One of the most annoying things to deal with is when the tip of an instrument lead plug decides to break off and lodge itself inside the socket.
The reason this is annoying is that it is such a simple problem, but often cannot be recitified without opening up the amplifier to gain access from the top of the jack socket. If you get lucky, sometimes you can use a spike or a skewer and raise the socket pins enough for the offending part to drop out.
It’s worth suspecting this situation when you observe:-
- A cable refuses to be fully plugged into a socket and
- The amp is (nearly) silent
Much of the time, to avoid damage to the relatively thin metals of the socket innards, a good set of steel picks is a useful tool to have.
Of Sound Mind 