No sound from your guitar? Let's figure it out...

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No sound from your guitar? Let's figure it out...

Рет қаралды 523,405

Күн бұрын

www.stewmac.com/
All wired up, but no sound! It can happen to anybody: you do some wiring or change your electronics, then find you’ve got no sound coming out of the amp. In this Trade Secret video, Matt Brooker helps you troubleshoot.
If you have questions, please contact us through our webpage www.stewmac.com... or visit our Facebook page / stewmac
For more information on tools and parts:
Guitar Tech Screwdriver Kit
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Solomon SR-965 Soldering Iron
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Solomon Solder Sucker
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StewMac Guitar Pliers Set
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StewMac Soldering Aids
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Golden Age Parsons Street Humbuckers
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Пікірлер: 348

@Daniel.K.Crandall Жыл бұрын

Just built a guitar and has no sound. Never had any problems wiring any guitars. Searched, found this video and lo and behold…this was my exact issue. Instant fix and the guitar sounds great!!!

@davidfrank2824 3 жыл бұрын

I have so many of my friends who have tried wiring and soldering something in their guitar. Instead of listening to me and wait for me to come to them or for them to come to me they decide to try wiring things up theirselves. Almost every time I end up ripping out every single wire just so I could start over and put things away I want them to be. One of them did not bother cutting the wire that came from the pickups when I opened it up there was nothing but a big ball of wire. When I asked why didn't you trim the wire down he said that's the way I opened it up from the package and I figured it has to stay like that. I enjoyed watching your video and I hope it helps others out there. If you just keep everything clean and tidy you won't have these issues. Look forward to watching your next video.

@adamtffrd5478 4 жыл бұрын

My favorite guitar lost its clarity and bright tones. I couldn't figure out why. I've been bummed about it for months. This video solved my problem 2 and a half minutes in. Thanks man!

@josephwells3479 7 жыл бұрын

I went through this whole video and realised I didn't have the sound turned up 😂

@brandonbentzler5999 7 жыл бұрын

Jofish_Gaming I looked at your comment and was like, I wonder if it's the same thing. What do ya know it was lol

@DenpaKei 5 жыл бұрын

Guys... :'l

@arando4359 5 жыл бұрын

😒

@repeagle1079 5 жыл бұрын

Looked at your comment in thr first 20 seconds of the video and... Problem solved 😂

@ninjaboy1098 4 жыл бұрын

My guitar was just not plugged in. I hate when that happens.

@anacristinaperez3419 4 жыл бұрын

Out here tryna fix my old guitar during quarantine so i could get back into it again...

@Jake-lr2iz 4 жыл бұрын

Not the only one lol

@nastyhardcore7641 4 жыл бұрын

Haha same. Trying to fix an old bass I haven't played in about 16 years

@sake2890 4 жыл бұрын

@TheAverybboniface SAME! i bought my guitar 3 months ago and no idea where to begin troubleshooting

@DominicVario 3 жыл бұрын

This video legit saved me from bringing my guitar into a shop. Thank you!

@exrad2153 2 жыл бұрын

Me too How much f bombs have I dropped and the reason is so simple...

@baaaaaaaaaasti 5 ай бұрын

same here :D thx so much :)

@justinjuk 8 жыл бұрын

I love the tip of leaving the little tail on the shielding to solder that to the pot. Genius! Thanks Matt Brooker and Eric Coleman!

@iantaylor917 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for this video! I have a strat with pickups that were upgraded by a tech many years ago. My bridge pickup was intermittently cutting out, and after finding this video, I took off the pick guard to find the exact situation described: tons of excess pickup wire with a bare ground wire making contact with a hot connection and shorting the circuit!! I was then able to desolder, trim the wires, and fix the problem myself! Many thanks for another great video!

@thcproductions8195 4 жыл бұрын

haha, I have the same guitar, and the same problem, only it was cutting out and then one day just went dead, thanks man!

@numberone5804 7 жыл бұрын

do you have tabs for the solo you played at the end?

@nikdsh 7 жыл бұрын

NumberOne what solo? Or is that the joke? :D

@florentjendrysiak3396 7 жыл бұрын

That guy Shreds !

@MonstrosityFFA 6 жыл бұрын

DarksignHunter Jesus you’re an idiot...

@gringochucha 5 жыл бұрын

Seriously though, some people ask for tabs for the simplest shit. It's like, use your friggin ears...

@Normac1994 5 жыл бұрын

People obviously have some issues with sarkasm

@Princesskeywest 2 жыл бұрын

Wow. People like you make the world go round

@DaveFreeborn Ай бұрын

Just got a 06 gibson les paul custom as a gift still with the plastic wrapping, hooked it up and nothing happened really glad I saw this

@Bomanone 2 жыл бұрын

Dude, Outstanding video. From the camera work to audio to host performance, just awesome. Very helpful. Ty!!!!!!

@necropollis- 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks to this video, I learned that I don’t need to take my guitar to a shop. I asked my buddy if he had a soldering gun, then I reattached the wire back to the volume and it’s working again!

@stewmac 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome!

@sclogse1 7 жыл бұрын

Braided wire in a cramp compartment doesn't make any sense, does it? The whole scheme of these components and they're soldering is just funky. The entire concept needs a major upgrade.

@flyingv7161 4 жыл бұрын

It's still primitive tech, the tech you would use in a prototype guitar, the first ones in history...

@MJCGuitar 11 ай бұрын

Had the same issue. I followed your instructions by taking off the back plate off. The cavity was full of wires:) I moved one wire and the pickup fired up right away. Haven't shortened the wires yet but I will! Thank you🙌.

@ihateyourusernames Жыл бұрын

Outstanding tutorial. Thank you for your time and effort putting this together!

@kevinpeterson2038 2 ай бұрын

Exactly what I needed! Watched this video and fixed my problem in 15 seconds!

@smokey9397 8 жыл бұрын

Thanks,you're a great instructor,clear and precise!

@anotherOneMore7 8 жыл бұрын

Nice description and illustration. There is another idea you could do, for ... let's say you are thinking you might put these pickups in a different guitar at some point, or even resell them,. Instead of cutting the wires short, you could use a heat-shrink wrap on the shielded ground wire that is in excess in the control area. Just another idea to think about for your own particular situation.

@staalhaar 8 жыл бұрын

Yessir IMO your rigth - I would´n cut the wires

@Satchmoeddie 8 жыл бұрын

It's not that hard to put new push back wire on old pickups. It is a bit like microsurgery, but it is not really all that hard to do. I do not subscribe to the picking and shredding off the braided outer shield either. I have my own technique that guarantees no loose strands, and use it on all braided shields. Once I adopted my technique, I never had any problems with patch cords or my wiring inside guitars, amps, effects, etc.

@di.tapia92 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! After adjusting my jazzmaster the lead circuit didn’t work and I was super worried! So I decided to search for some solutions and it was exactly this. Thank you very much again! Cheers from Chile 🇨🇱 🌶

@darrenescober 2 жыл бұрын

You saved me a repair fee thank you. My 3-way switch in my Les Paul I just purchased was touching the wood cavity, and zero neck pickup function. I actually bent the switch to be centred in the cavity and instant success.

@sn95_mustang_garage 8 жыл бұрын

Never like that braided wire. Even when I was a GM Technician MSD ignition boxes would short out which is really important on a high output motor (especially with a turbo or supercharger). Come to find out those engine dress up kits with all the braided wires to make the engine compartment look cool sometimes would cause shorts. It's the same on anything electrical.

@angelacurrie9702 8 ай бұрын

Thank you, boyfriend never had issue with EMI paint until now, grounding out at the input jack. Had to use heat shrink as sleeve for jack, also wax paper rings under pots.

@rawdaily 4 жыл бұрын

This really helped, turned out my guitar had an input cable that had come loose :)

@nukeleo8988 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for making this video I literally just turned the toggle switch at an slight angle rather directly up and down and that was the problem

@nicholasbstone 4 жыл бұрын

you can also take a small strip of adhesive sandpaper and stick it onto the shielding tape/paint that is directly under or next to the terminals. Regular tape can fall off over time, but a piece of adhesive sandpaper will pretty much just stick there forever.

@josephhoward4010 4 жыл бұрын

Soldering issue! Thanks for guiding me the right direction.

@MarioFromMario 4 жыл бұрын

Is it possible to have a "partial" short? I have a similar issue where the sound cuts in and out depending on how the guitar is held, but it is *just barely* audible and not completely silent

@MarioFromMario 4 жыл бұрын

league of draven following the principles in this video worked for me :) I put some electrical tape around some of the leads that I think were probably making slight contact.

@croberts-th2qj 3 жыл бұрын

me too if it’s in playing posting it makes noise but if it’s flat on it’s back it doesn’t work

@ruzcelbeltran Жыл бұрын

As a guitar luthier this video is helpful i remember my luthier days haha 2017 to 2018 days

@braddakimo1954 4 жыл бұрын

Can you tell me why some strings don't sound as loud as others? The high E sounds muted compared to the B string. Do I need to change pickups?

@Jupiter8Boy64 6 жыл бұрын

Shielded wires without insulation? Who does that? That's asking for problems!

@Cougar139tweak 3 жыл бұрын

well...Talk to Leo Fender or Orville Gibson

@jdsick1 3 жыл бұрын

It had insulation. See all the black,.. that is insulation. Barley see the wire when he pulls back the shielding because there is so much insulation covering it.

@USMC_BABE38 3 жыл бұрын

can you help me I am having issues with my pickups onto my Guitar I can't figure out why it's not making any sound when I'd plugged into into the amp when it would before help!

@ryanscutt8783 7 ай бұрын

Omg! Yes! At first I thought that this video wasn't helpful, but I just looked very carefully at the wiring and saw that a slightly frayed end had been pushed up against a pot. I lifted it slightly and the sound has returned! I was seconds from replacing the pots!

@Ryan-sm5sw 4 жыл бұрын

I just bought my sterling music man and it came in about 4 days ago and everything worked fine but now my bridge pickup isn’t working at all

@twinker23601 4 жыл бұрын

Same problem with my Gretsch

@sambracken3325 4 жыл бұрын

Probably your switch if I were to guess... assuming it’s electromatic or import Gretsch, any import guitar model will use crappy electronics. Pickups are very rare to crap out for no reason. Open your control cavity and test your faulty pickup hot and ground with a multimeter. Do this by switching to the correct pickup position and touching one end of the multimeter to where the pickup is soldered to your switch and the other to where the pickup is soldered to the back of the volume pot. If it reads out the correct resistance number, your pickup is fine. If it reads zero, it’s broken and you should contact the manufacturer for an exchange or refund. If you find your pickup works which is most likely in my opinion, your switch may not work. Now on a Gretsch, they sometimes come with individual volume controls for each pickup, and so your volume pot for that particular pickup could be the culprit also. Good luck!

@dougmorissette459 4 жыл бұрын

Great instructional video! I learned a lot from this. Thanks!!

@josehdezjose 6 жыл бұрын

You helped me to figure out what was wrong with my old broken guitar, much obligued sir

@TylerRay777 8 жыл бұрын

Lots of good tips learned from this, thanks guys.

@Bikewithlove 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for pronouncing solder as “sodder” and not “soul-der,” and for not making an issue out of it.

@10000rambos 8 жыл бұрын

Good idea with the shrink wrap on the end of the clips!! I'll have to do that.

@alexroderix Жыл бұрын

I wish to thank you a lot! Today you really helped me to wire a bass once and for all!

@logowatchman 5 жыл бұрын

Great video dude. Thanks for posting, it solved my problem.

@Mastersson6 10 ай бұрын

Thank you so much bro you saved my music career!!!!!

@polarbear7577 Жыл бұрын

Excellent video

@pikiwiki 2 жыл бұрын

this helped me too! Didn't exchange my guitar at Guitar Center! thank you

@WoodesosGuitarMods 8 жыл бұрын

This is why I dislike the braided wire Gibson uses. I usually put shrink wrap on the ends as well.. and tuck all the excess back in the pass through cavity.

@kurtharrington1973 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Great video and very helpful.

@hikupmusicofficial 5 жыл бұрын

What about a guitar that the bridge pickup is lower volume than the neck pickup

@brayandoesstuff 5 жыл бұрын

Just adjust the height of the pickup

@bpabustan 5 жыл бұрын

you can actually create a simulated wah wah pedal by just those wires....

@4n6133 Жыл бұрын

My amp is okay. Because when i connect the guitar and strummed, it still makes a sound but you can barely hear the sound of the strings. Its more like i slapped the guitar but it was a very faint sound. I dont know if the guitar is the issue or the cable. But can you give me an advice??? Btw, nice video!!! More power to you and the channel!!!

@gatt2b Жыл бұрын

Great video Thanks have an old Aria Pro 2 love the old guitar and I was having the same problem but you just solved my issue Thanks again

@tMatt5M 8 жыл бұрын

I had this very issue myself. I had to learn what was going wrong after much trial and error.

@F_L_U_X 3 жыл бұрын

How do I diagnose my suck without buying/swapping out each part? :( When I hammer on or pull off the tone is so quiet and fades away rapidly. What would cause this?

@aaronwalker5253 2 жыл бұрын

God bless stewmac

@ili626 9 ай бұрын

Thank you. Very helpful

@moviemaniac8815 Жыл бұрын

Great Video!! THX!

@wadegarnett8652 3 жыл бұрын

Super useful thanks !

@phantasma669 4 жыл бұрын

First thing you said, i tried it and worked!

@Sungodv 6 жыл бұрын

liked how he taped off the wood to avoid scratches...

@jonathandeguzman1103 24 күн бұрын

Big bro. How about the low volume on pick up even the ampli had full volume. Is the same problem with that?

@plywoodcarjohnson5412 3 жыл бұрын

Crazy stuff. Is it possible to not have any knobs or switches? Just connect one humbucker to the output and one ground. Like top volume always and use the volume and the tone on the amp?

@ragnarok7672 4 жыл бұрын

Well my guitar works again thanks to this video!!!

@mathguy5887 Жыл бұрын

awesome vid, learned so much.

@elclaudiosanchez Жыл бұрын

thank you man!

@davidmajercin9941 2 жыл бұрын

Damn! You saved my guitar! TY!!!

@kjemradio 4 жыл бұрын

Using heat shrink tubing around the lugs will prevent shorts. Just remember to add that tubing before you solder the wires. also use a magnifying glass to verify that no wires are touching.

@robertm.1098 4 жыл бұрын

kjemradio will electrical tape around the ground mesh work as well?

@andrewholdaway813 5 жыл бұрын

After all this time no one has thought to insulate over the shielding? Electric guitar technology seems to be trapped by its 30's origins.

@lennyluzitano8920 4 жыл бұрын

yeah .. A shielded guitar chord.. is an example of the same braided chord, only difference is its covered.

@mucnuggets 6 жыл бұрын

Ahhh, realized I grounded out on the shielding after watching this.. Great info, thanks!

@jreagle58 3 жыл бұрын

Quick question, does the hot wire always go to the center connection of the pot? I ask because the vol/vol/tone schematic from Seymour Duncan shows it going to the outside lobe.

@gringochucha 5 жыл бұрын

Excellent video. Thanks.

@micahbell9412 11 ай бұрын

Im beyond frustrated. These videos always only go over ONE issue. None of my wires are touching anything. There is absolutely zero sound and I have no clue what is wrong. I have checked documents and my wiring atleast 20 times everything I’ve done is right. Could a pot be broken? I’m so confused and frustrated

@eddiejulian8550 7 жыл бұрын

I've been building guitars for quite a while and I just finished a build, wired it up perfect and it will not send a clean signal. I've gone through everything tested every component and for some reason it's not wanting to work, so frustrating. I've easily wired over 200 guitars so I know what I'm doing hopefully I'll have a duh moment but for now I'm completely stumped. It's a basic 2 humbuckers 1 tone 1 volume 3 way toggle switch, shouldn't be a big deal but it's giving me hell.

@sclogse1 7 жыл бұрын

Open up your jack and check it out. I'll assume you've tried cords you know that work.

@Andrew-xf8cp 5 жыл бұрын

Have you turned on the amp?

@wademorales 4 жыл бұрын

Is that problem where it changes the tone only only caused when a wire hits the capacitor? Or can a bad ground cause it as well? Or can anything else cause that?

@Mekratrig 5 жыл бұрын

Could ye use shrinkwrap tubing on the braided wire.

@Justwantpeacelove 2 жыл бұрын

I melted a bit of the wire when soldering and literally 1 tiny copper hair shorted everything it was so tiny i had to put my face close the guitar to see it so heads up to all my guitar homies! Also right im realizing my volume is a bit low in recording comparing to other guitar but it does work, also my tone push pull are not making any difference. I did use 4 coats of conductive paint with double sided conductive copper on top after. Did i over kill & any ideas fam? I bought fishman modern pick ups

@jeanpierrereynoso-fournel4378 4 жыл бұрын

THANK YOU FOR UPLOADING!

@AnirvanRay 3 ай бұрын

Only one of my electric guitar string giving out no/very very little sound. What could be the problem? the first string high e string. When Im tapping on the poles of the pickups , all the poles are giving out a sound, loud and clear...but only the one high e string doesnt give sound when playing through the amp...rest all the strings are playing great. This happened after the string snapped and i put in a new string.

@kasra3657 3 жыл бұрын

Ur good teacher man

@dilminbandaranayake4757 2 жыл бұрын

you saved my life thank you so much

@definitelydebra1531 3 жыл бұрын

One day I went to plug in my guitar to play, and the amp worked but the cord just didn’t want to work. What should I do, do I get a new amp cord, or? Mine is also like how yours is you have to move it to a specific spot to play, also you have to twist the amp chord enable for it to work for a short amount of time.

@yokytolakaca7485 5 жыл бұрын

My input connector was touching copper foil used for guitar shielding. Just isolated input connector part and voilà.

@claudiaam107 5 жыл бұрын

This is crazy! I just want to jam on my new guitar and I have no clue why won’t sound come out! I have my amo connected but when I try to turn it on the ‘red light’ won’t light up? So my question is is it the amp?

@fvillarrealg 6 жыл бұрын

Thank you this advice worked for me.

@engleharddinglefester4285 5 жыл бұрын

I've got a real PAF that's been in and out of so many guitars the lead is 3" long now... hey how about a video on how to remedy a super short humbucker lead?

@lennyluzitano8920 4 жыл бұрын

buy the same type of wire connect it to the lead...

@OperationEndGame 6 жыл бұрын

With no copper shielding in the cavity, I’m surprised that guitar doesnt hum like crazy...

@REALYOUTUBER45 10 күн бұрын

Hi I am from india...is there anyway i can connect with you...I have a problem regarding my guitar...

@CocoKoi321 7 жыл бұрын

What les Paul is that, I love the look and satin and colour and everything

@Marco-ho3cy Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much! I fixed mine

@matthewjoshua1025 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing, too bad you didnt live in Madera California

@dannyjay7415 3 жыл бұрын

Hi, two strings don't sound on my guitar. Should I fix it the same way?

@DougHinVA Жыл бұрын

The 2 screws that attach the 'football' jack plate' can be a problem. Mine had 1 screw that barely penetrated the hot wire to the jack plug and shorted out all sound. Get a shorter screw so the wood screw des NOT touch the hot wire to the jack .... It's an odd problem, but a puzzling one.

@patricioalvarosalvatierra7888 7 жыл бұрын

Hi, I have a problem when removing the humbucker cover the volume of the tablet went down, however, it is heard but in a volume with less character, compared to the neck tablet. What I can do??? Is a gibson les paul with 57 classic and 57 classic pluss

@aelius93 5 ай бұрын

Hey handsome~ My problem isn't that. I got a guitar bow and it's not making any sound. I spent $26.99. should I buy the $100 one and this is what I got for being cheap or is there something I can do?

@Avalanche_Ride_92 6 жыл бұрын

I have a creatine guitar and I have no sound coming out of it do y have a video. On a creatine guitar thank u great vid

@theostillplays 2 жыл бұрын

and theres forgetting to turning on the amp/speaker.

@muggerslugger2522 7 жыл бұрын

Thx dude I didn't even have to mess with the wires all I did was take of the cavity and I guess the wire came off the other

@Dragon34th 6 жыл бұрын

Some seriously dodgy wiring. Why did they use exceedingly long wires especially those with metal mesh over rather than inside for shielding.

@americawalk1154 10 ай бұрын

i have synsonics jr pro with built-in amp. After installing a battery it still not working, no sound. Do you suppose i need a new amp or maybe need some adjustments😢

@babyfactory587 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

@mailvilla 4 жыл бұрын

... 02/17/2020: I have a Gretsch Electromatic 5120, which I love, except for one feature. The 3-way toggle switch clicks real loud when switching each position. Is there a quick fix for that noise without changing the toggle switch? If not, what brand of toggle switch would be silent?