Members LSDis4me Posted July 23, 2012 Members Share Posted July 23, 2012 My strat, which has active pickups, had been humming or cutting out for a couple weeks. It seemed to be the output connection, as when I wiggled the cord it would be fine for a minute. Tried tightening the connection inside, but that didn't fix it. Bought a new output jack. Soldered it several times. The best I could do was get it to work, but the sound has mild (but unpleasant) distortion. Is this due to a bad soldering job? Or might it be that I reversed the black wires (it's a stereo output, so 3 wires are soldered)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Faldoe Posted July 23, 2012 Members Share Posted July 23, 2012 did you take a pic of the jack prior to installing the new one? - to remember which wire goes where? What colors are the wires you have to work with. If you'e dealing with active pickups - how is the battery in there now in terms of life? Are the solder joints shinny? if they're not shinny and look dull then there is a good chance the joints are cold/bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members V Posted July 23, 2012 Members Share Posted July 23, 2012 sometimes this happens when you have a weak ground connection that is able to pick up vibrations and, therefore, becomes microphonic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LSDis4me Posted July 23, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 23, 2012 I remembered that the red wire went first, followed by the black wire that had less wire showing, then the black wire with more wire showing. On this last time soldering, the connections look fairly shiny. It does seem to be a jack issue as the problem of the hum and it cutting out is no longer present, as it was initially. But the unclear sound is still there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tron Murphy Posted July 23, 2012 Members Share Posted July 23, 2012 You should probably sell that guitar and get another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lefort_1 Posted July 23, 2012 Members Share Posted July 23, 2012 you toasted the actve electronics and it is now worthless. send it to me. Viking funeral, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr.Grumpy Posted July 23, 2012 Members Share Posted July 23, 2012 ... But the unclear sound is still there. No troll, but have you tried a fresh battery? A dying battery in an active guitar/bass has those exact symptoms. Hey, I've done it too...I was SURE the farty distortion from my Yamaha active bass was really a problem with my bass amp. It wasn't...the preamp battery was dying. The stereo jack is there because the jack is used to connect the (-) terminal on the battery to ground when you plug your cord in, just like on a stompbox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LSDis4me Posted July 23, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 23, 2012 ^ yep, tried a new battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LSDis4me Posted July 23, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 23, 2012 I will add that the volume pot is now scratchy when turning it. It wasn't before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LSDis4me Posted July 24, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 24, 2012 Guess I'll take this to the guitar forum. :arg: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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