335 Type semiHollow input jack repair - Hagstrom Viking

[sunvalleylaw]

Well, I did my first real guitar repair today. Last night, I was practicing and stepped on my cord, pulling it from my input jack. I also pulled off the nut and washer holding the input jack into the side of my Viking. Apparently the little nut had been working loose. The wires pulled the jack itself immediately back into the cavity of the guitar.

After consulting with Spud who had to wire one of these Viks, this is what I did.


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Showing guitar with jack having been fished out with a fork and pliers and laid on a post card.





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Showing input jack hole.




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Here, I fashioned a loop out of bailing wire and stuck it in through the jack hole (Spud gave me the idea) and fished it up out of the F hole, then bent the end a little and slipped it over the part of the jack that contacts the end of the cable end jack end thingie. (Highly technical term). Here it is ready to be pulled back to the jack input hole. IMPORTANT: I went to the hardware store and got a star washer and put it over the input jack so it would rest between the jack and the inside of the side of the guitar. A star washer has little teeth on it that grip the wood, so the jack does not simply twist around twirling the wires all over while I try and tighten it from the outside. Spud gave me that idea too.



From there I dropped the jack back into the F hole and made sure it cleared the other wires in there. Then I pulled carefully on the bailing wire until it brought the end of the input jack back out the input jack hole. Then I put the little flat washer and nut back on and used my Thorsen 7/16 socket to hand tighten the nut until it was snug but not tight. The star washer seemed to do its job.

So, since I at first did not know what to do and had to ask, and I thought someone else might run into this sometime, there you go! Voila! I was back up and running and testing the rodent at loud volumes while my family was away doing stuff today.

[Spudman***]

Good job on getting the repair done...Grasshopper.:
That's all good stuff to know. Working on a semi hollow guitar is a fishing expedition.
Love the plug for daVinci's.

[sunvalleylaw]

Good job on getting the repair done...Grasshopper.:
That's all good stuff to know. Working on a semi hollow guitar is a fishing expedition.
Love the plug for daVinci's.

Thanks man. I love that restaurant, and that hat. My kids gave it to me. An interesting side note: Look at the logo. It says, "The Local's Favorite Italian Restaurant" as though there was only one local. Gotta love 'em! They make great food and treat you right, even if they did not learn to punctuate correctly. :

[Ch0jin]

Thanks for posting SVL. As a recent F Hole (haha that sounds so dirty) guitar owner myself I'm really interested in tips and tricks for working on their electronic insides.

So to work on the pots and switches I guess you have to take at least one PU out, or would you try and pull them through one of the F holes?

The previous owner upgraded everything for professional stage use on my new BB, but I'm sure one day I'll either have to, or want to, change something

(h'mm like that extra knob that used to be a tone control that got changed to a switch, that now isn't connected to anything......)

[sunvalleylaw]

Thanks for posting SVL. As a recent F Hole (haha that sounds so dirty) guitar owner myself I'm really interested in tips and tricks for working on their electronic insides.

So to work on the pots and switches I guess you have to take at least one PU out, or would you try and pull them through one of the F holes?

Well, I think you could fish the controls through the F hole. The are all right there surrounding it. On the Hagstrom, the pups appear to be routed into the solid center portion of the guitar, so I don't think that would help much anyway. The pickup switch would be a different question, as it is way up on the horn.

Oh, and regarding F holes, I think you are still operating in the mode you were in when you mentioned checking your "junk" regularly (chinese houseboat, you people!), on the smoke detector thread.

[Ch0jin]

Oh yeah good point.

I just had a peek into the cavity and the Maton has a solid block in the middle too so without messing with the PU's (they are -perfectly- setup so I don't want to mess with them) I'm betting it's the same deal as your Viking. I also have the PU switch up on the horn so I bet that's big fun to change

[tot_Ou_tard]

Thanks SunnyBoy!

Now I'll know what to do if I step on the cord coming from my Godin 5th Ave.

[Spudman***]

Gotta love 'em! They make great food and treat you right, even if they did not learn to punctuate correctly. :

I see now that they were a little loose with their spelling.

[Algonquin]

Bummer to hear of the little mishap SVL. but glad to here the Fret 7/24 technical support line was there to help you through it. :

[ShortBuSX]

Well, I did my first real guitar repair today.

Now THAT is a real repair!:
Ive yet to tackle anything that complex yet...although Ive got a buddy with a Washburn semi-hollow that needs some repairs, Ive just gotta build up the nuts to try it.
But thats like building one of those ships in a bottle.

Your bail wire was a great idea...when I worked in the bike shop wed use a piece of thread and a vacuum for situations like that.
I still cant imagine how you got the jack part though, but you did it!
And you even took pics too! ...and that always makes it more difficult.

Good job!:
And now you and your new guitar have bonded a lil more, and now you are connected.

[sunvalleylaw]

Now THAT is a real repair!:
Ive yet to tackle anything that complex yet...although Ive got a buddy with a Washburn semi-hollow that needs some repairs, Ive just gotta build up the nuts to try it.
But thats like building one of those ships in a bottle.

Your bail wire was a great idea...when I worked in the bike shop wed use a piece of thread and a vacuum for situations like that.
I still cant imagine how you got the jack part though, but you did it!
And you even took pics too! ...and that always makes it more difficult.

Good job!:
And now you and your new guitar have bonded a lil more, and now you are connected.

Thanks SBX! I can't take credit for the bail wire idea. That came from Spud. But it worked great. And you are right, I do feel more connected with this guitar now, having worked on it. The bailing wire coming through the center of the jack pulled the end right through easily. That is the beauty of this approach. Now I have more confidence to work on my other guitars, or take on a project guitar like a MIM strat to be upgraded and kept as a backup, or a strat project like you have going now.

And 'Gonq, thanks, and all's well that ends well. :