Members AlexMC Posted January 1, 2012 Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 My Yamaha SA2200 semi-hollow has a problem with the output jack; when the jack is fully inserted (range of cables tried), it wobbles within the recess, causing intermittent signal loss. I figure the 'tip' contact has slowly been pushed out of alignment, but can't figure out how to fix it without removing all the pots and switches too. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted January 4, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 4, 2012 Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members milosch Posted January 4, 2012 Members Share Posted January 4, 2012 Hopefully it is an open jack, i.e. not a plastic enclosed one. You should be able to look in and see the tip contact through the hole. I've seen cheap jacks where the tip is merely bent metal. But, the better ones have a curve that will allow you to pull it back to center using a flat blade screwdriver. Don't get too crazy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted January 4, 2012 Members Share Posted January 4, 2012 Is it a jack like this? If so, remove the mounting screws to access the jack for service. Could just be corrosion on the connection or it may be bent like you suspect. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted January 4, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 4, 2012 Not that simple - it's mounted from underneath like this: To get access to the rear of the jack, I'd have to fish the entire wiring assembly out through one of the f-holes - and then back again, with my clumsy fingers. I just don't want to take that on, and I'm not aware of any decent guitar repair folks in my hometown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted January 4, 2012 Members Share Posted January 4, 2012 Yep, that's tough. You should be able to loosen just the jack and fish it through if there's enough wire. Otherwise, have fun. No advice besides take your medication before beginning. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bubbluz Posted January 4, 2012 Members Share Posted January 4, 2012 I'll do it for ya...just cover my flight and hotel costs . It will be fiddly but it has to be done,you should Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vintage clubber Posted January 4, 2012 Members Share Posted January 4, 2012 you need to rig a 1/4" plug on a wire to fish it through and back. you shouldn't have to undo all the other wiring to do this (hopefully). I rigged mine with speaker wire. I had to remove the cover of the plug so the jack nut and washer would fit over it. [video=youtube;c3j9FFU4sXA] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members irishstu Posted January 5, 2012 Members Share Posted January 5, 2012 I once made a little tool that you could use to reach in there and bend the tip contact back towards the middle. I've since misplaced it, but, erm... give me a minute and I'll draw something up for you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members irishstu Posted January 5, 2012 Members Share Posted January 5, 2012 OK, just a quick pic. Let me know if you don't understand. Basically, buy a cheapo screwdriver with about a 2mm thick stem (it has to be just the right sort of cheapness that you can actually bend the stem quite a lot - don't be trying this with jeweler's screwdrivers, for example, which tend to be really brittle). Then bend it more or less as follows (you may want to file the end off it if it gets in the way, although this may be unnecessary). If you're not comfortable bending metal and stuff, don't do this. I won't be responsible if you put an eye out or something. Insert it into the socket at a bit of an angle, manipulate it so that the end part (the bit that's at 90 degrees to the handle) gets in behind the end contact, and carefully bend it forward. As long as you don't go mental and put tonnes of pressure on it, causing the top of the guitar to crack, you should be OK. That said, vintage clubber's advice is the standard way of tackling this, and a perfectly good option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockNote Posted January 5, 2012 Members Share Posted January 5, 2012 Very clever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted January 5, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2012 That's a really neat method of keeping hold of the output jack once the nut has been removed! If the wires running to the output jack are long enough, I *may* be able to use the speaker cable to 'push' the jack toward the lower bout F-hole, adjust the tip contact and then pull it back into place. Of course if the wires have all been trimmed I'll still have to remove the 4 pots and switch as well, but one can hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted January 5, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2012 This would be the far simpler fix if the tip contact isn't worn out (i.e. flopping back and forth with little rigidity). I have a cheap needle file set that might be easier to bend to shape than a screwdriver... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members El Glom-o Posted January 5, 2012 Members Share Posted January 5, 2012 This would be the far simpler fix if the tip contact isn't worn out (i.e. flopping back and forth with little rigidity). I have a cheap needle file set that might be easier to bend to shape than a screwdriver... Don't even bother trying to bend a file. WAY too brittle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members irishstu Posted January 6, 2012 Members Share Posted January 6, 2012 You know, it's funny this should get brought up. I found a set of these in a local shop and picked them up the other day: http://www.amazon.com/Deluxe-Diamond-Riffler-Needle-File/dp/B003EAORK2 P.S. I totally agree with El Gom-o. You wouldn't be able to bend files yourself. You know, you MIGHT get away with coat hanger wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted January 12, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 12, 2012 I managed to find a suitable tool to insert into the jack, hook around the loose contact and gently pull back toward the centre of the hole... but it's sort of flopping around in there and will not provide any purchase on the jack plug when inserted. Next strategy is to fish the jack out through the f-hole and replace it... So I picked up an inspection mirror: And took a look inside the body through the f-hole; the hot wire from the switch to the jack looked long enough to thread through without having to remove the pots (yay!), so I took apart an old guitar lead and made an 'output-jack-fisher-outerer tool' as shown in the video above, inserted it into the jack and removed the nut and washer. A great idea in theory, but because of my original problem - a loose tip contact arm - the cable tool didn't grip the jack and it fell into the body. I've just spent the last half hour trying to shake the damn thing out toward the f-hole, but it appears caught in the wiring harness, and it looks like I'll need to remove some more components anyway. To spare the same mistake with those, I'm planning on attaching different coloured threads to the shaft of each pot, to allow me to pull them back into the correct holes when I'm done. Can anyone warn me of any hazards I may face? I'm beginning to wish I hadn't bothered screwing with it, and the last thing I want is to end up with a pile of components! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted January 12, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 12, 2012 Persistence pays off! I had to remove the switch and then spend a little while tugging at wires, whilst using a pen to hold others out of the way, and finally have the output jack out of the body... and sure enough, the arm that normally contacts the tip of the jack plug and holds the plug in place is suffering from metal fatigue and is about to snap off. I'll pick up a replacement tomorrow and then we'll see how much fun it is to try and thread it back through the body and tangle of wiring *without having a cable or thread attached to pull it through*... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted January 12, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 12, 2012 Now I have the switch out, I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members irishstu Posted January 13, 2012 Members Share Posted January 13, 2012 Persistence pays off!I had to remove the switch and then spend a little while tugging at wires, whilst using a pen to hold others out of the way, and finally have the output jack out of the body... and sure enough, the arm that normally contacts the tip of the jack plug and holds the plug in place is suffering from metal fatigue and is about to snap off. I'll pick up a replacement tomorrow and then we'll see how much fun it is to try and thread it back through the body and tangle of wiring *without having a cable or thread attached to pull it through*... Congratulations so far. As for getting the output jack back in place, that's going to be almost impossible without some assistance, so I'd recommend you feed something through the hole in the guitar body where the output jack used to be, fish it out through the f-holes and then attach that to the output jack. But be careful - it will have to be fed into the hole in the output jack where a guitar cable would plug in. Otherwise you'll be trying to pull it up through the hole in the guitar body arse first. I hope that makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted January 13, 2012 Members Share Posted January 13, 2012 That type of guitar is extremely difficult to work on. My advice is to pull the electronics out through the treble pickup opening and not through the f-hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted January 13, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 13, 2012 Congratulations so far. As for getting the output jack back in place, that's going to be almost impossible without some assistance, so I'd recommend you feed something through the hole in the guitar body where the output jack used to be, fish it out through the f-holes and then attach that to the output jack. But be careful - it will have to be fed into the hole in the output jack where a guitar cable would plug in. Otherwise you'll be trying to pull it up through the hole in the guitar body arse first. I hope that makes sense. I'm a little confused by the emboldened part! I was planning on using a small weight on a thread to pull the 'output-jack-fisher-outerer tool' through the jack hole to the f-hole, attach the jack plug to my new jack as per the video above, and then carefully pull *that* back through the body and into position. Does that sound ok? I presume the guy uses the 'stripped jack on a speaker cable' as otherwise there's nothing on the jack socket that you can attach a thread to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted January 13, 2012 Author Members Share Posted January 13, 2012 That type of guitar is extremely difficult to work on. My advice is to pull the electronics out through the treble pickup opening and not through the f-hole. It's a semi-hollow with a solid block running underneath the bridge and pickups, so I don't think that will work... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members irishstu Posted January 13, 2012 Members Share Posted January 13, 2012 I'm a little confused by the emboldened part!I was planning on using a small weight on a thread to pull the 'output-jack-fisher-outerer tool' through the jack hole to the f-hole, attach the jack plug to my new jack as per the video above, and then carefully pull *that* back through the body and into position. Does that sound ok? I presume the guy uses the 'stripped jack on a speaker cable' as otherwise there's nothing on the jack socket that you can attach a thread to? Yes, that sounds like it would work. What I was trying (badly) to say was that it wouldn't work if you just tied something around one of the legs of the output jack and tried pulling it back through the hole since it would pull it up the wrong way around. If you're going to use the jack plug then that will work perfectly. I'd kinda forgotten that was still an option to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted January 13, 2012 Moderators Share Posted January 13, 2012 Now I have the switch out, I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members irishstu Posted January 13, 2012 Members Share Posted January 13, 2012 This is the beauty of HCEG, one second asking advice on how to achieve at best a fix and next second ready to take their guitars to another level, all within the space of hours:thu:{censored} it Alex, get EMGSs and a few circuits in there. Ha ha. So true. Come over to the dark side, Alex. It's lovely and warm over here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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