Quantum Strummer
Senior Member
Here's a pic of the plugs from two cables I have. On the left is a Switchcraft plug from a c. 1993 ProCo cable. The plug on the right is from a c. 2008 Monster cable. The Monster plug may look longer than the Switchcraft but that's a perspective trick…they're actually the same length. What isn't a perspective trick is the Monster's longer notch (the curved narrower part) in the tip of its plug. I have a bunch of other fairly new cables from a variety of sources, all with this longer plug notch.
Anyway, here's the issue: a bunch of my older guitars—mostly '50s & '60s stuff—do not get along well with the longer notch. The part of their jacks that's supposed to engage with the notch doesn't always do it properly, and when it doesn't I get buzzing, static, intermittent/degraded signal from the guitar or even silence. I often have to unplug & replug multiple times before I get just the "right" fit. (The shorter notch plugs seem to work fine with everything, new or old.) So I've been using the old ProCo cable, which is still in great shape, with problem guitars for awhile now.
My '72 SG-250 is among the problem guitars. Its jack is connected to its top cover plate, so I can remove the plate and attach a cable and see what's going on. The jack for sure makes a poorer physical connection with the longer plug notch. (I don't have a pic of this at the moment.) The fit is snug with the shorter notch but loose with the longer one.
So it seems that c. 1970 plug/jack makers began (mostly) using the longer notch and shaping the jack receptacles to suit these plugs. Any idea why? Did the advent of stereo audio prompt it in some way?
-Dave-
(All puns welcome!)
Anyway, here's the issue: a bunch of my older guitars—mostly '50s & '60s stuff—do not get along well with the longer notch. The part of their jacks that's supposed to engage with the notch doesn't always do it properly, and when it doesn't I get buzzing, static, intermittent/degraded signal from the guitar or even silence. I often have to unplug & replug multiple times before I get just the "right" fit. (The shorter notch plugs seem to work fine with everything, new or old.) So I've been using the old ProCo cable, which is still in great shape, with problem guitars for awhile now.
My '72 SG-250 is among the problem guitars. Its jack is connected to its top cover plate, so I can remove the plate and attach a cable and see what's going on. The jack for sure makes a poorer physical connection with the longer plug notch. (I don't have a pic of this at the moment.) The fit is snug with the shorter notch but loose with the longer one.
So it seems that c. 1970 plug/jack makers began (mostly) using the longer notch and shaping the jack receptacles to suit these plugs. Any idea why? Did the advent of stereo audio prompt it in some way?
-Dave-
(All puns welcome!)