SWITCHCRAFT 12B STEREO JACK

The Switchcraft 12B stereo jack: the input jack used in most stompboxes, and the one we supply as the input jack in all of our General Guitar Gadgets kits.

About this part

Why does a mono pedal use a stereo jack? The jack doubles as the battery power switch. The battery's negative lead connects to the jack's ring contact instead of straight to ground. Plug in a mono guitar cable and the sleeve shorts ring to ground, completing the circuit and powering the pedal; unplug it and the battery is disconnected, so it doesn't drain while the pedal sits unused. For the full story, check out this article about stompbox power.

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