Active Band Man Chats - Jacks Edition

What should we talk about this time?

This time is all about jacks!

Jacks? Can we really say much about them?

Then let’s add plugs too!

That’s a pretty niche addition! …Either way, I don’t feel like we have much to say…

Come on, tell me that recent story you had about jacks and plugs!

Oh. So that’s what you wanted to get at (lol)

Are you gonna ask me or not!?

It can’t be helped so I’ll listen.

“It can’t be helped”…?

Whoops… that slipped out (lol). No, I’ve been dying to hear this, really.

If you insist that much, I’ll let you tell it.

Please do!

So, I’ve got this acoustic-electric guitar I’ve been using for about three or four years, and when I touch the plug on the cable inserted into the output jack, the sound cuts out.

That’s a bit of an unpleasant symptom.

Yeah. I checked various pieces of gear, and it didn’t seem like the cable itself was the problem.

So that means it was coming from the guitar?

That’s what I thought too, so I took it to a repair shop right away.

That was quick.

I had a recording coming up in a few days where I needed that acoustic-electric, so I wanted it properly fixed.

Yeah, there are instruments you just can’t substitute.

I definitely didn’t have a backup acoustic-electric lying around!

I get that…

So I was determined to track down the cause and get it repaired!

How did it go?

Turns out, the output jack on my acoustic-electric didn’t make good contact unless the plug was on the thicker side.

Huh? That’s the reason? Are there actually thick and thin plugs to begin with?

Apparently there are. I didn’t know either until then.

I knew there were slight differences, but I didn’t realize they could cause connection issues…

And get this—it’s such a tiny difference you can’t even tell just by looking!

What a pain…

Seems like I’d been using a cable with a thinner plug on that guitar.

I see.

I figured, “It’s a brand-new Fender cable, so there’s no way the cable itself is faulty,” but…

Turns out it was just incompatible with the jack.

Exactly. Then I tried switching to another Fender cable that just looked like it had a thicker plug, and the connection issue disappeared!

Wow, even within the same brand there’s a difference. “It looked thicker” (lol)

Seems so! You can’t just assume a certain brand will always be fine—it really depends on the plug.

Interesting.

Also, the repair guy told me this kind of thing can happen with acoustic guitars and basses. Apparently it’s less common with electric guitars.

Acoustic guitars and basses? I’ve never noticed… maybe I just didn’t realize.

Maybe. So if you ever think, “Huh, bad connection?” but neither the instrument nor the cable seems faulty…

Then it’s worth suspecting a compatibility issue between the jack and the plug.

Yes!

That makes sense. Sometimes during live shows I’ll get what feels like a bad connection, but later everything checks out fine… this might be one of the causes. I’ll keep that in mind.

“Those who believe will be saved”… well, not necessarily in this case. Anyway, horry, do you have any particular preferences when it comes to jacks?

You mean like the shape or position of the jack…?

Yes!

You mean like whether the jack is mounted on the body side or the body top?

Yes! Yes! Oh, right—having a jack on the head… well, since there’s no head, we can rule that out.

Hey, I do love headless guitars, but could you stop teasing me for no reason? (lol)

Okaaay

More than position, the shape I don’t like is the boat-style jack. Those limit the kind of plug you can use.

Yeah, I don’t really go for boat-style jacks either. I often use cables that are L-shaped on one end and straight on the other, and I like plugging the L-shaped end into the guitar.

What’s the reasoning behind that?

I tend to choose guitars with the jack on the body top—

Teisco?

Yep! And also… Jazzmasters were like that too. Flying Vs as well! In those cases, an L-shaped plug just sits better, somehow. And I prefer using the straight plug on the effects.

I see.

Also, if you knock over the guitar while a straight plug is inserted…

Then?

If it’s the type where the jack is mounted on the pickguard, there’s a chance the jack, the plug, and the pickguard could all break at once!

That’s terrifying…

Right? At that point, you can’t even play the show! The only option left would be to mic up the natural sound of the electric guitar…

Wouldn’t it be safer if the jack were on the body side…?

Yeah, but the guitars I tend to pick don’t really have that kind of setup.

I see. But when the jack is on the side, you have to be careful when placing it directly on the floor. Depending on the angle, it can put stress on the jack…

Yeah, that’s true…

I’m really into headless guitars, but at live houses, there are times when you can’t use the provided guitar stands… some places only have hanging types.

Well, yeah. There’s no head, after all.

Which means you have no choice but to put it on the floor… and in that case, a straight plug puts stress on the jack, so I usually go with L-shaped plugs.

What does the “L” in L even stand for? The “L” stands for “less”!

…

R-reaction-less…!

I appreciate the effort, but that wasn’t very good (lol)

Ugh…

But L-shaped plugs are a bit more expensive than straight ones (wry laugh)

Can’t be helped (lol)

Also, I tend to go with L-shaped plugs on the effects side too. With straight ones, it feels like the cable’s weight puts some strain on it. It’s probably not a huge amount, though. And with straight plugs, I feel like other band members are more likely to step on them… L-shaped plugs seem less likely to get stepped on. Such a minor reason (lol)

That’s very you, horry. I think it’s an important reason (lol). L–L cables, or at least all my patch cables are like that.

If you’re moving around a lot on stage, straight plugs are probably better than L-shaped ones, though. And for the amp side, I prefer straight plugs. L-shaped ones can be hard to insert sometimes—like with DI boxes.

You’ve got quite a lot of preferences after all. You said you couldn’t talk much about this.

Yeah… I guess so. Not just sound, but in terms of usability, there are all sorts of preferences and ways to choose gear. Kind of my own odd little quirks…

Then next time, let’s dig into those kinds of preferences!

Huh? Can we really talk about that?

It’s fine! After all, everything is—

Because of love!