Jacks: acoustic and solid

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question444

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I have two acoustic/electrics and when I pull the cord out or plug them in it is very loud on the pa. Our solid guitars or bass are quiet. It is kind of a problem because I change guitars a few times in our set and turning down the pa each time is kind of a hassle. Just wonderin if that is normal with acoustic/electrics. -p
 
Yes, it is. The problem is when you unplug the guitar, the sleeve is still connected until the cable is pretty much all the way out of the jack. That's where the pop comes from. It can happen with any guitar or amp, you have just been lucky. :) I'm not 100% sure, but I think the battery may make the problem worse. If your guitar has a volume control, you can try turning it down first, might help.

An A/B box is a solution. You just switch to the unused channel, and you won't get a pop when you unplug. A cheap volume pedal will work too.
A couple of companies make these jacks that disconnect the ground first. They call them silent jacks, or whatever. They are pretty much worthless. Planet Waves makes one with a little switch on the jack, it might be worth looking at.

http://www.planet-waves.com/Pcablesdetails.aspx?ID=1
 
Like most of us, chances are that you have active pickups in your acoustics or a battery powered preamp built into the guitar. The loud pop is is partly caused because of the extra power being disconnected, or when you plug in, the power being turned on. Most of these automaticly turn on when you plug in and turn off when you unplug to save battery life. Take the time to turn down the volume of your amp/pa, although this isn't likely to cause damage, it's better to be safe than sorry.
 
I'm not so much worried about damaging the pa. I just hate for my audience to have to hear such a loud pop. I will continue to turn down the pa until I get one of those switch cords boingoman suggested.
 
A friend of mine had this problem too. The cord he uses now actually "shorts" the pos. and grd. inside the cord when not plugged in. I don't know what brand it is, but it works great. No popping or hum at all.
 
Maton acoustic guitars also have a jack on them that's noiseless when you plug and unplug, but the cord's the cheaper way, of course! ;)
 
I use a Planet Waves cable with an attenuator in it. It's about $20. It just has a button on it that you push to kill the connection.
 
What you need to do is cough really loud into your microphone as you pull out the plug :D
 
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