Problems with an old Squier!!

[ari.mac]

Hello!
So I have an old Squier here at home, when I signed up here I tried to use that before buying a new guitar but when I plug it in the amp, it doesn't work.
Now that I'm also getting some private lessons, my teacher told me to show him the guitar to see if he could get it to work...he plugged it in and it WORKED!! Took it back home, plugged it in and nothing...I also tried changing cables....nada. Did someone had the same issue? Or someone have some ideas on what could be wrong?

 

[idssdi]

This sounds odd, have you checked the volume knob? That's literally the only thing I can think of

I mean I'm assuming your amp works for your ibanez Gio right?

 

[ari.mac]

This sounds odd, have you checked the volume know? That's literally the only thing I can think of

I mean I'm assuming your amp works for your ibanez Gio right?

I did the only sound I have from it is just like a buzzing noise, not when I play, just by being plugged in. And when I strum the strings...no music, just the ongoing buzzing noise.
Yes it does work for the ibanez gio. I really don't know what else to try

 

[Jesse Salmons]

Maybe some dirt/dust got up in the input jack? Or you have a loose connection somewhere causing it to work sporadically? Im with Ids on this one im not sure haha without having it in my hands

 

[idssdi]

I did the only sound I have from it is just like a buzzing noise, not when I play, just by being plugged in. And when I strum the strings...no music, just the ongoing buzzing noise.
Yes it does work for the ibanez gio. I really don't know what else to try

I really don't know. Maybe there's a wiring issue but it's kinda strange it works for your guitar teacher.

Have you tried selecting a different pickup?

 

[ari.mac]

I really don't know. Maybe there's a wiring issue but it's kinda strange it works for your guitar teacher.

Have you tried selecting a different pickup?

Yep, tried that too

Maybe some dirt/dust got up in the input jack? Or you have a loose connection somewhere causing it to work sporadically? Im with Ids on this one im not sure haha without having it in my hands

I think I'll try to look at the jack...but it doen't work sporadically, it never works at my house and worked just fine at my teacher's studio.
Thank you guys!

 

[idssdi]

Yep, tried that too

I think I'll try to look at the jack...but it doen't work sporadically, it never works at my house and worked just fine at my teacher's studio.
Thank you guys!

@Ed Seith do you have any idea what's going on?

 

[Brian Haner Sr.]

If the guitar works for teacher and you've switched out cables, I can only assume it's your amp. Probably the input jack. But could be something more serious. Start with the jack.

 

[ari.mac]

If the guitar works for teacher and you've switched out cables, I can only assume it's your amp. Probably the input jack. But could be something more serious. Start with the jack.

It's just that the amp works with the other guitar so I don't know I'll start by checking the input jack and see if anything happens. Thank you!!!

 

[Alicia Willis]

@Ed Seith we need you captain! Its a case of a haunted guitar ! lol

Thats really weird though Ari that your gio works on the amp but not that guitar and it worked for your teacher.....maybe its mad at you because you neglected it for so long

 

[ari.mac]

@Ed Seith we need you captain! Its a case of a haunted guitar ! lol

Thats really weird though Ari that your gio works on the amp but not that guitar and it worked for your teacher.....maybe its mad at you because you neglected it for so long

Probably yeah it's really weird

 

[Adin Shepherd]

That is a really weird issue.

If everything works with your Ibanez, it does make you lean toward the guitar being the issue, but the fact that it works with your teachers gear......

Given the symptoms though the first thing I would be checking is your guitars input jack (should be pretty easy to remove to take a good look at), checking to make sure the wiring is ok and that good contact is being made with cable when it is inserted.

 

[ari.mac]

That is a really weird issue.

If everything works with your Ibanez, it does make you lean toward the guitar being the issue, but the fact that it works with your teachers gear......

Given the symptoms though the first thing I would be checking is your guitars input jack (should be pretty easy to remove to take a good look at), checking to make sure the wiring is ok and that good contact is being made with cable when it is inserted.

Thank you Adin! I'll check that!

 

[Ed Seith]

Getting entirely hypothetical here, but it could be a grounding issue. If the Squier is poorly grounded and your amp at home (or the outlet in your flat, or both) are not grounded, then you would have NOTHING being grounded.

Even that seems REALLY out there to me, but it's the only thing I can think of, and I'm not sure how you'd go about fixing it, either.

 

[ari.mac]

Getting entirely hypothetical here, but it could be a grounding issue. If the Squier is poorly grounded and your amp at home (or the outlet in your flat, or both) are not grounded, then you would have NOTHING being grounded.

Even that seems REALLY out there to me, but it's the only thing I can think of, and I'm not sure how you'd go about fixing it, either.

Mmmm, thank you Ed!

 

[tamagotchigraveyard]

Mmmm, thank you Ed!

I gotcha, lady.

Its just input jack IMO, you have a solder joint thats prob old, oxidized, and brittle so its hanging on by a thread. (just holding the guitar a dif way would make it possible for the frayed broken part of the wire to bend to gravity's whim and make a sufficient contact to complete the circuit.) if the tremolo ground was disconnected, the guitar would still work but you would hear a loud buzzy feedback kinda like you get with distortion (and the feedback would stop when you touch the strings). Its very common for guitars that have been tucked away in a closet for eons to get some electrical issues due to the environment. WIthout a proper case and shit, the moisture in the air will get into that input jack and oxidize the shit out of it, creating a thin layer of "rust" along the walls of the input jack .

the internal walls of the input jack make contact to the sleeve or cylinder part of the 1/4" jack and that is your negative voltage. The tip of the 1/4" jack is your positive voltage. Electrons/electricity actually flow from negative to positive so the actual force thats "turning on" your guitar is the negative voltage that comes from the contact between the interior walls of the input jack and the sleeve of your instrument cable plug. The metal tension rod thing that contacts the + tip of the instrument cable could also just be a bit too pushed back.

TLDR: One step in your circuit is not right/not making proper contact

first thing to try( if you happen to have contact cleaner) spray into input jack to clear the oxidation off a bit so everythings conductive again

second- just tighten the hex around the jack, see if that makes any difference

third, remove both screws of the "boat" jack and check out what the input jack is looking like and if it needs to be replaced. Send me a close up pic of those two wires that are connected to the jack and I can be more definitive. If you're anywhere near charlotte, I could fix it up myself!
Good luck!

 

[Ed Seith]

IIRC, one guitar works fine in this amp, and the "bad" guitar works fine in her teacher's amp, so the issue is specifically the combination of the one guitar and the one amplifier - since there's no such thing as a guitar and amp that refuse to play together, there must be a small issue with each that becomes a showstopper when they are put together. That's why I went with ground. I can't think of anything else that might have a combined effect.

 

[ari.mac]

I gotcha, lady.

Its just input jack IMO, you have a solder joint thats prob old, oxidized, and brittle so its hanging on by a thread. (just holding the guitar a dif way would make it possible for the frayed broken part of the wire to bend to gravity's whim and make a sufficient contact to complete the circuit.) if the tremolo ground was disconnected, the guitar would still work but you would hear a loud buzzy feedback kinda like you get with distortion (and the feedback would stop when you touch the strings). Its very common for guitars that have been tucked away in a closet for eons to get some electrical issues due to the environment. WIthout a proper case and shit, the moisture in the air will get into that input jack and oxidize the shit out of it, creating a thin layer of "rust" along the walls of the input jack .

the internal walls of the input jack make contact to the sleeve or cylinder part of the 1/4" jack and that is your negative voltage. The tip of the 1/4" jack is your positive voltage. Electrons/electricity actually flow from negative to positive so the actual force thats "turning on" your guitar is the negative voltage that comes from the contact between the interior walls of the input jack and the sleeve of your instrument cable plug. The metal tension rod thing that contacts the + tip of the instrument cable could also just be a bit too pushed back.

TLDR: One step in your circuit is not right/not making proper contact

first thing to try( if you happen to have contact cleaner) spray into input jack to clear the oxidation off a bit so everythings conductive again

second- just tighten the hex around the jack, see if that makes any difference

third, remove both screws of the "boat" jack and check out what the input jack is looking like and if it needs to be replaced. Send me a close up pic of those two wires that are connected to the jack and I can be more definitive. If you're anywhere near charlotte, I could fix it up myself!
Good luck!

IIRC, one guitar works fine in this amp, and the "bad" guitar works fine in her teacher's amp, so the issue is specifically the combination of the one guitar and the one amplifier - since there's no such thing as a guitar and amp that refuse to play together, there must be a small issue with each that becomes a showstopper when they are put together. That's why I went with ground. I can't think of anything else that might have a combined effect.

Thank you! I'll send pics asap!! But as Ed said, the Squier work just fine with my teacher's amp and what's so strange!! Maybe I'll wait to change my old amp and see if something changes

 

[ari.mac]

Little update. I changed the amp and the Squier still doesn't work.
I got a pic of the jack, don't know if it is good enough to see anything, I also had to compress the photo because it was too big. I tried moving the wires around a little to see if something would change but..nothing. I think I'm giving up on her for now

 

[Rad Synner]

Little update. I changed the amp and the Squier still doesn't work.
I got a pic of the jack, don't know if it is good enough to see anything, I also had to compress the photo because it was too big. I tried moving the wires around a little to see if something would change but..nothing. I think I'm giving up on her for now

To me, this seems fine. The cables are soldered well... Maybe the wiring problem is at the pickups? This is very strange. It's hard to tell but the guitar is definitely the problem in this scenario at this point