on my washburn d10sce i have an xlr jack.....i acutally used it today and it sounds good i think......but i was just wondering what it is actualyl for.
Mikey
If you also have an amp with an XLR input, the advantage is better resistance to interference. When properly wired, XLR connectors and shielded twisted-pair cables convey signals using two active (hot) conductors (+ and -), as opposed to just hot and neutral/ground in a normal cable. Without explaining too much further, the effect is similar to humbucking pups, in that any interference picked up by the cable is the same on both + and - signal pairs. At the amp the + and - signals are effectively subtracted. This doubles the signal and cancels the picked up interference.
This is all really a function of the shielded twisted pair wiring, and not intrinsic to XLR connectors. The connectors just happen to support enough connections (+. -. shield) to do the job. Tip-ring-sleeve versions of the familiar 1/4 " phone connector (often mistakenly called a stereo plug) will do the job as well, and are often used in balanced signal patch panels.
So the "improvement" you should hear is in the hum and interference levels. The sound of your guitar shouldn't be affected much, if at all.
-=tension & release=-
A drop in hum can dramatically improve your tone, though. You can turn up a little more without too much hum and get better dynamic range.
