No Sound After Changing Strings

[Tripp]

Hello, I have an Ernie Ball Music Man Cutlass RS HSS that is relatively new. I recently changed strings (yes they are electric guitar strings) and now I have no sound coming from the pickups to the amp. I have tried different strings, different brand strings, different cable, and different amplifier. I am kind of at my wits end as to what could be causing this just from changing strings. The guitar has barely been played. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Tripp

 

[beej]

Any chance it's the battery? If it's not making great connection in the compartment (which could happen after you move the guitar around a bit), you wouldn't hear anything.

 

[Tripp]

Thank you. I did change the battery, but how can I tell whether or not it is connecting since the battery comes out when the slot for it is open?

 

[beej]

While it's plugged in, open the battery compartment and push the battery slightly. If you get a signal while you're doing that, then that's the issue. In that case you can use a little bit of folded cardboard, etc. between the back of the battery and compartment door.

 

[Tripp]

Thank you. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work. The part you put the battery in is attached to the door that opens outward. However, I believed I have identified the issue as having to do with the battery compartment. Folding a bit of paper to push the battery down seems to work. I don’t understand why the operation of such an expensive guitar depends on a cheap piece of plastic.

 

[DrKev]

Thank you. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work. The part you put the battery in is attached to the door that opens outward. However, I believed I have identified the issue as having to do with the battery compartment. Folding a bit of paper to push the battery down seems to work. I don’t understand why the operation of such an expensive guitar depends on a cheap piece of plastic.

It's because 9 volt batteries are made to slightly different dimensions by different manufacturers. The battery compartment has to be made to accommodate them all (otherwise some will not go in or, worse, may not come out). The flip side of the compromise is that some batteries will have a loose fit. A small piece of foam or paper or card seems nutty on such an expensive instrument but from an engineering perspective it's the perfect solution - cheap, easy for anyone to source, replace, and remove when necessary, no permanent modification needed, and zero risk of damage. The other solution to the issue would be to use a wired clip-on connector terminal like many guitar pedals use, but on guitars they are awkward to use and prone to breakage if a wire of the connector.

(Side story: back in my physics days I fixed a damaged mirror mount inside an argon ion laser with a shim made from aluminum cut from an empty soda can. The colleague I was working with at the time was initially quite offended by the idea until I pointed out that a replacement mount would have cost $600 with a two month wait time, and had I sanded off the Coca Cola logo and said it was manufacturer supplied they would have been perfectly happy. It saved us a lot of time and money.)