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Guitar makes popping,cracking sounds when plugged into amp.


KATMAN

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Posted

What make a guitar do this? I'm thinking a loose wire in the input jack,or a loose wire in pickup. I have a Yamaha APX-5NA classical A/E. It has a killer sound when I plug into my little bass amp. It's not the amp,because I play my Tele and bass thru it all the time. I am right about a loose wire? What else do you think it could be?

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Posted

yeah check the jack. my amp made cracking noises til i discovered some gunk (bits of packaging tape?) on the 1/4" plug. maybe gunk or loose wiring for yours

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Posted

It could be a loose wire, it could be a shorted wire, it could be a completely disconnected wire. I don't know what kind of pickup you've got in there, but what I usually do is get inside the guitar and check everything out, making sure that everything that looks like it should be connected is. If its not, I usually bust out the soldering iron, or if its minor, electrical tape should do the trick.

Good luck!

 

Ellen

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Posted

Thanks. I'll take it to the guitar store and let them fix it. I can't even put strings on a classical,much less do my own work. I'd ruin it for sure. Maybe I'll check out the jack,I could probably fix that,if that is the problem.

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Posted

Turn on your amp and plug in the cable...Wiggle the cable when it's not plugged in and see if any crackle occurs...if none, then wiggle the cable when plugged into the guitar...if you get a crackle, it's most likely a bad solder joint or a very slightly bent terminal on the "hot" lug (the part that comes in contact w/ the cable's tip) that's not making good contact.

 

Either is a very easy fix...either reheat all solder joints on the input jack (just to be on the safe side), or bend the hot lug inward to make better contact.

 

Feel free to send the $25 or so I just saved you to a good charity...I like NORML ;)

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Posted

while you're at it, check your cable. switch out what you have with another one to see if it still pops. cables break all the time at the plug ends.

  • 8 years later...
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Posted

Moisture in your attenuator pots can bind to dirt and dust that gets in through your jack and reek havoc on your sound. I found something you may want to check out. It is a new product that addresses that very problem. It's on KickStarter. I will put a link here for you to check it out. It's called the Jack Guardian. Here's the link http://kck.st/1zaxG2K

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Posted

You're right, of course. I was out of line there.

 

tommyc, thanks for the tip. KATMAN probably got it sorted out soon after he posted but your reply is no less valid now than it would have been 9 years ago when he first asked for help.

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Posted

I regularly use some contact cleaner on a Qtip to clean surfaces inside jack, besides wipe downs on both ends of cables. I live in Thailand and seems everything that can get gunked up and/or corroded does. Could try a different cable..... Oh, also wipe off contacts for battery if has a preamp.

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Posted
Moisture in your attenuator pots can bind to dirt and dust that gets in through your jack and reek havoc on your sound. I found something you may want to check out. It is a new product that addresses that very problem. It's on KickStarter. I will put a link here for you to check it out. It's called the Jack Guardian. Here's the link http://kck.st/1zaxG2K

A link to a Kickstarter campaign for his first and only post. Methinks I smelleth a rodent.

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Posted

Oh, welleth, you'll haveth that. $22K? Hungry varmint, too.

 

There was a similar campaign for some new fangled finger picks that I thought were a great idea. But, I never saw them commercially available so I guess someone didn't get enough financing together (for the new Beemer, that is).

  • 5 years later...
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Posted

I got a problem with my amp, when I play the amp makes loud pops out of nowhere to the point that the guitar sound doesn’t come out, then when I turn it off then back on it works. Could it be because the amp is old or because my jack that goes from the head to the guitar is bent? 

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