clay-man Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 So I plugged in my Variax through the 1/4 again in hope to see any improvement. Well, there is some, but not much. The signal is faint, very faint, but at least I can hear it. I tried moving the guitar a bit and there were times when it got a little louder. Anyone know what could happened? You think a repair center can fix this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 So I plugged my guitar in again with a 1/4 and the sound was very loud and almost back to normal. I moved it around and it got quiet again. I tapped the pick guard and it got loud again, but now it's quiet again. I'm 90% sure this has to be some type of grounding issue. Since the coffin is known for issues with grounding, does anyone know what I can possibly do to fix any grounding issues? This all started when I had to take off a piece of the coffin to replace the volume and tone pots. I know this is an iffy situation, but I know some of you messed with the coffin before. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I would look for a signal short somewhere. Does it work normally from the VDI? It sounds like your signal is getting grounded out since the guitar electronics are working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 I would look for a signal short somewhere. Does it work normally from the VDI? It sounds like your signal is getting grounded out since the guitar electronics are working. VDI works 100% and doesn't have any problems at all through it. No audible issues either. At first I thought I might of messed up the solder job but it's pretty secure and the knobs work just fine. The 1/4 sound is usually so quiet it's virtually muted. When it was loud, it sounded pretty normal and sounded good through my amps, but some movement made it go back to being quiet and unusable. Personally, without the 1/4 jack, I can't use it as just a guitar alone, which is annoying because I bought a portable amp and a set of rechargeable batteries so I could take it with me when I please. I might just have to send it to an "authorized" repair place. I called in and they said they'd work on it, but I don't know how much it'd cost, especially if it's a simple error I can fix myself, but the problem is knowing exactly what's causing it. At first I thought it I fried a component but I really doubt replacing the knobs would cause anything. It has to be a grounding issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 If you got it to be loud sometimes, it is either a short or a bad connection between the analog output and the 1/4 inch Jack. Since the VDI works, the rest of the electronics are working. I would take a careful look yourself. Trace the wires from the 1/4 jack to the board and see if you can see anything wrong. Make sure there is not a short to the battery connection at the 1/4 jack since that's what powers up the electronics when you plug into the jack. It sounds like you have had it apart before so you know how to do that. There have been problems with shorts around the shielding. (I believe you have a 600 if I remember correctly) I don't have a 600 but I have had my 500 completely apart a couple times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 If you got it to be loud sometimes, it is either a short or a bad connection between the analog output and the 1/4 inch Jack. Since the VDI works, the rest of the electronics are working. I would take a careful look yourself. Trace the wires from the 1/4 jack to the board and see if you can see anything wrong. Make sure there is not a short to the battery connection at the 1/4 jack since that's what powers up the electronics when you plug into the jack. It sounds like you have had it apart before so you know how to do that. There have been problems with shorts around the shielding. (I believe you have a 600 if I remember correctly) I don't have a 600 but I have had my 500 completely apart a couple times. The shielding in the compartment where the coffin lays? I tried looking and I don't see much. Note that This also happens when trying to use 1/4 while the VDI is powering it. It could be a wire somewhere that's messed up but I looked and the wires seem fine. Also note that when it's quiet, touching metal doesn't make any noise like most grounding problems cause. It's really hard to pinpoint what's happening. I might send it in one day because I do want it back to being fully usable, it's just annoying right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 So I plugged an Amplug into the Variax and I touched a "metal(?)" part of the Vox logo and it gave me a ground loop noise. So, probably is a ground problem? It doesn't do it on my other guitar. Should I try that whole coating the coffin thing people do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Not necessary to do that. Just find the fault. IT's either a short or an open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 Not necessary to do that. Just find the fault. IT's either a short or an open. There are some scratches in the paint the back of the compartment where the coffin lays. I imagine this is shielding, could that cause it? I used to have to put a piece of cardboard in with the coffin because it would have some sort of problem getting the power correctly to the guitar. That was when I was using the A/B power adapter. Later I fixed it and it didn't need and enforcement, but maybe that problem could have came back? Maybe I should get out the power supply and see if it's doing that again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 So I got bored a few nights ago and since I have a new good solder gun, I opened up my 600 and tried resoldering the volume and tone pots I replaced. Guitar's 1/4 output works good now! Moral of the story, buy good solder equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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