Hey everyone! Brand new to the forums and the world of modular and I am looking forward to building my first! A quick question about audio jacks though. Do they need to be mono or stereo? Does it even make a difference?
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welcome aboard . most are mono . the mixers are the only place you find stereo usually , there are exceptions . Sam’s boards are 1/4" jacks I use thin washers to reduce the holes for 3.5 mm jacks [ euro rack style] .
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hello, mono, but stereo can use like a mono (if you have only stereo for exemple) 
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Yeah, you can use stereo sockets, but only connect tip and sleeve and they will work like mono ones. Sam’s modules typically use stereo so no worries.
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For instance if you buy parts from Tayda, as so many of us do, of the 1/4" jacks they have and are in stock right now
https://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/6-35mm-1-4-plugs-jacks.html
it looks like only one is mono, and it doesn’t have a switch terminal for normalled connections. I get these
https://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/6-35mm-1-4-plugs-jacks/6-35mm-1-4-stereo-phone-jack.html
and ignore the ring terminals… except when I need them for something special.
For similar reasons I have a bag of SPDT toggle switches which I use whenever an SPST switch is called for.
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You may find reference to TRS , TR and Normal…
Once you get out of the consumer Stereo/Mono world T®S becomes a more common terms in Pro audio.
Basicall a “Stereo” jack would be
Tip
Ring
Sleve
And Mono
Tip
Sleve
The “Normal” is a switched connection on the jack socket, that if there is no jack in the socket, a circuit is passed from “T” to “TN”. This canbe used for a number of appications but is seen in some Intergrated aaloug synths to provide a basic standard path for the CV/Audio.
Be very aware that every cable is not equal, a “stereo” cable may not be what it seems, with balanced, unbalanced, ground lifted and all manaer of other cables it’s note always straightforward…
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This is the best information I have found
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