FnGreg7 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Hey. Just signed up for the forum because I didn't know where else to go. Tried searching online, and apparently, I'm the only person to ever have this problem... Well, to put it bluntly, my NanoMAG on my Epiphone Les Paul Ultra-II no longer works. I have a cracked jack plate, but that wasn't from dropping it. It was from screwing it a little too tight, the plastic warped and cracked a little. Not important. Here's the lowdown. It is not the battery. I put a fresh one in and nothing. I checked all of the wiring, and it all seems to be in tact. So, I'm thinking it's the jack. When I took apart the jack is different than the jack in any of my other electrics (it looks like a box, not just the touching prongs on almost every other jack). So, to all you Epiphone gurus out there... What's wrong with my baby?! Can you help me out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Sorry, I'm not an epi guru but I have an Ultra-II and may have to deal with this issue someday so I am hoping you get some more responses. A fellow from Australia helped me with a nanomag preamp question. A little more info might help a guru figure this out- The jacks on the U2 are as you noted, different from single jack guitars as the two types of pickups are isolated when the nanomag/stereo jack is used. Which jack was overtightened, why were you tightening it and have you tried taking a cord that is plugged into an active amp and while strumming the guitar plug the other end into each jack while moving it around, in and out etc. to see if you can get get some sound to come through. As you must know by now the mono/magnetic jack is very difficult to put a plug into and it kind of goes in in two stages, so I assume you have the plug completely inserted in the jack. If you don't get more responses try reposting but change the title to something like "Why Epi's are ten times better than Gibsons" or "Playing an LP is like playing Guitar Hero" and maybe more folks will look at it. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midiman56 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Greg ... welcome to the forum, I wish the circumstances were more pleasent. Unfortunately, I have been hearing nothing but horror stories about the nanoMAG from several retailers in my area. In fact, all of them are anxious to make them go away and not reorder them. They just seem to stop working for no apparent reason. I own the original Ultra (the one without the nanoMAG) and I love it ... so take solace in the fact that the rest of the guitar is sound. However, if I were you, I would contact Epiphone Customer Service about this immediately. If this is a wide-spread as I'm lead to believe, they have to do something about it. Let us know will you ... this is bound to come up again. Thanks and good luck! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 It is not the battery. I put a fresh one in and nothing. I checked all of the wiring' date=' and it all seems to be in tact. So, I'm thinking it's the jack. When I took apart the jack is different than the jack in any of my other electrics (it looks like a box, not just the touching prongs on almost every other jack). So, to all you Epiphone gurus out there... What's wrong with my baby?! Can you help me out? [/quote'] It is more than likely a broken wire inside the box jack that has connections to connect and disconnect the battery as well. A while ago, someone on this forum had exactly the same problem you are describing and was wondering about the wire colours from the circuit board to the jack. It may be a nine lug stereo jack or something similar. Epiphone does have a lifetime warranty on any instrument bought from a dealer and this should be covered under the warranty as either a broken wire to the jack or bad mechanical connection inside the jack. In any case, they should be able to ship the wiring diagram and new jack if necessary to you as long as you provide Epiphone customer service with the sn of your guitar and where it was purchased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FnGreg7 Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Well, I don't know about providing bill of sale and all that. I bought it off of CraigsList. A guy won it from a radio station, he didn't play guitar, so I bought it from him. It was brand new, had all of the papers and stickers, etc. I still have the warranty card, but the thing said I would need to be able to have proof and receipt of the purchase, at which point I thought to myself "oh man, there is no way I can get that stuff," so I didn't send the card in. I just sent an e-mail to Gibson, and hopefully, they'll get back to me soon. If I can get a new NanoMAG jack, I'll just solder the thing back in and be happy-dandy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FnGreg7 Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Okay, I looked it up, and it appears a 9-lug stereo jack is exactly the thing I need (judging from pictures). It looks just like the thing inside of my Ultra-II. I'm gonna order one off of the internet, then see about how it works when it gets here... Thanks for the tip! You might have saved me here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Well' date=' I don't know about providing bill of sale and all that. I bought it off of CraigsList. A guy won it from a radio station, he didn't play guitar, so I bought it from him. It was brand new, had all of the papers and stickers, etc. I still have the warranty card, but the thing said I would need to be able to have proof and receipt of the purchase, at which point I thought to myself "oh man, there is no way I can get that stuff," so I didn't send the card in. I just sent an e-mail to Gibson, and hopefully, they'll get back to me soon. If I can get a new NanoMAG jack, I'll just solder the thing back in and be happy-dandy. [/quote'] Hmmm..I think that the way the Gibson "lifetime warranty" is written is .."defects from materials and workmanship to the original purchaser".. this is similar to buying a new vehicle and reselling it while there is still some warranty period left...unless the new owner buys an extended warranty, there isn't really a warranty anymore. Regardless, it's seems to be an inherent quality issue with the box jack,and as a goodwill guesture, Epiphone/Gibson could send you a new jack. Those box types of jacks are not as robust as the traditional Switchcraft jacks which have robust heavy duty contacts to withstand years of cord plug insertions. I don't know how many contacts yours has that are actually wired, but Stew-Mac does sell them ..9 lug stereo jack #3774 ($4.98)...if yours is the square black plastic version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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