Gibson Johnny Smith Problem

[Fritzjazz]

I've been playing my Johnny Smith alot the last couple weeks. I'ts 34 years old and, as I play it more, starting to sound good. Restrung it with T.I. George Benson .012 round wounds and then I changed the low "E" to .055 flat wound. Did a setup and its sounding good. But there is a problem with the input jack.

The input jack shorts out, loss of signal from guitar and horrid "open cable" sound from amp. It does this when I move about a little. As you know the JS has a wierd cable setup. It uses an 1/8" jack on the guitar end and the jack comes out under the pick guard. Kind of an awkward place.

To make matters worse, I added a piezio ebony bridge pu years ago. I though it would add pressence to the sound when mixed with the magnetic floater. This means I actually use a stereo 1/8" jack. But I rarely use it.

As I see it there are 4 things I can do:
1. Try to get the present setup, piezio and all, working correctly.
2. Remove the TRS (stereo) input and bridge and put the T.O.M. bridge back on, in other words back to original.
3. Change the jack back to mono but have a plain non piezio ebony bridge intoned.
4. Drill a big hole in either the bottom rim or the end-pin (strap button) to accomodate a 1/4" mono or stereo.

Some people have said to keep the piezio on incase you ever need a spare signal to go to PA or processor etc.

Any ideas??

Thanks,

Fritzjazz

[Pierrot]

Originally Posted by Fritzjazz

I've been playing my Johnny Smith alot the last couple weeks. I'ts 34 years old and, as I play it more, starting to sound good. Restrung it with T.I. George Benson .012 round wounds and then I changed the low "E" to .055 flat wound. Did a setup and its sounding good. But there is a problem with the input jack.

The input jack shorts out, loss of signal from guitar and horrid "open cable" sound from amp. It does this when I move about a little. As you know the JS has a wierd cable setup. It uses an 1/8" jack on the guitar end and the jack comes out under the pick guard. Kind of an awkward place.

To make matters worse, I added a piezio ebony bridge pu years ago. I though it would add pressence to the sound when mixed with the magnetic floater. This means I actually use a stereo 1/8" jack. But I rarely use it.

As I see it there are 4 things I can do:
1. Try to get the present setup, piezio and all, working correctly.
2. Remove the TRS (stereo) input and bridge and put the T.O.M. bridge back on, in other words back to original.
3. Change the jack back to mono but have a plain non piezio ebony bridge intoned.
4. Drill a big hole in either the bottom rim or the end-pin (strap button) to accomodate a 1/4" mono or stereo.

Some people have said to keep the piezio on incase you ever need a spare signal to go to PA or processor etc.

Any ideas??



Thanks,

Fritzjazz

I would say #2. I would say also that #4 is the worst one, by far...

BTW, all your "input" jacks are actually outputs jacks. Not that that is really important, but it helps keeping concepts clear.

[AlohaJoe]

I'd strongly recommend against drilling any holes in your guitar. Joe V. at archtop.com recommended these to me and they work well with no mods to the instrument:
*Tapastring Guitar Care Products | The "Vintage Jack" | End Pin Jack No Drilling Required

If it were mine, I'd lose the piezo and get an ebony bridge (not a TOM fan). The simplest signal path is the least troublesome and there are better ways to get another signal to the PA. Others may have different ideas about this but when I'm playing out the last thing I need is electronics issues.

[TruthHertz]

OK, I'm the odd man out here. First of all, know that what I say will severely effect the vintage value of your guitar. I put a 1/4" input jack in the tailblock. Then I always wrap the cord through the strap end (which you should do anyway to absorb any shock should it ever tug an a taut situation.)
The 1/4 in jack makes cables much simpler, it's a very strong connection, and an 1/8 in jack has a very small hot tab connector-it's a weakness in the design. But then again, I'm not at all sentimental about my guitars, they've got to be working-practical.
For those that are concerned with the resale vintage quality of the guitar, it is very important to resist these "practical" urges because in the market, it's irreversible, though technically, all these alterations can be reversed through plugging and doweling at a future point. From strictly a playing point, a lot of problems disappear with good shielded wiring going to a well grounded end pin jack, and you NEVER have to worry about being stranded at a gig looking for a cable with an 1/8" end on it.
The piezo seems to be a good idea but for my ear, not a good sound. There's plenty of acoustic sound that comes through those great pickups. I'd go with the pure JS pickup, for my own tastes.

You may get lots of opinions on this, but live with the decision process for a long while. Make irreversible changes cautiously and for well researched and good reasons, especially on a guitar that is now a rarity.

Here's an idea. Bring it back to original, keep it pure and whenever you get an urge to change it, buy a new guitar! I can think of no other way to truly respect a great classic, and experiment. You can show this argument to the wife.

I think you should get a second Johnny Smith. You can have your cake and eat it too!
David

[hot ford coupe]

Originally Posted by AlohaJoe

I'd strongly recommend against drilling any holes in your guitar. Joe V. at archtop.com recommended these to me and they work well with no mods to the instrument:
*Tapastring Guitar Care Products | The "Vintage Jack" | End Pin Jack No Drilling Required

If it were mine, I'd lose the piezo and get an ebony bridge (not a TOM fan). The simplest signal path is the least troublesome and there are better ways to get another signal to the PA. Others may have different ideas about this but when I'm playing out the last thing I need is electronics issues.

What he says.

[Fritzjazz]

Thanks or all your help. Looks like the end-pin jack is a bad idea. I just looked at it (the Johnny Smith) and it has no end pin- just a strap button held in place with a single screw (this is original). So it looks like I'm stuck with a pickgaurd exiting 1/8" jack, which is OK by me as long as it works reliable, which it does not right now.

I did read about somebody who has fabricated an "extension" that utilizes a 90 degree 1/8" jack to plug into the pick gaurd, which is part of a 14" lead that goes back to the tailpiece but outside the guitar. AT the other end of this extension jack is a female 1/4" jack that fits into a little leather pouch that hooks around the strap button. You plug your standard 1/4" cable into that- seems overly complicated with lots of potential problems though.

Guess the best thing is to put it back stock. Has anybody used a Johnny Smith for a long period without troubles with the jack?

Thanks,

Fritzjazz

[MikeJ]

Hi Fritzjazz
I have a 1966 JS and never had an issue with the Jack.. I carry a couple of 1/8th leads and 1/8 to 1/4 adapters then run a standard lead to the amp.
The 1/8 leads are really light and don't apply much pressure to the fitting.
If you are never using the piezio then I would remove it and go back to standard and you might find that a stereo jack will be somewhat less robust than a simpler mono Jack in that situation which may well be your problem.
If your guitar is anything like mine I would have thought that an ebony bridge is by far the best option.
My only issue is the Pick guard is very warped and probably needs replacing as its almost curling up and hitting the high E string.

[mattymel]

id say ditch the 1/8" and go with the 1/4" end pin conversion. who needs to deal with finding and 1/8 cable? hard enough to find good 1/4"s...

[customxke]

Originally Posted by mattymel

id say ditch the 1/8" and go with the 1/4" end pin conversion. who needs to deal with finding and 1/8 cable? hard enough to find good 1/4"s...

Easier to find a 1/8" connector than it is a clean JS.