Electric Guitar patch cords

  • Thread starter Thread starter Carlitoboy
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Carlitoboy

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Newb here...

Are patch cords for electric guitars stereo or mono?

If it is a stereo cord, what are the impacts when you use a "1/4 inch to 1/8 inch" adaptor that only accepts a 1/4 MONO plug and fits into a 1/8 inch mono jack?

I'm confused because I was at Radioshack and there was another adaptor that accepts a 1/4 STEREO plug and fits into a 1/8 inch mono jack.

Also, I'm under the assumtion that any sound card 'line in' would accept either a mono or stereo plug?

I don't know much about this stuff yet so please be gentle.

Cheers!
 
Can you elaborate on "patch cord"? A guitar signal is a high Z (impediance) signal consisting of two points of potential. In other words, its mono. A tip and a sleeve. As far as going into your sound card, does it only accept 1/8 input? And it is helpful to find out if it is mono or stereo. I wont even venture to guess.
 
Oh, and by the way, dont buy anything from radio shack. Unless you are looking at a cell phone, or a 3 in 1 tv remote, dont even go in there. The helpful friendly staff consists of idiots, totally void of any information about audio or electronics equipment.



I will appologize to those radio shack fans out there, but I was as nice as I could be.
 
Hey Jblount,

Thanks for your response. I ended up buying an SB Audigy 2 plat package so I'm returing the adaptor.

You're right about Radio Shack; in my area at least. I ask the simple question about stereo to mono adaptors and he gave me a wonderful display of RS drivel. His last sentence was "...So I'm not sure, just try this one..."

So me, the newbe, said "Duuuhhhh... Okay!"

Anyhow, just as you said, I figured the guitar patch cord (the 1/4 jack I plug the guitar into the amp with) was mono.

Thanks again!
 
The 1/8" LINE IN on your soundcard is for a stereo plug. I don't know what you are intending to do, but plugging a guitar directly into your soundcard via a 1/8" adaptor plug doesn't sound like a good idea. You need to plug a guitar into a pre-amp/mixer first, and then plug that into your soundcard LINE IN.

DON'T GET A MIXER AT RADIO SHACK!

But Radio Shack isn't always that bad. I was there the other day looking for some plugs. The lady there knew the difference between the mono and stereo plugs, and she even asked me if I wanted a non-solder version.

I even saw some Shure mics at my local Radio Shack. They look kind of like a SM58, but I'm not so sure . . .
 
Radio shack is good, if you know what you are looking for, what the intended purpose for this part is, and you can find it yourself in the store. If it meets these three requirements, then you can usually get something there. I was just making the point of not going there on a mission to find information about electronics. Or walking in armed with nothing but a question.
 
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