# The Make Your Own Damn Cables Thread



## MaxOfMetal (May 23, 2013)

So, it's late at night, I've had a couple beers drew and after reading a few threads on cabling, I thought I'd help you fellas sound better and have some extra beer money at the same time. 

*Where do you get cable?* 
Bulk Instrument Cable | Redco Audio

*Which do I get?* 
Here's the truth, all five of those options are great. I've tried just about all of them, from the .44$ a foot to the $3.65 a foot. Know what the real difference is? Just about nothing in 99% of scenarios, tonally. From a quality perspective, I feel the slightly more expensive (bust still cheaper than $3.65/ft) cable is more rugged. 

*What's the difference between the .44$/ft and .84$/ft cable?*
Diameter. The more expensive cable is the thicker, less flexible cable, where the cheaper is thinner, super flexible stuff that's great for pedalboards and patch bays.

Alright, so you picked your cable. Now what? Well, now you have to pick the business ends, which you'll find here: TS Connectors | Redco Audio. 

*What connector should I get? *
Honestly, I usually cheap out here, as connectors are all pretty similar from my experience and believe it or not, the $1.00 Redco brand 1/4" jacks work just as good (and reliably) as the $4.46 Canare brand 1/4" jacks, and the Redco ones are actually a little easier to solder and re-solder down the road. If you want to be all baller and shit, you can grab the $20 Neutrik with the crystals on them.  But, I'd recommend sticking with Redco and the cheaper, smaller Neutrik options, such as the 224L. Nothing wrong with the more expensive Neutrik stuff, other than they're kinda bulky. I'm also no longer a big Amphenol fan as I find them a little difficult to solder (not a lot of elbow room) due to their super compact end. 

So, I have a shit ton of cable, and enough connectors to sink a ship. Now what? Now it's time to grab some tools. 

First, you'll need a cutter. This will do: Eclipse 902-084 | Redco Audio. Though, a stripping feature would be convenient, like on this guy here: Eclipse 200-007W | Redco Audio. 

Then a soldering iron: Eclipse 900-035 | Redco Audio, will be great, but a $5 Radioshack iron will do just fine for this task. Even a solder gun if you want to go all Rambo. 

And of course solder: Rosin-Core Solder (1.5 Oz.) : Soldering Tools & Supplies | RadioShack.com.

If you're new to cabling and feel like doing it like a pro, grab one of these too:Behringer CT-100 Cable Tester | Musician's Friend. That little box is awesome. 

Alright, you got all the shit, now how the hell do you do this? 


Not going to lie, there are a hundred other YouTube videos of this task, but I chose this one for the music. Enjoy. 

They use some other tools in this video, but I typically substitute those with a safety knife and my hands. I ain't afraid of no shielding. 

Now shred away on your new awesome cables. 

*But Max, I want to make speaker cables!* 
Then get these cables instead: Bulk Speaker Cable | Redco Audio. You can use the same connectors posted above. I'm not going to go into detail, but NO, instrument and speaker cable are different, don't substitute one for the other. Trust me.


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## 7stg (May 23, 2013)

Nice thread 

Here are some cable specs:
Van-Damme - Silver Series Session Grade instrument cable Lo-Cap 55 - capacitance 16.8 pF/Ft - Resistance 36 Ohm/Km
Gotham - GAC-1 ultra Pro Guitar - capacitance 21.3 pF/Ft - Resistance 85 Ohm/Km
Klotz - AC110SW - capacitance 21.3 pF/Ft - Resistance ? Ohm/Km
Gepco - XB20UB - capacitance 22.3 pF/Ft - Resistance 34.02 Ohm/Km
Cardas - Golden Chord Musician&#8217;s Cable - capacitance 22.8 pF/Ft - Resistance ? Ohm/Km
Sommer - Stratos capacitance - 23.8 pF/Ft - Resistance 39 Ohm/Km
Lava Cable &#8211; ELC - capacitance 21 or 28 depending on the page on their web site pF/Ft - Resistance ? Ohm/Km
Van-Damme - Silver Series Session Grade instrument cable Hi-Cap 125: capacitance 38.1 pF/Ft
Belden - 8410 capacitance of 33pF/Ft, 9778 capacitance of 45pF/Ft
Redco - TGS-HD - capacitance 44pF/Ft 
Mogami - W2319 - capacitance 47.3pF/Ft 
Canare - GS-6 - capacitance 49.0pF/Ft 

Capacitance works as a low-pass filter/ cuts the highs, so higher capacitance less high end.

Shielding strength from strongest to weakest - braided, spiral, then foil wrap.

I have used Gepco XB20UB for its low capacitance and resistance plus a double-braid shield. Its $0.63/ ft at Full Compass Systems and $0.68/ft at redco, and I did not find it at markertek. I have had good luck with those companies in the past. I have not been able to find Van-Damme - Silver Series Session Grade instrument cable Lo-Cap 55 in the US, but I want to try some.



For solder I like this for its ease to work and some silver content:
 62/36/2 eutectic solder (1 Oz.) : Soldering Tools & Supplies | RadioShack.com

I like using a flux pin too, to help ensure a good connection. [url="http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Kester/83-1000-0186/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMsQtlBhqKq43W9d3O0MjDHo']Kester 186 Flux Pen.[/url]


I use Neutrik's NP2X-B plugs some like switchcraft,
Cardas GRQ S M for a high end plug Cardas GRQ S M 1/4" Mono Plug (Each) | High End Other Connectors | Moon-Audio.com


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## Pezshreds (May 23, 2013)

+1 for sweet thread dude


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## DoubleAA (May 23, 2013)

For solid quality plugs, particularly if you need a lot for a pedalboard or a rack, check these guys out:

http://www.speakerrepair.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=pandj-quarterinch

I used the 1/4" pancake plugs for my pedalboard, and they are similar in build and quality to a switchcraft 228, but less than half the price.


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## Daf57 (May 23, 2013)

Excellent post Max - and +1 on making your own cables. I've been doing so for years now. Luckily I have access to the cable and connectors at work.


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## Rook (May 23, 2013)

Max, you're having one hell of a week.


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## Larrikin666 (May 23, 2013)

I'm tempted to sign Max up for a "beer of the month" club just to enjoy the threads that pop up after a delivery each month.


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## AxeHappy (May 23, 2013)

I like to use heat shrink on the over the boot of the plug, colour coded so I can easily tell what cable is what live in dark situations. And throw tech flex on them too, for a slight bit of extra protection and colour coding.


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## MaxOfMetal (May 23, 2013)

Rook said:


> Max, you're having one hell of a week.


 


Larrikin666 said:


> I'm tempted to sign Max up for a "beer of the month" club just to enjoy the threads that pop up after a delivery each month.


 
I don't think you gentlemen realize what I do for a living.


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## Larrikin666 (May 23, 2013)

MaxOfMetal said:


> I don't think you gentlemen realize what I do for a living.



LOL. I'd honestly never looked until now. Maybe you need to sign ME up for a beer of the month club then.


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## Rook (May 23, 2013)

Oh I do haha


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## Enselmis (Oct 3, 2013)

Bump because this thread should really get some more exposure. Anybody else have any particular solder recommendations? What differentiates one 1/4" plug from another? Anybody have any experience making balanced TRS cables? What kind of cable did you use for them?


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## tripguitar (Oct 3, 2013)

> What differentiates one 1/4" plug from another


 
connection material, the "gold" ones are more resistance to corrosion. also some of the compact ones might be more of a challenge to solder for beginners.

also a tid bit of wisdom just incase anyone didnt know - TRS cables and XLR cables are identical except for the connectors. the cabling is the same. positive, negative, and ground.

i used quad core canare mic cable when i made all my cables for my studio, but people say the difference between quadcore and regular is minute. there are two positives, and two negatives in quad core, which at each end are soldered together and to its respective pin on the connector. supposedly the way the are wound around each other in a spiral helps to eliminate noise and interference. I can say my cables are nice and quiet, but i cant say they are any quieter than regular ones! ha.

and yes as max said instrument and speaker cables might have the same connectors (TS) but instrument cables are shielded, and speaker cables are not. the reason behind this AFAIK is because a signal in an instrument cable is "quiet" and will be boosted by some pedals, a preamp, and a power amp. so we have to keep that signal clean if we are going to juice it up so much. speaker cables are already carrying a juiced signal from the amp to the speakers so any interference that might get picked up wont be amplified by anything at this point in our signal path and will remain inaudible.

also REDCO is the shit. i'm lucky enough to live two towns over from them!


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## Hammer (Oct 3, 2013)

The more expensive 6.35 mm plugs (yeah, I use metric) might have better build quality, meaning that the tip won't become loose or other nasty things. Solder is solder, but you should really try to find thin stuff. It's way easier to use. Usually these things have lots of room to play with so you won't really melt anything if you are a total soldering noob. Try to avoid cold solders and if at some point the cable starts to malfunction in certain positions just open up the jack, cut a few millimeters of cable just to be sure and resolder or replace the plug if you think it's broken. I do that all the time on my cables and even earbuds, because I'm cheap. I usually get my plugs for like 70 cents for 3.5 mm and like a dollar for 6.35 mm anyways. They are ok, not great by any means, but ok. Metal casing so it won't get busted as easily as the plastic ones. It may not be pretty and I might not get the best sound out of it, but it gets the job done .

Oh yeah, I'm also looking for decent coaxial cable.


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## Given To Fly (Oct 3, 2013)

MaxofMetal, what do you do for a living? You seem to know many things and own many guitars. I have to believe the two are related.


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## 7stg (Oct 3, 2013)

solder - For the best quality either Kester 44 - 62/36/2 tin, lead, silver or Cardas Quad Eutectic - 61/35/3/1 tin, lead, silver, copper. For something a little cheaper Kester 44 - 63/37 will work fine. Use a diameter of 1mm or .04" or smaller.

TRS use Mogami W2549 it has low capacitance and is good quality. plugs for XLR - Neutrik's XX-HE TRS - Neutrik's NP3X-B


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## Thep (Oct 4, 2013)

My advice would be to invest with all the soldering tools you need, it take a lot of headache out of the process and will pay for themselves in convenience and speed quickly. 

What I have in my soldering kit:
Soldering iron with adjustable temperature
Desoldering tool
Brass wool tip cleaner
Helping hands clips
Solder sponge
Variety of solder in varying thickness
Variety of heatshrink tubing and electrical tape


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## MaxOfMetal (Oct 4, 2013)

Given To Fly said:


> MaxofMetal, what do you do for a living?



I make beer happen.


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## ryanougrad (May 3, 2015)

Back from the dead bump. Anyone getting solderless plugs and where from?


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## MaxOfMetal (May 3, 2015)

ryanougrad said:


> Back from the dead bump. Anyone getting solderless plugs and where from?



I've yet to find ones worth a damn. They're almost all more expensive for no real sound or build benefit and they're often very finicky when it comes to assembly. Not to mention, unless you use LockTite which defeats the purpose, they're prone to failing as the set screws or housings come loose as they just screw in. 

If you have to, and I really do recommend you make them the old fashioned way, I'd start with GFS. They're cheap and just as well built as the pricier stuff, at least from what I've seen.


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## ryanougrad (May 3, 2015)

MaxOfMetal said:


> I've yet to find ones worth a damn. They're almost all more expensive for no real sound or build benefit and they're often very finicky when it comes to assembly. Not to mention, unless you use LockTite which defeats the purpose, they're prone to failing as the set screws or housings come loose as they just screw in.
> 
> If you have to, and I really do recommend you make them the old fashioned way, I'd start with GFS. They're cheap and just as well built as the pricier stuff, at least from what I've seen.



Thanks.


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## mr coffee (May 3, 2015)

Brings me to a question. I make my own cables all the time, I'm pretty comfortable with that. Recently, I've had a few plugs that the shells seem to want to unscrew on their own. These are good Switchcraft plugs. Any ideas for getting them to stay put? I was thinking about blue LocTite...

-m


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## MaxOfMetal (May 3, 2015)

If it's really bad, maybe. I've done it before and it's a pain in the butt to work on them later. I had some Neutrik jacks like that. 

I've noticed that a lot of the big names tend to have good and bad batches. I try to weed out the bad as soon as I get them. 

I will say, Anphenol jacks have been the best in that regard. 

Personally, I use heatshrink tubing to keep my jack ends together. No mess, no fuss.


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## charlessalvacion (Jun 15, 2015)

Great thread. Made my own patch cables last night for a rack noise gate & a 16ft cable.

What I used:

- Amphenol plugs (Agree with Max they are quite compact & tight to work, but soldering is nice. Plugs are solid & price is great.)
- Canare Cables L2T2S
- heat shrinks for the plugs
- 30watt soldering iron

Very proud so far on what I accomplished. I wont be buying guitar cables from now on.


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## vansinn (Jun 15, 2015)

I find it interesting noticing the fairly different capacitances in the cable table above..
Some of those with high capacitance are often cited positively.

Now, capacitance has a way of rolling off the high end, and yet I have the same experience as Max, that different cables all tends to work just fine.

What IMHO is missing is the influence of the isolation material, that is, it's di-electrica (speeling?).
It's fairly known that i.e. PVC isn't a good insulator for audio, while i.e. teflon is.
I have no idea about which plastics are used in those in the cable table, though..

Nearly all soft and flexible cables I've had have worked just fine.
For hifi/studio, most every time I've replaced a stiff cable for a moderately priced soft one, I've noticed a small difference in detail and to some extend, in dynamics.
Point being that, to my knowledge, the stiffer ones had isolation of the PVC types, while the softer ones were of various types with better di-electric qualities.

My other experience is that buffered circuits, like adding a zero-gain opamp driver to a guitar, will render the importance of the cable to nearly zilch.

Interestingly, I've often notices on pro rig builds that those often use the same thin types of cable Max talks about..


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## cult (Jun 15, 2015)

Nice Thread.

Have been making cables for a long time for myself now, but recently I stumbled upon something I will need to craft, but I don't fully understand the schematic.
Find it here:

http://training.tcelectronic.tc/Files/Training/TCSI/images/answers/891/Laney_GMajor.pdf

Solder side will mean the side which is pictured in the lower left in this picture, right?
http://www.canford.co.uk/Images/ItemImages/large/43-5001_01.jpg

So I can just go from left to right?

I've got all the plugs and a 2 core+ground cable at hand, so there's no problem with that. I've soldered a lot before, so this is not where the problem should be in the end


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## GuitarBizarre (Jun 15, 2015)

Vansinn - The simple answer is that because capacitance in ALL of those cables is very low, it will only produce a really audible effect over a long (40ft+) cable run. Most people don't use or need cable that long, so it's minute differences and ultimately the amp masks it all as soon as any distortion is thrown into the mix. The link I post at the end of this post even says, if you wish to experience a 0 capacitance cable, wire your guitar up with a patch cable instead of your normal 10-20 footer and you've got pretty much the same thing because there'll be so little cable there to add capacitance.

Also worth mentioning by the way, is that even though you'd think the rolloff from capacitance would be smooth, it's actually a passive filter - so there's a small BOOST in the higher frequencies of the signal immediately below the point it rolls off. Inconsequential, largely, but worth knowing.

For the quad-core thing - The concept is that you can reduce skin and proximity effect in an electrical conductor, by passing the signal through many small wires which, when braided, "equalizes the proportion of the overall length over which each strand is at the outside of the conductor." 

For audio purposes it is, to my knowledge, useless to braid wires. The frequencies involved are too low to make the skin effect a real concern for designers of instrument cable. Most practical instances of Litz wire usage involve much higher frequencies. The reason for this is because skin effect is more pronounced the thicker the conductor is and the higher the frequency being transmitted. Guitar cable is already quite thin and so most of the current remains steadfastly in the middle of the conductors.

Even if you did do it, you'd need to use individually insulated wires of incredibly small diameter. It'd be interesting to see someone do it with insulated pickup coil wire though I guess 

Since we're dealing with this kind of thing in this thread... 

Atlantic Quality Design, Inc., ZEROCAP(TM) Guitar Cable

Anyone ever seen these before?


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## charlessalvacion (Jun 16, 2015)

I just found out that the Canare L2T2S cables I have used to make my guitar & patch cables are actually MICROPHONE CABLES.

Still functions great though. Can't hear or probably wont hear any difference compared to my regular guitar cables.


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## leecloudpitt (May 6, 2016)

I just want to say that I had no soldering experience, but managed to make a few mic cables from one damaged 100 ft cable recently. I wasn't sure what I was doing but, bolstered by a few of those aforementioned youtube vids, did very well and ended up with great results. 3 of the 4 cords I made are still working a year later with weekly use. Maybe same odds with new store bought cables. 
Honestly it took a little thinking through at first to get the 3 wires going to the matching sockets of the 2 ends -- it felt kind of backwards to me -- and a couple tries getting the solder on making a solid connection, but after a couple solder joints it started getting easy. And it was fun and a rewarding experience. Something different to try. 
Don't worry about screwing up. Just expect going in that you may have to redo a connection or two.


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## Ice4600 (Sep 8, 2016)

MaxOfMetal said:


> I make beer happen.





Going to have to give this a try again. I experimented with different cables a while back but ended up with excessive noise. More than you'd get if you plugged a guitar in with a speaker cable (not braided). Ever experience this?


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## MYGFH (Apr 6, 2020)

Making cables is the way to go, here's what I'm using:

For the male 1/4" Mono Phone Jacks I prefer the cheapo shallow right angle jacks in bulk from Amazon

GLS Audio 1/4" Right Angle Plugs... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CT68ZY6/?tag=sevenstringorg-20

Can recommend Performance Audio for cable...

https://www.performanceaudio.com/accessories/cables-connectors/bulk-wire-cable/instrument-wire.html

And pick up this vice from Amazon too it's like having another hand...

PanaVise Model 201 "Junior" Miniature Vise https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000B61D22/?tag=sevenstringorg-20


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## c7spheres (Apr 6, 2020)

I've tried a ton of cables. Expensive and cheap. For my rack gear, crazy at it sounds, the best one's for low noise and good shileding are cheap as Radio Shack patch cables! I swear they are great for pedal boards and rack gear. I like them better than all the Monster, Mogami, etc. These ones:
https://www.radioshack.com/collecti...d-cable-with-90-1-4-plugs?variant=20331851589

For the guitar to amp I like the Horizon braided cables best. 

Making your own will save cash and be customized to your rig though and it's easy.


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