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DIY Stompboxes => Building your own stompbox => Topic started by: DANOfuzzlove on July 03, 2010, 01:09:33 AM

Title: does one jack need 2 be mono and the other stereo?
Post by: DANOfuzzlove on July 03, 2010, 01:09:33 AM
im trying 2 fix the french toast octave pedal i messed up and i read online sumwer 1 jack has 2 b stereo, is that true? it wont work if both are mono>?
Title: Re: does one jack need 2 be mono and the other stereo?
Post by: phector2004 on July 03, 2010, 02:47:29 PM
lol

it'll work with mono on both sides, but for power switching, you can use stereo...

note that this part of the forum is for the Beginner's Project... (Highly recommended!)
you could have just asked on your original thread!
Title: Re: does one jack need 2 be mono and the other stereo?
Post by: stringsthings on July 04, 2010, 11:05:31 PM
many pedals use a stereo jack on the input for power switching ... when you insert your guitar cord into the input jack, the pedal turns on .... the extra tab ( ring ), is connected to the negative side of the battery connector ... the sleeve is connected to ground ( as usual ) ... so, when a regular guitar jack is inserted, the battery is switched into the circuit ... ( ground is completed using the ground of the guitar jack ) ....

this method saves the pedal builder(s) from having to install a separate power on switch .... the disadvantage?  if the user leaves the guitar cord plugged into the pedal, the battery will slowly drain ....
Title: Re: does one jack need 2 be mono and the other stereo?
Post by: Mark Hammer on July 05, 2010, 10:01:56 AM
Right.  The stereo input-jack strategy has been pretty much standard since the dawn of stompboxes in the 60's.

Just one cautionary note.  It is easy to get the different lugs confused; particularly since there is no universal standard for locating the tip and ring lugs.  I'm not the only person here to have wired up the connections to the input jack, and been surprised to wake up the next morning to find a new battery dead because the wires went to the wrong lug and the unplugged pedal continued to run all night.

Rule #1: confirm which lug makes which connection.
Title: Re: does one jack need 2 be mono and the other stereo?
Post by: Paul Marossy on July 05, 2010, 12:32:37 PM
For my own builds, I use mono jacks for everything because I don't do batteries in my effects.