This guitar upgrade actually works

Ordinarily I'm not too keen on recommending guitar upgrades, but this one is a no-brainer because it works.

In fact, I would recommend doing this upgrade first before anything else.

Above is an output jack made by Switchcraft. It's cheap. The standard one without the gold connector is even cheaper.

Most don't think an output jack matters for much, but it actually does. It's usually true that where guitar electronics are concerned, the output jack is usually the first thing to fail completely. Why? Because every time you plug in or unplug a cable, you're moving metal on the inside. Eventually, enough movement causes a partial failure where the connection gets "scratchy" or "crackly", and then a complete failure shortly after that where the connection can't be made anymore.

The output jack is something where all mass produced guitars get cheap. There are even $10,000 guitars that exist with ridiculously crappy output jacks installed on them.

You won't necessarily hear any difference in your sound from using a Switchcraft output jack, but you will literally feel the difference when you plug in a cable. The connection will be more secure because the connector is built better, and the tension will be just right.

Dare I say, using a Switchcraft jack feels luxurious when you use it.

The more important thing however is that once installed, the likelihood of your output jack failing is decreased dramatically, and that's what makes it a genuine upgrade over what's in your guitar now.

Published 2019 Apr 12