Maker Pro
Maker Pro

How do you test electric guitar electronics?

M

mark

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi everyone,
My electric guitar was working several weeks ago but since I opened it and
removed the pickguard and touched the toggle switch and jack it's completely
dead. I get no sound from the guitar now. I didn't solder anything or remove
anything or change anything at all. I bought myself a multimeter from radio
shack. How do I go about troubleshooting or testing the electronics of the
guitar to find out what's wrong or if any of the parts (jack, 3-way toggle
switch, volume and tone pots) need to be replaced? I checked the wiring and
there doesn't seem to be any loose connections or shorts.

Any help will be greatly appreciated,
Thank-You,
Mark
 
M

mark

Jan 1, 1970
0
I've never done any electronics before so I don't know how to use a
multimeter. I bought one today from radio shack: This one:
http://www.radioshack.ca/estore/Pro...og=RadioShack&category=Analog&product=2218200

However, I have no clue how to operate it. I put a battery in it. I took the
pickguard off the guitar . To test the electric guitar do I need to plug
the guitar to an amp? (I plug my guitar into my computer subwoofer/speakers
and effects box)
What range do I set the multimeter to ? I don't even know what the numbers
mean on the multimeter? Which terminals of which components do I have to
touch? Does it matter if I use the red or black needles of the multimeter
when testing ? What do I look for? I tried touching some of the terminals
but I get nothing on the multimeter I tried several ranges on the multimeter
and tried touching several different combinations of terminals and I get
nothing on the multimeter. I know it works cause I tested a new battery: I
put the multimeter range on battery test and it says the batteries good.

Thanks,
Mark
 
A

Asimov

Jan 1, 1970
0
"mark" bravely wrote to "All" (30 Nov 04 16:20:07)
--- on the heady topic of "How do you test electric guitar electronics?"

You may have yanked out a wire someplace and it may just not be
obvious. However, you can test for continuity of each wire starting at
the jack and then the toggle switch action with your new meter.
Testing the humbucking pickup, (clip 1 lead to ground and another to
top of the pot) it will show a resistance of about 7K to 8K ohms or
3K to 4K for single coil. Clip one lead to ground and another to the
wiper of the volume pot, then turn the pot will show a dramatic
change. The 200K or 2M ohm range will work well for this. Good luck!

A*s*i*m*o*v


ma> From: "mark" <[email protected]>

ma> Hi everyone,
ma> My electric guitar was working several weeks ago but since I opened it
ma> and removed the pickguard and touched the toggle switch and jack it's
ma> completely dead. I get no sound from the guitar now. I didn't solder
ma> anything or remove anything or change anything at all. I bought myself
ma> a multimeter from radio shack. How do I go about troubleshooting or
ma> testing the electronics of the guitar to find out what's wrong or if
ma> any of the parts (jack, 3-way toggle switch, volume and tone pots) need
ma> to be replaced? I checked the wiring and there doesn't seem to be any
ma> loose connections or shorts.
ma> Any help will be greatly appreciated,
ma> Thank-You,
ma> Mark

.... If plugging it in doesn't help, turn it on.
 
J

James Sweet

Jan 1, 1970
0
mark said:
I've never done any electronics before so I don't know how to use a
multimeter. I bought one today from radio shack: This one:
http://www.radioshack.ca/estore/Pro...og=RadioShack&category=Analog&product=2218200

However, I have no clue how to operate it. I put a battery in it. I took the
pickguard off the guitar . To test the electric guitar do I need to plug
the guitar to an amp? (I plug my guitar into my computer subwoofer/speakers
and effects box)
What range do I set the multimeter to ? I don't even know what the numbers
mean on the multimeter? Which terminals of which components do I have to
touch? Does it matter if I use the red or black needles of the multimeter
when testing ? What do I look for? I tried touching some of the terminals
but I get nothing on the multimeter I tried several ranges on the multimeter
and tried touching several different combinations of terminals and I get
nothing on the multimeter. I know it works cause I tested a new battery: I
put the multimeter range on battery test and it says the batteries good.

Thanks,
Mark

Sounds like you have a long way to go before you'll be able to do much
effective troubleshooting. I suggest you start with the basics and do a bit
of research online about how to use a multimeter to measure voltage and
resistance, only once you know what to look for will it tell you anything
meaningful. Also analog multimeters are fine, but they tend to be much
harder for a beginner to use than a digital model. Did it come with a
manual? If so then start by reading it.
 
R

Ross Herbert

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi everyone,
My electric guitar was working several weeks ago but since I opened it and
removed the pickguard and touched the toggle switch and jack it's completely
dead. I get no sound from the guitar now. I didn't solder anything or remove
anything or change anything at all. I bought myself a multimeter from radio
shack. How do I go about troubleshooting or testing the electronics of the
guitar to find out what's wrong or if any of the parts (jack, 3-way toggle
switch, volume and tone pots) need to be replaced? I checked the wiring and
there doesn't seem to be any loose connections or shorts.

Any help will be greatly appreciated,
Thank-You,
Mark
Why did you open it up and remove the pickguard and "touch" the toggle
switch and jack? You say it was working before and you imply that it
only stopped working after you opened it up. What did you use for
tools and what did you "touch" the switch and jack with? I hope it
wasn't a 4lb hammer.

Not that total ignorance should stop you making a cursory
investigation, since that was a preliminary step in the lives of most
people who end up fixing things for other people who know nothing
about fixing things, or who are not interested in knowing how to fix
things. Given that you admit to knowing absolutely nothing about the
item you are trying to fix the secret is in knowing how far you can go
"touching" things without causing further problems.

My advice to you is to get your guitar seen to by somebody
knowledgeable in electronics if you want to use your guitar sometime
soon. Otherwise, you are going to have to spend a lot of time studying
electronic components, finding out how to read and decipher circuitry
by inspection, and how to use test instruments such as your newly
acquired meter. That should keep you busy for a few months provided
you are diligent and spend at least 4 hours per day at it, and that is
just to learn the rudimentary basics. Even then you would be battling
to absorb any knowledge without an adviser to explain things and
answer the many questions you would probably come up with.

Nah, better get somebody to fix it and.... YOU MUST PAY.
 
M

mark

Jan 1, 1970
0
I Think I found the problem I bent the jack thingy so that when I plugged
the cable in wasn't connecting after bending the jack thing that gets pushed
by the cable it worked. I hope it stays that way. By the way, I tested
various terminals between all the various terminals and components and I
either got nothing , the needle of the analog multimeter went all the way to
the end (I guess zero) or around 3 (ohms I think) (in the middle).

Thanks all,
Mark
 
J

Jim shedden

Jan 1, 1970
0
mark said:
Hi everyone,
My electric guitar was working several weeks ago but since I opened it and
removed the pickguard and touched the toggle switch and jack it's completely
dead.

Hi Mark,

I picture a solid body electric like a strat or tele. The toggle
switch is mounted to the pickguard, as are the volume and tone pots
and probably the pickups. I assume that you see no broken or
disconnected wires at what you are able to see.

An educated guess would be that in lifting the pickguard you pulled a
wire off the 1/4 phone jack still mounted to the guitar body. This
could be at the jack end, so you may still see wires heading down the
hole from the pick guard.

If this is the case, you will have to push as much of the wire into
the drilled hole as possible, remove the jack and resolder the broken
wire. You would then have to mount the jack again first before moving
the pick guard so you can move the wire slack back into the guitar
body.

Did you take the guitar apart to put in new pickups, or did you have a
problem? If you want to learn electronics, you picked a difficult
starting point to learn to use a multimeter. Even the schematics for a
guitar can be confusing. Be lucky you didn't take apart a semi-hollow
body guitar!

Hope that helps.

Regards,
Jim
 
J

Jerry G.

Jan 1, 1970
0
After reading your problem, and also reading the comments back and forth, I
would say that you should concentrate your time to learn something about
electronics, rather than go out-right to try to fix something too
complicated for you. This is meant to be a constructive comment.

You should call up one of the local music instrument service places, and pay
them the few dollars to fix your guitar electronics, and enjoy making your
music again. In the mean time you can look for a structured basic
electronics coarse to get yourself some constructive information about what
electronics is about, and how it basically works.

Electronics can be a field of any complexity level you want. At the detailed
end of it, there is a lot of mathematics, and physics. As for the components
used, there is a lot of in depth chemistry involved, which most engineers
leave up to the specialized chemists and physicists.

You also mentioned that you bought a meter from RS. This at least is a
beginning. You should do some studying about how basic electricity works,
and how to use the meter, before attempting to work with it. You can end up
damaging it, if it is not used correctly.

--

Jerry G.
======


Hi everyone,
My electric guitar was working several weeks ago but since I opened it and
removed the pickguard and touched the toggle switch and jack it's completely
dead. I get no sound from the guitar now. I didn't solder anything or remove
anything or change anything at all. I bought myself a multimeter from radio
shack. How do I go about troubleshooting or testing the electronics of the
guitar to find out what's wrong or if any of the parts (jack, 3-way toggle
switch, volume and tone pots) need to be replaced? I checked the wiring and
there doesn't seem to be any loose connections or shorts.

Any help will be greatly appreciated,
Thank-You,
Mark
 
M

Marlboro

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jerry G. said:
After reading your problem, and also reading the comments back and forth, I
would say that you should concentrate your time to learn something about
electronics, rather than go out-right to try to fix something too
complicated for you. This is meant to be a constructive comment.

You should call up one of the local music instrument service places, and pay
them the few dollars to fix your guitar electronics, and enjoy making your
music again. In the mean time you can look for a structured basic
electronics coarse to get yourself some constructive information about what
electronics is about, and how it basically works.

Electronics can be a field of any complexity level you want. At the detailed
end of it, there is a lot of mathematics, and physics. As for the components
used, there is a lot of in depth chemistry involved, which most engineers
leave up to the specialized chemists and physicists.

You also mentioned that you bought a meter from RS. This at least is a
beginning. You should do some studying about how basic electricity works,
and how to use the meter, before attempting to work with it. You can end up
damaging it, if it is not used correctly.

--

Jerry G.
======


Hi everyone,
My electric guitar was working several weeks ago but since I opened it and
removed the pickguard and touched the toggle switch and jack it's completely
dead. I get no sound from the guitar now. I didn't solder anything or remove
anything or change anything at all. I bought myself a multimeter from radio
shack. How do I go about troubleshooting or testing the electronics of the
guitar to find out what's wrong or if any of the parts (jack, 3-way toggle
switch, volume and tone pots) need to be replaced? I checked the wiring and
there doesn't seem to be any loose connections or shorts.

Any help will be greatly appreciated,
Thank-You,
Mark


Sounds likes a long way to go...but alot of funs
 
D

David Harris

Jan 1, 1970
0
How do I go about troubleshooting or testing the electronics of the
guitar to find out what's wrong or if any of the parts

Mark, I wish I could help you, but I don't have any test
equipment where the markings on the knobs go to eleven.
Sorry, I just couldn't resist this.

David, on the Illinois prairie.
 
G

Graham

Jan 1, 1970
0
you picked a difficult
starting point to learn to use a multimeter. Even the schematics for a
guitar can be confusing. Be lucky you didn't take apart a semi-hollow
body guitar!

Hope that helps.

Regards,
Jim

I don't know though.

From what I can gather from this and previous threads about Marks guitar, it
consists only of passive components, and as such, I would have thought it an
ideal first project.

I well remember my first encounter with electronics I was about 14 and it
was a tube reel to reel tape recorder.
I managed to replace the track selector switch that I had broken before my
Dad found out.

Graham.

%Profound-observation%
 
From what I can gather from this and previous threads about Marks guitar, it
consists only of passive components, and as such, I would have thought it an
ideal first project.

Hi Graham,

Just my humble opinion. I think Mark was trying to learn to use a
multimeter.

With a DC multimeter, you will have difficulty investigating the
circuit other than the pots. The pickups look like shorts and the tone
caps look like opens. You can't play the guitar with the pickguard up
so that you can get at the wiring and the output voltage is very low
even if you could.

A 9 volt kit of some active circuit of interest may be less
frustrating, but that is just a suggestion.

Regards,
Jim
 
Top