Members Tomm Williams Posted September 17, 2015 Members Share Posted September 17, 2015 In order to speed up set-up time, I have a three 1/4" right angle male -to- 1/4" female cables that stay permanently attached to my FX board. Each is marked for Amp #1, Amp #2, Guitar-In. to help avoid any doubt when setting up. Recently I was experiencing an issue where the 1/4" female receptacles (barrel type) were not holding the amp input cables securely and I would lose signal. Today, I cut the barrel connectors off and replaced them with Neutrik locking (female) connectors. As the Neutrik were a TRS design, I experimented and found that the two conductor right angle cable worked fine when connected to GR and Tip Upon plugging everything back in, I found to my surprise (and joy) that for some reason, these connectors (or how I connected them) are functioning a bit like an attenuator. Where my HR3 would be set at 2, I know have to go to 5. As I mentioned, I see this as a plus but why did it happen ? I detected no change in tone or any other issues, just a drop in volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I'm not sure, but I'd recommend doing two things: Checking your wiring and soldering and make sure you got everything right, then check it all again using a DMM set for continuity - make sure there is no continuity between any of the "tip" (hot) leads and any ground points / leads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted September 17, 2015 Author Members Share Posted September 17, 2015 Bingo !! bad solder joint. Thanks Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted September 17, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 It would be incredibly unlikely that all three cables have the same problem. Are the Neutriks the NJ3FC6? These are usually soldered, but some may have a clamp for the shield/ground. So we're talking the same, the TRS has a Tip, Ring and Sleeve. When you wrote "ground", do you mean the sleeve? That's what you'd usually use if you want TS functionality. What's odd is that the symptom you describe sounds like what you would get if you used a TS cable on a balanced system. If you use unbalanced (TS) cable on balanced systems, there's a 6dB loss via the connection. Since you didn't use TRS cabling before, that option is out.It's possible that somehow your new jacks have all got a very minor resistive short, like if one strand was loose and touching across the circuit. Unbelievably unlikely if all three were like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted September 18, 2015 Author Members Share Posted September 18, 2015 Sorry Craig I wasn't clear, this only happened on one of the three cables. The other two were fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Bingo !! bad solder joint. Thanks Phil It always pays to double-check before buttoning everything up and turning off the iron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted September 18, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 And let it all cool completely before testing. I've had some bad joints fail to show up for a little while after soldering. Warm to the touch...okay. Completely cool, shows resistance. These would fail fairly quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 ^^^ Excellent tip Craig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bieke Posted September 21, 2015 Members Share Posted September 21, 2015 another excellent tip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted September 21, 2015 Members Share Posted September 21, 2015 another excellent tip *lol* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members r0bo01 Posted September 21, 2015 Members Share Posted September 21, 2015 grilled chicken!(throws up in mouth...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted September 21, 2015 Members Share Posted September 21, 2015 Bad solder joint was going to be my first guess too. Allot of connectors, especially the in line type can be very poorly made. They used to use Bakelite as an insulator for the connector mounts on the old ones and you could solder them all day long without a heat sink and be OK. All these newer ones use plastic as an insulator and you "Must" heat sink them using a pair of hemostats or you risk damaging the contact mounts. The plastic that holds the contacts in place melts when you solder them and you wind up having all kinds of problems, especially with the jacks staying plugged in. I had issues recently trying to find a decent barrel type screw in plug for a guitar because of this same type thing. I had a solid body that required a deep route so I used one of those deep screw in TS plugs. I went through two of them, both having contact issues and the plugs not snapping into place tightly. The third one was a more expensive Switchcraft. I took care heat sinking it and it seems to be holding up. There's so much cheap junk out there being sold and its hard to find good reliable connectors that can hold up to heavy use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 another excellent tip It's not a question of if, but a question of when. If you haven't been burned while soldering yet, you haven't been soldering for very long... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted September 22, 2015 Members Share Posted September 22, 2015 It's not a question of if, but a question of when. If you haven't been burned while soldering yet, you haven't been soldering for very long... if you have been soldering for very long you don't mind any of the small burns and big ones do not happen anymore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 if you have been soldering for very long you don't mind any of the small burns and big ones do not happen anymore Well, hopefully... Actually, it's been quite a long time (knock on wood) since I've received more than a slight splatter burn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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