Trouble shooting electronics

Your guitar or bass cutting out on you or not outputting a signal to the amp? Most guitar electronics are not that hard to trace the problems. Most common problems are the output jack loose or worn; this causes the signal to cut in and out. If the jack has loosened up, some cases allow for it to twist about and eventually, sever one or more of the connections. Above, is a photo of one of the more common output jacks used on electric instruments, but there are other variations.

The first step is getting a look at the electronics. Guitars such as the Stratocaster encase the pickups, and controls on the pickguard, with the output jack on its seperate jack plate. Nut drivers are handy, but if you are careful, you may get away with needle nose pliers, and a steady hand. Remove, or loosen the strings , remove the pickguard screws, and carefully lift and slide the pickguard assy. out from under the strings. The wires are most likely not too long, so have a cloth ready to cover the body as you flip the pickguard over and lay along the edge of the guitar's body. If the jack is on its separate plate, remove the screws, and lift it up and out to inspect. Is it loose, or any broken wires? Inspect the contact area that the jack from the cord contacts. If it is clearly scored from age and use, the jack should be replaced. If the wire(s) broken, re-solder it to the terminal.

Soldering 101: Use an iron with a fine tip. Use only solder for electronic use. Clean the tip of the iron on a damp sponge, and clean up the terminal area; there are products for removing the old solder. Trim back the end of the wire, and strip the end just enough to make a solder connection. Tin the end of the bare wire by applying a small dab of solder to the tip of the iron, and hold it to the bare end of the wire, allowing the solder to flow to the bare wire. When its tinned, it will shine with the new solder. Heat the connection area, and tin the area. Heat the area your soldering, not the solder or wire. When you see the solder start to flow, move the wire to the area, and let the solder flow over the wire and connection area. The heat should only be applied long enough to do this, then pull the iron back. Do not blow on the area to cool it, but hold the wire there for a couple seconds; it will cool on its own. You should be able to use your bare hands to hold the wire, but there are tools to clamp the wire to hold it too. Sensitive components, such as capacitors should be clamped in hemostats to shield the cap from the heat of the soldering iron. Most solder connections do not require much solder or time to heat. The ground connections on the back of the controls, require more time to heat the larger mass, and generally those ground connections are best made using the hemostats to hold and position the wires. As you get close to the body with the iron, be aware of the entire area surrounding the work area and be on the lookout for near-by wires you may burn with the soldering iron. Solder connections should be shiny, and not gobbed up with too much solder. Practice makes perfect! Do not use wire to large a gage for the job you are performing; observe the gage of the wire that is there originally. If you must lengthen the wire, its best to install longer wire rather than tack two together. Sometimes its to your advantage to use small tie wraps to bundle groups of wires, thus minimizing refitting a tangle mass of spaghetti back in the control cavity. Be careful to orientate the wires completely into the control cavity, and not bunched up under the pickguard. The pickgaurd should lie flat into place, and not bulge from wires not positioned properly.

Subsequent installments will deal with using a multi-meter, replacing controls, switches, and more! Rock on!!