A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

OK so I have the same issue on "ALL" of my guitars loaded with a 3 way selector switch.

Basically all of them stop working and almost need to "warm up" before switching pickups correctly. I'll end up moving them back and forth a few times to get them going. I've done everything from checking for faulty wiring to hitting them with contact cleaner (which works for a few weeks). Granted, some of these guitars go unplayed for weeks but still.

I find it happens with new guitars and across brands as well except for my JP which has some sort of magic voodoo going on. But wether its a Kiesel, Schecter, Ibanez, Solar, Firefly, Hagstrom, Gretsch, it has the issue. Even the smaller selector switches on my SLS Blackjack that control the sustainer have the issue.

Any ideas or thoughts?

Are you leaving the switch in the middle position, or in the neck or bridge positions? I had an issue a little like that with a guitar some years ago; I left the switch in neck position about 99% of the time and eventually the switch started to get reluctant to switch. I was advised by a tech to leave the switch in middle position when I wasn't playing.

The only thing that makes me think it might not be that is that you say it happens with new guitars too. How new are we talking about?

glasshand wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2023 3:31 pm I was advised by a tech to leave the switch in middle position when I wasn't playing.

Good to know. Thanks.




Geez, Narsh. Is it super humid where you live?

I'll calling environment on this one. Moisture, humidity, sulfur, something has to be causing the corrosion. Deoxit fader lube is what you want but I don't recommend because 1 blast of the nozzle is way to much and it isn't cheap. Wd40 just came out with contact cleaner lube and it's getting a lot of good recommendations.

Thanks fellas will try both

Thought you were still in the desert, you moved to Florida a few years back , probably closer to 5 or more years, salt mist air would do it. I heard it kind of sandblasts the windshields of cars down there.

As to the contact cleaners, most do just that, clean. That appears to be a temp job, you also need to protect them after they are cleaned, hence the cleaner/lube. Deoxit is the best but like i said, they changed the nozzle and it probably wastes more than applies. They also used to sell a bottle you could put on with a qtip. May not be good for chinese box switches but should be good for the open fender style where you can see the contacts actually working.