68 lost souls Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 Whats the difference between stereo and mono input jacks and which do you think is better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 A stereo jack was originally made to be used to send two separate signals, so if you wanted to send separate signals to two speakers, etc. through the same cable. Of course, for this to work, you would have to also have a stereo cable. On a stereo cord, you have three sections: the tip, and two sections on the sleeve. A stereo jack has corresponding brushes. A mono cord has two sections: tip and sleeve, and a mono jack corresponds. A stereo jack in a guitar has a specialized purpose. If you want, you can use it to send different pickup signals to different amps (magnetic to one, piezo to another, etc.). However, this takes a stereo cord to work. When a mono jack is inserted into a stereo jack, the sleeve connects the jack's TWO sleeve brushes, essentially turning it into a mono jack. However, some really smart dude got the idea of using this mechanism as a switch. When you wire up active pickups in a guitar, the ground wires go to the tip and the power and signal wires go to the two brushes on the sleeve. This way, when there is no cord in the guitar, the batteries aren't producing power, and you aren't wasting your batteries. When the mono cord is inserted, it completes the circuit. To sum it up: when you are using passive pickups, you don't need a stereo jack. It serves no purpose, unless you're sending out two signals through a stereo cord. If you have active pickups, you MUST HAVE a stereo jack, unless you want to replace your 9V battery every 2 weeks. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68 lost souls Posted July 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefm Posted July 18, 2004 Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 I think someone was working on sending external power into the guitar through one to power the active circuits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 You CAN use phantom power to run an active circuit, but it's a huge hassle and very risky. You have to account for the different voltage, and you have to have the proper cables, etc. with you: i.e. the guitar is unusable anywhere but your personal rig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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