Crappy input jacks on 65 Deluxe only lasted 43 years.

[Regis]

Doesn't anybody build things to last anymore?

I refurbished a 65 Deluxe (No reverb) for a friend of mine: Caps, tubes, etc.

Got it sounding good, but it was humming and popping and acting weird, inspection revealed that on all four input jacks the shorting tab and tip tab were separated.

This amp had been through some rough handling but I've never seen one where all the jacks were bad.

I'm going to replace them but has anyone ever fixed this kind of thing? I tried but you just can't bend the two tabs back together so they touch.

[52 Bill]

Doesn't anybody build things to last anymore?

Maybe you can contact Fender for a replacement. Just call them up and ask to talk to Leo. I hear that he's really good about standing behind his product.

I'm going to replace them but has anyone ever fixed this kind of thing? I tried but you just can't bend the two tabs back together so they touch.

I put a plug in the jack, but keep it out enough so that the tip contact is pushed away from the shorting contact. Then bend the shorting contact closer to the tip contact. If you bend it too far in, it will not open when the plug is inserted all the way into the jack.

[Rob Mercure]

Regis,

An emory board - such as used to taper finger nails - works well to clean the contacts and if you've got a thin square nosed pair of pliers you should be able to realign them to make contact. As to the inside of the barrell I've managed to chuck a pencil in an electric drill - eraser out - and the slowly run the eraser into the barrell and back out. But I guess you could use a dremel tool also. The most common "failure" of these that I've seen is oxidation in a corrosive atmosphere (mariachi band with all the tacos frijoles <grin>) that results in a noisy jack - and occasionally one that creates a metal oxide rectifier that will pick up AM radio.

Play with it while - but you can get another 43 years from it.

Rob

[Mark Black]

I'm with 52_Bill.

Just insert a plug far enough into the jack to get the max spacing between the tip & shunt contacts. Then take a small flat-blade screwdriver (I like about 1/8 inch) and stick it down between the phenolic spacers and the shunt contact. Getting down close to the bend is key in this procedure. Twist/pry somewhat gently (you get a feel after a while) the shunt contact toward the tip contact. Remove the plug and check to see that the shunt contact is mating well with the tip contact. Re-insert the plug and watch to see that the shunt contact moves a bit with the tip contact before they actually separate.

Sometimes they are beyond retrieval, but most of the time this works for me.

Good luck!

[Regis]

Guys, thanks for the replies. I'll give Bill's trick a try this weekend.

[Rick Erickson]

[An emory board - such as used to taper finger nails - works well to clean the contacts]

Yikes! That will take the plating off the contacts. A thin piece of stiff paper or fish paper, sprayed with contact cleaner, does a fine job of restoring the contacts - I do this with brand new Switchcraft jacks because they usually have shorting contact issues. Marks advise on re-springing the contacts is right on the money.

RE

[Regis]

I tried and tried, then tried again but could not fix those jacks. I just couldn't get them to bend together and touch properly, so I replaced them.

I tried to save the resistors but ended up replacing them too.

I thank all for the help and suggestions though.

[TD_Madden]

What did you replace them with...? I doubt you'll get that many years of service from the replacements!

[Regis]

What did you replace them with...? I doubt you'll get that many years of service from the replacements!

Modern Switchcraft 12A shorting jacks, made by indentured Communist Chinese labor.

Sadly these are the best on the market.

I've tried the Brand X kind that some folks sell, but they don't last 43 minutes, much less 43 years.

The best price I could find on the 12A's was from Mouser in quantities of 10 or more for $1.70 each.

[52 Bill]

Modern Switchcraft 12A shorting jacks, made by indentured Communist Chinese labor.

Are these being made in China now too? I thought that they were still being made in Mexico.

Sorry that you couldn't save the original ones. I usually find that they can be re-shaped to work.