Are all barrel jacks stereo?

Jack_

I just got a set of Fishman Fluence, and I need to install them in my Strandberg, which uses a barrel style jack.

With the normal stereo jacks they have the 3 prongs and the two latch bits for the jack, but all the barrels I see have three prongs, so are they universal? Can any barrel jack with 3 prongs be setup for stereo or mono?

Thanks.

BloodEagle

Yes, you just need to correctly ascertain which prong goes to which contact and you're golden

Jack_

Thanks.

octatonic

By jack, do you mean the socket (the bit that you plug into) or the plug (the bit attached to the end of the wire)?

Just use the tip and sleeve for an unbalanced connection.
If you have balanced cable then twist the two that are not the groundwork together and solder to the tip.

ICBM

If you're using a barrel jack in mono, connect the unused ring terminal to ground as well. This makes them much more reliable because *both* of those contacts now need to fail before there's no ground connection. (This also applies to the 4-contact type - connect *both* unused contacts to ground.)

You can easily find out which is the tip contact - plug a normal cable into the jack and connect it to an amp. The contact which buzzes when you touch it is the tip. It's usually the shorter one, but some barrel jacks have them the same length.

Jack_

I mean the jack into which you put the cable.

octatonic

Jack_ said:

I mean the jack into which you put the cable.

Ok cool. 
You can just wire it for tip and sleeve then.

ICBM

If it's identical to that one, the tip should be the short terminal at the front in the pic. Connect both the other two to ground.

Jack_

ICBM said:

If it's identical to that one, the tip should be the short terminal at the front in the pic. Connect both the other two to ground.

Won't I be connecting one to power for the 9v battery?

ICBM

Jack_ said:

Won't I be connecting one to power for the 9v battery?

I thought you were asking about connecting in stereo or mono?

You can't use it for stereo anyway if there's a battery circuit which uses the jack as a switch.

Jack_

Now I'm confused. Fluences require a 9v battery, I was planning on connecting it to the input jack, is that not possible with that style of barrel? If not, then what type do I need?

I don't think I need stereo, so I'll have mono and 9v connections, along with a ground?

ICBM

You can use that jack for stereo *or* mono with a battery switch, but not both.

For a battery switch, the furthest away terminal in the pic is the battery connection. (But check which is the tip using the same method above, just to be sure - the other non-ground terminal is the battery connection.)

p90fool

Good tip from @ICBM re using your amp and a guitar lead as a continuity tester, I've spent years running to the workshop to grab a meter to test fuses and other things until he mentioned that a few weeks ago!

GluedtoMusic

@Jack_ ;; The Fluence pickups use a stereo jack to disconnect the battery from the circuit when you unplug the cable from the guitar to save battery (in the same way EMG does), you need a stereo jack for this, in their diagram all 3 jack connections are used,

https://www.fishman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Fluence-Classic-HB-Set-Wiring-Diagram.pdf

(as a side note mono 2 prong barrel jacks are produced by Switchcraft).

Jack_

Yeah, so I think I can keep the barrel that is already in there. I have a Boden with Passive Duncans, so I wasn't sure if the barrel was only for passive or universal; it's got 3 prongs so it should be fine.

Most people that fit Fluences put them in Strandy's that were originally EMG loaded, but I'm putting them in a passive Boden.