Lakland 55-02 Jack Spin

[BroDon]

I heard some static on my input jack to the bass and saw the input jack nut was loose. I tightened the nut on my input jack and all the sudden the signal was lost, the bass would make no sound through my amp.

Took off the guitar's back plate and did not see any twisted wires. Took nut off input jack, but could not push out the jack, so took off the jack mounting plate. Inspected wiring and saw no broken wires or pulled wires or connections. Then looked at input jack tang that hits the signal center wire on the guitar cord plug. This was right over a pot cover made of metal. I figured that the cord pin was pushing the jack tang onto the metal pot cover and shorting out the signal to ground.

I put a piece of vinyl electrical tape on top of the pot. Reinstalled jack so tang was off to the side. Held it off the pot with screwdriver blade as I tightened the input jack nut.

If you tighten the input jack nut, because it is loose, the jack will spin so the tang hits the pot or the tang can hit the pot when you plug guitar cord into jack. Jack cannot fully spin as the pot is in the way.

Overall fix was easy, and I prefer that the jack cannot spin and break any connections or wires when tightening a loose nut.

 

[Kriegs]

input jack

 

[Turnaround]

I heard some static on my input jack to the bass and saw the input jack nut was loose. I tightened the nut on my input jack and all the sudden the signal was lost, the bass would make no sound through my amp.

Took off the guitar's back plate and did not see any twisted wires. Took nut off input jack, but could not push out the jack, so took off the jack mounting plate. Inspected wiring and saw no broken wires or pulled wires or connections. Then looked at input jack tang that hits the signal center wire on the guitar cord plug. This was right over a pot cover made of metal. I figured that the cord pin was pushing the jack tang onto the metal pot cover and shorting out the signal to ground.

I put a piece of vinyl electrical tape on top of the pot. Reinstalled jack so tang was off to the side. Held it off the pot with screwdriver blade as I tightened the input jack nut.

If you tighten the input jack nut, because it is loose, the jack will spin so the tang hits the pot or the tang can hit the pot when you plug guitar cord into jack. Jack cannot fully spin as the pot is in the way.

Overall fix was easy, and I prefer that the jack cannot spin and break any connections or wires when tightening a loose nut.

NEVER try to tighten a loose output jack without holding the jack so that it does not rotate. If there is a jack mounting plate, remove it so you can grip the jack. If you cannot do this get a tool like StewMac's "Jack the Gripper" and use that to hold the jack.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Yep, always hold the jack somehow to keep it from turning when you tighten the nut. If you have everything open again, it’s not a bad idea to install one of these washers between the output jack and the plate. It will help keep the jack from turning in the first place.

 

[BroDon]

The jack has two of these washers on the nut side. I bought the bass new and played it for at least a year weekly before the problem. I think the nut worked loose or never was tightened hard enough.

I have a "Jack the Gripper" and don't remember if I used it or not. I've used it mostly on my acoustic guitars. The bass has been sitting for some 6 months since I lost the signal, and have been using my other basses. It could have rotated when I first heard the static, found the loose nut and instinctively hand tightened it. Then my tightening it later with a wrench (with or without the Gripper???) could have locked the jack in place for the ground short when guitar cord was plugged in. There is little clearance between the jack tang and the back of the pot.

I am recovering from a stroke and waited till I felt I had enough left-hand strength and control to tackle broken wires and solder joints. The fix was easier than I thought it might be.

My past experience has been mostly with passive guitars and did not realize the chamber was so crammed full with electronics. I am glad I did not have to fix broken wires and solder joints.

Once the jack is rotated, you have to take of the back plate off to fix it. Not easy to fix on a gig unless you have tools and a light handy. My hat is off to those guys who adjust the Lakland dip switches in the chamber on the fly.

 

[Turnaround]

The jack has two of these washers on the nut side. I bought the bass new and played it for at least a year weekly before the problem. I think the nut worked loose or never was tightened hard enough.

I have a "Jack the Gripper" and don't remember if I used it or not. There is little clearance between the jack tang and the back of the pot.

Good to see that you have a jack gripper. And you may well have used it. Those Laklands do have very little clearance between the jack and the pot - I have dealt with MANY that had the problem you encountered.

FWIW, it would be better if the lock washers were between the jack body and the mounting plate as opposed to on the nut side of the plate. With the Laklands, the problem is that if you add a lock washer it sets the jack slightly further into the body and increases the risk that it will short out against the pot. But with careful positioning of the jack and a decent lock washer, you can mitigate the problem satisfactorily.

I am recovering from a stroke and waited till I felt I had enough left-hand strength and control to tackle broken wires and solder joints.

I hope your recovery is swift and thorough.

 

[BroDon]

The washers are on the nut side. I if have a reason to go back inside, I will change it. Thanks