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This is interesting me a lot but my pedals are pretty tight on my board. Anyone know of any low-profile jacks like the ones found on Hosa patch cables?

Personally, I like these
http://www.redco.com/shopexd.asp?id=697

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How the hell did this thread elude me this long?

Well, lol, I just bought some cable from redco and the jacks at dale pro.

Only got 22 jacks and 30 some feet of wire.

I found switchcraft silent jack plugs as well. A little cheaper, no gold plating though http://www.redco.com/shopexd.asp?id=763

Thanks James!

Anyone know of a good "how to make your own speaker cable" tutorial?

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"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first."R. Reagan

Pretty much the same. Just get TRS plugs instead of TS plugs, and 2 conductor cable instead of 1!

-J!

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Funtime Links! Stephen's tips for a successful build!, Beavis Audio Tech Pages!, How To: Build Your Own Cables!, Knob & Switch Labels!

I buy the low profile 90 degree connectors from Parts Express and make all my patch cable with them.

Just make sure to buy a few extra they are easy to overheat and melt the plastic ring inside making the connector useless

I see ones that look like these all the time at Radio Shack. I recently bought a connector that is too narrow. The power jacks are also side mounted, and the cords don't bend out of the way.

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David Sumpter
I wish my lawn was EMO, so it would cut itself.
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How much are those? I've been interested in this thead and would LOVE to do this, but it loses appeal real quickly when the jacks start costing $6 or more per cable, shipped. The first one James put up were a good deal and you could build good cables cheap.

I've PM'd James but it seems as though he hasn't been on in a while and hasn't replied, so I'll post this question here if anyone knows.

I've tried to solder the same kind of connectors that James has in his guide but I'm having a ton of trouble with soldering the ground. It seems nearly impossible to melt the solder on the ground part cause heat seems to dissipate quite a bit when the soldering pencil touches that area. I've lifted up that metal piece a bit so heat wouldn't dissipate as badly and it worked for the most part. But when I tried to solder the ground wire to that area it's impossible to repeat that method. I have no trouble soldering the signal wire cause the area is very small.

Anyone? I'm using a ton of cables with cold soldering joints right now as a result. I also emailed neutrik and they said it would help if I were soldering with a non-metal grip. Well, I have been using a metal vicegrip, but I've soldered things successfully with it before.

I’ve not used these specific connectors, but I’ve used others and I’ve had similar difficulties with the ground not getting a good connection.

I always tin the ground wires prior to soldering them to their destination. Then I leave the soldering iron on the ground lug for a couple seconds and then apply solder to the ground lug. Then I put the tinned ground wire on the ground lug while the soldering iron is still applied. Wait until the solder from the ground wire and the ground lug form one solder blob, then remove the soldering iron.

If this doesn’t work, you may check your soldering iron…it may not be working properly, or the temperature may be set too low.
Hope this helps!

That method didn't work for me cause I couldn't get solder on the ground lug. Getting solder everywhere else is fine but that area just doesn't want to melt solder at all. I think my iron is fine cause it can tin wires and solder the signal wire easily. I've also used it on circuit boards. There's gotta be a way to solder the ground easier and I think James knows the way

Maybe your iron is too low of a wattage. All you gotta do is apply heat, melt some solder and it will pool up. Its pretty simple, and you shouldnt have any problems. There is no tricks involved that James has with held. Just because you can form a joint or tin a wire doesnt mean your iron is capable of heating a larger metal part.

You can get these HOSA looking jacks from AMAZON, $1.18 each.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... Y&v=glance

WARNING !!!
These "HOSA" jacks available fom partsexpress.com/Amazon are complete GARBAGE. Do not waste your time or money on these things. Reviews have noted tone/volume loss and mine were very scratchy if nudged, and were very intermittent, and the jack tips can be easily bent and broken off. They look identical to HOSA's. Using the same mogami wire yielded bad results for me and it wasnt my soldering or the cable wire. Buyer Beware.

i bought http://www.redco.com/shopexd.asp?id=697 took me less than a minute to solder the plug, compared to 15 minutes for the NYS 207s (not kidding). i reckon that i must've been doing something really wrong with those NYSs though. anyone wanna buy my screwed up cables so you can resolder them?

I cant thank you enough, Im never buying cable again.

I made some patch cables last night using the jacks posted in the OP and this: http://www.redco.com/shopexd.asp?id=542

don't buy that cable. I'm sure it works fine but it's a pain in the ass to get the shield back since it's braided. I finally figured out I could use a pick (like dentist, not like guitar) to undo the braid.

I just used some Canare GS-6 the other day. It has that same woven shield. Just have to roll it in your finger to get it to separate so it can be twisted and soldered. It's pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it. I like it better than the Mogami W2524.

What about straight jacks (for guitar -> pedals and pedals -> amp cable), are these good: http://www.redco.com/shopexd.asp?id=1111 ?

I've used those with equally good results as the Neutriks with the plastic backing. They are not as wide or long as the other Neutrik plug but are just as good, at least in my experience.

just an fyi... the $1 jacks are back at redco

I just ordered the same stuff as the thread starter. I'll post pics and a maybe video of doing the ground for all those having issues. One tip though, get a hotter iron and try roughing up the jack a little with some large-ish grit sandpaper where you want to solder the ground, I have found it makes it sick a little better. A hotter iron (or a torch) is a must though for soldering onto large pieces of metal. It takes a lot of power to heat up a big chunk of metal enough to melt solder.

What temp are you aiming for when soldering the ground?



Is there any issue using TRS instead of TS?

I'm making cables for a pedal board; short ones routing from pedals to Voodoo Lab Pedal Switcher loops.

Thanks.

Quick question on this. I purchased the Mogami cable and techflex covering from Redco. I've tried various sizes of shrink tubing, and using my soldering iron or stovetop, I've been able to get it to shrink and look really nice. But I can't seem to get it tight enough that the Neutrik boots can fit over the edge of the shrink tubing. If I try pulling really hard, the shrink tubing scrunches up at the end of the cable. Has anyone run into this issue? I've tried with both 3/8" and 1/2" shrink tubing. (1/4" won't fit). Thanks!

Any recommendations for plugs like these:



The idea is that I can put the pedals closer together. No idea if they have a special name, this is the first one that showed up with a pic in a google search.