Retensioning the jack can be done without removing the jack from the guitar. You will need a thin tool that will catch hold of the portion of the jack that engages the tip of the plug and slightly bend it to increase tension. I suggest that if you go decide to use the method in this video it would probably be a good idea to pick up a new high quality Switchcraft plug and replace the cheap on that was originally installed on your Epiphone. One more hint: After everything is back together, the nut has been snugged and the instrument has been tested, brush a small dab of clear fingernail polish where the jack nut meets the threads of the jack. JUST A LITTLE! This will prevent the nut from coming loose from normal use. Plus it will still allow easy removal if needed.
Hello Nate and Thank you for posting this How to video. I recently purchased my first semi-hollow body guitar and needed to fix the output jack. This really worked like a charm for me. Thanks.
I was sitting here trying work out how to do this fix. When I searched RU-vid for "fixing guitar input on semi-hollow" your video came up #1. The best part was I was fixing my Epi Sheraton. Just dumb luck. Thanks so much. Great video.
Thank you! The jack fell into my Riviera, and I had no clue how to get it back up through the hole. I was so scared to do any kind of 'surgery' on my guitar, but this was much less scary than I thought it would be.
Most helpful - thanks for the tips. Mine was a fender coronado 12 string. For those who want to do the same, it was quite a lot harder: jack and earth wire was wrapped around bridge pots, making it impossible to just remove the jack on its own, and I had to take all pots out as well. They won't fit through the f holes, and had to go through bridge pickup hole. Also had to take tail piece off to release earth wire. Key points: just loosen strings and take off tail piece, rather than take off all strings (much quicker when putting back together); solder a draw-wire onto the earthwire before removing, to easily pull it back later; a fair bit of perseverance was needed to get pots back into place.
Thanks a lot! Had to use the wire trick to get the input jack back that went. And yes, I did spend a long time trying to get it back :) So ladies and gentlemen, follow this man's advice with the wire, it is golden!
That was very helpful and thank you. One thing I'd do differently is test your repair by actually plugging the guitar into an amp. I've done the bend trick before only to find out that the jack was bad.
KICK ASS man, worked like a charm and I did this in low light. I used a guitar string for wire and a pair of my wife's tweezers - that's it. Thank you!!!!!! My baby is fixed!
This is an old vid, but it's the best one I found. Took ten minutes to fix the jack in my Firefly. It's a crummy jack so I just bent it to provide more pressure. I'll replace it with a Switchcraft now that I know how to do it. I did apply painters tape around the "F" hole and jack though because I did not want to relic my guitar.
If you want to tighten the nut on the jack without the whole thing turning and breaking the wires inside use your needle nose pliers inside the jack, just stick them inside the jack and open them up and apply pressure while you turn the nut. And thanks bro this video has help me to figure out how to approach and issue I am having with my Epi Sherri II VS Arch top. I currently have the jack resoldered OUTSIDE the body of the guitar. And would like to get it back to its original state.
Thanks man! Dropped my guitar when it was plugged in. Of course the input jack took hit and cracked looking like it's falling in. Gonna put a big washer to cover the crack and make it also sturdier, but was a bit worried how the heck I'm gonna get the input jack back in. You saved me a lot of trouble. The thing is that there's only one luthier in my town and the prices are what you'd expect from a monopoly. And there's like 3 luthiers in 600 miles radius around here so I'd probably be paying half of my guitar's price for just someone to put the washer on. Now I'm pretty sure I can handle it myself.
Super helpful thanks. Turned out a wire had come off a soldered joint on the input jack (DeAngelico DC Mini). I was just about to chisel out a hole in the back to get the job done 😂
Very helpful video ! An easy thing to do is to put a cloth or tissue on the top of the guitar for protection while you work. You never know... Something might just fall of your hands and damage the varnish coat ...
Thank you so much man input jack was never screwed on properly and so kept falling into the guitar. I spent hours trying to fish the jack back through the hole but could never screw it securely but i used string and it did the same job as the wire. thanks
It's like pulling up the sails on Boat in a bottle ! ( I understand why people buy those Strats that are like Lego kits but I'll never give up my Ibanez Schofield for one of those fender toys !)
Look, ALL I want to do is to figure out how to HOLD THE JACK STILL while attempting to place the nut on it/tighten the nut. One of those things that after playing guitar for 42 years, it dawned on me there must be a practical way to do this without jamming something into the jack and pulling it taught. Tends to be like, IMPOSSIBLE to hold it still without having pliers blocking you from slipping the nut around the jack. Rather than scratch my head and mediate on it endlessly for 40 years, I'd like a nice CLUE as to how you can tighten or even screw ON AT ALL a damn NUT.
It’s much easier. Find a screwdriver about the same size as the Jack hole. If it’s a bit too big, that’s good. File or grind it to a taper that you can push into the hole. Hold it in with your tummy and one hand on the guitar. Use a 1/2” scanner to tighten the nut. The strength of 1 or 2 fingers on the spanned is tight enough. This job took 1 minute. Next time it will take 20 seconds.
be careful not to spin the whole assembly, though, because that will stress and eventually have the potentially to break the connection. I am looking for a tool to hold the jack in place without turning while tightening the nut on those guitars that do not have a plate to hold the jack.
