Ibanez Artcore Troubleshooting: Wiring & Electronics Through the F-Hole!

Welcome back to the workbench! We are diving into Part 2 of the Ibanez Artcore "Spa Treatment," and things just got a whole lot more adventurous. I thought we were in the home stretch, but I found some high frets that needed leveling, and then the real mystery started: an intermittent signal that only cuts out when it feels like it. In this video, I’m tackling: The "Doctor’s Office" Bug: Why does the guitar only work when I’m looking at it? Troubleshooting that disappearing neck pickup. Hollow-Body Surgery: I’m pulling the entire electronics harness out through the F-hole. If you’ve never done this, it’s a trip! My Tubing Strategy: Watch me use heat shrink and a solder-wire trick to fish everything back into place without losing my mind. Saving the Pots: I’m getting in there with some DeoxIT to deep clean those 500k mini-pots and get them back to 100%. Grab your popcorn and a Diet Coke, and let's get into the guts of this Artcore project. Let's Talk: Have you ever had a guitar "fix itself" the second you put it on the bench? Drop your troubleshooting horror stories in the comments—I try to respond to every one of you! Timestamps 4:28 The mystery signal: "I can't fix it if it ain't broke" 7:21 My plan for pulling the harness through the F-hole 9:12 Ted’s never done this before (The tubing trick) 11:59 Surgery begins: Protecting the finish with blue tape 14:35 Wrestling with the mini pots 17:35 Labeling my wires so I don't get lost 20:25 My solder-wire trick for the output jack 22:27 DeoxIT time: Cleaning the electronics 24:28 The "Fast Forward Extravaganza" 25:34 We have electronics! Final thoughts ____ Shoutouts: @j-mansgearcave (J) @SmokeEaterGuitars (Jon) @TonJager (Brant) @BCG5150GUITARS (Chris) Checkout our playlist page for more series and journeys https://www.youtube.com/@TedTalksGuitars/playlists Special Thanks to our channel members "The Jacks" Want to support the channel? Feel free to explore Channel membership options: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBr6kaWeOvldTHvntB3tnMg/join Ted Talks Guitars & Life Merch Store: https://tedtalksguitars-shop.fourthwall.com/ Amazon Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/3W3PZox *If you click on this link to shop at Amazon the channel will receive a modest financial commission from your purchases. Guyker Referral Link: https://www.guyker.com/?ref=tedtalksguitars If you use the link you will save 15% at Guyker Use the coupon code: TEDSMITH #IbanezArtcore #GuitarRepair #Hollowbody #Luthier #GuitarMaintenance #TedTalksGuitars #GuitarSetup #ElectronicsRepair #DIYGuitar