barrel jack - how to make it last?

[fhm555]

Another thread got me thinking that leaving the thing plugged in ALL the time might make it last longer.
True or False?

Wouldn't unplugging & re-inserting it stress it more than leaving it plugged in?

Nope, it’s spring loaded and the longer you keep a flat spring under constant tension the sooner it will begin to relax and lose some of that tension. Flat springs designed to be under constant tension will have a coil spring loaded hinge at the fulcrum to reduce the deflection on the spring itself.

 

[Peavaria]

I thought this was going to be a conversation about whiskey going further at a gig.

 

[Doc Blue]

From the Switchcraft catalog. Looks like a good choice.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

the longer you keep a flat spring under constant tension the sooner it will begin to relax

I thought about this, & pondered the same thing when I started a similar thread about leaving the plug in my amps. I've been leaving the plug in ever since, on the amps.

Come to think of it, they're a much bigger PITA to replace on an amp, so maybe I should stop doing that.

 

[ex-tension]

Invalid Link Removed.

This one (NYS221) says "for thick panels, guitar bodies, etc. with special designed head for guitar strap" which is not suitable for the solidbody guitars.

The correct one is Invalid Link Removed

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Isn't REAN the ones made offshore?
Is there a Neutrik version of that?

 

[deak21]

I find barrel jacks to be aesthetically superior vs. plate-mounts so don't mind the hassle. (Don't ask me why aesthetics of an otherwise unseen part of a bass concern me, though.) I always unplug the cable (even for breaks on my active bass).

That said, I've had one or two fail on me but never catastrophically - there was always a sign of problems (crackling). I keep one or two spares in my box of small bass parts so I can replace, if needed. I am a casual player averaging less than one gig a month (plus I play weekly in church) so YMMV greatly.

 

[MotorCityMinion]

My wife hides the barrel jack. It's last a long time.

 

[Nephilymbass]

Another thread got me thinking that leaving the thing plugged in ALL the time might make it last longer.
True or False?

Wouldn't unplugging & re-inserting it stress it more than leaving it plugged in?

I don’t think so. Even if the “mechanism” wore from a cable being inserted over and over and over all you have to do is take the jack out and bend it back. The real damage to jacks imo comes from when cables are yanked around in the jack by players with too short a cable or cables in side jacks being bumped by a thigh over and over again. The thigh bumping side jacks is actually a big turn off of specific basses for me these days. It’s something I intentionally try to avoid. For example My fender has a top jack and my dingwall has the jack on the end of the bass so my thigh never gets near it. My acoustic is the only bass with a jack in the “thigh bumping side” position lol, but I pretty much always play the acoustic sitting down so it’s not as big of a deal to me with acoustic.

 

[seansbrew]

Ive replaced two and they were both in Warwicks, go figure. It's nice that Warwick barrel jacks give you the convenience of a non solder installation .

And to echo the sentiments of the poster above. Make sure you have enough basses in rotation to give those barrels a rest.

 

[Clark Dark]

I purchased two Neutrik plugs and two Nuetrik jacks in 2013, no problems to date and the plugs are the gold plated "silent" types. According to specs the jacks are rated for 1000 insertions, I've got way more than that out of mine.

 

[CryingBass]

I drank a barrel of Jack once. It was self-wiping

 

[Passinwind]

Isn't REAN the ones made offshore?
Is there a Neutrik version of that?

IIRC the Rean products are made in the ROC. Neutrik branded connectors all used to be made in Liechtenstein, which I guess might still be considered offshore to those of us in the US. The UK is apparently in the production mix these days too, but I've yet to see any products with that labeling. In any case, the Neutrik website doesn't show any "non Rean" barrel jacks as far as I can see.

 

[aldaa]

do a barrel roll!

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I would avoid it because of the possibility of corrosion between the contacts and the certainty of hooking your shoe on the cable one day and knocking your guitar over.
Disclaimer; I'm no metallurgist but I've been known to trip over cables...

Me too...

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Galvanic corrosion is a thing, but I think it needs a *catalyst. My instruments hang from the wall. The output jack on my bass is literally 100 cm from the input jack on my amp, LOL!
However, now that I think about it, dragging the loose instrument cable around plugged into the bass is a bad idea. I'd have to be careful to coil it up & not let it get stepped on.

Getting into playing position would mean dragging the instrument cable up & over my computer monitor & speakers, if I left the other end plugged into the amp as well.

*I've seen some gnarly corrosion where two dissimilar piping components were welded together & the seawater air did a job on it!

 

[RobbieK]

The connector companies publish use life data in their product specifications.

Actually, I should know this. But why I didn't think to look this is is anyone's guess. I've looked at similar data on switches, relays, pots etc....

To be sure, that's different from the wear-and-tear the connector will be exposed to, for example, stress caused by the plug being yanked on at an angle. A solid sidelong whack on a full-length straight plug housing is going to weaken any socket and make it more likely to break free of its mount.

For sure. But you'd also think that a jack that is rated for more operations would also be made with more robust materials, tighter engineering etc, and would be more rugged and stand up to the knocks a bit more. But yeah, barrel side-jacks of all types are notoriously unreliable.

Could easily just be a counterfeiting issue though

For sure. I've seen tonnes of "switchcraft" open frame jacks over the years, that just don't look right, if you know what I mean. (In fact I got some in the other day from a new supplier that had dull black shakeproof washers. I've never seen them ship with those before.) So who knows what's going on inside a barrel jack?...

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Hmm, now I'm kind of glad the jack on my SR is recessed. The jack on my guitar is on the side/bottom. I'll check that tomorrow & see if it's a barrel or open-frame.
It's under my bed in the case right now, LOL!

Hmm, no need to check, because I feel my way into the jack-hole with the plug in two fingers & it's definitely a football-shaped plate.

 

[byacey]

For sure. I've seen tonnes of "switchcraft" open frame jacks over the years, that just don't look right, if you know what I mean. (In fact I got some in the other day from a new supplier that had dull black shakeproof washers. I've never seen them ship with those before.) So who knows what's going on inside a barrel jack?...

Are you sure those aren't fiber insulated shoulder washers?

 

[guts]

For sure. But you'd also think that a jack that is rated for more operations would also be made with more robust materials, tighter engineering etc, and would be more rugged and stand up to the knocks a bit more.

Manufacturers can and often do design unrealistic tests to produce the best possible numbers. You have to understand those numbers as marketing material and take them with a grain of salt.