I made my first cable :) now I want more... good jacks to use?

Teetonetal

As I mentioned in another thread I got given a whole bunch of cable, stereo and instrument. Last night I managed to successfully make a stereo patch cable for my expression pedal... pretty chuffed with myself as the only thing I have done since leaving school 20 years ago (ahem) is solder a pick up change, this is the first thing I have actually made (small victories..)

So now I am wanting to do more... I am a pedal hoarder so am in desperate need of patch leads, I could also do with a nother couple of stereo cables and an instrument cable or two, so what are good choices of Jack plug? Easy to work on, but good enough quality?

I need

Angled mono jacks for instruments

Straight Jack instruments

angled patch jacks (so smaller heads)

angled stereo

straight stereo

what should I be going for? range available is massive!!

ecc83

http://www.neutrik.co.uk/en-uk/plugs-jacks/

They ^ are almost an industry standard and for instrument cables o ranything that gets "flailed about" there is no better.

For compact patch leads you need the "pancake" style (tho' Neutrik do a R/A version if you really want to push the boat out!). These are assembled using two tiny screws about 1mm by 3mm and these can fall out, lock them in with nail varnish on the threads.

But where you need a lot of "static" patchleads, N's quality gets expensive so seek out alternatives, good deals can be had from such as cpc.co.uk .....BUT! Also buy some heat shrink sleeving* . This has many uses in cable making but I mainly used it to add a more secure chord clamp/cable relief to cheaper plugs.

Don't know what tools you have but a 5quid 50mm table mounting swivel vice is invaluable as is a can of silicone spray lubricant tho' I still have some silicone grease in a tube that must have lasted me 20 years!

Do you have a meter to test with? If not buy one with a "beep" for continuity..SO much faster!

*You can get a variety size pack form Maplin, bit expensive that way but V useful.

Dave.

djspecialist

I use Hicon pancake jacks from Thomann. Good quality, easy to work with and reasonably priced (as long as they're part of a bigger order - postage to the UK is a flat fee).

Like you I only recently made my first cable. Very satisfying - my whole board has now been rewired

Teetonetal

ecc83 said:

http://www.neutrik.co.uk/en-uk/plugs-jacks/

They ^ are almost an industry standard and for instrument cables o ranything that gets "flailed about" there is no better.

For compact patch leads you need the "pancake" style (tho' Neutrik do a R/A version if you really want to push the boat out!). These are assembled using two tiny screws about 1mm by 3mm and these can fall out, lock them in with nail varnish on the threads.

But where you need a lot of "static" patchleads, N's quality gets expensive so seek out alternatives, good deals can be had from such as cpc.co.uk .....BUT! Also buy some heat shrink sleeving* . This has many uses in cable making but I mainly used it to add a more secure chord clamp/cable relief to cheaper plugs.

Don't know what tools you have but a 5quid 50mm table mounting swivel vice is invaluable as is a can of silicone spray lubricant tho' I still have some silicone grease in a tube that must have lasted me 20 years!

Do you have a meter to test with? If not buy one with a "beep" for continuity..SO much faster!

*You can get a variety size pack form Maplin, bit expensive that way but V useful.

Dave.

@ecc83

I have a multimeter - so know how to test the cable for shorts with the beep test

I just used a normal bench vice for holding the jack socket, but I can totally see how a swivel vice would be better, will get one.

What's the silicon spray for?

ecc83

"What's the silicon spray for?"

If you want to do a "pro" job you will need to run sleeving up cables and the spray is a good lubricant (spray it into a plastic top and use the remains sparingly) You could use soap, candle, Vaseline!

Then, the final back end of the Neutriks can be a struggle to slide down the cable and a bit of lube on the threads cab also be handy. Oh! and some big ass pliers can help.

Dave.

LittleBlue

I've used (and still do) switch craft jacks. Never had one break.