Guitar Repair

Paul Wolfe · Post by **Paul Wolfe** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 6:45 pm

Does anyone know of a good site about testing the electronics in a guitar? I am planning on replacing the jack and pickup in one of my guitars and I want to be able to test them with a meter before reassembly. I hate soldring and reassembling only to find that the darn thing doesn't work, so I'd like to learn how to test the controls, pickup and jack with a meter prior to reassembly.

Is there such a site?

Post by **Stiltzkin** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 8:19 pm

you can't test the jack if it's not assembled
'cause it doesn't carry any signal.

with the pickup. it should be as easy as setting
the meter to something and the connect it to the
pickup cables, my guess is ground and hot
but you'll have to try out different combinations.

Post by **skezza** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:17 am

If you put a multimeter across the pickup, you can test the impedence!

Paul Wolfe · Post by **Paul Wolfe** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 1:32 pm

I'vg got the impedence checked, the pickup is good (I think it's from a Les Paul I owned years ago, because I remember changing out the bridge pickup in that guitar with a Tony Iommi signature model).

What I always have a hard time with is that I solder everything up, put the guitar back together and get no signal, or just a loud hum through the amp. Sometimes I'm successful the first time, and sometimes I am not - and I don't know why! So I have to take it all apart again and start from scratch.

Post by **Stiltzkin** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:12 pm

if it's humming, than you have ground issues.

Paul Wolfe · Post by **Paul Wolfe** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 4:59 pm

Stiltzkin wrote:if it's humming, than you have ground issues.

What if the only noise is hum? I soldered up the volume knob, pickup, etc. but it didn't seem to send a signal to the amp. That's why I'm replacing the pot, the pickup and jack - to start fresh.

Post by **Stiltzkin** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 3:46 am

check all your solderings .. atleast twice.

when I changed my pot in my guitar, soldered
everything together and tried it out. the volume was
pretty low, and there was a hum. the solution was to
solder 2 wires together and tape 'em up.

check with the pickup manufacturer for soldering schematics.

Paul Wolfe · Post by **Paul Wolfe** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 3:11 pm

Stiltzkin wrote:check all your solderings .. atleast twice.

when I changed my pot in my guitar, soldered
everything together and tried it out. the volume was
pretty low, and there was a hum. the solution was to
solder 2 wires together and tape 'em up.

check with the pickup manufacturer for soldering schematics.

Thanks for the help.

I know that some pots melt with too much heat, so I decided to replace it. I also decided to relocate it aabout an inch over and down so I don't hit it while playing. I've always hated the side -mount jack on my Charvel, so I routed a hole in the top and drpped in a strat-style jackplate. Now I just have to wait for the weekend to have time to solder it all up and see how it goes. The "frankenstrat" article inspired me to mess with things...