dust getting in input jacks?

When it fails you'll know!

 

Unless you are abusing the equipment, decades. If you are abusing it, maybe this afternoon.

 

When it comes to amp jacks, I’ve found the more you use them, the longer they last. It’s the ones you use very little that can sometimes be a problem, IME.

 

Hmm, this reminds me that I should start unplugging my instrument wire from the amp after every use. I've been just leaving it in, but I have feared it will ruin the elasticity of the tip connector.

 

So this comment was necessary? I think we can all safely assume that the OP is just using the terms 'input' and 'output' interchangeably. For the purpose of the OP's dust topic, it really doesn't matter.

 

This is a U-Bass:



Correct, there's no jack on this one!

 

Great questions. As with many things, care and maintenance directly correlate to longevity. You can keep your jacks clean by shooting them with contact cleaner every once in awhile (Same with pots and switches). This will take care of any dust that collects. You'll know when it's time to replace a jack, as reliability will start to decline. The signal may start cutting in and out, or you may notice drops in volume or 'pops and clicks' randomly. A jack can last a very long time if it is maintained properly; I wouldn't worry too much about it.

When it comes to speakers (drivers), I like to dust mine off with a soft nylon brush. Many people like to use compressed air. Just don't use water or any other liquid to clean a paper-coned speaker! As long as you are careful to keep power and volume levels responsible, you shouldn't have to worry about mechanical or thermal speaker failures. As with jacks, you should be able to get many, many years of life out of a speaker driver.

When it comes to pickups or any other parts on your bass, just use some common sense and logic. Most parts can last a lifetime if properly cared for. For example, taking a file to a pickup's pole pieces would be a bad idea, but wiping off finger oils after each time you play can help keep your pole pieces from collecting corrosion.

 

Teach me more, oh wise master.

 

Don't get any strong magnets near your pickups, or leave them in a super-heated spot, & they should last a lifetime.
Andy Summers wrote in his autobiography about he & another member of the Police leaving their instruments in some sort of boiler room & it degaussed their pickups.

 

You take your cable and you PUT it IN the jack, right? IN-PUT!

 

Steel wool dust can kill them as well, particularly if the have exposed bobbins like on a single coil P. Don't let it near them.

Magnets aren't generally affected by heat until you get over 175 degrees F. Lower temps in the 120+ degree range can make pickups go microphonic, and it can screw up necks pretty badly, but magnets don't really care unless the temps are way up there.

 

Cute, but often incorrect. What signal are you putting in to your bass? That is an OUT put jack.

 

How long stuff lasts will depend on how you treat it and the environment(s) you use it in.
Does your amp get exposed to a lot of dust?
Do you step on your cord and yank it out of the bass’s output jack?
Do you get wasted and play with everything dimed?

 

Guilty!
but it was only a 18 Watt tube amp into a 2x10"

It is amazing how badly alcohol affects our ability to hear, which is even more pronounced with lower frequencies.

 

Alcohol has probably been a contributing factor in the demise of many speakers.

 

It worked for EVH and SRV.

 

Probably more of a huge power transformer in that room rather than just the heat?

 

Yeah, he was rather vague about what was in the room, IIRC something about leaning their instruments against a boiler, which would be pretty daft of them to begin with.
His bandmate did not mention it in his autobiography.

Odd, researching this online turns up all sorts of stuff that contradicts his book.

 

Dang it… I've been doing backwards all my life... putting the jack around the plug.