ARCHTOP GUITAR JACK INSTALL

Replacing output jacks on archtop guitars can be a trick. They are generally located where there is minimal access, and a jungle of wires, volume, and tone pots add to the challenge of installing a replacement jack. In many cases, some or all of the volume and tone controls must be removed before the jack can be removed. In other cases manufacturers leave enough wire to the jack that it can be removed and reinstalled independently. Either way it is still hard to re-install an output jack. Here is a trick I came up with to make installing a new jack in an archtop guitar easier. .

I have taken a standard .056 guitar string and superglued a short piece of the same string into the ball end, forming a "T".

The string is then threaded through the jack and then into the guitar through the "F" hole and out the jack hole. If a knurled washer is going to be used it should be on at the jack at this time. Take care when inserting the string through the guitar to make sure that the wire is not becoming threaded into any other part of the wire harness from the volume and tone pots if they are still installed.

The jack can then be pulled into the jack hole and the exterior washer and nut installed. The string can then be pushed back into the guitar and drawn out through the "F" hole.