OT: Making the perfect cables?

[SolderBoy]

I use Neutrix plugs for guitar leads.  These are the best I have found.  I have a pair of guitar leads that I've gigged and taught with constantly for 5 or 6 years and the plugs are still original.

In my experience, when guitar cables fail, usually its crackling comes from loose terminals in the plug.  Even the terminals in the best switchcraft type jack will loosen in time.  A neutrix can't do this because the terminals are machined from the same piece of metal as the sleeve and the tip respectively.

They also have a proper compression-type cord grip - much better than the old squeeze ring.  Leads often fail with a short or even a break, where the insulation has been pulled back because the lead has slipped in the cord grip.

The only drawback of the neutrix plugs is that to solder up to the sleeve connection on the right-angled one, you'll need a serious iron.  I went out and bought a cheap 80 watter specifically for these jacks!

Beware of imitations.  I've seen some copies of Neutrix plugs that are more expensive and don't have all the benefits that I've just mentioned.  Cat no. pp-0157  from these guys is one of these copies.

//www.jaycar.com.au

On the other hand, Jaycar sell excelent cable.  Cat. no WB-1508

Very low capacitance, and low resistance, and also low price!  (Compared to Canare.)  Plus one of their stores is about five minutes from my place!  

I also recommend those velcro cable ties - for years I just tied a loose knot when I rolled up my leads, but this seems to eventually lead to a crackly or microphonic lead - I guess the braided shielding gets frayed after a while.

The colour of your lead can effect its life.  

say what  :!:  :?:  

Think about it.  A bright red lead is much less likely to be stepped on - especially on stage.


R.G. - I feel your pain.  I've made electric basses as a hobby for over 10 years.  Every manufacturer of bridges, machine heads, pickups, guitars,  whatever!, makes more and more silly claims.  If that's not bad enough, sales reps in music shops just seem to parrot their blurbs.  Simply swapping the bridge on a bass guitar won't change the sound of it nearly as much as say, going from old strings to new.  Our industry is no different from any other.  Ask a nutritionist about the claims of those info-commercials selling diet products, or a mechanical engineer about the claims of those guys that sell the engine and fuel addatives.

My car seems to run a little bit better after I wash it.

Having said all this, over the years, I've come to realize that the way you feel about something, effects the way it sounds.  Its a natural human response.  Why else would people pay so much for vintage effects, vintage guitars? - We know that we have the secret knowledge and skills to clone them so that in a blindfold test, even a seasoned musician will flounder...

Ah ha ha ha ha...!   :twisted:

[PeterJ]

snorky -
there's a company called Kordex that makes cables using the ProEl stuff -- I bought a couple of them and I definitely heard a difference in clarity (which surprised me, I'm a real skeptic about mojo stuff). Pricing is competitive, too -- it's less than Planet Waves, Monster or any of the other "high-end" cables.

Here's the specs for their "Audible Purity" cable (the premium line -Kordex has a less expensive cable, too):
18 awg tinned copper wire, 99% tinned copper braided shield
PE low capacitance insulator, anti-noise tape
Extra Flex PVC Jacket, G&H All Gold Connectors

It does tangle a bit -- it's fine if you can stretch it out, but if you leave it piled up, you might find it tangles a little when you move around on stage. It's a lot better than some other cables I've used, including Spectraflex, which knotted up pretty badly. They come in lots of cool, translucent colors.

I bought the asssembled cables at www.lnrmusic.com -- the owner, Lou, treated me very well when he placed a custom order for the cables I wanted. They got to me fast, too. I've also seen them advertised at Pick-up the World's site.

Peter