Jump to content
Heritage Owners Club

stupid jacks


bolero

Recommended Posts

the signal was intermittent on my millie...opened it up had never seen a screw-on jack like this one

 

 

as you screw it into the gtr ( or remove it, for that matter ) the wire twists around ( a lot!! ) which I'm sure lead to it's premature failure.....the black ground wire had twisted off. at least it was the jack-end, so easy to get at!!

 

jack2.jpg

 

 

 

so i soldered it back on, and gingerly re installed it....actually I even pre-twisted the wires together the opposite direction, so hopefully it would just unravel inside as I screwed it in. rather than twisting together & snapping again. I could see from the shielding on the wires they were already stressed

 

 

well you guessed it....plugged in and NO SIGNAL......pulled it apart again, and this time the RED wire had snapped off :D

 

jack1.jpg

 

 

 

what a dumb idea!!

 

 

I can barely get to it with a soldering iron...but am considering just changing to a regular LP style input jack...even if I fix this the wires will get twisted like *** again, certainly not a good design for a durable repair

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ha. Fooled me. I used to be killer on Jacks in Grade School.

 

jacks5012.jpg

 

 

My older Millie had that style jack. But had enough wire left inside that it didn't twist off. Think the design was to get thru thicker rims with some authority. But if the wires are short ... thats just trouble.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why not go through the control access in the back?

 

Of course you don't see it. You have to make it. That's what table saws are for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought they were for making tables...

 

You're just being cocky 'cause you recently had a good Birthday. :)

 

Everybody knows you make tables with calculators.

 

My personal favorite is the goesinta. You know, 3 goesinta 9 by 3, 8 goesinta 16 by 2...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chris,

 

I really don't like that type of jack either. When they fail you're left with more work than a standard style unit. If you decide to go with a standard L.P. style don't use a Forstner bit since there's already a hole and the bit has nothing to anchor itself to. It would jump around and mess your guitar up in a hurry. I would use a template to mark a perfect circle then use a dremel to carefully open it up. If you have an old pick guard you could use it to cut your jack plate. Copy one from your other Heritage guitars. If you don't have one already, go get a countersink bit for the 4 holes.Good luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those barrel jacks were a bad idea, but a lot of guitar companies used them. They lose their tension over time and short out intermittently. It's almost impossible to get in there and bend them back into shape without drilling holes. I have two guitars that are suffering from this. I plan to install a stock jack on standard LP jack plates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

You're just being cocky 'cause you recently had a good Birthday. :)

 

Everybody knows you make tables with calculators.

 

My personal favorite is the goesinta. You know, 3 goesinta 9 by 3, 8 goesinta 16 by 2...

Ha good one..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

You're just being cocky 'cause you recently had a good Birthday. :)

 

Everybody knows you make tables with calculators.

 

My personal favorite is the goesinta. You know, 3 goesinta 9 by 3, 8 goesinta 16 by 2...

Like yeast goesinta flour

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like yeast goesinta flour

 

That's when you're making the big dough and dealing with those stupid jacks...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would REPAIR what is there, a little 1/2 inch shrink sleeve around the solder joints AND about a half inch above the jack around both wires for stability and I would think the problem solved without changing a part or the originality. Use the clamp at the top of the barrel jack by pinching it snug around the wires.

 

My opinion

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll give that a try

 

I repeat, it is a STUPID design...it might work well in a LP or non hollowbody, where you can solder the wires on *after* installing it

 

look at the threads, you need to turn it ~15 times to thread into the body....with those wires soldered on. and wire is not like thread, where it freely spools around....this stuff randomly binds up and gets caught on itself

 

 

I may look for some special wire that is designed to be twisted around

 

I also suspect the jack is bad, as the whole reason I pulled it apart was intermittent connection

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The raw basics of the design and original installation may be that, It may have been installed first in the body with the 2 wires attached and connected by attaching then grounded to the tone pot and connected to the hot lead of the toggle. followed by the installation of the rest of the wiring which makes it much more simple in theory.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the best way to deal with the screw in type jack is to solder the lead (red and black) onto the jack while not mounted. Then feed the wires through the hole and screw in the jack. Then sold the red and black wires to the proper points inside the guitar's cavity. Once screwed in, there is not need to take it out unless it fails. Then just reverse the process. Unsolder the leads on the ground and where the red wire is connected and unscrew. Just seems to me to be the best way to deal with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...