I/O jack orientation

[eguth]

Hey

Sorry if this is the wrong section or has been discussed before, but something has been weighing on my mind about the orientation or "order" of the jacks in a guitar pedal.
As we all know, the input and output jacks of guitar pedals are almost exclusively arranged like this

Why is it like this? To me it seems the opposite would be more natural, after all, in most of the world, we read and write from left to right, and if i imagine an ordered set of items laid on a shallow table, I'd imagine they'd be laid left to right.

I wire all my pedals "left to right" for the above reasons, and i guess what I am wondering is why the "right to left" orientation is standard. Is there a sound reason for it or is it simply that the earliest pedal makers put them like that and it has persisted?
Do any of YOU wire your pedals "left to right"? Or am I some sort of maniac?

[GibsonGM]

I think it MIGHT have to do with:  picture a right-handed guitarist plugging into a pedal with input jack on the LEFT.  That will cause the patch cord to pass OVER the top of the pedal to get to that jack, possibly affecting the controls, esp. by blocking the stomp switch.  I think the flow is more natural if it goes from R to L, believe it or not. 


This MIGHT have something to do with it, or nothing at all!   

[karbomusic]

I think it MIGHT have to do with:  picture a right-handed guitarist plugging into a pedal with input jack on the LEFT.  That will cause the patch cord to pass OVER the top of the pedal to get to that jack, possibly affecting the controls, esp. by blocking the stomp switch.  I think the flow is more natural if it goes from R to L, believe it or not. 


This MIGHT have something to do with it, or nothing at all!   

That's the same explanation that resonates with me. Besides, if that isn't why, we still needed to pick and agree on one or the other or it would be a complete mess trying to connect more than a couple pedals!

Furthermore, the knobs tend to follow the same direction IIRC. However, I tend to put my volume knobs on the right for whatever reason.

[ElectricDruid]

Agree. A right handed guitarist has the jack-socket-plus-cable of their guitar on the right, so having the input to the pedal on the same side keeps things tidy.

I've wondered about this same question, but in the end, I adopted the "standard". It has some value just for being a standard, even if it's completely arbitrary, which I don't believe it is. Just pity those poor left-handed guitarists.

T.

[Phoenix]

I do everything left-to-right or "backwards". Partly because it annoys me the other "standard" way, and also just to be contrarian, so you're not alone.

EDIT:
If somebody has a problem with the way I design my pedals, I make it simple enough to switch in/out.

[eguth]

I think it MIGHT have to do with:  picture a right-handed guitarist plugging into a pedal with input jack on the LEFT.  That will cause the patch cord to pass OVER the top of the pedal to get to that jack, possibly affecting the controls, esp. by blocking the stomp switch.  I think the flow is more natural if it goes from R to L, believe it or not. 


This MIGHT have something to do with it, or nothing at all! 

That's a good point, i hadn't thought of it like that, makes sense

Besides, if that isn't why, we still needed to pick and agree on one or the other or it would be a complete mess trying to connect more than a couple pedals!

I can attest to that. That is the only problem with "left to right" for me, trying to connect a wah or a looper (my only 2 non-DIY pedals) into a chain and not have a mess of cables is quite tricky

I do everything left-to-right or "backwards". Partly because it annoys me the other "standard" way, and also just to be contrarian, so you're not alone.

EDIT:
If somebody has a problem with the way I design my pedals, I make it simple enough to switch in/out.

Good to see I'm not alone. If I make pedals for other people, I tend to make them "right to left" just to avoid any confusion

[MaxPower]

I suspect the real reason is because the guy who built the first pedal accidentally put the inputs/outputs right-to-left and never bothered to correct his mistake (kind of like me with ****ing pots) and it caught on because each successive pedal builder assumed there was some practical reason for it.

Pedals I build for myself I orientate left-to-right, pedals for others: right-to-left.

[greaser_au]

Pedals I build for myself I orientate left-to-right, pedals for others: right-to-left.

Lefty players  building them left to right, please contact me advising  your billing address...   http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=100684.msg887066#msg887066   

david

"Everything old is new again."

[antonis]

Am I the only one who has never saw a (right or left handed) guitar player plugging his pedals during playing..?? 

[duck_arse]

I am very right handed. I also mainly put my jax on the "top" in your drawing, instead of the sides. and, like a circuit diagram, I flow the input to output, gain to volume from the left of the box to the right of the box. I've never had anyone tell me the jax are wrong, yet.

and yes, this means I work the circuit board layout (and the jax, and the pots) from right to left because the board is inverted in the box, but what can you do?

[stallik]

I suspect the real reason is because the guy who built the first pedal accidentally put the inputs/outputs right-to-left and never bothered to correct his mistake (kind of like me with ****ing pots) and it caught on because each successive pedal builder assumed there was some practical reason for it.

I always wondered if the first build was made in a logical left to right flow when viewing the guts. Once started, it's difficult to change

[J0K3RX]

I think it's just a "follow the herd mentality" kind of thing... I have seen a lot of Russian pedals with the in and out jacks >left to right > so I guess it's just a matter of what is considered "right" where you live. I doubt the electrons flow any better either way.. In other countries they drive on the opposite side of the road and the steering wheel is on the opposite side of the vehicle etc... Either you comply to the norm or you will get in a crash and die. "When in Rome do as the Romans do" My wife likes the toilet paper coming off the bottom of the roll in the back, I like it coming off the top in the front.... yada yada bla bla  She also likes me to lift the seat but, I will not comply

[robthequiet]

...and just to throw a spanner in the works, putting all jacks at the front of the pedal, mooger style. Of course, cable polarity should always be respected 

[karbomusic]

Again, regardless of how it began or why, it would be completely silly to randomly do both then try to make that mess work on a pedal board.   Can you imagine needing pedal A to feed pedal B and having to use a 3 ft cable to loop around because they differ in I/O sides? That incudes the top of the pedal, it only makes the spaghetti noodles a little shorter but still a mess.

Sure, not a problem for us DIY guys but a huge problem for the other 99.99% of pedal buyers if manufacturers just flipped a coin and ignored the implied standard.

[Jdansti]

I think it MIGHT have to do with:  picture a right-handed guitarist plugging into a pedal with input jack on the LEFT.  That will cause the patch cord to pass OVER the top of the pedal to get to that jack, possibly affecting the controls, esp. by blocking the stomp switch.  I think the flow is more natural if it goes from R to L, believe it or not. 


This MIGHT have something to do with it, or nothing at all! 

This would be my guess too.

[thermionix]

I think it MIGHT have to do with:  picture a right-handed guitarist plugging into a pedal with input jack on the LEFT.  That will cause the patch cord to pass OVER the top of the pedal to get to that jack, possibly affecting the controls, esp. by blocking the stomp switch.  I think the flow is more natural if it goes from R to L, believe it or not. 


This MIGHT have something to do with it, or nothing at all! 

With a wah you might start chopping your cable.

I follow the "standard" so I don't have to bother labelling the jacks.

[davent]

I needed to know too.

Nobody has "PCB Layout for Musical Effects", eh?   

It's explained in there, and the winner for best guess is slacker. Lead comes out of the right side of the player, and the least obstructive path to the pedal is on the right side of the pedal.

Second place is Jayp5150, with the upside down board mounting happening to do what we wanted it to anyway.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=66147.msg525113#msg525113

dave

[deadastronaut]

My wife likes the toilet paper coming off the bottom of the roll in the back, I like it coming off the top in the front.... yada yada bla bla  She also likes me to lift the seat but, I will not comply

keep up the revolution man....(im a coming off the top too)

...we'll win in the end by pure annoyance..


(yeah its a lefty/righty thing..)..but the righties have won by majority. thats democratic i guess

as a lefty it is a pain with the guitar lead trailing over everything...

note to self : swap wah/vol/pedal jacks and make a lefty board....or put up with it. 

[Cozybuilder]

My wife likes the toilet paper coming off the bottom of the roll in the back, I like it coming off the top in the front.... yada yada bla bla  She also likes me to lift the seat but, I will not comply

keep up the revolution man....(im a coming off the top too)

...we'll win in the end by pure annoyance..

as a lefty it is a pain with the guitar lead trailing over everything...

(yeah its a lefty/righty thing..)..but the righties have won by majority. thats democratic i guess

note to self : swap wah/vol/pedal jacks and make a lefty board....or put up with it. 

Of course you could start your chain off with a "correctly marked" DeArmond model 602 shell for your next custom wah:

[greaser_au]

My wife likes the toilet paper coming off the bottom of the roll in the back, I like it coming off the top in the front....

keep up the revolution man....(im a coming off the top too)

Obviously you guys don't have small childen or cats....     Either that or you have  an unlimited budget for dunnyrolls...

david