how to fix an electric guitar that crackles and cuts out (lead and jack)

How to repair a guitar that crackles and cuts out or a guitar with no sound at all.
1. How to replace a jack plug socket with a multi contact one.
2. How to repair a broken lead
In this video we look at how to diagnose a guitar that crackles and cuts out or makes no sound at all. We look at the for most common causes of a bad connection and look at the easiest ways to repair the problem. I will do this repair on a 2016 USA Fender Stratocaster ultra, which shouldn’t really have a problem like this one, and I will replace the standard jack plug socket with a Pure Tone Multi-contact output Jack. This problem is surprisingly common and can happen with any electric guitar or even an electro-acoustic guitar. The most common cause of a cutting out or dead guitar is the lead and the easiest way to deal with this if you don't have a soldering iron is to replace the lead. If the lead isn't causing your guitar to cut out then it is probably the output socket from the guitar.
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[@judec7579]

Watching this at 3AM and this guy's voice is so soothing.

[@guitar-academy]

😊😃

[@brian17411]

This video saved my old Epiphone Les Paul. It made so much noise it couldn’t be plugged in now it’s pretty good. I didn’t think it was worth a repair shop trip so it saved a guitar

[@guitar-academy]

wow that's great to hear . . great comment 😊😃

[@jaredmacabale7285]

Which method you used to fix it?

[@brian17411]

@@jaredmacabale7285 all i did was unscrew the plate, bend that metal thing in so it securely holds the cable, and that was all i needed

[@akashjkhamkar]

cant belive just moving it back and forth helped me , i was so worried , man thank you so much !

[@guitar-academy]

Glad it helped! thank you 😊👍

[@rufwine]

Thank you. I had a couple of issues which I've sorted thanks to this video.

[@guitar-academy]

Glad it helped 😊

[@theshuriken]

cant believe just a simple solution like this 2:10 fix my guitar, thank you so much!

[@guitar-academy]

That's really good news . . thank you 😊😃

[@davidequihua1939]

You're awesome!!!! i was having a constant hum, Cleaned the input jack with steel wool and it works perfecly now :), THANK YOU!

[@guitar-academy]

That's great I'm really glad it helped! 😊😃

[@mkilner]

Had a crackling/cutout problem on my edwards les Paul, unscrewed the jack carefully, all soldor and joints good, so steel wooled the contact points, it’s a single sided contact, plugged it in loose, No crackling or lost connection, so sometimes it’s a simple fix!…thanks for your video! 😎👍

[@guitar-academy]

That sounds like the perfect job . . if only they were all that easy . . thanks for watching 😊😃

[@Slamminbassplayer]

This is great although I have a really hard time with long fingernails on videos like this for some reason…. Thanks!

[@guitar-academy]

Thanks . . .If you don't like nails you wouldn't last 2 minutes at a Flamenco event . .

[@ColoradoDreamin]

Love the video and the narration. Thanks!!

[@guitar-academy]

That's nice of you . . thank you very much . . 😊😃

[@nickgreen7539]

The wire wool worked for me - thank you very much!!

[@guitar-academy]

Glad it helped! 😊 thank you

[@alexandertg2638]

this was so useful! thank you so much, i was worried that my guitar needed something fixed and that i'd have to bring it in to get fixed but all i had to do was bend the piece of metal and it was done! thanks again!

[@guitar-academy]

You're very welcome! thank you 😊😀

[@pdbordelon]

Excellent information! Thank you!

[@guitar-academy]

thank you . . 😊😊

[@joshbaxter5036]

Thanks for the tip on the Pure Tone input. Just put one in a strat and a tele. No more disturbing crackle.

[@guitar-academy]

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, my Strat is the same . . great stuff 😊😃

[@addierenteria4642]

Thank you this solved my problem pushing the metal together

[@guitar-academy]

Thank you very much for watching 😊😃

[@r33d1987]

Thanks alot i had a minor heart attack when my guitar started making weird sounds turned out it was the knobs for me as well :)

[@guitar-academy]

That's good news if the crackles clear up . . 😊

[@choowie92]

Thank you! My guitar was going mute from time to time. I did the steel wool trick inside the jack plug socket and it worked wonders! I was worried because my Jackon does not have a standard jack plug socket (the jack is completely encased).

[@guitar-academy]

Yes, they are called 'barrel output jacks' and they're more expensive to buy that the standard ones. It's great that the wire wool trick cleared it . .😊😊

[@jazzman1954]

Proper good advice. Thanks

[@guitar-academy]

thank you 😊😃

[@nathandavidson9087]

Thank you! So helpful!!!

[@guitar-academy]

Glad it was helpful! thank you 😊

[@ThighExpertise]

Thank you so muck it was my knobs and i didn't even know that it had anything to do with them

[@guitar-academy]

Thank you for watching . . I'm glad you found your problem . . 😊

[@simonoosterman2456]

Thank you. Sorted my crackly Jazzmaster sweet as.

[@guitar-academy]

that's great . . thank you 😊😃

[@richardsilva3422]

Our finest craftsman is always appointed to troubleshooting guitars with flaws Hope you all had a great time during the festive season 👍

[@guitar-academy]

Out of curiosity . . when you say 'our finest craftsman' who is the we ? ? Thank you, we I a great festive season, I hope you did too. 😊😊

[@richardsilva3422]

@@guitar-academy certainly I'm talking on behalf of my doggies and the purring little ones (the cats) and my Mum. Now since they are part of my everyday existence I say our. Anyway, I had a very quiet Christmas and new years time and too much of loud bangs because of the fireworks over my area. Now it's great to hear from you 🎸👍

[@guitar-academy]

@@richardsilva3422 Great to hear from you too. Me too very quite, but we didn't have fireworks (fortunately). I had to replace my computer, and then the new one was being silly, so I have fallen way, way behind on my work, so now I am rushing to catch up . . arghhh . . but nevermind 😊

[@richardsilva3422]

@@guitar-academy lucky you had no fireworks "fortunately" indeed. This could drive anyone mad when going for too long no break. My old pc keeps reminding me it needs updating . I am not able to replace it so it will have to go windows seven for the time being. You will sort out everything at your own pace . You're a survivor & I look up to you that way really 💻🎼

[@guitar-academy]

@@richardsilva3422 Wow . . . thank you very much, that's really nice of you . . 😊😊😁

[@fretswitch]

Hey! Great video on the different ways to identify and repair the issues. I have an odd issue that doesn't seem to have gotten covered in this. I checked all of the points that you've mentioned for diagnosis and they all seem to work fine. My issue is that one the lighter strings, individually plucked works perfectly fine or rather minimal noise. The moment I play the fatter strings especially if plucked hard or if I strum a chord, it just clips out. Even at extremely low volumes on the preamp ends up clipping the sound. Any help would be appreciated. Sometime back I had done a messy rewiring of the guitar. But the problem only started up recently. How can I diagnose this?

[@guitar-academy]

I would try the guitar on a different amp first because this sounds like an amp issue. Also check the height of the pickups, they shouldn't be too close to the strings. 🤔

[@wakenow7612]

The female might be loose in the head, I've had an amp rattle and cut out to the point where the reverb spring vibrated with no reverb even turned on. I used to tap the tip of the head and it would work for a while then cut out. Try a different amp, and also plug the amp into a different outlet. Could be a bad outlet.

[@ollinflores1452]

Thanks so much!

[@guitar-academy]

You're welcome! thank you 😊

[@GeorgeZimmermen]

Every single guitar I’ve ever owned in 18 years has had output jack crackling noise issues at least once. Everything from the import guitars, to the USA ones. My current $3k jackson USA has it bad right now. If you play a guitar long enough, it will happen. It’s like driving a car or wearing pants. Eventually, it breaks down over time from use

[@keannotandoc1489]

Whenever I play with high gain the sound cuts off with both the guitar and amplifier. And I hear a buzz coming from the amp but no sound from the guitar even thought the volume on the guitar is full. Also whenever strum the strings I hear a thumping noise coming from the amp. Nice and informative video by the way

[@keannotandoc1489]

I don’t wanna touch any of the components. I just wanna know what’s wrong with it as I’m gonna take it to a tech.

[@guitar-academy]

That sounds like a partial open circuit in the lead. If you have a spare try changing leads. 🤔

[@learnasongwithjon]

Thank you!!

[@guitar-academy]

You're welcome! thank you 😊

[@tristianobrien5114]

nice job

[@guitar-academy]

Thanks! 😊

[@josh05683]

I see you have an S1 switch on the Strat. I have the same thing, however it only crackles and cuts out when the switch is activated. Any tips or advice?

[@guitar-academy]

It may be dirty contacts in the switch. The easiest way to fix this is just to switch it back and forwards a few times quickly to see if this makes a difference. Otherwise you can buy contact (pot) cleaner that you spray into the switch. . . I hope this helps 😊

[@joelreytejero332]

Does a rusty input jack cause crackling and popping sound? Because the input jack of my electric guitar is very rusty and it's been cracking and popping everytime i move while i turn it on. Please help

[@guitar-academy]

Yes, that does sound like a problem caused by rust. If you have any wire wool, try rolling a bit up so it fits in the jack socket and try cleaning it up a bit to see if that solves the problem. 😊

[@notproproductions2025]

Siick man thanks

[@guitar-academy]

No problem, thank you 😊😃

[@polystormstudio]

3:57 - Obviously this video isn't sponsored by Fender USA! lol

[@guitar-academy]

and If I did get sponsored by Fender, I wouldn't get it anymore . . LOL 😃

[@fruhentus4437]

Hi ! Great video ! What’s the name of the tool you use to make the wires worm and connect them ?

[@guitar-academy]

Thank you very much 😊 . . I think you're referring to the 'soldering iron' and you also need 'fluxed solder' which melts onto the soldering iron and two wires and goes hard when it cools down. I will be doing a lesson on just how to do that soon. 😊

[@fruhentus4437]

@@guitar-academy will be very helpful ! Time to fix my guitar myself

[@ayowhyyoumad3684]

Hi, my guitar starts cracking suddenly in the middle playing and none of the three mentioned seems to be the problem. It just crackles when the strings are played. I bought it 2 months back. What can be the problem? Nice video btw

[@guitar-academy]

What are you plugging it into ?

[@ayowhyyoumad3684]

@@guitar-academy I plug it through audio interface(it's new too) into my laptop and use a DAW. Also, the crackling is nasty loud (often the note isnt audible), it's volume depends on the volume knob, tone knobs and changing pickup dont affect it and it seems to be on top of the buzzing. Like, when I play muted strings there's no buzzing but it still crackles. And it comes and goes without any apparent reason. Havent come across a similar problem anywhere. Thanks 😊

[@guitar-academy]

@@ayowhyyoumad3684 That sounds to me like it could be 1 of 2 things. First, check that the volume going into the audio interface isn't too high. Somewhere you should have an input level that needs to be adjusted digitally from within your DAW or operating system. If the volume is set to high it will be crackly. If it's only crackling when you're recording then it might be the buffer size for you VST (assuming your using one). Again somewhere in your DAWs setting are a recording driver setting and if it's a VST you can increase the size until the crackle stops. Personally, I think it the first thing and the level is just too high going into your computer . . I hope this solves it for you . . 😊

[@TexturaI]

My bass I made goes silent or quiet when the cable is moved and it is hard to get to be as it should. Only a certain cable of mine is even able to get a positive result from the bass but barely

[@guitar-academy]

I bet that's annoying 😒 . . but that does sound like the jackplug socket is faulty

[@TexturaI]

@@guitar-academy its very possible. The jack was part of a cheap set. But the issue is the cable will only work when pushed down. Fixed. Input jack was too tight

[@robinbrown7890]

Thanks for this video guide. Stupid question alert….I have had a couple of amp plugs (like Fender Mustang, NUX Mighty Plug) that fit into my guitar jack snuggly with no problem. However, swept up in the hoohar I bought a Katana Go. It will not latch into the jack fully….like it’s not right in and so pops back out the last couple of mm. Meaning the connection isn’t tight and stable, so the Go spins. Do you think bending the contact in may fix this and hold it in place. Thanks for your help, and the archive of helpful clear stuff you produce.

[@guitar-academy]

No that's not a stupid question at all. 😊 I've had similar problems in the past with Bluetooth transmitters. Before bending the contacts, make sure the Katana Go isn't pushing against the jack plug surround or the body of the guitar. 2 other options are, get a short male to female jack plug lead and attach the Katana Go to your strap, and the last suggestion is (if you can solder) fit a 'Pure Tone Multi-Contact 1/4″ Output Jack' in you guitar because it connects more securely to most things.

[@robinbrown7890]

Thanks so much for the speedy reply. There is definitely a push back of the Go….ie if I push it in fully and then release it pops back out, but the plastic housing of the Go body is touching the jack connector of the guitar….ie, I can’t push it any further into the jack Will remove the jack plate and see what’s going on inside. Thanks again…keep up the great work.

[@guitar-academy]

That's a good idea . . by taking a look at the socket you'll know exactly what's going on😊😊 @@robinbrown7890

[@bennzyyvalo]

Ok so you know how there’s two wires connect to the jack input Well I only have one and I looks side the guitar and I can’t find the other one anywhere but before I tried fixing this buzzing problem it was perfectly fine until I messed with it now its even worse does anyone know why I have one wire and not both j only have the ground wire not the sleeve apparently

[@wakenow7612]

I'm baffled. What brand and model of guitar is it?

[@dannyhood8857]

So if i buy 900$ fender strat it might have cheap parts?? I notice string buzz on 1500 dollar ibanze at guitar center los angeles. But the guitar center where im at now, in visalia sucks. The employee's are okay, for guitar center. They just dont carry much.

[@guitar-academy]

Sadly considering how long some of these guitar companies have been going they still don't get everything right. 🤔

[@arnabdutta7597]

when i play my guitar it works fine. But as soon as i change position using my pickup selector it mute itself and no sound from the amp at certain positions (e.g neck , middle ,or the bridge) Once i touch it . It starts working again :(

[@guitar-academy]

That sounds like dirty switch contacts . . sometimes you can fix it just by switching back quickly for a few seconds . .

[@arnabdutta7597]

@@guitar-academy OMG! It works wonders , Thank you so very much!!

[@guitar-academy]

@@arnabdutta7597 That's great . . 😊😊

[@mimiwizthetahini]

the strings inside my jackplot are cut

[@mrpro877]

I seem to have only one wire in there, and I also can't put the wires in either of the two holes, it looks like there isn't even a hole there...

[@guitar-academy]

it sounds like you need to take your guitar to someone who can help you 🤔

[@mrpro877]

@@guitar-academy yeah that's what I was planning 😅😅 thanks

[@surgeonofanime8149]

My guitar stops buzzing if i touch it. What is the problem ?

[@guitar-academy]

IT sounds like your guitar has a faulty earth. You're creating an earth with you body, that's why the guitar stops buzzing. 🤔

[@surgeonofanime8149]

Thank you so what can i do

[@guitar-academy]

@@surgeonofanime8149 Unfortunately the faulty earth could be anywhere. so with out a meter you can try a different lead, and/or try earthing each component one at a time with a a separate bit of wire. It's hard to explain, so I might have to make a video demonstrating it. 🤔

[@dulla8469]

none of these seem to be my problem, i recently switched my pickups, and it was my first time soldering so i was having a hard time soldering all 3 ground wires to he back o the tone pot the the factory had it, and i get the crackling sound after i pickup my guitar after leaving it for like 10 minutes or more, as soon as i turn the volume knob up, a loud constant crackle happens and it goes away on its own after a few seconds and then everything stays normal and it comes back randomly for a small amount of time, i read someone said in a forum that the tone pot could be cooked, which i would assume is whats happening to me cause i attempted to solder the ground wires a million times that i used the solder iron for way more than a natural time

[@guitar-academy]

If you have to replace the pot . . sand the back of the pot first where your going to solder the wire, then melt some solder on to the wire before trying to attach it to anything, they melt some solder onto the back of the pot. When the solder is melted on the back of the pot put the wire into the solder and pull the soldering iron away holding the wire in place. . . I hope this helps . .

[@TBD3.0]

👍

[@guitar-academy]

🎸❤

[@maxstirner8717]

Further advice - I soldered and re-soldered my wires at the jack plug to no avail. The wires are usually not the issue. The issue could be as simple as: the catch that grabs the jack is backed off too much and simply needs to be bent back into place (forward) slightly to give a firm catch on the jack once inserted.

[@guitar-academy]

Yes, good advice . . and something else is just to clean the contacts with wire wool 😃

[@brian17411]

this is what worked for me, too. very easy fix, i was surprsed

[@wakenow7612]

@@guitar-academy I used a q tip and a small amount of 98% rubbing alcohol. Don't use copious amounts, but It dries so quick it won't really hurt and it makes everything so nice and clean. Then get towel wet with a tiny bit of alcohol and clean the cable jack too.

[@adswire4434]

SO ALL I HAD TO DO WAS TO SWITCH THE PICKUP SELECTOR MANY TIMES????

[@guitar-academy]

Sometimes that's all it takes . . 😊

[@abishakbhai738]

I went SAM ASH Music to get my Electric guitar fix and they charged me 100+ dollars and when I brought it back home and tested i it seems like they didn't fixed anything and when I opened it and looked at socket I found one wire wasn't connected to. I swear am never going there and I learned my lesson too!!!! Never going there ever SAM ASH MUSIC

[@guitar-academy]

Yes, that's shocking . . I hear and see stories like this all the time, which is why I teach people to do the jobs for themselves . . 🤔

[@jameslabs1]

Your left hand keeps blocking what you showing. Good info but please REDO

[@guitar-academy]

Yes you're right. But I'm well aware of that, because if you pay attention you'll here me apologize for it 13:24. My priority is to my clients guitar so I will not be REDOING the repair on that guitar, It's done. However the next time I get the same type of repair in, I will redo it.

[@doomzy8622]

@@guitar-academy wow someones ordering you to redoit😂

[@guitar-academy]

@@doomzy8622 there's a lot of people with a real 'sense of entitlement'. I also get messages saying to make this video or that video . . I just ignore them now or tell them to finance the video if they want it.

[@doomzy8622]

@@guitar-academy true. Great Video by the way. Turns out my input was good. I need a new guitar cord because the signal isnt activating when i hold the cord with my hand.