I see they've now abandoned the 4 prong weirdness and now only offer 3 prong ones.The plastic is not load bearing and is perfectly suited to the job. When there is no engineering or electrical need for a metallic conductive casing, plastic is the better choice.
It's a TRS jack, so it will have at least three terminals. The ring is used to connect and disconnect the battery when the cable is in or out. The four conductor jacks can come in many configuration for additional switching options depending on the circuit requirements (double tip, tip open and tip closed, tip open ring closed, etc). Rather than have separate stock of 3 prong and 4 prong varieties, it often makes more sense to have just one type that meets the needs of all guitars.
Don't post while drunk?
My apologies for the alcohol quip. Whether I knew your history nor not, I should not have made any assumptions that it would be taken with the humor intended and I stupidly didn't anticipate history. That was my bad and I'm sorry.
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Not to pile on but my .02 was initially similar to the OP. It's an impression thing more than anything else I guess. Everything else I own, BAsses or guitars including my two older Axis all sport standard Switchcraft TS or TRS jacks and they always interact with a very positive engagement click. My two 23 Y.O. Silo Specials both have their ORIGINAL plastic jacks, still going strong. And while it initially concerned me your explanations, and now my limited experiences, certainly quell those. The do engage a bit softer so I can also see where that might raise an eyebrow if you're used to the Switchcraft engagement.My apologies for the alcohol quip. Whether I knew your history nor not, I should not have made any assumptions that it would be taken with the humor intended and I stupidly didn't anticipate history. That was my bad and I'm sorry.
Input/output jacks are stupidly simple and even the cheap ones fail less often than some expensive cables. What material we wrap them in has virtually zero effect on anything. It's not even necessary to wrap them plastic or metal other than keeping out unwanted dust or dirt. Plastic is cheaper, and easier and less energy intensive to make, less likely to cause a short circuit in production or use and if we don't require shielding (in guitars we really don't over that short inch or two) then there is no reason not to use plastic. Don't let appearances and old superstitions cause you worry. Cheap looking things can be perfectly good. (Like me!
