output jack problem

[bjg]

im assembling my new guitar and have run into a problem with the output jack. it is enclosed so i cant see where the termials are going. it is a stereo jack and there three different length terminals. how can i tell which one is which if i cant see where they contact the plug?

[servant]

Do you have a stereo cord, with Tip, Ring and Sleeve (TRS) on the plugs? You'll know because it will have two black rings instead of just one. If so, plug it into your jack and, using a multimeter, see which terminal goes to which piece of the plug at the other end of the cable.

The terminal at the Tip of the stereo cable will go to the tip of your guitar cord. Ignore the Ring between the two black rings. The Sleeve will be the Ground/Shield/Sleeve of your guitar cord.

If you don't have a TRS cable, just plug in a guitar cord and find out which of your three terminals reads as a short-circuit to the TIP of the other end of the guitar cord. This will be your hot.

The other two terminals you have will short (have continuity) to the Sleeve at the other end of the guitar cord. While you could use either one, let's find out which one is the sleeve.

Ignoring the Tip terminal on your jack, that we identified earlier, touch one probe from your meter just inside the jack, where your guitar cable would plug in. Touch the other probe to first one, then the other, terminal on the jack. THAT one is the one you want to solder your braid/shield to. The third terminal will not be used.

Hope that makes sense. I've read it a couple times but feel like I'm missing something... Let us know how you make out.

Dean

[bjg]

thanks that does help a lot.

i have another semi unrelated question.
i am using this schematic: people.smartchat.net.au/~l_jhewitt/circuits/3xseriesparallelwiring.gif
i am also using lace pickups which have three wires coming out of them. i know what to do with the + wire but do i just put the two other wires together when connecting them to the on/off switches? here is a link to the page describing lace pickups: lacemusic.com/wiring/pdf/9.pdf

thanks very much for the help

[JohnH]

bjg - one of my old circuits popped up. Nice to see it again!.

With the lace sensors, I believe the orange is hot and the white is other end of the coil, so use those for the diagram wiring (in place of red and green on the diagram). The Lace green is a screen, so just connect all the greens to the ground point. Don't connect the green and white together, it would mess with the shielding in this series/parallel design.

Good luck. I should point out that that diagram was a precursor to the ToneMonster2. It was never built, but it should be OK. The main difference was the addition of the blender pot.

John

[bjg]

thank you very much.

i should have this in my guitar in a day or so and ill let you know how it works.