Hi! I'd post in the welcome forum, but I'll be brief.
I have a Fender Starcaster (knock-off strat) that has worked well for ~1.5 years. One odd thing I just realized: while it worked, whenever I had the switch in position 3 (middle) I would get no sound. That's supposed to be just the middle pickup, right? Or is that off... you tell me.
Anyhow, I broke it yesterday. I was tightening the input jack (it comes loose a lot), and when I plugged the cable back in, I just got a loud hum. It's still like that... let me describe it some more:
When I strum the strings or do nothing, I get a soft hum.
When I touch only the strings, I get a loud hum.
When I touch only the input jack, I get no hum.
When I touch both the strings and the input jack, it works! The middle jack works too...unlike before, when I thought the guitar was working. The problem is...it's really inconvenient to stretch my pinky down to the input jack plate and play.
Any ideas what's wrong here? I pulled up the pickguard, and all the wires looked ... intact... so I put it all back together. Thanks in advance for any replies. Hopefully this isn't a common (?) issue that I could've searched for.
You have a bad connection, somewhere, I reckon. I'd start by getting some contact cleaner and cleaning the switch. If that doesn't work, I'd take off the backplate and have a look at the earth connector to the bridge.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
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the middle switch position has all three pickups ON. the fact that you have no sound means the wire connection broke. it needs resoldering. it is common to experience a jack coming loose. probably when tightening it you twisted the whole thing and the contact wires broke. again, they can be resoldered.if you have no experience with this take it to a repair shop. it should not be costly.
you could search on line for DIY (do it yourself) repair sites. soldering is tricky but doable. it would not hurt o learn what is inside the guitar.
welcome to this awesome forum.
the middle switch position has all three pickups ON.
Does that mean that a Starcaster has a different switching to a Strat? On a Strat, the middle position only switches the middle pickup in circuit.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN
Starcaster?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Starcaster
My Strat (Classic Player 50s) has a different configuration to the standard. There are models in which you can select the three pickups. I know the ones that use the S-1 switch.
+1 on dogbite's broken wire speculation: The ground connection on the input jack probably broke off at jack's ground tab. On a Strat, pull the jack plate, flip it over and you probably spot the problem immediately (wire to nowhere!).
If you followed Nuno's Wiki link, you will see a Starcaster -- which is not like a Strat at all. I'm with Greybeard -- on most Strat's and Strat-clones, center switch position is center pup only.
-=tension & release=-
If you followed Nuno's Wiki link, you will see a Starcaster -- which is not like a Strat at all.
The current Starcasters are very Strat-like, probably the same as a Squier Affinity, and sold through Target, Wal-Mart, etc.
http://www.amazon.com/Fender-Starcaster%C2%AE-Electric-Guitar-Package/dp/B000JVYPJW
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
If you followed Nuno's Wiki link, you will see a Starcaster -- which is not like a Strat at all.
The current Starcasters are very Strat-like, probably the same as a Squier Affinity, and sold through Target, Wal-Mart, etc.
http://www.amazon.com/Fender-Starcaster%C2%AE-Electric-Guitar-Package/dp/B000JVYPJW
(From the murky depths) ... yes, now I recall seeing those -- usually with only one string left.
Given Tone 2 controls the middle pup, it's probably selected all by its lonesome in middle switch position.
Thanks for clearing that up, slej
-=tension & release=-
