Do I have a short in my cable or guitar?

[Furyof]

I'm trying to figure out what is going on with my tone. Sometimes my tone can be a little lifeless, but I get used to it. So I end up not noticing it. Until it sounds normal again. The normal version sounds thicker, like it has more juice to it. I thought it was my cable so I switched to a different cable. This cables wire connection can come loose sometimes, but otherwise it works most of the time. I'd rather not go out and buy a cable until I know for sure.

I know I've had trouble with the wiring of my guitar pickup before. At one point I couldn't play the guitar because the pickup wasn't working at all. It has since been fixed (the guy was an electrician but not a guitar tech). I'm kind of worried it is the pickup wiring again.

Here is an example. It might be hard to tell since this is uploaded to dropbox. https://www.dropbox.com/s/8qskxtb7b0gvinj/what I mean.wav?dl=0

 

[budda]

Try a different cable that you know works. That will tell you quick.

 

[Hollowway]

I was practicing through my POD with a new guitar. I switched cables, but to no avail. I was pissed because the new guitar kept having the signal go weird, and end up sounding super nasally. I talked a lot with the luthier, but we got nowhere. Then a few days later I played an older guitar of mine, and it did the exact same thing. So I figured out it's something in the POD. Now, when it starts doing it, I just smack the side of the POD, and it goes back to normal.

Point being, it could be anything in your signal chain, so try switching all the variables until you zero in on the culprit.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

test multiple guitars with the same cable to confirm it's the cable. If for whatever reason it's not the cable, then you know the issue might lie with the guitar. Common issues with guitars include cheap pots/switches failing over time and poor solder welds. Try spraying electronics deoxidizer on the pots/switch. worst case you rip out the electronics and install new stuff, best case you only need a new cable.