Need some advice from the pros...

[Mr.Shreddy]

Hey guys, I've had my Socal for about a year and a half or so, and need some technical help with the jack. When I plug my cable into it, it cracks and pops like the connection is loose, but I've tightened the nut around the input in the dish. (strat style) It feels as if it's loose, but I've tightened it down, any suggestions or corrections? Thank you in advance.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

It's possible a solder joint is cracked, or that the jack's contacts are bent.

I would advise you just buy a new Switchcraft jack and solder it in there. You could try bending the contact over so it will hold tighter but more than likely that will just be a temporary fix.

[rjohnstone]

+1
Double check the solder joints and the contact arm.
You should feel a nice solid click when you plug a cable in and it should not wiggle at all.

[Mr.Shreddy]

Will do, I'll pull it out and check it out. Thank you two for the advice as well. I'm 17 and clearly don't have that much experience with guitar maintenance, but love learning about and thank you again. If I do replace the jack itself, all I need to do is remove the cables and solder them to the new one, correct? -or is there more to it?

[rjohnstone]

Yep. It's a pretty straight forward fix.

[6string40]

Shreddy...replacing a jack is just about the easy bit of maintenance you're ever going to do! And cheapest too!

[Dreamland_Rebel]

also, check to make sure there is a lock washer between the jack and the jack plate. (you know the washer that looks like a gear.)

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

When you swap jacks, one thing to remember is to make sure you don't flip the wires - look at the old jack, and which wire goes where. Make sure you put the wires on the same terminals on the new one.

[Mr.Shreddy]

Haha yes I know what a washer is, I've done maintenance, just not guitar maintenance. Cool, sounds good and thank you all for the help!

[Dreamland_Rebel]

i came across an Ibanez RG that shipped without a lock washer between the volume pot and pickguard. you could tighten the nut on the outside everyday and the next day it would be loose again. dude kept having issues with the sound cutting in and out and didn't know why. he was spinning the knob too far until it broke the connections to the pot. installed a lock washer, re-soldered the connections and problem solved.

[Sharkfin]

Good to know, I always wondered what that was for. Lock washer...