November 21, 2009

Wiring up the Jack

Guitar Circuit Wiring Electronics, Epiphone Riviera P93, Jack, Video 55

This is part 5 of the video series on wiring up guitar electronics.

In this video, I show how to wire up the jack. I’m replacing the original Epiphone jack with a Switchcraft L12A. The L in the part number indicates a longer 3/8” bushing, which is just a bit longer than the Epi jack. I’m hoping this well allow me to fit a lock washer in addition to the regular washer and nut, so the jack will stay tightly in place rather than falling into the body of the guitar so much (as I showed in my Don’t Know Jack video).

I also demonstrate how to use a multi-meter to identify which lug should be ground, and which should be signal. My meter is a Mastech MS8229. If your meter doesn’t have continuity mode (beeps whenever a connection is made), you can just use resistance mode and look for 0 resistance to indicate a connection. Note the L12A has a third, middle shunt lug, which you can just ignore.

55 Comments

John
April 26, 2010 @ 11:15 pm

@frg8526 Yes, that should be a great iron for the kind of work you’ll be
doing. Have fun!

Reply
Bobby Bilko
May 8, 2010 @ 12:13 am

amazing. where were you all my life?

Reply
Bobby Bilko
May 13, 2010 @ 10:51 am

Hey just a quick question. those black wires you’re using, with the ground
braided around the signal, where did you get them? At my electronics store,
they only have patch cables which are too thick to work with. thanks again!

Reply
greatwhitepoet
June 5, 2010 @ 3:21 am

So if ones the ground and ons the signal..whats the middle one ? can I use
a jack with 2 lugs for a microphone with pot?

Reply
samborghini05
June 16, 2010 @ 8:57 pm

Very nice man. Best on the web so far.

Reply
paraglidermx
July 8, 2010 @ 2:18 pm

Do u kno what color the signal wire on a schecter damian6 is?Black or
white…I think I mixed em up??Signal always goes to the tip right??I put
the black wire to the tip and white to sleeve,it seems to work but I want
to make sure its right…I guess I could take the cover off the back and
see what wire goes to the pot or lug right??

Reply
Bruce Willke
August 4, 2010 @ 6:21 pm

You are awesome! I love your detail and quality of recording. I will be
looking into your website/blog now. I’m sure you have a lot of worth to add
to my knowledge of guitar

Reply
aweisti
September 9, 2010 @ 5:26 am

how do you find out which is the ground/hot connector without that machine?
I’m installing a pickupwith a white and red wire and have no clue

Reply
Davesintexas
February 18, 2011 @ 2:13 pm

Wow, is mine really Different…..My jack gets a seperate free wire that runs from a solder puddle on the Bridge Pot to the Sleeve/ground connector. And my Tip or HOT Output gets a free seperate wire that leads from the middle connecton of the 3 Way Switch, thats actually two posts on the 3 way pushed together to the Output Jack connector and thats all. DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE TO YOU???? Im reading from the Seymour Duncan Diagram in their Slash PUs I purchased and that doesnt work too well

Reply
John
February 21, 2011 @ 8:29 pm

@Davesintexas – sure that makes sense. there’s many ways to wire up a
guitar circuit, and lots of different pickup/tone/volume combinations. i’m
showing just one possible way here, for my Riviera P93 (three pickups,
three volume knobs and a tone knob). sounds like your guitar has 2 or 3
pickups, a three way switch, and no tone knob? take a look at the
guitarelectronics wiring diagram archive for more examples.

Reply
conanjeter
February 23, 2011 @ 4:53 pm

hey i am in the middle of building a guitar and i have the pickups in place, i attached the fretboard, and the tuning nobs
all i have left is to wire up the rest of it and put in the volume knobs and ect.
problem is im only 16 and i have 0 experiance soldering or using wires. is this something i can figure out by watching youtube videos and following them or should i just pay 50$ to have someone wire it for me?

Reply
conanjeter
February 23, 2011 @ 5:36 pm

would you by any chance have a list of all the supplies needed to do this?? i already have all the wires.
sorry for the inconvenience. your videos make it seem so much easier! i hope mine turns out well. also do you end up putting the cardboard in the guitar?

Reply
hardrockerdave94
March 18, 2011 @ 4:18 am

You’re sure right about epiphone jacks falling in, it happened to my Epi Dot and it was a nightmare to get out. Thanks for the video, it helped a lot

Reply
John
May 9, 2011 @ 10:52 pm

@miguel4756 – it’s unlikely that your jack needs to be replaced. it’s
probably just a broken solder connection. you can easily repair it, but
you’ll need a soldering iron. a cheap one from radioshack,etc will do.
you’ll also need some 60/40 rosin core solder. just resolder those wires,
referring to these videos for tips and get a wiring diagram if you need one
from the guitarelectronics Guitar Diagram Archive. it’s not hard- and
you’ll improve quickly with experience. good luck!

Reply
Kernnee
June 6, 2011 @ 7:03 pm

Dear lord, how do/ where did you learn how to do all this stuff? My brain is frying just looking at all this stuff! Your tutorials are very good though.

Reply
bigjimmyrocker
June 15, 2011 @ 11:04 pm

thank you sir well done and informative I’ve learned thaNKS AGAin

Reply
Nelson123n
August 4, 2011 @ 8:59 pm

so my ground cable got disconnected on my jack there still alot of solder on the jack its self, should i dis solder or can i heat it and run the cable through, never have solder/dis soldered before also my jacks kinda lose would you recommend replacing it all together and if so what jack? thanks in advance

Reply
- John
  August 4, 2011 @ 9:03 pm
  
  @Nelson123n – it’s generally a good idea to remove the solder on the lug using a solder sucker, so you can clean off any stray wires from your broken connection. If you don’t have a solder sucker, you can try heating it up and pushing your new wire through, but it can be hard to see what you’re doing and line up the wire properly. For a loose jack, try adding an inner-tooth lock washer between the nut and the regular washer.
  
  Reply
  - Nelson123n
    August 4, 2011 @ 9:13 pm
    
    @johnplanetz thank you for the advice
    
    Reply
Harrysound
August 29, 2011 @ 7:52 am

Your videos are a life saver.
Your brilliant

Reply
TiagoMorbusSa
September 1, 2011 @ 12:27 pm

The internet is fantastic but you, sir, are the one that makes it so! Freaking awesome! 😀

Reply
dashizzler
September 15, 2011 @ 2:03 pm

Do you have to have the shielded wire to run from the jack to the pot? Could I just use two regular hook up wires?

Reply
- John
  September 16, 2011 @ 7:57 am
  
  @dashizzler – regular wire should be fine for short cable runs. Shielded wire becomes more important for long runs, to avoid picking up noise.
  
  Reply
Berserkaroid
October 1, 2011 @ 1:34 pm

why do you attach the jack wire to the tone pot? why not the volume pots

Reply
- John
  October 4, 2011 @ 10:08 am
  
  @Berserkaroid – in this circuit, one side of the middle volume pot is connected to the tone pot. The lug on the tone pot here is electrically identical to the lug on the middle volume pot. and the tone pot is closer to the jack, so that’s the better place to hook it up. For this guitar’s wiring diagram, see my planetz blog post “Riviera P93 Circuit Wiring” on 9/21/2009.
  
  Reply
GuitarBoyA7X
October 26, 2011 @ 9:54 am

im so confused! im thinking of wiring my first strat together and im confused as to where the ground wire goes? i know one goes to the tremolo claw on the back of the guitar but where do others go such as pickup ground and tone pot grounds? anyone? thanks!

Reply
- LanceMetal
  November 8, 2011 @ 3:08 am
  
  @GuitarBoyA7X most basses ive owned and im sure it will be the same for guitars have had a ground wire running from the bridge to one of the pots, the pots then grounded onto each other and the pickups grounded onto the pots i am no expert but so i maybe wrong hopefully someone else will have more info
  
  Reply
sedohrable
November 19, 2011 @ 5:36 pm

my guitar wires come out somehow and i dont know which goes to which part of the jack and i dont have a reader thing, how can i tell which wire to attach without that device? 😛

Reply
- John
  November 22, 2011 @ 10:09 am
  
  @sedohrable – try to find a wiring diagram that matches your pickups/volume/tone configuration. See the FAQ at my blog at planetz for some links and resources.
  
  Reply
JonsBrain
November 29, 2011 @ 4:25 pm

Is there a video for how to connect the the rest of the wires to the pickup selector switch?

Reply
- John
  December 1, 2011 @ 8:13 am
  
  @JonsBrain – i connect up the switch in “Wiring Up Guitar Electronics 3, Organizing Wire, Connecting Volume Pots and Switch”
  
  Reply
97warlock
November 30, 2011 @ 5:44 pm

Do any of the GROUND wires need to be Shielded?? doesnt Just the hot leads need to be sheilded??? can someone plz answer this

Reply
- John
  December 1, 2011 @ 8:16 am
  
  @97warlock – right. you can think of the shield as another wire- used to carry the ground/return. So for a pickup, the shield of the signal wire is used for the pickup’s ground connection. If you have a ground wire- like to your bridge, it doesn’t need to be a shielded wire.
  
  Reply
97warlock
December 1, 2011 @ 8:47 pm

on a different note:On a solid state amp …….if theres loud HISS when its cranked ………guitar volume down ….and unplug the guitar & still loud hiss, then unplug the cord from the amp & have dead silence…….what does that mean?

Reply
- John
  December 2, 2011 @ 3:17 pm
  
  @97warlock – some hiss is typical at high gain. The amount depends on the amp. The input jack is probably switched, which is why the amp completely cuts out when you have nothing plugged in.
  
  Reply
DoctorSess
December 5, 2011 @ 8:32 pm

so on a hollowbody with no way to access the inside beside the f hole what do you do if you need to replace more than just the input? im hoping that i wont have to, just wondering…

Reply
- John
  December 7, 2011 @ 3:03 pm
  
  @DoctorSess – you have to remove the electronics through the f-hole. It’s not fun 🙂 See the other videos in my channel for how to do that, and how to get them back in- also not fun!
  
  Reply
- kushasaures
  December 13, 2011 @ 11:47 am
  
  @DoctorSess I recommend using either string to tie to the pots, or aquarium pump tubing that fits around the pot shaft snugly. It’s a little bit more difficult, but not bad if you know that trick.
  
  Reply
GDsetlists
February 1, 2012 @ 2:20 pm

BY FAR the BEST video on YouTube explaining this! All the other ones are complete garbage 🙂 thanks for the help brother, it was the multi-meter advice that helped me most… rock on!

Reply
MrGuitar144
March 25, 2012 @ 10:57 am

Thank you SO much for these videos, I’m starting to do my own electronics mods and I had no idea what I was doing, now I feel comfortable enough to dive in without ruining my guitars. Thanks again!

Reply
inventhead
May 1, 2012 @ 2:39 pm

there are a few diffrent kinds of jack normaly open normaly closed and mono or stereo most guitars are mono the one in video is and its normaly closed its more used for power amps what that dose is ground audio hot to ground to shut up the hiss or hum u get from most amps when its inserted it disconects the ground from audio hot and alows the signal to flow into preamp stage of an amp

Reply
crounse1000
May 18, 2012 @ 4:00 pm

the wire attached to the input on my epiphone sg has become severed from the jack. is there anyway of fixing this without having to bring it into a shop?

Reply
- John
  May 18, 2012 @ 4:33 pm
  
  Easy. An SG has a backplate. Unscrew it for access to the electronics and resolder the wire to the jack. And be thankful it’s not a hollowbody!
  
  Reply
Faris Azim
August 28, 2012 @ 3:45 pm

nice video u got there. i have a problem. hope u can solve it. im still new in soldering components. what happens is i just solder the jack connector without knowing which one is ground wire and which one is for the signal. Im using a strat guitar and the problem is my guitar has lot of noise especially the 2nd and 4th switch… is that the reason why my guitar has lot of noise?

Reply
- John
  August 30, 2012 @ 3:12 pm
  
  There’s no point in guessing the wire identity- you should buy an inexpensive multimeter (like $5) so you can learn which wire is which.
  
  Reply
pher35
September 10, 2012 @ 10:25 pm

Just a pointer. You don’t melt the solder to the iron to apply to the component. You heat the component with the iron and apply solder to the hot component. 1 this ensures that the item is hot enough for the solder to bond, avoiding a cold solder (bad connection). 2 solder will flow in the direction of the heat. This makes the solder flow in and around wires to make better connection.

Reply
John Sanchez
October 28, 2012 @ 12:49 pm

hello i am about to start crafting my own guitar and i was planning on doing the wiring my self but all i have is 22 and 24 gage wire is that a problem and if not which one should i use?

Reply
- John
  October 28, 2012 @ 8:51 pm
  
  Either one is fine. 22 gauge stranded is probably the most common.
  
  Reply
AntiChristianPhenom
December 27, 2012 @ 2:15 pm

You saved my randy roads Jackson fly!

Reply
Jack Wade
February 1, 2013 @ 10:11 am

I accidentally cut a 240v cable in the garage next to my Laptop, But the page instantly changed I was older and my daughter as tall as I am!!!! AWESOME!!!!!

I thought this was disabled years ago, but it’s still there!!!! DATA stored in the HALL EFFECT of electric lines jumps time

Energy Equals Life dot com

Reply
acmav289
February 8, 2013 @ 3:49 pm

I noticed the same thing about the epiphone jack, it’s so short!! Nice upgrade, thanks for the video!

Reply
ThyerHazard
March 10, 2013 @ 11:10 pm

Stupid question, but i know the ground goes to the bridge stud but where is the other end go? (2-Humbuckers, 1 vol 1 tone) Please help! 😀 Thanks

Reply
- John
  March 20, 2013 @ 3:07 pm
  
  The bridge stud should be connected to a ground point- e.g. the back of a pot or one of the pot lugs, etc. Ultimately all grounds must be connected to the lug of the jack that connects to the sleeve of the guitar cable.
  See the guitar wiring diagram archive at guitarelectronics . com
  
  Reply
Darren Williams
March 20, 2013 @ 5:03 am

Can i Email you a diagram to see if i have correctly wired my guitar?
Darren,Uk

Reply
- John
  March 20, 2013 @ 3:07 pm
  
  Please start by comparing your circuit layout with a good wiring diagram.
  See the guitar wiring diagram archive at guitarelectronics . com
  
  Reply
Dna Tech
June 6, 2013 @ 7:32 pm

Excellent tut John. My PRS SE EG has a dirty pot and I’ve tried using deoxit with no luck. Any suggestions? Pot replacement? Thanks again.

Reply
- John
  June 7, 2013 @ 9:45 am
  
  Yeah, if de-oxit doesn’t help, it’s time to replace the pot.
  
  Reply
  - Dna Tech
    June 7, 2013 @ 10:04 am
    
    Excellent, ty sir!
    
    Reply
Gledison Fonseca
June 8, 2013 @ 4:59 pm

joooooohn! i ordered jacks online and i received the stereo with 4 lugs and the mono with 3 lugs. Can i do the same as u just showed us? or i have to do something else with this wierd jacks?
thanks mate

Reply
- John
  June 11, 2013 @ 9:06 am
  
  You’ll be fine. Use a multimeter as I demonstrated at 0:48 to identify which lugs are connected to the plug tip/sleeve. Your extra lugs are probably switched lugs (only connected when the plug in inserted) – these are useful in a pedal for completing the battery circuit only when a plug is inserted, to save your battery when the plug is removed.
  
  Reply
sneilen
July 1, 2013 @ 2:48 pm

Great vid! I have a question. I was wiring a jack socket, but before i soldered, i was gonna check the sound. (this was for a home made pedalboard). there was a “noisy” sound before i even had plugged the guitar in. I tried putting the jack from the amp directly to the effect pedal without going through the jack socket i was wiring, and the noise was gone. so the problem was between the socket and the wire. any idea what it can be? please answer. 🙂

Reply
- John
  July 11, 2013 @ 8:47 am
  
  A jack doesn’t typically introduce noise. Were you using alligator clips, or holding the wire in place by hand? Alligator clip leads are typically unshielded and long and can pick up some noise. Did the problem go away when you soldered it?
  
  Reply
sneilen
July 18, 2013 @ 9:48 am

It’s still a lot of sound when the guitar is not plugged in, but when the guitar is in, it’s all gone. Thinking it might be like when a jack cable is not plugged in the guitar.

Reply
Steve Horne
July 30, 2013 @ 12:54 pm

Hey John. What wire are you using? And where did you get it? I can’t find shielded wire like that except in big 50 foot rolls.

Reply
- John
  August 8, 2013 @ 4:15 pm
  
  Stewmac and guitarelectronics sell shorter lengths of shielded wire.
  
  Reply
feverr30
September 22, 2013 @ 9:32 am

ok i really dont know about wires electronics and what not. i just bought this stereo jack and where do i connect these wires? there’s 2 wire. Black and white. White is in the black. there’s 3 pins, top, middle, bottom. where do i connect these wires? i cant really see in the video. thanks

Reply
- John
  September 24, 2013 @ 12:08 pm
  
  Get a multimeter (even a cheap $5 one will suffice), and follow the steps I show at 0:48 to identify the lugs on your jack. That, and a wiring diagram (e.g. from the guitarelectronics wiring diagram archive) will be everything you need.
  
  Reply
Paul Fromenko
November 25, 2013 @ 3:47 pm

john do u have a video for installing a stereo input jack on guitar for
active pick ups
or is the same method for all jacks!?? ty in advance/ sinr764@gmail.com

Reply
Zas Huysmans
December 14, 2013 @ 1:43 pm

If you use clear nailpolish, the screws wont come off at all!

Reply
Rob B
February 22, 2014 @ 4:27 pm

Quick question. I have an Epihone electric guitar. I am replacing the input
jack. The issue is, I found there’s only one wire soldered to both the
positive and ground. This doesn’t seem normal. I opened the panel in the
back and I don’t see another wire. Your thoughts?

Reply
Glenn M
May 20, 2014 @ 7:15 pm

Im having a problem with low output from my pickups. I suspect its the
wiring based on many google searches, any tips guys? (i dont own
multimeters etc but can get hold of a solder iron)

Reply
Kris Law
August 3, 2014 @ 1:57 pm

This video helped me out of a huge Jam – THANK YOU!

Reply
Antonio Ismael
August 10, 2014 @ 7:58 pm

Man i must thank you so much! My bass just broke and i had to find out what
was wrong XD apparently is the output jack’s wiring, they somehow separated
from it :/ oh well now i know what i must do, thanks 😀

Reply
B0rnles13
August 19, 2014 @ 5:58 pm

OK, I don’t know so I am going to ask how do you tell which is the tone
pots and the volume pots? I have bought a thinline DIY kit, but have a very
limited knowledge of electronics. The kit I got looks like a Fender
Thinline (apart from the neck, which looks like a Gibson shape, anyway that
is what I would like to know as the pots have different markings on them,
probably cheap stuff, but I want to learn how to do this, so I can make a
guitar and if need be fix one.
Thanks for any help

Reply
gRosh08
September 14, 2014 @ 7:08 pm

Nice job John! Thanks again!

Reply

Wiring up the Jack

55 Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply