“Efficient solutions to an issue that hinders pure tone: the tarnish, corrosion, and grime that accumulate over time on jacks and plugs”: Stedman PureConnect GP-2 and PK-3 cleaning kits review

For all his experience with complex circuits and top-notch components, British effects guru and switching systems designer Pete Cornish has long relied on a mantra that points to a much simpler, yet often-overlooked necessity: “Clean the plugs to free the tone!” And while Cornish has no connection to these clever contact-and-connector cleaning kits from stage-and-studio accessory manufacturer Stedman, it’s hard to imagine he wouldn’t approve of them.

Offered in two sizes, the GP-2 Gig Pack and PK-3 Pro Kit provide efficient solutions to an issue that hinders pure tone: the tarnish, corrosion, and grime that accumulate over time on jacks and plugs. The tools in each kit include:

• ¼-inch microfelt tips (five in the GP-2, 27 in the PK-3) for cleaning ¼-inch jacks, with a hole in one end for cleaning male XLR pins;

• 1/10-inch microfelt tips (nine in the GP-2 and 50 in the PK-3) for cleaning 1/8-inch jacks and XLR pins;

• A machined hard-plastic handle for holding both of the above (two in the PK-3);

• 1 ¾–inch cotton pad for cleaning ¼-inch plugs (three in the GP-2 and 12 in the PK-3); 

• A 2 ml tube of DeoxIT cleaning fluid (GP-2); 

• A 7.4 ml bottle of DeoxIT D Series cleaning fluid and one of G Series conditioning fluid (PK-3).

Clear instructions are included with each pack, and while it pays to give them a once-over, the short version goes like this: Insert the tip into the handle, apply a couple drops of cleaning fluid, insert the primed tip into jack and proceed with vigor! 

A quick application of the PureConnect process to a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster that
I recently acquired yielded impressive results, evident in a quickly grimed-up cleaning tip. While I have no idea if the guitar’s jack had ever been cleaned, I was distressed to find similar deposits on the jacks of several newer guitars, as well as on three of my most-used amplifiers and a few pedals. 

In a before-and-after playing test involving the Jazzmaster, a tweed Deluxe–style 1x12 combo and the connecting cable, I could hear increased clarity and fidelity in the tone. While the results will vary from one piece of gear to another, you’ll rest easy knowing your plugs and jacks are free of grime and contaminants.

Ultimately, I love that Stedman has taken the time to create these handy kits, and the thought and consideration that have gone into them is evident. The GP-2 and PK-3 provide a very functional means of performing necessary cleaning duties, and their mere presence in your gig bag offers a handy reminder to use them now and then. That alone seems worth the price of entry. 

Stedman PureConnect GP-2 and PK-3 Cleaning Kits – Specifications

CONTACT Stedman 

PRICE GP-2 Gig Pack $30; PK-3 Pro Kit $130

CONTENTS ¼” and 1/10” microfelt cleaning tips, 1 ¾” cotton cleaning pads, machined tip holder, DeoxIT cleaning solution

MADE USA

KUDOS Cleverly designed cleaning tools that make an essential yet underappreciated tone-tweaking task much easier for the average guitarist 

CONCERNS Tips in the GP-2 might need to be replenished quickly if your jacks are grimy to begin with