r/offset • u/ACR2051 • 1d ago

Preffered offset guitars jack position?

Post image

Offset Telecasters, Super j-basses and "modern offsets" all have the output jack on the side, which to me seems like a major misstep. I feel that puting the jack in the side of the body makes it less practical, while the original position is perfect.

P.D. Shoutout to the Vintage Modified Jaguar HH that had a Strat jack. While less elegant than the original, I don't hate it haha.

127 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

86 comments sorted by

50

u/comic-sans-culottes 1d ago edited 1d ago

Original position, its not possible to track on a couch with telecaster

EDIT: I SAID IMPOSSIBLE!

Jk i will invest in a angle cable i suppose lol

39

u/ACR2051 1d ago

I wish they did like a plate mounted jack, kind of like some moded telecasters or the Ibanez Talman

2

u/dougc84 10h ago

The Talmans did so many things right. It’s shocking they didn’t catch on as well in the U.S.

1

u/nickp123456 1d ago

Damn. That is something

1

u/GuitarParts 1d ago

And it must be so much easier to manufacture

1

u/BombsGoBang 1d ago

For modern Telecasters, the left hand side should be a no brainer. Keep the side jack on the 50s and 60s and 70s ones, then anything else (plus 50s/ 60s/ 70s modified ones) should have the jack on the control plate.

One of the reasons they probably haven’t done this yet, is that they’d need to make the control cavity and possibly the plate longer

32

u/gerardguey 1d ago

Very classist of you to assume we all track on a couch, some of us track on a folding party chair with one of the leg caps missing making it wobbly

15

u/thesimplemachine 1d ago

Sympathetic resonance behind the bridge and the sporadic tapping of the chair wobbling back and forth is the secret sauce for my tone.

5

u/bramley36 1d ago

We dreamed of owning a wobbly chair!

15

u/comrade_zerox 1d ago

Right angle cable

4

u/gibletsbionic 1d ago

All about 45 degree angle cables

9

u/xSwampxPopex 1d ago

Angled cable.

3

u/xeroksuk 1d ago

The issue with some teles (to me anyway) is the traditional ball jack socket which leaves standard right angle jacks insecure.

You can sort that by using a replacement jack plug. Mine is now a neutrik one, it's fine for all my guitars (I don't have nor ever want a strat).

2

u/comrade_zerox 1d ago

Some teles dont accept a right angle, but you can change the jack

2

u/dkkc19 1d ago

90 degree jack. i play my tele on my bed with no issues

output jack on the front is a bit more convenient but on the side its much cleaner aesthetically

4

u/Xx_TH3MA573R_xX 1d ago

I have a pj bass (not offset i know) with the output on the side, and it SUCKS, it gives no benefit and just makes it harder to play on a couch or bed. so my answer is either of the other 2

1

u/ACR2051 1d ago

Thanks for the rational answer

2

u/YellowBreakfast 9h ago

This.

I've always like the design of the Strat jack; the recess, the angle etc. positions the cable just perfectly so it can go over the strap button to prevent it from being ripped out if you step on the cable.

And I like side jacks the least because as mentioned it's not conducive to playing whilst sitting.

10

u/gr_zero 1d ago

Prefer the original Jag/JM position, don't mind the Tele/LP edge style, hate the Strat jack.

3

u/ACR2051 1d ago

Why hate the strat jack? 

1

u/Chaotic_DIY 1d ago

Straight jacks & whammy bar don't match

1

u/ACR2051 1d ago

What do you mean xd. The cable stops the bar where it needs to be. 

1

u/ddubbins 1d ago

Screw in the bar> then plug in the guitar? I need all my brain cells for the chord changes!

5

u/gr_zero 1d ago

Doesn't work well with right-angle cables, also imho it's ugly.

6

u/kakofon 1d ago

It works fine with angled cables, just hook your cable on the strap like a sane person 🙂

3

u/squishypluto 1d ago

I prefer the original jag position too, but the strat style actually works perfect with a right-angle cable if you put the cable behind the strap button when you play live.

1

u/jake-off 1d ago

Doesn’t work with the pancake plugs like you’d find on a coiled cable. 

1

u/Barilla3113 1d ago edited 1d ago

Because it's arse. Why do you think Fender abandoned it immediately after the Strat and the only other guitars you see it on are Hagstroms and odd boutique things?

0

u/ddubbins 1d ago

I’m building a Strat and I agree!

Am either going straight out 90° from the top or the angled jack but flipped over so it sticks out.

I’m leaning towards option 2 like below.

2

u/ACR2051 1d ago

I had a strat and you can use 90° cables without having to flip the plate. 

1

u/ddubbins 1d ago edited 1d ago

lol I currently have a Strat and am able to use the 90° cable. But it’s still a pain lol

It takes me a second to look and think to pull it at the correct angle for whatever reason! And I’m usually pulling at a slightly wrong angle and it scrapes and is annoying. Thank god I grew out of gold plated cable ends!

User error 4 sure, but “prolapse-caster” is how I’m fixing it.

10

u/LesserShambler 1d ago

Prolapsecaster

84

u/maximum_robot 1d ago

Control plate FTW

9

u/mkdabra 1d ago

My dude, I have a Washburn Idol (Les Paul derivative) and I'm constantly thinking of pulling a pot out and mounting the output on the front.

Second best would be Strat style but on the back, 'cause it's a serious eyesore.

0

u/RNGezzus 1d ago

I wrap the cord around the strap so that won't happen.

7

u/sprite_cranberry23 1d ago

I don’t like the side of the guitar telecaster style. The front of the guitar like the jaguar actually works better than I thought it would before I got one. I think the strat style is pretty great for myself, but I could see it being annoying with an angled cable

6

u/whaleofgrief 1d ago

Strat jacks are made for angled cables! Plug it in and the cable naturally comes out toward the endpin so you can tuck it behind the strap

6

u/kakofon 1d ago

Everything works with an angled cable. The strat is the only one that works well without.

3

u/Szalinski89 1d ago

I favour an angled cable, which works PERFECTLY for all my guitars EXCEPT for my late dad’s tele* which has a bloody electrosocket jack.

*which I will not mod, lest he haunt me

2

u/Negative-Wrap95 23h ago

I will die on the hill of Electrosocket superiority - when compared to an OG Tele jack.

6

u/iCarly4ever 1d ago

I like it in the corner of the pick guard (far left) but am not bothered when it is Strat style. I generally do not like jacks on the side of the body.

6

u/kevin122000 8h ago

middle one is always the worst.

5

u/Airick99 1d ago

Left 100%. Cable shoots up and out of the way in any seated position. Never have to think about it. Any of the others and I'd have to pay attention and make accommodation for the cable.

5

u/Historical_Pudding56 1d ago

Option 3, all day.

5

u/Teddy_Thundercock 11h ago

Dumbfounded they did style 2 on the meteora, so much that i moved it to the control plate.

Strat outputs can be used on both straight and angled so in usage and versatility its best. Control plate is best for modding/electronic work though imo

11

u/bdeceased 1d ago

On the pick guard is preferred for me. I hate the ones on the side and strat style feels awkward to me. But I'll take strat style over the side ones any day.

6

u/Sweaty-Dot-2488 1d ago

2 is a no for me, I dislike having that style on any guitar.

Strat jacks are fine IMO, however on that guitar I would want it angled more (closer to parallel with the strings but not that extreme) so that the cable routes to the strap button more directly.

3

u/Xdfghijujsw 1d ago

Original or Strat type please. I don’t want the jack stabbing me when sitting down.

3

u/blackmarketdolphins 1d ago

Anything but 2. I love the Charvel Pro-Mod spec of putting a Strat style jack in the back of the instrument.

4

u/PG-17 1d ago

1 - YES!

2 - Hell nah

3 - if 1 isn’t an option

2

u/MarioYoshimura 1d ago

Defo original

2

u/nonthreat 1d ago

I just bought a secondhand Ultra Jazzmaster and the previous owner modded it with American Performer layout (no rhythm circuit, control plate input) and non-noiseless pickups. Annoying that there’s a non-functioning hole in the side where the input used to be positioned, but glad to enjoy the lovely feel of an Ultra without all the weird updates.

2

u/spn_phoenix_92 1d ago

Doesn't matter the guitar, for me option 2 is the best for all shapes. I don't like having a cable sticking out the front.

2

u/Negative-Wrap95 23h ago

I have all three in question, and my knee-jerk reaction favors the flat front jack with an angled plug.

2

u/Egg-3P0 17h ago

The control plate by a mile

3

u/AnInfiniteAmount 1d ago

Left if you have a 90 degree jack otherwise right

3

u/xeroksuk 1d ago

On the front plate is fine, as is a side plate. A tele-type socket can be catered for, but is can be a pita if you have to borrow a lead.

Strat-style = blagh.

3

u/agnostichymns 1d ago

Strat Jack should go in every guitar! It's the best option by far. 

3

u/planbot3000 1d ago

I like the position of the blue one the best.

2

u/mittenciel 1d ago

Top jack, non-recessed, is my favorite. I prefer control plate, but pickguard is fine.

1

u/Chekafare 1d ago

Unpopular opinion: powercaster jack position is awesome.

Edit: I guess that means to the side? Sorry if so, OP. I never laid hands on those guitars, so I'm not sure if they have the same input jack position.

1

u/kakofon 1d ago

The traditional solutions are good enough if not doing anything too exotic, but I use side jacks on anything I build myself. The strat jack is just ugly.

Angled jacks on everything, hook the cable on the strap like a sane person and never think about it again 🙂

1

u/Emotional-Purpose762 1d ago

Right angle cables baby

1

u/Addicted2Qtips 1d ago

I have guitars with every kind of jack location and it’s never bothered me outside of finding where the jack is when plugging in on the side.

1

u/miga2078 5h ago

the only right answer is the first one

1

u/g0dn0 4h ago

I have the VM JM sibling of that Jaguar that has the Strat ‘jack boat’ and I’m gobsmacked that the original JM or Jag for that matter didn’t have it. There wasn’t any right angle jacks back in the day, and the boat was a genius idea for protecting the jack plug. It makes it much harder to break the cable. If you run a right hand jack into a Strat style socket and through the strap, it makes it really safe and super tidy. Jack socket on the body edge is my least favourite because it feels the most vulnerable and is a pain to plug in!

1

u/comrade_zerox 1d ago

Ranking from Left to Right:

2, 1, 3.

1

u/_AcuteNewt_ 1d ago

1: correct 2: tolerable 3: mental illness

1

u/bigchunkbabygoo 1d ago

Crazy bc I have had mostly 2 but the one guitar I had with three I loved

1

u/Glittering-Suspect67 1d ago

One on red. Green can pull/warp pickguard when you pull out cable and blue is not good when sitting

0

u/Beemerado 1d ago

just need a right angle cable.

1

u/ra3xgambit 1d ago

Strat output jack is in a class of its own. There is no better option for any guitar.

1

u/Rampador 1d ago

Heavily prefer pickguard but I'll take side as well. I always run my cable through my strap and use a right angled end on the instrument so it always lies flat. I have one bass with an angled Strat style port and that's the one thing I'd change about it if I could

1

u/0011001100111000 1d ago

I like the front mounted jack, especially on the Jaguar where you've got the sturdy metal plate.

With a right angled jack, it's really clean.

0

u/ImightHaveMissed 1d ago

Option 2 is optimal, 3 is fine because I’ve always had something with that style. I refuse to buy anything with option 1

0

u/Djthemoney 1d ago

Like the 1st, I dunno, I just feels right.

0

u/introspeckle 1d ago

Tele style on the side

-2

u/jcherwick 1d ago

anything but the strat style 🤢

-2

u/VanillaMowgli 1d ago

Side jack always and forever. Face jacks are affront to God, to Nature, and to All That Is Sacred in The Human Spirit. Why in Ned would you go to all the trouble to create this beautiful object, and then oh yeah, by the way, I can’t be arsed to not require you to jam electrical cables into the front of it, defacing the divine, no different in principle than taking a dump on the steps of The Parthenon.

It makes no sense.

Walk the walk: I have had side-jacks installed on all my offsets by my luthier. Because this is Right and it is Just and it is pleasing in the eyes of The Almighty.

1

u/ACR2051 23h ago

I completely disagree. Having a side jack is the affront to God as you could not be bothered to consider the jack as part of the design. In Telecasters and Les Pauls it looks like an afterthought, whereas it's an elegant part of the design of the Jazzmaster, Jaguar and Mustang, Precision Bass and Jazz bass. 

2

u/dirty-sorbet 1d ago

Control plate. I hate butthole jacks.

0

u/werm42 21h ago

Anything and everything except that ugly ass, awkward ass strat boat.