Am I doing something wrong? (Amp input jack)

[agedhorse]

I haven’t seen the style of jack used in the Subway amps fail ever from a plug remaining installed for years or decades.

We use more than a hundred thousand of these jacks every year and almost never see a problem with them.

 

[beans-on-toast]

We'd see this more commonly if actually an issue. In 70yrs input jacks have worked just fine, it seems.

I leave jacks plugged into my amps for years at home. No issues, including when my toddler decides to use the cable as a jump rope. They kill the cables but everything works fine on the jacks without hassle or concern.

You've been very fortunate.

Working on amps, I've come across many cases of jack damage due to strain over time. Loose nuts can also play a roll. Soldered in jacks can break connections, spring metal can even be bent. It depends on the jack manufacturer.

 

[ThumpandPluck]

Contact cleaner spray is absolutely *not* where to start. You will get a couple scant droplets where you want it on the actual content points in the socket and a generous dose of corrosive fluid on the amp's circuit board and parts, where you really don't want it.

Ya know, I was so stoked to say that important thing and overlooked the "spray", this is the hinge; it's in a spray can, but in most cases just blasting anything is not a good time. I'd rather have say 'use a little on the input cable and plug it in, just a little' but I was totally wrong, I am the one who mislead. <I'm an idiot>

 

[agedhorse]

Ya know, I was so stoked to say that important thing and overlooked the "spray", this is the hinge; it's in a spray can, but in most cases just blasting anything is not a good time. I'd rather have say 'use a little on the input cable and plug it in, just a little' but I was totally wrong, I am the one who mislead. <I'm an idiot>

It happens all the time, and results in generally more expensive repairs when the amp gets repaired right. There's a LOT of profit to be mace selling "miracle cure-all spray" due to folks on the internet promoting it as well, a cure-all.

A little on the cable plug isn't going to hurt anything but if the problem isn't the jack it's not going to help either.

 

[agedhorse]

You've been very fortunate.

Working on amps, I've come across many cases of jack damage due to strain over time. Loose nuts can also play a roll. Soldered in jacks can break connections, spring metal can even be bent. It depends on the jack manufacturer.

Then you are seeing some awfully poor quality jacks. Properly assembled PCB mount jacks are generally the most reliable when the PCB is correctly designed and specified.

 

[ardgedee]

Working on amps, I've come across many cases of jack damage due to strain over time. Loose nuts can also play a roll. Soldered in jacks can break connections, spring metal can even be bent. It depends on the jack manufacturer.

Then you are seeing some awfully poor quality jacks. Properly assembled PCB mount jacks are generally the most reliable when the PCB is correctly designed and specified.

I suspect we might be contrasting the experiences of somebody who designs Apple hardware and somebody who provides tech support for an office full of beige box PCs.

 

[meisi]

You've been very fortunate.

Working on amps, I've come across many cases of jack damage due to strain over time. Loose nuts can also play a roll. Soldered in jacks can break connections, spring metal can even be bent. It depends on the jack manufacturer.

Never had an issue with the quality big brands, e.g. Mesa, Fender, Boss, Peavey, and OP is asking about Mesa and Boss products, specifically.

clone shop and home builder boutique gear is a horse of a different color. they don't got rigorous testing for their certifications.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I suspect we might be contrasting the experiences of somebody who designs Apple hardware and somebody who provides tech support for an office full of beige box PCs.

My musical instrument amp experience dates back over 50 years.

There is a wide range of design and parts quality. Not everything is done well. Certainly modern components are better than they've ever been. Current designs are magnitudes better than vintage ones.

The OP has a consistent issue with different amps. The problem is best broken down and each related part of the system examined. Start with the simple and obvious things to try.

The most obvious link is the cable. The strain on it. Some cables have plugs that are smaller where the contact points are. Some cables (monster is one example) with larger oddly shaped tips that are known to stretch out jack tip contact points over time.

Important questions for the OP:
Are all the cables the same make.
Do the 1/4" plugs look the same?
Has a new cable been tried?
Do the cables just run down to the floor and snake across?
Is there a sharp bend at the amps input jack?
When playing, does movement ever pull on the plug/ jack?
Could a child or someone else be tugging on the cable from time to time?
Do they ever walk on the cables?

There are a lot of possibilities to consider.

 

[agedhorse]

Never had an issue with the quality big brands, e.g. Mesa, Fender, Boss, Peavey, and OP is asking about Mesa and Boss products, specifically.

clone shop and home builder boutique gear is a horse of a different color. they don't got rigorous testing for their certifications.

Or ANY testing/certification at all…

 

[newfuture]

Gonna put in my two cents for the plug ends being suspect. I've got some lower cost cables that don't play nice with every jack they come into contact with, and it resembles OP's issue.
Never had an issue with switchcraft, neutrik, g&h, or even neutrik's budget Rean line.

 

[Al Kraft]

Gonna put in my two cents for the plug ends being suspect. I've got some lower cost cables that don't play nice with every jack they come into contact with, and it resembles OP's issue.
Never had an issue with switchcraft, neutrik, g&h, or even neutrik's budget Rean line.

I second this thought...and have the same experience with the brands mentioned.

What I have seen are some "special boutique cables" that are much heavier than they need to be or than a typical cable would be causing "mechanical connection" problems because of the extra weight of the cable. This can happen with super heavy duty speaker cables too IME, but instrument cables often get "moved around a lot more" while playing the bass which just increases the stress on the connection.

 

[lug]

With gun magazines people used to think leaving the spring compressed was what would wear out a spring. Turns out loading and unloading was worse as working the spring repeatedly caused more fatigue than simply leaving it compressed. I imagine the same might apply here.

 

[vvvmmm]

there are easy-to-use cable testers that work on TS and XLR and other stuff

I have one of these and find it useful:

Behringer | Product | CT100

www.behringer.com

 

[agedhorse]

there are easy-to-use cable testers that work on TS and XLR and other stuff

I have one of these and find it useful:

Behringer | Product | CT100

www.behringer.com

You have to be aware that you have to look for the intermittent part of things when using a tester rather than just assuming a steady state indication is "good".

 

[Wild_Bill_57]

By there nature 1/4” jacks are “Self Cleaning” they burnish themselves with use. The telephone company used them for years thru millions of cycles without issue. Typically if I have run across a “dirty” jack, cycle the plug 20-30 times and the contacts are self cleaned, no “Cleaner Compound” needed. I agree with agedhorse you most like have a cable issue.

 

[Wild_Bill_57]

Here is an interesting article about 1/4” Jacks, more than you ever wanted to know, but should put this to bed.

Jack Plugs – The Gold, the Brass and the Cheap - Effectrode

www.effectrode.com

 

[byacey]

I would suspect the plugs are cheap off shore offerings that are slightly under sized or the tip isn't quite shaped right

Do yourself a favor and purchase a cable from Whirlwind or other reputable manufacturer that use genuine Neutrik NP2C connectors. These cables aren't particularily expensive, and I believe you won't have any further issues.

Life is too short to waste on cheap bargain cables and connectors.

 

[shoot-r]

Dang-it guys!!!!!

Wish you'd have told me 25 + years ago about how terrible those high-dollar, three Monster cables I bought were....."and I've been gigging with since, and have never had a problem with".....are.

 

[newfuture]

I second this thought...and have the same experience with the brands mentioned.

What I have seen are some "special boutique cables" that are much heavier than they need to be or than a typical cable would be causing "mechanical connection" problems because of the extra weight of the cable. This can happen with super heavy duty speaker cables too IME, but instrument cables often get "moved around a lot more" while playing the bass which just increases the stress on the connection.

I'm on the other side of the feeding trough from the boutique world, and I see this in cheap cables from Amazon. I have a vague memory that not all quarter inch cables are 1/4 in. Something to do with rounding down to 6.3 mm instead of 6.35.
The one budget exception I have had great luck with is Kirlin.

 

[Al Kraft]

Dang-it guys!!!!!

Wish you'd have told me 25 + years ago about how terrible those high-dollar, three Monster cables I bought were....."and I've been gigging with since, and have never had a problem with".....are.

I have a bag full of monster cables that may be older than that and still working fine. I only had one failure over the years and they replaced it for free after like 15 years of use...my sales receipt had almost faded out completely. I tend to buy mostly Pro Co anymore as they are readily available and high quality, but I have no complaints about my Monster cables.

IIRC there was a period of time (decades back) where Monster used a modified tip geometry along with a heavy gold plating and a number of those cables did actually cause some problems with some instrument and amp jacks...the fit was noticeably tight in some cases. As best I recall Monster made the necessary manufacturing and QA adjustments and cables after that were correctly sized. My sense was that this event was one of the reasons people frequently say that Monster cables will damage the jacks.