Audio - Unbalanced/Balanced Wiring

Unbalanced/balanced wiring is after we take a quick peek at a couple of guitar plugs to show you the physical difference between balanced/unbalanced connectors.

What you ’ ll see next are the solder tab ends of a stereo and mono guitar plug, followed by the ‘ business end s of the plugs that actually get inserted into guitars, amplifi ers and other gear. And if you guessed that the mono plug is unbalanced, while the stereo plug can be wired balanced, you get a gold star!
There are always caveats and this example is no exception. The so-called ‘stereo’ guitar plug can be wired as a single balanced connection, or two unbalanced mono connections that share a common ground. So don’t assume, always check.

A close-up of the two solder tabs on a stereo male guitar plug is shown in Figure 2.3.2 . I ’ ve drawn two arrows to show exactly what part(s) I ’ m talking about. The longer part, that extends to the upper left in this picture, is both a strain relief for the wire and the part that the shield/drain gets soldered to.

                                          Figure 2.3.2 Solder tabs of stereo male guitar plug.

Let ’s call the two tabs I show the ‘ upper ’ and ‘ lower ’ tabs in this picture.The lower tab goes down to the tip of the plug. It ’s the high/hot conductor.The upper tab goes to the ring of a stereo plug, but is omitted (not present) in a mono plug. It ’s the low/cold conductor. As a general rule, tip is high, ring is low, and the long barrel of the plug is used for drain/shield. Since I want everyone to be totally clear on the difference between stereo and mono plugs, I ’ ve got a couple of side-by-side comparisons ready.

These pesky plugs are so shiny I had to put some white artist ’s tape behind the solder tabs, so you could see them against the strain relief behind them ( Figure 2.3.3 ). I hope it ’s all clear. On the left is a mono plug with one tab. On the right, a splendid example of a stereo plug with two solder tabs. Now that we ’ re straight on the tabs, let ’s see the whole plug ( Figure 2.3.4 ). Here we can see the business ends of our plugs – mono on the bottom and stereo on the top. Notice the ring on the stereo plug? That ’s the part thelow conductor is connected to – and is clearly omitted in the mono plug below it. So one tab no ring, mono plug. Two tabs has ring, stereo plug. And remember, a stereo plug can be wired as unbalanced stereo or balanced mono – the wiring will look thesame.

                                                 Figure 2.3.3 Mono/stereo comparison.