Probably there aren’t many situations that will annoy electric guitarists and bassists more than the moments when a more or less loud "crash" occurs when plugging or unplugging the instrument cable. This is surely annoying, but, depending on the intensity, can also severely damage amps and/or eardrums. Forgetting to set the amp to mute/standby or adjust a volume pedal appropriately only once when changing instruments, and things go south and the resulting disaster may be irreversible.
To skirt around such potential catastrophes we offer you the perfect solution to this problem: the so-called "silent connector" (6.3 mm jack plug, straight or angled). The "silent connector" started its triumph about the middle of the 2000s and the best known is probably the model NP2X-AU-SILENT made by Neutrik®.
What makes the "silent connector" and how does it successfully prevent the disturbing noise when plugging in and unplugging? Basically, its technology mutes the instrument cable at the exact moment it is plugged in or unplugged from the instrument. Taking the example of the Neutrik® model mentioned above, it works like this: a sophisticated mechanism, that has constantly been optimized over the years, ensures that plus and ground are connected to each other by means of a small movable magnetic switch and thus short-circuited. The inside of the switch is hermetically sealed, and its contacts are gold-plated. By the way, in the meantime various other manufacturers offer similar products (distinctions in details).
So, this “Silent” technology will definitely make your “life with the E-string instrument" easier.
