see what happens...

 

[Light]

i've re-bent a few jacks myself and never had a problem. it does'nt take much, just a couple of degrees is plenty. if someone breaks a jack by re-bending it, i would guess that

a) the jack was about to break anyway
b) that person is completely incompetent

Depends on the jack. Certainly, with one of the good Switchcraft jacks (and not all switchcraft jacks are good), that is true. But if you have ever seen the POS that they put in most cheap guitars these days, you would say different.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[travelin travis]

if you have ever seen the POS that they put in most cheap guitars these days, you would say different

that's nearly all i've ever owned, cheap pos guitars.

 

[Farview]

Why would anyone, after opening the guitar, just not replace the $2.50 part? Why would you even bother taking the chance of it still acting up after you put it back together again?

 

[travelin travis]

Why would anyone, after opening the guitar, just not replace the $2.50 part? Why would you even bother taking the chance of it still acting up after you put it back together again?

maybe because it only takes like 30 seconds to take out the jack and the $2.50 could buy a corn dog and a beer.

 

[cephus]

Why would anyone, after opening the guitar, just not replace the $2.50 part? Why would you even bother taking the chance of it still acting up after you put it back together again?

I'm a strat guy, so I just think of it as being as easy as two screws for a looksee. If I had to take off the whole pickguard off or some weird side-mount thing, I'd just replace it.

 

[Rokket]

I'm a strat guy, so I just think of it as being as easy as two screws for a looksee. If I had to take off the whole pickguard off or some weird side-mount thing, I'd just replace it.

Yeah, I've got the screws too.

I took it off and looked. Aparently, it's not your run-of-the-mill jack. It's got a switch inside to turn on and off the active pickups when a cable is plugged in, and I am going to have to order it from ESP and replace it. It's all inside this little square box and it's sealed...

 

[ggunn]

Yeah, I've got the screws too.

I took it off and looked. Aparently, it's not your run-of-the-mill jack. It's got a switch inside to turn on and off the active pickups when a cable is plugged in, and I am going to have to order it from ESP and replace it. It's all inside this little square box and it's sealed...

Yeah, those enclosed jacks are difficult if not impossible to deal with when they go bad. Soldering them in can be a pain, too, if your soldering skills are lacking; that plastic melts pretty easily.

But it's likely just a "nothing special" stereo jack with the ring connector set to turn on the active electronics (Plugging a mono plug into a stereo jack shorts the ring to the sleeve, which is ground. Usually the active electronics is grounded to the ring connector, which is open until a mono plug is inserted to complete the circuit.). If there's room in the cavity, I'd replace it with a standard all-metal stereo jack. They usually only use those cheesey plastic ones to save a couple of bucks.

 

[Rokket]

Yeah, those enclosed jacks are difficult if not impossible to deal with when they go bad. Soldering them in can be a pain, too, if your soldering skills are lacking; that plastic melts pretty easily.

But it's likely just a "nothing special" stereo jack with the ring connector set to turn on the active electronics (Plugging a mono plug into a stereo jack shorts the ring to the sleeve, which is ground. Usually the active electronics is grounded to the ring connector, which is open until a mono plug is inserted to complete the circuit.). If there's room in the cavity, I'd replace it with a standard all-metal stereo jack. They usually only use those cheesey plastic ones to save a couple of bucks.

I am going to spend whatever it takes to make sure that I don't have to replace it again as long as I own the bass, so I will look into getting the best bang for my buck.
Thanks for the recommendation...

 

[Farview]

I am going to spend whatever it takes to make sure that I don't have to replace it again as long as I own the bass, so I will look into getting the best bang for my buck.
Thanks for the recommendation...

It looks like the original one was already replaced. I have never seen a new instrument with one of the cheap-ass black plastic jacks. Just go with a good switchcraft, all metal, all open jack.

 

[Rokket]

It looks like the original one was already replaced. I have never seen a new instrument with one of the cheap-ass black plastic jacks. Just go with a good switchcraft, all metal, all open jack.

It's not plastic, just not what I expected when I opened it up. I've never dealt with a stereo input before because I've never had active pickups in a guitar before.
I am going to get a good switchcraft jack anyhow...

 

[Light]

It looks like the original one was already replaced. I have never seen a new instrument with one of the cheap-ass black plastic jacks. Just go with a good switchcraft, all metal, all open jack.

Not all plastic jacks are cheap, nor can you always use a Switchcraft jack. If the system requires a dual source output, for instance if you have both active magnetic pickups and a piezo bridge pickup with a preamp which you want to amplify seperatly (and not at all uncommon situation), a stereo jack won't work. There is a nine pin jack out there for those situations (I get them from EMG or Fishman, though I'm not sure who actually makes them) which has a couple of normally open switches built in that close when you plug your guitar in, which is what completes the circuit (well, one of the switches completes the circuit, the other one is extra) and turns on the active electronics. The're made of plastic, but they are aceptable quality jacks. Now, if Switchcraft would come out with a jack that would work in this situation, I would never use one of the 9-pin jacks again, because their shape is problematic for most guitar designs, but they are not cheap, nor crap.

You do have to be carful when soldering them, though, cause the plastic can melt. That is frustrating.


So, to say it properly Rocket, you should get a Switchcraft jack IF IT WILL WORK in your guitar.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Rokket]

Not all plastic jacks are cheap, nor can you always use a Switchcraft jack. If the system requires a dual source output, for instance if you have both active magnetic pickups and a piezo bridge pickup with a preamp which you want to amplify seperatly (and not at all uncommon situation), a stereo jack won't work. There is a nine pin jack out there for those situations (I get them from EMG or Fishman, though I'm not sure who actually makes them) which has a couple of normally open switches built in that close when you plug your guitar in, which is what completes the circuit (well, one of the switches completes the circuit, the other one is extra) and turns on the active electronics. The're made of plastic, but they are aceptable quality jacks. Now, if Switchcraft would come out with a jack that would work in this situation, I would never use one of the 9-pin jacks again, because their shape is problematic for most guitar designs, but they are not cheap, nor crap.

You do have to be carful when soldering them, though, cause the plastic can melt. That is frustrating.


So, to say it properly Rocket, you should get a Switchcraft jack IF IT WILL WORK in your guitar.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

I have to get in touch with ESP, since I have long since lost the manual and the schematics. I am not sure which jack is in there. I have EMG active pickups, and I know that plugging in a cable turns on the active pickups; but that's all I know.

 

[Farview]

I have to get in touch with ESP, since I have long since lost the manual and the schematics. I am not sure which jack is in there. I have EMG active pickups, and I know that plugging in a cable turns on the active pickups; but that's all I know.

Didn't you open the thing up and look at the jack? The one with 3 connections is the standard one, the one with 9 connections is the one light is talking about. This isn't that difficult.

 

[Light]

I have to get in touch with ESP, since I have long since lost the manual and the schematics. I am not sure which jack is in there. I have EMG active pickups, and I know that plugging in a cable turns on the active pickups; but that's all I know.

Look at the jack. How many wires are going to it? If the answer is three (the ground, the batteries negative terminal, and the signal wire), they you can use any standard stereo jack. As has been said, the switchcraft ones are nice. If there are more than that, then look at where they go. They may have used the jack's ground conection as a ground point, in which case their may be more than one ground wire, but still only one signal wire, and one battery wire. If there are more than that, then you may need a 9 pin jack (by the way, one of the pins is a ground conection on the side of the jack, so it will probably look like it only has 8 pins). You can get those from any EMG dealer. Or at least, you should be able to (I know I keep them in stock). Oh, those things have another benifit, by the by.

Now, I seem to remember that ESP uses barrel jacks fairly often. If so, you are going to need one of those, because the hole is too small for anything else (and you really don't want to try and make the hole bigger, as it is a real pain in the ass - that sounds bad).

Or, hey, why not take your guitar with you to the store so you can make sure you get the right part. People do that all the time in our shop, and we strongly encourage it.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Rokket]

Didn't you open the thing up and look at the jack? The one with 3 connections is the standard one, the one with 9 connections is the one light is talking about. This isn't that difficult.

Yeah, it's not difficult for someone who has taken the time to learn it. I haven't, so I come off sounding like a twit. My bad.
It has 3 wires connecting to it. I am going to have it fixed this Saturday.
Thanks!