microphone cable?

[coffee-sipper]

I want to make some patch cables for my pedal board in custom lengths.  I have been trying to find some bulk cable on eBay and all I see is microphone cable.  I would assume that instrument cables and microphone cable is the same just different ends.  Is this correct?

[coffee-sipper]

along these lines:


Anyone know of an economy version of the switchcraft SW226?

[petemoore]

There are more individual connections needed for doing balanced inputs like typical XLR mic cables.
 Guitar cables can be made with just two, for input cables you'll want shielded, and the other 'wire' [the core].
 I used to make good cables using switchcraft plugs, and Belden Cable, but I think there are good alternatives to the Switchcraft plugs...and I haven't seen any Belden Cable for a long time and heard it's no longer produced.
 You can probably get decent results using any 'good' shielded cable, I'd look for:
 Flexible [even when cold]
 Durable
 High conductivity
 Fit's the plug well enough to withstand some 'jerking'.
  ...By good I mean braided shielding [not foil] that's sort of 'thick' I see shielding that has gaps in the weave, I don't know how critical this difference is.

[nooneknows]

if you want a cheap wonderful guitar cable, a bit stiff but 'clear' and quite hifi, try the common RG58 50ohm signal cable and solder 2 normal metal jacks. Give it a try, it's great from the effects to the amp, where the cable doesn't have to be so flexible.
bye

[STOMPmole]

Try Mogami 2792 for shielded guitar/patch cables.  Whether you believe in cable differences or not I've A/B'd it against other cable and prefer it in almost all my applications (guitar cable, studio patch cable, Hi-Fi stereo RCA patch cable, etc.) over other brands.  It doesn't roll of the highs or muffle the signal like many guitar cables can and it's not 'poppy' or noisy when you step on it.  It's also very flexible and lightweight.

The 2792 has two conductors plus a braided shield.  I solder the braided shield to the ground wire (shield) on only one plug to make a "directional" cable like the Hi-Fi freaks rave about.  I believe you're supposed to connect the plug with the braided shield to the amp input for the best noise rejection.  Regardless, it's a good sounding and quiet cable...it's also easy to work with.

It's relatively cheap ($0.46 a foot at online distributors like Markertek) and you can get it in different colors (Black, Red, Blue, Yellow).  You have to buy a minimum of 50ft, but for $25 you'd have enough to make several patch cables.

[coffee-sipper]

Try Mogami 2792 for shielded guitar/patch cables.  Whether you believe in cable differences or not I've A/B'd it against other cable and prefer it in almost all my applications (guitar cable, studio patch cable, Hi-Fi stereo RCA patch cable, etc.) over other brands.  It doesn't roll of the highs or muffle the signal like many guitar cables can and it's not 'poppy' or noisy when you step on it.  It's also very flexible and lightweight.

The 2792 has two conductors plus a braided shield.  I solder the braided shield to the ground wire (shield) on only one plug to make a "directional" cable like the Hi-Fi freaks rave about.  I believe you're supposed to connect the plug with the braided shield to the amp input for the best noise rejection.  Regardless, it's a good sounding and quiet cable...it's also easy to work with.

It's relatively cheap ($0.46 a foot at online distributors like Markertek) and you can get it in different colors (Black, Red, Blue, Yellow).  You have to buy a minimum of 50ft, but for $25 you'd have enough to make several patch cables.

Cool!  What do you use for connectors?

[STOMPmole]

For the guitar cords I usually use the nickel Switchcraft or Neutrik (or some generic gold plated plugs that are available at my local ProAudio store).  They have the 'old school' Switchcraft type right angle plugs at partsexpress.com for under $1.00 (uglier than the SW226, but they're cheap and sound fine).  


For the stereo patch cables I use whatever moderately priced gold plated RCA plug (with magical acoustic properties) that I can find. :lol: