Making Cables...

I've been thinking lately that anybody who plays guitar in a band or plays guitar for more than 2 years (and its not a high school/college phase thing) should own a simple soldering iron (you can get them for 15 dollars) and some basic tools.

Not only do you use it for pickup changes, new wiring and such but you can use it for making cables.

It only takes 4 soldering points, a bit of cutting, twisting and sliding to get the job done. I've found I can make a high quality professional cable in 10 minutes for about 10 bucks. I bet I could teach a 7 year old how to do it efficiently without harm to themselves. I actually prefer them to the 30-50 dollar cables I own because I know the cable used, the jacks and I know how well it was assembled. You can make the right sized cables, the right jacks and save money. This seems like such a no brainer to me.

I don't understand why so few people do this. It seems "beneath" them or "lower" quality to do this when I actually see it as superior (and have tested it as superior).

Infact, I used to only use neutrik jacks and Canare cable, but after finding this- audiopile.net (not a fake user promo, just personal experience recommendations) I save even more. I tried their version of cable (low noise kind) and found the designs to be really the same as Canare. I have A/B'd the 2 different kinds and they sound identical to my ears.

So what am I missing here? Is there a reason why I should buy a 50 dollar mogami cable? The jacks look exactly the same, and I bet the cable design is just like Canare.

grunge782! Making your own cord was the thing to do in the sixties and early seventies.

That's even going back to when rockers were using a banjo string for the high E, getting a thin guage,

and mixing the other strings after that.

Why? You were trying to get away from stage noise, standing on them or whipping them around.

Jimi Hendrix wore Indian moccasins for a soft sole walking onstage. That's what he said when I saw him.

I started wearing them too and that helped, and my own beading got me unexpected reservation invitations.

The best thing back then was Belden cord and Switchcraft plugs.

You're saying building a cord for $10, but two Switchcraft plugs would almost cost that now.

If you had a hot and ground two wire cord with a mesh wrap,

you could pull the mesh back from one end and solder it to the ground on the other end,

and that would stop a lot of radio and cab noise, and stage noise.

Going gold or copper would be the big upgrade. It might change your sound.

as always, John Watt

Making your own cables IS the right way. Take one of those fancy high buck cables & cut the end off. You'll find the insulation makes up a bunch of the bulk. The wire itself will be 20 to 24 AWG. Maybe not all of them but quite a few. I got some 18 awg whirlwind cable years ago on sale. And a bunch of jacks. I'll put my cables up against just about anything for signal strength & lack of noise.

Dude, how much meth have you done in your past:facepalm:.

And Switchcraft are fine, but they cost and to me sound about the same as Neutrik. The majority of your money goes into the 2 plugs. Cable in bulk can be bought very cheaply, even the high quality stuff. 6 dollars for plugs and 1-4 dollars for the cable depending on the length. I don't use anything longer than 15 feet. I just don't have a need for a cord that long.

Same here. 8 ft. from guitar to board & 10 ft from board to amp. And one spare just in case.

Nice, I also heard that if you get a cord too long, it cuts down on the signal strength. Any truth to that?

Also do your peers have any corksniffery about homemade cables? It seems like that is the case to me when I actually see some irony because I know my cables are actually better than theirs and I made them for a cheaper price.

I'm not one to say that expensive things are generally just overpriced, but a cable is such a simple piece of work that really doesn't have as much as an affect on your tone as they make it out to be.

I've had monster cables poop out on me all the time and really if you get quality jacks and cable I think you are set. Just solder it well and you are guaranteed a good sound. I think cables are more about being solid, low noise and not breaking than having a "pure" tone.

Have you ever opened up a Mogami? I wonder if they use a different grade of material in their cables, but even then I wonder how noticeable it really is.

Im with you Grunge. I mean to an extent there is a mineute difference in sound but nothing to have a heart attack over if you are anything less than a touring band playing 6 day a week 50 weeks a year.

I have played with 25' cables before and haven't really noticed and difference in sound or quality. Maybe it needs to be longer than that.

I was playing electric bass with a neo-swing band for a while and developed a habbit of walking to tables and sitting down with people at the bar and such while I was playing... For that I moved to a audiotechnica wireless and I did notice a difference if my batteries were anything but fully charged, and even then there was a difference to being plugged directly in.

Let me tell ya swing dancing and playing slap bass at the same time is an interesting experience....

I've never used anything longer that 15' myself. Just more cord to wrap back up when you're done. So I don't know about loss of signal. When it comes to corksniffers who use nothing but high end cables, I've also noticed these are generally people who can't play worth a {censored} & have expensive guitars. So you pull out a homemade axe, a converted pa head, homemade speaker cab with used speakers, plug in with your homemade guitar & speaker cables & blow them away. Lots of fun & pisses them off! I also smoke their fancy new trucks with my '59 F100, but that's another forum.

Definitely would like to see pics of the truck! PM in order here.... lol

I've done DIY mic cables, TRS cables and guitar cables. It's WAY better than the {censored} you buy in my opinion and a lot cheaper. Even if you did swing for the switchcraft plugs, they are still cheaper.

BTW, I find switchcraft connectors to be a bastard to work with. I don't care for the design at all. I don't like working with Neutrik either. But once you get them all set they are solid as {censored}.

I will say I love Neutrik XLR connectors, they are really well designed in my opinion.

I've tried Switchcraft, Neutrik & Rat Shack gold. The latter is my fave as they are super easy to work with. What else is out there, anything? BTW I won't post pics of the truck. Too fugly. Just like my girlfriend. Ugly as sin, but fast & rides nice.

redco.com

mb, thanks. Those be cheaper than Rat Shack. I'll have to give them a try.

:facepalm:

:facepalm:

Would you have preferred it if I said they both burn rubber?

Literaly a burst of laughter....

Great thread. I love the Canare/Neutrik route. Canare GS-4 is great for pedalboards, more flexible than George L and will work with the GL connectors. Redco is the {censored} for any wiring needs. Great people and great prices. I personally don't care for Mogami, mainly because the ground causes the cord to twist excessively. To me the strain relief on the Neutriks can't be beat.

I'll have to try Canare as it gets good reviews. That is IF I ever run out of the Whirlwind. I bought 100 ft. 20 years ago & still have a bunch left. I'm not hard on cables anymore since I quit drinking. Go figure. No falling down & pulling a cord out of the board. No dinged up guitars either.

I am thinking about investing in a 100' roll of the Canare for the reviews as well. Then stocking up on some Neutriks and offer custom cable service out of my shop as well....

That's a great idea. The cork sniffers can get them done by you & brag about having cables custom made. I may do the same if this bus of mine keeps going. 2 setups and 2 restrings came in yesterday.

I think it's one of those situations where it's not worth my time moreso than cost of the materials. And I don't mean the soldering part. It's going to get the plugs and finding decent cable. I can just buy a couple 15' cables every couple years and treat them nicely. I wrap them carefully. Keep them from getting knots in them. They do alright. I have a {censored}load of 10' or 8' cables that i use in the studio and I just hang them on a coat hook.

But you should be able to fix them, of course. or make 6" ones for your pedal board. those little cables cost like $8 or more. THAT tips the scale in favor of DIY to me.

Cool thread--I've been thinking of getting rid of these from my pedal board, and shortening the 20-25-footers I use for instrument cables. Can anyone tell me what the practical differences are between Canare GS-4 and GS-6 cable? Is one better for pedals and one for longer cables? Also is there any advantage of using something like this vs something like this for the pedalboard?

Thanks!

I would say just a matter of preference of the look mostly strat... I'm mean boards don't get much tear down use as long as you have a traveling board setup.

Stratotastic. The second right angle jacks are the way to go. There the best ones made out there and are about as close to military grade you can buy in the consumer market. They are a single piece jack not something held together by pressure like the neutrik is. The neutrick is held together by pressure and a good kick or yank, and some excessive heat can loosen the ground shaft. They are too bulkey for pedals too. I use switchcraft type on all my cables now. If something goes bad, it wont be the jack. You'll be able to reuse them over and over for the rest of your life.

I was buying them in bulk off Ebay for $1.50 each. If you buy them on line they're like $5 but still well worth the money. Switchcraft, dayton, and G&L all sell the exact same plug or at least the exact same design.

Thanks guys. That 2nd connector is actually the Redco branded one (I hear they're made by Switchcraft) at $2.75/ea. I see similar ones on ebay for $15.99 for 15, but I wonder at which point the quality diminishes to the point where it's not worth the cost savings.

As for cable, any consensus on Canare vs Mogami vs Redco vs ??