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As Headphones said, first make sure the issue isn't with the jack or the switch wiring though. Even if it is the PCB, it's likely that it's the connectors and not the PCB itself. I fixed one with an intermittent buzz problem like this -
- which also noticeably improved the tone, and without needing to spend money on new parts.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
The guitar was hum free until it returned from a setup. I asked they guy to check if I can remove the humbucker covers, so he may have disconnected the connectors, although unlikely.
He also 'fixed' the movement of the toggle switch and added the poker chip. This leads me to believe that the issue could either be with the switch or pickup connectors.
Question is, what further tests can I do? I checked each and every connection, including the ground wire, but the hum is still there.
Looking at the image, do you think both are reusable?
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202071/nco
No, I don't. Have you got one you could recommend please?
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202071/nco
The first thing I would do is touch the braid of the jack cable directly to the back of the bridge tone pot under it. If that fixes it, solder it down permanently there.
When you say hum, is it more of a buzz?
Does touching the strings change or stop it?
Does it happen on both pickups or only one?
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I think it's a hum.
Touching the strings, bridge or output jack eliminates everything.
Happens on both humbuckers.
There is no noise from the amp when turned on and the guitar isn't connected.
Did not happen prior to the setup.
The push pull is pretty underwhelming, I thought about either removing it or changing it to add out of phase in the bridge and split both. I guess it needs to wait until I sort out this thing.
I'll give it a try now, thanks!
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202071/nco
It sounds like the shielding for the cable to the switch isn’t connected - that’s the connection closest to the camera on the 4-wire connector in the middle. Check that wire isn’t broken, and that it’s pin doesn’t seem loose.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202071/nco
Try pulling that wire and see if the pin comes out of the connector, or if it feels broken inside the black sleeving or maybe where it goes up into the grey cable.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
After a closer look, that sleeve covering the black wire isn't broken - the edges suggest a perfect cut. It seems as if it was fitted that way, for some reason they left it short?
When moving the grey switch cable the hum intensified, but returned to normal when released.
https://ibb.co/dJsqszZ
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202071/nco
If handling the grey cable adds a lot of noise, it being not grounded correctly is almost certainly the cause.
If you've got a spare guitar string, poke the sharp end of it up into the grey cable just there, so it's definitely touching the bare wire. Then touch the ball end to the back of one of the pots. If that fixes it then the connector is the problem. (You need to handle the string with a cloth or something, or you'll ground it yourself and defeat the purpose of the test.)
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I think it touched something else and now when I turn off the amp there's a loud sound, hope I didn't ruin anything it would be comical and the Mrs will kill me if I buy a new amp
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202071/nco
It does sound like the connector has failed where the shield wire pin connects to it - this could have been caused by the other end of the grey cable (at the switch) being tugged.
The easiest way to fix it is to cut the sleeved black wire at the top of the connector, push the sleeving back up the wire so it touches the grey cable, and then solder the now exposed end of the shield wire to that small spot of solder halfway between the connector and the blue capacitor.
If you don't have a soldering iron, you can do a temporary (but will most likely hold up quite well) fix if you cut a piece of the guitar string, poke one end up the grey cable as before, and poke the other end into the black heatshrink tubing on the jack cable.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Doesn't this mean that the connector will now only have 4 wires going into it?
https://ibb.co/kGQ2XsF
Yea, I am sure it's the amp. The piece of string fell inside and it created a massive pop, ever since when I turn it down (even without a guitar connected) it pops.
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202071/nco
You mean you dropped the piece of string inside the amp?
Oh dear...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
No no, string fell on the PCB and created that pop. Even I am not that stupid
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202071/nco
If it shorted inside the guitar it's hard to see how it could possibly have done any harm to the amp, unless the amp was already faulty and had a voltage leak from the input jack... but that is possible. What type of amp is it?
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I don't think it was faulty before, it's a rather new solid state practice amp I use for low volumes - Orange Crush 35RT. Oddly, when I take out the cable the popping noise isn't there 9 times out of 10/
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202071/nco
I’ve had to fix a few problems with these PCBs and it’s always the connectors - it’s just identifying which, and what to do about it. I’ve done a couple like that SG where the fault was intermittent and it was just easier and quicker to bypass the whole lot.
I don’t actually think there’s a quality problem with the PCB or the pots, so there’s no real point in replacing them if you can just eliminate the connectors.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein