Patch cables

Volume · June 07, 2011, 02:57:55 AM

What are you guys using, solderless, regular or do you make your own. I've aways used whatever I had lying around, but now I got two Lava solderless kits and rewired my pedalboard. They're really easy to make and because the jacks and cables are so small they save a lot of space.

One problem though or two actually. After I rewired the board, added two pedals and a new power source there's a tremendous amount of tone suck and my DAM Meathead doesn't sound anything like it used to. The other guitar player in my band just got Lavas too and he has the same problem with tone sucking. Do we suck at assembling the cables or could there be some other problem. We also switched practice spots recently.

The signal chain is: Guitar - Budda Wah - Devi Ever SM - Meathead - Keeley RAT - Box of Rock - Choralflange - Red Witch Phaser - Deluxe Memory Man - Phase 90 - Malekko Chicklet - Amp

I've tried a bit of rearranging and leaving out some pedals, but haven't found the problem. Going to do some more troubleshooting today.

Lumpy · June 07, 2011, 03:46:08 AM

The Meathead is real picky about what's in front/behind it... I think it';s a Fuzz Face variant. (Even if it isn't, it's picky about your chain). Have you added or subtracted anything to your setup, besides making cables?

I like George L cables, but if there was a kit that you actually soldered together, then I would jump into my time machine and buy that instead... it sucks when you have a bad cable connection somewhere, and you gotta track it down. But the customizable lengths and thin cables (can squeeze around anything, easier than a standard patch cord) are invaluable to me. I just bought 12 feet of George L wire today, actually... I re-jiggered my setup.

VOLVO))) · June 07, 2011, 10:17:22 AM

Smaller cable = less signal. I made all of my patch cables out of DOA guitar cables, soldered 'em myself. solderless kits are kind of dildos IMO because it's up to pressure to insure you have a decent connection, and I just don't trust that.

Volume · June 08, 2011, 02:28:33 AM

Two of the cables were bad, fixed em and now it sounds great. Apparently the Meathead didn't like a bad cable in front of it. Can't say anything about the reliability, but they've got good reviews. Guess I'll just have to wait and see. I've seen plenty of soldered cables going bad so I'm not convinced on their reliability either. Have to admit that I haven't had problems since I started using decent cables (mostly spectraflex) maybe I just take better care of them than my bandmates. heh.

Baltar · June 08, 2011, 08:36:23 AM

The trick with George L's is to use a a little dab of Loctite. That and don't move your pedals around. I have a buddy back in Detroit that had 'em, but kept having problems, cause he was fucking around with the board. Also zip-tie and lock all the AC wires too. Staple-guns work great.

black_out · June 08, 2011, 03:08:33 PM

Quote from: Baltar on June 08, 2011, 08:36:23 AM
The trick with George L's is to use a a little dab of Loctite. That and don't move your pedals around. I have a buddy back in Detroit that had 'em, but kept having problems, cause he was fucking around with the board. Also zip-tie and lock all the AC wires too. Staple-guns work great.

That's all well and good if you're leaving your pedal board in your bedroom and jamming by yourself. Personally I'd never want to have to worry about that kind of shit when you're hauling your pedals back and forth to practice and shows...let alone taking them on tour. You can buy good quality cable and connectors and solder them yourself for around $3-$6 a pop depending on what connectors you go with. If you get a friend to go in with you, you can probably get the per-cable-cost down even more because, you'll be splitting shipping.

Here's a link to a nice tutorial.

www.buildyourownclone.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=16532

and a source for cable and connectors

www.redco.com

Volume · June 09, 2011, 02:52:52 AM

The problem with soldered cables is the size of the connectors compared to george l's and lava. It might not be a big deal if you just have a couple of pedals but if you have ten you're saving a lot of space with the solderless ones.

black_out · June 09, 2011, 09:17:05 AM

Yeah, I mean, whatever works I guess. I use the clam shell style connecrors and they save a good bit of space. There's also thinner, more flexible cable out there like the Evidence Audio Monorail that's still really high quality that is really nice for pedal boards (despite sunns claim that thinner cable is generally shitty...good rule of thumb, but not always the case) That shit IS expensive, though.

This stuff might fit the bill...mogami minature instrument cable? I'm assuming that means smaller diameter.

http://www.redco.com/shopexd.asp?id=506

At this point, I'm working under the impression that you're set, but it's nice for other people that are checking this to know that they have other options. You know.. the lurkers that aren't actually posting

Baltar · June 09, 2011, 10:41:05 AM

I've had zero problems with my George L's moving around or losing connection. As long as you're not playing shell games with your pedals, they work fine. I keep my board in a suitcase with lots of foam too.

chille01 · June 18, 2011, 02:08:16 AM

I just buy those 6 inch multi colored ones with the molded, 90 degree ends. Cheap, come in 6 packs, and I have had very few failures even after dragging the pedal board back and forth over two provinces. I just keep extra ones, and if I ever do have one go bad (very rarely), I just chuck it.

RAGER · June 18, 2011, 11:45:13 AM

i use the Gig Lines by Quantum. Not super cheap and not super expensive. hand soldered 90 degree. w/10 to life warranty