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Am I doing something wrong? (Amp input jack)

strost

strost

Oct 2, 2008
960
1,908
Madison, WI
#1
Hi All.

I now have 3 amps with dodgy input jacks. They cut out if I bump the cable (or for one, it doesn't work at all unless I wiggle the cable into just the right position). This happens for all the cables I use. So unless ALL my cables are bad, the input jacks are bad.

So am I doing something wrong? I keep the cables plugged in all the time on my "at home" amps (Boss Katana 110 and TC toneprint). The Mesa Subway 800+ I use for gigging is mostly fine but will cut out if I bump it wrong. The Boss is still under warranty so I took it in.

Is there some unspoken thing I am doing that is destroying all my input jacks? Or are they just all like that? It's really frustrating.

Thanks!
 
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#2
strost said:
Hi All.

I now have 3 amps with dodgy input jacks. They cut out if I bump the cable (or for one, it doesn't work at all unless I wiggle the cable into just the right position). This happens for all the cables I use. So unless ALL my cables are bad, the input jacks are bad.

So am I doing something wrong? I keep the cables plugged in all the time on my "at home" amps (Boss Katana 110 and TC toneprint). The Mesa Subway 800+ I use for gigging is mostly fine but will cut out if I bump it wrong. The Boss is still under warranty so I took it in.

Is there some unspoken thing I am doing that is destroying all my input jacks? Or are they just all like that? It's really frustrating.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
You could have some oxidation on your input jacks. Just take a cord and run it in and out of the jack about 20 times and see if that helps.
 
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#3
strost said:
Hi All.

I now have 3 amps with dodgy input jacks. They cut out if I bump the cable (or for one, it doesn't work at all unless I wiggle the cable into just the right position). This happens for all the cables I use. So unless ALL my cables are bad, the input jacks are bad.

So am I doing something wrong? I keep the cables plugged in all the time on my "at home" amps (Boss Katana 110 and TC toneprint). The Mesa Subway 800+ I use for gigging is mostly fine but will cut out if I bump it wrong. The Boss is still under warranty so I took it in.

Is there some unspoken thing I am doing that is destroying all my input jacks? Or are they just all like that? It's really frustrating.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Is there a possibility that all of your cables are the same brand and made with a less-than-stellar quality 1/4" plug on the cables?

Do you experience the same symptoms when wiggling the end of the cable plugged into the bass?

Just thinking out loud and throwing things out there...
 
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#4
Geri O said:
Is there a possibility that all of your cables are the same brand and made with a less-than-stellar quality 1/4" plug on the cables?

Do you experience the same symptoms when wiggling the end of the cable plugged into the bass?

Just thinking out loud and throwing things out there...
Click to expand...
Just the amp end. I have some good and bad cables. All seem to do it.
 
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#6
The Subway input jacks are super robust, I can't think of any that we have replaced in the last several years and only occasionally if the amp takes a bad fall and lands face first on the plug. This usually causes other damage as well. They don't have problems with the Monster plugs either.

I really think that there is something going on with your cables.
 
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#7
strost said:
Hi All.

I now have 3 amps with dodgy input jacks. They cut out if I bump the cable (or for one, it doesn't work at all unless I wiggle the cable into just the right position). This happens for all the cables I use. So unless ALL my cables are bad, the input jacks are bad.

So am I doing something wrong? I keep the cables plugged in all the time on my "at home" amps (Boss Katana 110 and TC toneprint). The Mesa Subway 800+ I use for gigging is mostly fine but will cut out if I bump it wrong. The Boss is still under warranty so I took it in.

Is there some unspoken thing I am doing that is destroying all my input jacks? Or are they just all like that? It's really frustrating.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Where I live salt air can cause oxidation that impedes the contact. Usually operating the jack/remote control button/pot/power cord/battery contacts or whatever several times will fix it until next time.
 
#9
Nick Willbrand said:
Get some contact cleaner like deoxit d5 and spray it into the input jack and plug/unplug an instrument cable in it a few times. If you still have the same issue you probably need new instrument cables.
Click to expand...
Don’t do this unless you are ok risking additional damage and costs associated with clean-up. If it’s under warranty, you also risk that coverage.

I am 99.99% sure it’s not the amp’s jack.
 
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#10
It's not gunk unless op is dragging cable tips in bar floor beer sludge and then plugging in.

The air doesn't do that. I have a lot of 30yr old input jacks that work just fine. Pots scratch but jacks, never.

It's always my cables if I have to hold it just right.
 
#12
Nick Willbrand said:
Get some contact cleaner like deoxit d5 and spray it into the input jack and plug/unplug an instrument cable in it a few times. If you still have the same issue you probably need new instrument cables.
Click to expand...
^This is absolutely where to start.

If you are handy/tinker around you can get some Harbor Freight tools and you'll be able to fix and make custom/to your liking cables. It's dead easy, there are many YT videos on multiple ways of refreshing your cables. It sounds like a lot, but once you get the hang of it, you'll never have a cable issue again. I have dozens of yards of instrument cable from a studio I worked in that were "dead". Now I have sturdy location-specific cables, which makes for a clean rig/pedal area, it sounds like non-sense until you never trip over mounds of cable or have to wind/unwind/straighten/tape up cables. "High End" cables are no different from a sturdy homemade cable. They are a confidence and status booster, but insofar as signal transfer and integrity, they are the same. Don't get me wrong, *nice* cables are great! I've run both at one time or another. I've recorded with my homemade cables and the expensive ones, they are the same. [For the pedantic folks; I don't mean any old dirty sound cable, I mean instrument cable with instrument plugs from Stew Mac.]
 
#13
Occasional strains and trip-overs can eventually loosen a 1/4" plug's internals enough to cause the problem. Cats, small children, clumsy people (possibly but not necessarily including the player himself), and so on.

To test the amps' inputs, buy a short, reasonably good quality instrument cable. I've gotten great service from ProCo cables (Sweetwater) over the years. You can get a 1-footer for $11. Plug the cable into an amp and let the other end dangle. Grab that other end's tip (ONLY the tip) and you should hear a loud hum with the amp's volume up a little bit. Now, using a double-folded rag or sock to insulate your fingers, wiggle the plug at the amp end while you hang onto the tip of the connector at the other end. The outcome will either point to the amp as the guilty party, or absolve it.
 
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#17
mambo4 said:
I'd trust this guy.
Just buy a new cable and repeat the test.

Or get a volt-ohm meter and check the cables :


volt-ohm meters are quite handy to have in a bass guitarists toolbox
Click to expand...

A meter isn’t going to be very useful in identifying intermittent plugs/cables.

I have a tool that I use that identifies and holds the indication of an intermittent connection. These types of tools are used in the cable harness industry for QC testing under vibration.
 
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#19
I had an amp in the 90's whose input jack spring fingers got week due to a plug being in there all the time. I fixed it but pushing then down to gently bend them back into position. Since then I don't leave things plugged in 24/7 to avoid stressing the contact springs, whether it is needed or not.
 
#20
beans-on-toast said:
It's good to have some sort of strain relief so that the weight of the cable is not putting stress on the jack.
Click to expand...
We'd see this more commonly if actually an issue. In 70yrs input jacks have worked just fine, it seems.

I leave jacks plugged into my amps for years at home. No issues, including when my toddler decides to use the cable as a jump rope. They kill the cables but everything works fine on the jacks without hassle or concern.
 
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