One of the best musical instruments in the world is the guitar. They have risen in popularity over the years and are perfect for any type of occasion. Whether you want to drop hard rock beats or want to play to an audience looking for a calmer vibe, you can do it all with the musical instrument.
One of the best things about guitars is that they have innovated over time and have become extremely versatile. You do not need a mic or a set of speakers to play for your audience. Hence if you have a concert planned for your fans, all you need is to take your guitar and start jamming.
You might be wondering how is that possible? Do guitars have speakers of their own? The secret behind the blazing tunes is their jack. All you have to do is directly plug the cables into your electric guitar, and then the sound shall automatically be transferred to the audio speakers.
This is even better because there is no interference from any mics in between, which means you will only have the best experience of the music you create. There will be clarity and quality in all the nodes you will create from the guitar.
The Crucial Point Of Your Guitar?
If there is anything that needs to work perfectly well before a jam session, that is your guitar’s jack. So what really is a jack input? Many of you have heard about it, but if you are new to guitars, you must know its role. A jack on your guitar is essentially where you plug in all the cables; that is why it’s called the input jack.
However, your guitar jack is essential as it allows the signals from your instrument to transfer to your speakers or the amplifier you will be connecting it with. Most jacks do not have any problem while playing. However, they may have some issues, especially when you try to plug a chord in.
There are some common problems with these jacks, and you will need to learn how to tackle these issues without causing more damage. Although most guitars do not have these common problems, and if they do, they are easily manageable, you sometimes have to go out of the way or call the brand to help you fix them.
Reasons And Solutions For Guitar Input Jack Problems
- Getting loose
One of the most common issues we face during jamming sessions is the input jack betrays us for various reasons. Sometimes you do not know what’s going on, but the problem persists; when you look closely, you will realize that the jack is loose.
This can lead to an endless list of problems because your jack needs to be fixed properly to your guitar in order to produce the sounds you aim to play. One of the reasons why this happens is because of rough handling.
Guitarists often tend to plug in and out their jacks haphazardly without taking proper care; this can easily damage the fitting. Due to the loose-fitting, you will realize that cables are not sticking in and are falling outside. This will further destroy the whole music experience.
Thus to ensure that you do not compromise on the quality, you will need to replace the jack. You can contact your guitar’s manufacturers to ensure that they fix it for you with perfection, and once that is done, you will be back on track.
- Pin Breaking In
When you are jamming, you just want a smooth experience because you are in the zone of creating the best beat in town. However, things can take a U-turn, especially if you have a pin stuck inside your guitar. This becomes a big problem since you do not know how to fix it.
Normally the pin will not come out on its own when you try to; that is when you need to use a shaped magnet. The magnet will help you pull the plug out, which is now stuck to your guitar. However, if all else fails, you know what to do. You should take it to the company and ask them to get it repaired.
This should not be a problem since getting a guitar’s jack replaced is easy, and you will not encounter any issues there. Ensure you only take the guitar to the professionals, so they handle it with care. Once the guitar is fixed, you can enjoy jamming with your band like usual.
- Cracking Sounds
When jamming, we may end up plugging the guitar jack into different cables. However, that is not the best thing to do because it can have a lasting long-term impact. What it does is that it will affect your sound quality, and you will start to experience a cracking sound.
You will have to rotate your cord for a bit in order to get the best output from the speakers. But this should not be the case because once you connect your cords to the speaker, they should start playing the tunes without any problems. The problem occurs because you have been connecting different plugs into the guitar’s jack.
Over time, the jack will stop working to its intended potential. Connecting different cables to the jack can change the inner part of the space, and it will bend to different sides. The only way you can avoid this from happening to you is that you only let one cable cord get plugged into your guitar.
You must take that cord to all your performances no matter where they are; this will ensure that your guitar and its jack stay in optimal condition for a long time. However, if you follow the above and still face this issue, you will need to open up your guitar and fix the loose ends of the jack.
However, this is not recommended, especially if you are new with guitars and the best thing you can do is get your jack replaced, and it won’t even cost you too much.
- No Sound
You may be ready to start with your jam, and your mates start to plug in their guitars for a bang; however, you realize that when you plug in the cords to the guitars and start playing, there is no sound. That becomes even more frustrating when you know there is nothing wrong with the jack or there is no loose wiring.
What do you do then? Perhaps you are suffering from a bad solder point, or the jack’s tip is too far bent towards the backside. You can fix this by gently pushing the metal clip towards the center part of the jack socket. Furthermore, you should test the jack as soon as you bend it.
When it comes to its right side, you should check the guitars and test them through the amplifier. This should fix the problem; if it doesn’t, you know what to do. You can get the jack replaced, and it won’t cost you too much; however, you must get it handled through a professional or from the company the guitar belongs to.
- The Sound Keeps Going Out
One of the most common problems with the guitar nowadays is that you plug in the guitar with your cords through the jack. It will play without a problem for a moment, but after a few minutes, it goes completely silent. This problem becomes very frustrating and can lead to the momentum breaking down. What do you do then?
Most of the time, the problem is in the guitar’s jack. Sometimes you can desolder your connections and wait a bit; then, you will need to connect them back, and most of the time, this fixes the issues. You can also completely change the jack as sometimes the lugs become worn out or corrode with time.
Conclusion
Guitars have always been magnificent instruments to produce the best sounds; however, the jack can be tricky to deal with. The good news is that it doesn’t cost too much to replace them; hence, if you feel like there are a lot of problems while plugging in, you can simply change them with a new one and enjoy making some amazing music.
Yeah, I’ve got a few guitars that have the output jack sticking out of the top of the guitar and in the way of everything. Suggestions?
I have a perfectly working jack outside of the guitar, but when I mount it, there is zero sound. The wires are straight and are not hitting the sides of the hole. Could it possibly be the shielding paint within the mounting hole in the guitar? I’ve checked all the soldering joints and everything has a good connection. Thanks for your help.