Let's talk about jacks...and a question to you builders

[goroth]

Worth pointing out here that Goroth is a nerd with a crazy pedalboard for nerds.

This is not in fact untrue.

I still fail to see how anyone playing live would choose side mount.

[Uncle Grandfather]

tl;dr
pretty irrelevant to my interests with making music

Cool story bro

[CyaNitrate]

I see no benefit to side mount jacks.

If you need to test a cable you have to remove the whole pedal to remove the cable.
Pedal fucks up live you just unplug then plug into the pedal beside. Side mount means you need a longer patch cable to make the jump to the next pedal (by virtue of geometry).
I've only used a pt Jr. and or pro, but all of my patch cables hang in the space between the slats allowing for cleaner routing. Not so with side mount.
When planning a board you don't have to build in any margin for jacks, allowing greater modulisation of a board when top mount.
It is more common to arrange pedals tightly laterally, than vertically. Thus it makes sense to use the vertical space for cabling.

Side mount can eat a dick.

Agreed. My board is tiered, the bottom row is flat, the second row is slightly angled. It started out Pedaltrain style, but this is easier for me to access the top row without hitting the knobs of the first row. I have both orientations, but prefer top mount, because like Goroth said, I have to arrange pedals tightly laterally, not vertically. Granted, I made the board with a ton of extra space (the fab tone and rat aren't even hooked up), and make my own patch cables, so its not that big of a deal.

Since we're talking about jacks, while I assent that I have somewhat converted (or at least have begun to) for the standard outgoing, I still DO NOT GET the input at right output at left preference.

I would guess this began as an American thing...We drive on the right, if you look at a building with two doors, typically you go in on the right, out on the left
But it definitely makes going in from one pedal to the next easier with them all being the same.

[D.o.S.]

Worth pointing out here that Goroth is a nerd with a crazy pedalboard for nerds.

This is not in fact untrue.

I still fail to see how anyone playing live would choose side mount.

If you don't have a pedalboard (say you're using only 2-3 pedals) then sidemounted jacks make the pedals fall more naturally next to each other.

Check and Mate.

[DADGBD]

What the man said.

I see no benefit to side mount jacks.

If you need to test a cable you have to remove the whole pedal to remove the cable.
Pedal fucks up live you just unplug then plug into the pedal beside. Side mount means you need a longer patch cable to make the jump to the next pedal (by virtue of geometry).
I've only used a pt Jr. and or pro, but all of my patch cables hang in the space between the slats allowing for cleaner routing. Not so with side mount.
When planning a board you don't have to build in any margin for jacks, allowing greater modulisation of a board when top mount.
It is more common to arrange pedals tightly laterally, than vertically. Thus it makes sense to use the vertical space for cabling.

Side mount can eat a dick.

[goroth]

Worth pointing out here that Goroth is a nerd with a crazy pedalboard for nerds.

This is not in fact untrue.

I still fail to see how anyone playing live would choose side mount.

If you don't have a pedalboard (say you're using only 2-3 pedals) then sidemounted jacks make the pedals fall more naturally next to each other.

Check and Mate.

I would never play live with more than one pedal and no pedal board.
1. Odds of kicking out a pedal/cable/dc cable are massively increased when they are just laying on the floor.
2. It is pro as fuck to just plug in two cables and then rock n roll. I hate seeing bands dick around with pedals on the floor.

[SquareWaveFuzz]

Much prefer top mounted jacks, but try fitting 2 1/4" jacks and a power jack on the top face of a 1590b, difficult as fuck.

[rfurtkamp]

I still fail to see how anyone playing live would choose side mount.

I don't these days, obviously, but I preferred side back in the day. Little bit of room between each pedal for the plugs worked just fine because I have very large feet (14 double-wide) even before the lymphedema set in.

I have both on my board these days but the joke is it's irrelevant with daisy chained power,since the power jacks are never in a place that's the same on any pedal anyway.

[Pete]

It doesn't make a difference to me. All of the pedals on my board are side mounted, except for two that are top mounted. I made it work. I am grateful that input is right side and output is right side for most pedals. I like having standardized spots for input and output, because it would be a real pain if every pedal were different.

[rfurtkamp]

Yep, it is.

Fender Blender I'm looking at you!

[repoman]

face mounted jack is best mounted jack



if all pedals had face mounted jacks we could pretend we are as cool as modular synthers

[rfurtkamp]

I am cooler than modular synthers.

I believe in the 19" format!

[Jwar]

I honestly think face mounted jacks is the winner. If I wasn't sooooooooooooooo lazy. I rehouse a ton of my stuff with them just to prove the point. But like I said, if I WASN'T so lazy. lol

[indianDYsummer]

I don't like the concept of face mounted jacks. Unless you cut your own sized patch cables, that shit be floppin' all over yo knobs, trippin' up yo dancing. For real.

How about bottom mounted jacks? And get a pedaltrain with infinitely thin slats. Your pedals will basically levitate with no visible wires at all!

[Dark Barn]

I like some room too. I usually don't smush pedals together even when they have top jacks unless they are huge ass pedals. But I never want to have to worry about precision when stomping on a switch. So yeah top jacks/side jacks doesn't matter to me.