Active Jack Replacement

[gilmour]

Hi All,

I've looked through previous posts and found a few simialr topics, but mot quite the same, so I hope I'm not covering old ground here.

All o fmy Basses are active, and a common problem with them all is that after a while the barrel jack wears out and starts to crackle. So I replace the barrel jack.

This isn't the biggest problem, I'm about to do it again on my Yamaha (the 3rd time in about 10 years). I'm just wondering if there is an alternative. From what I know there isn't much choice in the way of barrel jacks. I toyed with getting an XLR put in and having a bbalanced output but that's a lot of work and I'm not sure I fancy it (I wonder why they don;t make basses with balanced outputs as standard?)

Any way if you do have any nuggets of wisdom please let me know, otherwise it's an evening with the soldering Iron !

[Count Bassy]

Jack sockets come in many forms, but one big variation is how the earth side of the contact is made. On cruder versions the earth contact relies on contact between the solid barrel of the between plug and the inside of the hollow body of the socket. There is no spring in the contact and it relies on the sideways force from the tip contact (which is sprung) to keep the earth in contact.

Better sockets have a separate sprung contact to make the earth contact as well, and on the better ones of these they are gold plated contacts. Gold is a very good conductor and does not tarnish much, so the contact is generally reliable. We're not looking a lot of money here, you'll get a good quality socket for a couple of quid.

The only down side of these sockets is that the spring is generally less strong, and the retention of the plug is not quite so firm. If that's a problem then Neutrik do a locking jack socket which still has the sprung earth contact, bit they need an XLR size hole rather than a standard Jack, so might not be suitable.

The other problem with a locking jack is that should you trip over the cable you'll likelt pull the cables out of the plug rather than pull the plug out of the socket. These still come in at under a fiver, and are rated for 10000 mating cycles.


Oh dear, I seem to have gone on a bit.




Clive.

[gilmour]

Thanks Clive,

The locking one sounds like a good option, but I'll need to check how much work this will require to fit.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

In the past I have used cheap & cheerful "no name" sockets from Maplin or my local electronics trade counter. They often need replacing as the metal it too thin. I now only use Switchcraft jacks, which can be bought from here: [url="http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/electrical_jacksstereo.htm"]http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/electri...jacksstereo.htm[/url] if you don't mind ordering from the states. THe switchcrafts are much better quality than the flimsy generic ones and I've never had to replace one.

[mybass]

Switchcraft also available from WD music in the UK (online site too). They only seem to carry the silver ones but as previously mentioned here, the switchcraft are the best at present. I am talking the barrel stereo ones here.
Also, yes to buying the better and authentic brand as the cheaper stuff is really "cheap" and won't last. For a couple of quid more, we don't want to re-solder too often!
I have found that jack plugs and sockets can a miniscule difference in circumference sizes between manufacturers. Some jack plugs I used were ever so slightly loose in the barrel, especially some gold plated ones. Try using Neutrik jacks, the REAL ones. They seem to fit the switchcraft barrels very well.



[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='69121' date='Oct 3 2007, 04:26 PM']In the past I have used cheap & cheerful "no name" sockets from Maplin or my local electronics trade counter. They often need replacing as the metal it too thin. I now only use Switchcraft jacks, which can be bought from here: [url="http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/electrical_jacksstereo.htm"]http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/electri...jacksstereo.htm[/url] if you don't mind ordering from the states. THe switchcrafts are much better quality than the flimsy generic ones and I've never had to replace one.[/quote]

[bass_ferret]

[quote name='Clive Thorne' post='68283' date='Oct 1 2007, 05:48 PM']These still come in at under a fiver, and are rated for 10000 mating cycles.[/quote]
Is that with or without the viagra?