Not only are you really good at this, but you’re also a good teacher. I get frustrated showing new people how to do this stuff. I’m gonna start sending links to your vids to trainees.
Okay, so this video inspired me... I just finished replacing all 10 of my existing patch cables (a variety of pretty decent flat, molded and soldered cables) with cables I built and soldered myself. I have a couple decades of soldering experience in my work history, so it seemed like a fun little side project. Since half of my signal chain is in stereo, making custom cables for everything made it much tidier. What I didn't expect was the huge improvement in tone! There's a lot more high and response now, and the low end is a lot cleaner and clearer. I think it's probably the Mogami cables that helped, but I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Thanks Mason!
I am a dental student and this video quality (how you teach about making cables) is way better than how PhD professors at my school teach about dentistry. A true Dr. Rig!
Previously watched some of the older videos on this to my own patch cables for my current pedal board. It turned out perfectly and now I have a rig that is clean and virtually quiet! Glad that you remade all the videos as one and detailed the different plug types.
Best vid hands down! I just finished up my first board. I unsoldered some fender patch cables and chopped up a 20 foot cable from my spare box. I already had the tools and meter from my day job so I felt right at home with this. Cables sound great and actually had a slightly better resistance than when they were still factory. I think I'm enjoying tinkering with my gear more than actually playing!
This guy is well spoken and there zero wasted time in each video. Right to the point and great information constantly. Best gear guy on RUclips by far....
I followed all of his videos for audio cables and power supply cables I had no experience prior to doing this and I’ve built a bad ass board. My solder is gotten much better at the end of the project than in the beginning. My biggest challenge was cutting everything with the crimpers to the right size and making sure nothing was touching the outer shell to cause an issue with noise. Once I figured this out the board came out great. I’ve had no problems except for one power cable which I can totally deal with. The board sounds super quiet and sounds great. I’ll never buy power cables or audio cables again. I’ll totally make my own.
You're really good at explaining things in a simple way. I just sent back $100 of (probably crappy) pre-made / sealed patch cables and am gonna build my own instead, thanks!
I just bought a solderless cabling kit yesterday for almost $200.....now I see this! I wish I had thought of making my own. Excellent video. Thanks for the tips.
Hi Mason . Your vid is very nice for people , which newer done this before and they like to do . My point is that you went a bit too far' ! Weller is generally too expensive , specially stations ! People which gonna use a solder iron , just , from time to time , to make couple of patches , really don't need this ! They need a decent iron , with ergonomic handle , not too long '' heating tube '' - from the end of handle to the end of welding point . Good thing is to take, at last 3 types of welding points .
I'm a hobby guitarist, tech, and recovering hoarder. I had some Monster mic cables that went bad so I clipped off the connectors and forgot about them til I watched this video. Ended up getting a 20pk of pancake connectors off Amazon and repurposed the xlr cable by snipping off one of the conductors. Re-wired my whole pedalboard.
@@VertexEffectsInc I assume your suggestion is okay due to the relative unimportance if RF/EMF interference at the pedalboard, but if I were strangely using it as an instrument cable it'd be prudent to use the shielded braid as ground.
Great video, the only thing I would add is that if you have a 50vdc megger, measuring resistance tip to sleeve after final assembly of connector will let you know if you screwed something up. I find less than a few gig ohms means start over. Don’t use more than 50 volts and don’t have the cable plugged into anything. When megging both ends of cable have to isolated.
I’ve got to get these materials. Already have a great solder station I set up for my kid who build FPV drones for racing. Time for daddy to start soldering.
When I test cables with my DVM I also like to cross check the signal line and ground looking for shorts. And I like to put a drop or two of liquid flux on every joint. I just love the way it makes the solder flow. The flux really good on solder braid as well. Pulls all the solder right out of the joint.
Heh I got cables I made from 30 years ago and they still work. I made a three - quarter inch plug cable. A plug on each end of a 20’ cable then a middle of the cable plug wired in parallel.Plug one end of the cable into your amp plug the middle one into a guitar then the last one into your other guitar. The guitar on the middle plug controls the tone and volume. I heard it’s an old blues trick. It’s fun to mess with someone when you hide the middle jack guitar. Great tips and refresher. Thanks 🙏
Thanks for this man. I love having a perfect layout on my usually quite small boards. I find making my own perfect little cables really satisfying. It’s great to have some pro advice.
I have found you can make an excellent clamp for 1/4" 6.3mm jacks with a drill in 2 mins. Drill a jacks length into bit of wood (like cheap pine offcut) with a 6mm drill bit then gently move the running drill round in a small circle so the hole you are left with is 6mm at the bottom and slightly wider than the 6.3mm jack at the top. It will grip the jack as hard/soft as you want depended on how muck you push it in. you can put in a few holes if you want to do several cables in a row or have your right angle jacks all facing the same way relative to the cable. Thanks for this video, I've made 500mm Moogami 2319 with Squareplugs spS5 and sp400 which solves loads of wee problems :)
Thanks very much for this video. I was on the fence about ordering all the parts and materials vs buying ready made cables. But customisation and the fact that I'll do it myself made up my mind. Very detailed infor. Thanks again.
I use solder-less cables but I'd be really interested in a tutorial on building my own power lines to each pedal. I hate the way they're all the wrong length and I have to loop wire under my board to hide the extra length.- Wait- I just found your video on the power cables... watching next- thanks!
@@thrashtilldeath946 no, not necessary. For the most part any strain relief is coming from the plug itself and the hardware that's part of the housing. Usually heat shrink will only help with lateral movement and can't help with a pull. For a patch cable this isn't so useful.
Hey Mason. I finally took the step and used your links to get the stuff to make my own patch cables. I got the iron, third hand, heat gun and shrink tubing, 2314, and a bunch of different jacks. Thanks for all you do brother.
I have a soldering iron, but I’ve only done one soldering project, when I swapped out the pickups in a guitar. Amazingly, despite my 💩soldering skills, it worked. I would love for you to do a video on how to solder, and talk to me like I’m in Kindergarten. When you first mentioned tinning I realized that I don’t know how to tin. I would love to do more soldering, but I just don’t know how to do it well. I know there are other videos on RUclips about soldering, but I think you could make the definitive video on it.
If you use what we show you to do here, there is no value in using heat shrink. Pairing the right cable with the right plug, e.g. Mogami 2314 with SPS4 or SP400, and Mogami 2319 with SPS5 or SP500, you already have all the lateral stability you need. The time to use heat shrink is when you need to restrict lateral movement in the housing. This happens when the plug housing is larger in diameter (on the opening) than the cable is. The strain relief internally will help some but it's nice to build it up with heat shrink as well so you have some protection of movement side to side, where the strain relief does more for a pulling movement as opposed to side-to-side.
Enjoying this series. Would love to see a vid for balanced TRS and XLR cables as well. In the meantime, do you have a recommendation for which cable to use for this purpose? Cheers!
Why do you use 2319 0r 2314 for patch cables and 2524 for instrument cables? What would you use for speaker cables? Do you have a video on that? Thanks a million!
Hi Mason, love the channel, I put together some boards here in Ireland. Random question....What is that type of long angled, orange coloured handle pliers called, that I see you use in your videos for placing cable tie mounts onto boards? I cant seem to find one that's similar.
It's a Needle Nose Plier that's used for automotive applications. I purchased it through Amazon but you might find it at an auto parts store or hardware store.
@@VertexEffectsInc All of the shots where you were performing the soldering. I could tell you were soldering, but it wasn't close enough to the connector to really see your soldering technique.
Thanks for this, it’s very helpful for all of us wannabe techs. I was wondering what you think about using solid core cable like Lava Tightrope for patch cables. It seems harder to get a solid tip connection.
Hey mason, please help! I have bought 2 $85 mogami gold cables which have both had horrible microphonics, and static. I thought these were supposed to be the best cables in the world? There is no model number to go by, but the package says high-definition multi-purpose accessory cable. Have I bought a cable intended to go from the head to cabinet? I'm using this from my guitar into a radial di box then into XLR in my interface. The problem persists even running different guitars into my real world amplifier. These were purchased in-store from Guitar center, so I seriously doubt they're fakes.
Wasn't this topic covered in other videos already? 😂😂😂. Then again, it's good to have a refresher. Also, can I mention it's always a good thing to have a packet of soldered patch cables just in case if for whatever reason, you'd want/need to patch in another pedal, or if a cable goes down at an inconvenient time, whatever it is, it's always a good idea having those. (Especially if you're working as a tech/roadie) Also, cable tabs won't hurt, either. Primarily, because it allows you to label each cable so you know what it goes to, and if it's a spare cable, even better. PS. I'm still begging you, please, please, PLEASE!!!, do a "WHY you need an interface box?" video, not How, not When, or What, but Why? If not for me, then for those that don't know. I already know why, but for those that might still have doubts about it.
"When you don't have the parts/tools that you really need/want, you end up using whatever is around." I said that to myself today (before I saw this video.) How many times have I done that? Because in the ancient times I didn't want to make a trip to Radio Shack and in this era I don't want to wait for the online order for X days. And here's Mason driving home the exact point I hit today. I've been swapping speakers among cabs the last few days - for absolutely the last time! (No, really. I mean it!) So I cobbled together something that will work from old parts - speaker cables, terminals, jacks etc. That is such a risk friends. What did Mason say right at the start, about frustration and failed parts? Applies to patch cables, power cables, speaker cables, pickup wiring etc. I just bought a used cab made by the "Elite Prestigious" company, but not quite in the "Ludicrously Expensive Boutique" class. There was a rattle at high vol on the low strings at the 1st and 2nd frets. Sigh. Took it apart. Very well made cab but there was a stray screw lodged in the speaker frame. Easy. Relieved. However, plastic jacks were used so I put in metal Switchcrafts. Today, I was working on a "Merely Big Famous Name" cab and not only were the jacks plastic, but they were paired together on a little 1 inch PCB! Arrgghh! So I grafted the somewhat better "Elite Prestigious" plastic jacks (held together with soldered wire) in place of the PCB mounted "Merely Big Famous Name" jacks. What I really wanted was metal Switchcrafts but the jack plate was flimsy plastic anyway (the rest of the cab was first rate. Why do they skimp on the jack plate???) If you are a DIYer at all, study every detail of this video as Gospel and get skilled. It will save you SO much grief. If it's too tedious, no shame, pay someone to do it. The middle ground is where ALL the misery happens. PS - I use velcro on the base of my "3rd hand" to move it around as needed. Sorry for yakking.
Mason, great video. Convinced me to make my own cables for building my Temple Audio Duo 24/Boss Pedals/MXR 238 setup. I have one major concern however. I was going to install the Temple Audio 4X module (the $49.00 one) as well but after reading some reviews about noise being a problem I'm having second thoughts and maybe just doing without. It's absolutely quiet right now. Would the smart move be to just go without? Thanks and keep up the great videos!
If it's passive (the 4x) I don't see why it would add noise. I don't know much about it. You could also build a DIY interface, we provide free diagrams and tutorials here on RUclips to build your own.
That's a great question. Hi, I'm obviously not Mason but I've wired a ton of cables for myself and others. For me it depends on the diameter of the cable I'm using and the size of the hole that the cable goes though on the jack housing. Some cables need it and some don't. It's easy to see if after you've soldered one end there's way too much play even after you've used the strain relief. It's best to use a jack whose housing diameter is closest to the diameter of the cable but sometimes they aren't made or difficult to obtain. That said you don't want it too stiff either because it makes moving the cable around on the pedalboard difficult. When I do use it on a cable I like it to stick out a tiny bit on the end of the jack but not too far just enough that you can see it.
@@heathband If you're using the right size plugs, the heat shrink won't help, and in fact detract from the stability of the cable. If you're using our recommended Mogami Cable with SP400/500 or SPS4/5 there won't be any need for heatshrink as it's only used to reduce lateral movement in the plug itself. These plugs are so tight, there is no lateral movement..
@@VertexEffectsInc I totally agree. That's why I always try to use the plugs that are designed for the cable. Plus heat shrink tubing is a pain in the ass to get off if you have to repair a cable for whatever reason.
Hey Mason! I’m a regular listener of Chairmen of the Boards and used your recommendations to get Mogami 2319 and SP400 connectors. It wasn’t until watching this video that I realized that combination might be incompatible. Will I have to order new cable / connectors or will this combo still work, just with a tighter fit? Thanks for all the incredible content!
Mason, thanks for this amazing rundown! My inner control freak is very pleased to have all the same cables on my board. I took your advice with the high wire buffer from your other video, and my rig sounds better than plugged straight in to my Mesa lonestar special. I get even more responsive nuance and dynamic from this gorgeous amp thanks to your help! One quick question: when I was stripping the plastic shielding from the center conductor, I lost some of the center conductor strands in the process. Do I need to worry about that causing any tone loss? Should I redo my cables so I don't lose any material when doing this? It's not a lot. Maybe one or two strands of copper. Thanks again!
No, don't worry, the wires inside the insulation are all touching each other so the full connection is still made once it travels another mm or two into the cable.
Not really. There are two internal connectors instead of just one, but that's the only difference. You don't need a 15 minute video for that; just a knife, cheap pliers and a $ 5 soldering iron.
Thank you very much for your efforts with those videos, they are a host of information. My main issue with cable management in my pedalboard is how to deal with pedals like Boss LS-2 and NS-2 which add a ton of extra cables. Do you have any suggestion on how to deal with stuff like that? Also, do you have any opinion on flat patch cables like those from EBS or Rockboard?
The NS-2 can accept all SP400 or SP500 and you just feed them the opposite direction when dressing them, on cable goes 3:00 and the other 9:00 so they don't bump into each other. The bottom cable should loop around under itself so you can get it going in the same direction as the same cable on that side. These cables I recommend are a professional solution. EBS and Rockboard are a consumer level solution that is not at all comparable, but better than most solderless varieties out there.
I watched this yesterday, amongst many other videos, and I'm watching the Lindsey Ell video now. I notice you use different patch plugs in different places. Looks like straight on top jacks, and angled on side jacks? Any particular advantage to straight plugs, over angled?
Just depends on the spacing and what puts the least stress on the cables. There's not "wrong" way just what makes for the least pulling and most natural path into the input/output jack.
Can jacks be reused? Like if I have patch cables that use a cheaper cable but I want to upgrade the cable to mogami, can I unsolder the old cable and solder the mogami cable to the jack?
That's more depending on your ability to disassemble them; some are molded on and can't be removed. If you can properly disassemble the jack then you can reuse it.
For pedalboards the more shielding the better the tone but in guitar tube amplifiers I have heard if you use shielded cables it makes the tone worse that is why they use unshielded cables but then you get a lot of noise, RF interferences, microphonic issues. I'm not sure why the tone gets worse when using shielded cables in guitar tube amplifiers but its the cable capacitances of the center conductor and shielding that makes the tone worse in guitar tube amplifiers. It recommend using very Low cable capacitance for pedal boards which is considered good, but in guitar tube amplifiers its best to use non-shielded cables because it has even lower cable capacitance because it doesn't have the shielding compared to using shielded cable it seems?
More shielding the better...don't know if I'd totally agree. There needs to be a certain amount of shielding but after that it's diminishing returns and just makes for a bigger thicker and more difficult to route cable. Mogami 2524 for example has more shielding than a 2319, however using 2524 on a pedalboard would be a nightmare for routing and won't improve the tone, especially in a low impedance environment like a pedalboard. On amps, the location that you use shielded wires is important, but won't help you in other locations. Also wire gauge in certain locations is important as well to help keep the amp as quiet as possible and also to maintain the voltage and current in critical areas.
@@VertexEffectsInc High impedance signals you need to use thicker gauge cables that have a bigger thicker shield? For lower impedance signals to need to use thin gauge cables that has thin shield?
Mechanically, they're the same, it's just the diameter of cable that will fit in them. The 5/500 series does larger cable diameters, the 4/400 series does smaller. I stick with the 4/400 series using Mogami 2314.
Great video and very informative, but for those that would like to avoid soldering, do you know if the 2319 cable can be used with solderless connectors? I have a bunch of Evidence connectors that I like but would like to switch to the Mogami cable.
Mason love your videos and really enjoying the new Chairman of the Boards Podcast! Just curious if it is worth it to try and salvage already used SP400's for a new board, or if its not worth the frustration and just get new plugs. I'm sure for you, there are hundreds on tap to grab in the shop, but for some of us DIYers they aren't as readily available. Just curious as to what your thoughts are!
I just repaired a cable I have been using for a while. When I opened it up the sheath of the cable was conected to the tip of the connector at both ends so it did funtion . What affects could wiring a cable up like this have?
I watch all of your videos and follow all of your advices. What millimeters do you use to cut the patch cables? I bought Mogami 2319 and I keep cutting the copper strands.
Excellent video, thank you for that. I plan to redo my entire Bass board during the holidays and found some SP400 and SPS4 plugs... 2314 however is basically impossible to get in Europa, so I went with the Sommer Cable Tynee. Do you have any experience with it? It looks good, but the SP400 does not really tightly grab the cable, so there is no strain relief. Is this similar for 2314 or are they maybe a little bit thicker? I also got some 2319, which is a very tight fit with the SP400, but it does work (but I prefer the thinner cable)...
It’s not doing strain relief in most cases, typically your plugs are doing that and in some cases the heat shrink is limiting some lateral movement at best.
If I’m getting a 0.1 or 0.2 reading when testing the cable, 1) is that acceptable to use on a board? And 2) any suggestions on why I might be getting this resistance and how to eliminate?
I'm guessing the insulator on the 2319/2314 won't melt at 650-700? That's the problem I run into, but I haven't used the mogami stuff. Also LOL'd at forgetting to put on the boot before soldering the second plug. I have *NEVER* made that mistake. :D
It’s pretty negligible comparatively to the SquarePlugs, and the quality of the cable that you can use in addition to the plug is 10 X better. There’s a certain point where is diminishing returns in size, but a huge deficit in town by using EBS compared to some thing like Mogami.
@@VertexEffectsInc Weller WE1010NA digital soldering station is your recommendation? I have a solomon sr965 so I want to be sure what to get next. Thanks
@@VertexEffectsInc Thank you so much.... and awesome response time!!🔥 🔥 🤘 🤘. I learn so much every time I watch one of your tutorials or I listen to the podcast. FUKKN AWESOME
Are you familiar with WBC soldered patch cables.I purchased two kinds from them,one is Mogami and the other is Gotham model 4 times shielded that is a little bigger diameter. They're both about $33 for six 6" cables.My question is are they any good?They both use eminence plugs that are too big to work on most stereo pedals.Also do you know if the Fender custom shop patch cables are soldered or not??Thanks for all you do for this community.
I believe if any of the square cable pancake ends are slightly touching each other its shorting out my signal, you ever run into this? Like the outsides are touching when plugged into the back of a pedal
When powering all the pedals with the same adapter in daisy-chain, would you unsolder the sleeve on one end of each cable to avoid ground loops? This is what I have done to my patch cables.
PRS has talked about every signal patch being a point of resistance that effects tone… what are your thought on direct wiring pedal out put to pedal inputs and bypassing the jack?
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Don't wanna DIY? Let us make your cables instead!
Vertex Custom Patch Cables: bit.ly/3AU63vl
Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
00:27 Materials
02:42 Cable/Plug Types
04:34 Soldering Tips
04:53 Cable Preparation
07:58 Plug Preparation
08:12 Soldering Your Patch Cable
09:19 Testing Your Cable's Continuity
10:08 SquarePlug Tips
12:57 Switchcraft Tips
14:01 Plug/Cable Compatibility
14:39 Material List Recap
15:22 Outro
DIY Instrument Cable Tutorial:
ruclips.net/video/eekxhJpTctg/видео.html
DIY Patch Cable Tutorial:
ruclips.net/video/YDowhQxmN88/видео.html
I need a 4" pancake to right angle boot. I didn't see them on your web page..
What are the consequences of overheating?
Not only are you really good at this, but you’re also a good teacher. I get frustrated showing new people how to do this stuff. I’m gonna start sending links to your vids to trainees.
Thanks Hugh!!! Glad you dug the video :). Hopefully it helps others!
Okay, so this video inspired me... I just finished replacing all 10 of my existing patch cables (a variety of pretty decent flat, molded and soldered cables) with cables I built and soldered myself. I have a couple decades of soldering experience in my work history, so it seemed like a fun little side project. Since half of my signal chain is in stereo, making custom cables for everything made it much tidier. What I didn't expect was the huge improvement in tone! There's a lot more high and response now, and the low end is a lot cleaner and clearer. I think it's probably the Mogami cables that helped, but I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Thanks Mason!
I am a dental student and this video quality (how you teach about making cables) is way better than how PhD professors at my school teach about dentistry. A true Dr. Rig!
Thanks Tony!
Previously watched some of the older videos on this to my own patch cables for my current pedal board. It turned out perfectly and now I have a rig that is clean and virtually quiet! Glad that you remade all the videos as one and detailed the different plug types.
Glad I could help!
Best vid hands down! I just finished up my first board. I unsoldered some fender patch cables and chopped up a 20 foot cable from my spare box. I already had the tools and meter from my day job so I felt right at home with this. Cables sound great and actually had a slightly better resistance than when they were still factory. I think I'm enjoying tinkering with my gear more than actually playing!
Glad it helped!
This guy is well spoken and there zero wasted time in each video. Right to the point and great information constantly. Best gear guy on RUclips by far....
Wow, thanks!
@@VertexEffectsInc Thank you for awesome information! You have a new subscriber. 😎🎸
I followed all of his videos for audio cables and power supply cables I had no experience prior to doing this and I’ve built a bad ass board. My solder is gotten much better at the end of the project than in the beginning. My biggest challenge was cutting everything with the crimpers to the right size and making sure nothing was touching the outer shell to cause an issue with noise. Once I figured this out the board came out great. I’ve had no problems except for one power cable which I can totally deal with. The board sounds super quiet and sounds great. I’ll never buy power cables or audio cables again. I’ll totally make my own.
Great news! Glad this could help!
Clear, precise, and with no fluff. I wish some other DIY channels were this good.
I purchased all the necessary equipment (except for soldering iron, already had it) and already saved a small fortune. Thank you, Mason!
You're really good at explaining things in a simple way. I just sent back $100 of (probably crappy) pre-made / sealed patch cables and am gonna build my own instead, thanks!
Glad I could help!
This the king of video I’ll watch 10 times. Thank you.
Hope it helps Howard!
Mason, you are the man, an absolute gem in the guitar community
I just bought a solderless cabling kit yesterday for almost $200.....now I see this! I wish I had thought of making my own.
Excellent video. Thanks for the tips.
You can solder your solderless cable, just get new solderable plugs :)
@@VertexEffectsInc the plugs were the expensive part! :D
Ever since i started watching your vids ive learned so much, i make my own patch cables thanks to you
Glad to hear it!
Hi Mason . Your vid is very nice for people , which newer done this before and they like to do . My point is that you went a bit too far' ! Weller is generally too expensive , specially stations ! People which gonna use a solder iron , just , from time to time , to make couple of patches , really don't need this ! They need a decent iron , with ergonomic handle , not too long '' heating tube '' - from the end of handle to the end of welding point . Good thing is to take, at last 3 types of welding points .
I'm a hobby guitarist, tech, and recovering hoarder. I had some Monster mic cables that went bad so I clipped off the connectors and forgot about them til I watched this video.
Ended up getting a 20pk of pancake connectors off Amazon and repurposed the xlr cable by snipping off one of the conductors. Re-wired my whole pedalboard.
You could also wire them and tie one of the center conductors to the ground and have the other center conductor go to the tip.
@@VertexEffectsInc I assume your suggestion is okay due to the relative unimportance if RF/EMF interference at the pedalboard, but if I were strangely using it as an instrument cable it'd be prudent to use the shielded braid as ground.
Great video, the only thing I would add is that if you have a 50vdc megger, measuring resistance tip to sleeve after final assembly of connector will let you know if you screwed something up. I find less than a few gig ohms means start over.
Don’t use more than 50 volts and don’t have the cable plugged into anything. When megging both ends of cable have to isolated.
I’ve got to get these materials. Already have a great solder station I set up for my kid who build FPV drones for racing. Time for daddy to start soldering.
Go for it!
When I test cables with my DVM I also like to cross check the signal line and ground looking for shorts. And I like to put a drop or two of liquid flux on every joint. I just love the way it makes the solder flow. The flux really good on solder braid as well. Pulls all the solder right out of the joint.
Good trick!
Heh I got cables I made from 30 years ago and they still work. I made a three - quarter inch plug cable. A plug on each end of a 20’ cable then a middle of the cable plug wired in parallel.Plug one end of the cable into your amp plug the middle one into a guitar then the last one into your other guitar. The guitar on the middle plug controls the tone and volume. I heard it’s an old blues trick. It’s fun to mess with someone when you hide the middle jack guitar. Great tips and refresher. Thanks 🙏
Thanks for watching!
I learned how to solder and will save a ton of money and it's fun to do, thank for this video, its awesome.
Glad you liked it!
Thanks for this man. I love having a perfect layout on my usually quite small boards. I find making my own perfect little cables really satisfying. It’s great to have some pro advice.
Glad I could help!
I have found you can make an excellent clamp for 1/4" 6.3mm jacks with a drill in 2 mins. Drill a jacks length into bit of wood (like cheap pine offcut) with a 6mm drill bit then gently move the running drill round in a small circle so the hole you are left with is 6mm at the bottom and slightly wider than the 6.3mm jack at the top. It will grip the jack as hard/soft as you want depended on how muck you push it in. you can put in a few holes if you want to do several cables in a row or have your right angle jacks all facing the same way relative to the cable.
Thanks for this video, I've made 500mm Moogami 2319 with Squareplugs spS5 and sp400 which solves loads of wee problems :)
Thanks very much for this video. I was on the fence about ordering all the parts and materials vs buying ready made cables. But customisation and the fact that I'll do it myself made up my mind. Very detailed infor. Thanks again.
Very clear explanation. Very informative and articulate young man. Great job. Going to check out your site right now! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the support :)
I use solder-less cables but I'd be really interested in a tutorial on building my own power lines to each pedal. I hate the way they're all the wrong length and I have to loop wire under my board to hide the extra length.- Wait- I just found your video on the power cables... watching next- thanks!
Now for some reason, I don't think this video is getting enough ❤.
I thought this tutorial was very informative and I'm going to get all my materials together and give it a go thank you Mason. 🤘🤘
Glad it was helpful!
@@VertexEffectsInc I had one more question do you need some kind of heat shrink wrap on either the patch or instrument cables?
@@thrashtilldeath946 no, not necessary. For the most part any strain relief is coming from the plug itself and the hardware that's part of the housing. Usually heat shrink will only help with lateral movement and can't help with a pull. For a patch cable this isn't so useful.
Very useful stuff Mason. Loving the DIY stuff.
Thanks 👍
Hey Mason. I finally took the step and used your links to get the stuff to make my own patch cables. I got the iron, third hand, heat gun and shrink tubing, 2314, and a bunch of different jacks. Thanks for all you do brother.
Have fun! This will be a skill you can use forever!
I have a soldering iron, but I’ve only done one soldering project, when I swapped out the pickups in a guitar. Amazingly, despite my 💩soldering skills, it worked. I would love for you to do a video on how to solder, and talk to me like I’m in Kindergarten. When you first mentioned tinning I realized that I don’t know how to tin. I would love to do more soldering, but I just don’t know how to do it well. I know there are other videos on RUclips about soldering, but I think you could make the definitive video on it.
We're developing a few courses for people to purchase that include a soldering basics.
9:28 besides a continuity test I’d also recommend to test if there is no short between the tip and sleeve of the connector(s).
Great video! Definitely want to make my own DIY Cables! Cheers!
Go for it!
Glad I found this channel. Amazing stuff man
Thank you very much!!! how about some heat shrink tips and advice? I like the look and feel of patch cables with this on.
If you use what we show you to do here, there is no value in using heat shrink. Pairing the right cable with the right plug, e.g. Mogami 2314 with SPS4 or SP400, and Mogami 2319 with SPS5 or SP500, you already have all the lateral stability you need. The time to use heat shrink is when you need to restrict lateral movement in the housing. This happens when the plug housing is larger in diameter (on the opening) than the cable is. The strain relief internally will help some but it's nice to build it up with heat shrink as well so you have some protection of movement side to side, where the strain relief does more for a pulling movement as opposed to side-to-side.
@@VertexEffectsInc so it’s better to use 2314 with SPS5 and heat shrink for extra support as opposed to just 2319 straight?
Enjoying this series. Would love to see a vid for balanced TRS and XLR cables as well. In the meantime, do you have a recommendation for which cable to use for this purpose? Cheers!
Great suggestion! Mogami 2552 is a good cable for that.
Fantastic. Love your videos! This was so helpful. I’ve been using George L’s for years. They are always shorting! Can’t wait to make my own cables.
Happy to help!
I love how Mason smiles while talking about not forgetting to put on boot. He knows, he knows that damn feeling.... T___T. Great vid, thanks!
Invaluable information! Looking forward to setting up my own patch cables!
Glad it was helpful!
Why do you use 2319 0r 2314 for patch cables and 2524 for instrument cables? What would you use for speaker cables? Do you have a video on that? Thanks a million!
For switchers I use 2314. For serial pedalboards I use 2319. For instrument cables I use 2524.
This was awesome! Thanks so much for taking the time.
A great video filled with tons of good advice, but next time, you really need to zoom right into the part when the soldering is taking place. Thanks.
I wish there was a close-up overhead view so I could see how the soldering technique is supposed to work.
Search for ChrisFix channel he has an absolute video on soldering in general
Hi Mason, love the channel, I put together some boards here in Ireland. Random question....What is that type of long angled, orange coloured handle pliers called, that I see you use in your videos for placing cable tie mounts onto boards? I cant seem to find one that's similar.
It's a Needle Nose Plier that's used for automotive applications. I purchased it through Amazon but you might find it at an auto parts store or hardware store.
thanks so much for the reply !
Thanks Mason. I’ve learned a ton on your channel!
Thank you very much
This is a very useful presentation of solutions that might take much longer to sort through otherwise.
Would've been great to see the actual soldering zoomed in more closely for better observation, but nevertheless, a very informative video.
Where did you feel you couldn't see? We had visual diagrams that mirrored the actual video in real time.
@@VertexEffectsInc All of the shots where you were performing the soldering. I could tell you were soldering, but it wasn't close enough to the connector to really see your soldering technique.
What a fantastic video! Superbly done, very clear and concise.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for this, it’s very helpful for all of us wannabe techs. I was wondering what you think about using solid core cable like Lava Tightrope for patch cables. It seems harder to get a solid tip connection.
You can use it...some people prefer solid core, I find it's inflexible and more likely to break if you're manipulating it a lot.
Hey mason, please help! I have bought 2 $85 mogami gold cables which have both had horrible microphonics, and static. I thought these were supposed to be the best cables in the world?
There is no model number to go by, but the package says high-definition multi-purpose accessory cable. Have I bought a cable intended to go from the head to cabinet?
I'm using this from my guitar into a radial di box then into XLR in my interface. The problem persists even running different guitars into my real world amplifier.
These were purchased in-store from Guitar center, so I seriously doubt they're fakes.
Another killer video!
Thanks Bruce!
Wasn't this topic covered in other videos already? 😂😂😂. Then again, it's good to have a refresher.
Also, can I mention it's always a good thing to have a packet of soldered patch cables just in case if for whatever reason, you'd want/need to patch in another pedal, or if a cable goes down at an inconvenient time, whatever it is, it's always a good idea having those. (Especially if you're working as a tech/roadie)
Also, cable tabs won't hurt, either. Primarily, because it allows you to label each cable so you know what it goes to, and if it's a spare cable, even better.
PS. I'm still begging you, please, please, PLEASE!!!, do a "WHY you need an interface box?" video, not How, not When, or What, but Why? If not for me, then for those that don't know. I already know why, but for those that might still have doubts about it.
Good idea!
9:28 Thank you for this tip! I will check all my cables, in case any have some resistance I need to re-solder them cleanly?
I'd de-solder them and strip them back to new on the cable.
"When you don't have the parts/tools that you really need/want, you end up using whatever is around." I said that to myself today (before I saw this video.) How many times have I done that? Because in the ancient times I didn't want to make a trip to Radio Shack and in this era I don't want to wait for the online order for X days. And here's Mason driving home the exact point I hit today. I've been swapping speakers among cabs the last few days - for absolutely the last time! (No, really. I mean it!) So I cobbled together something that will work from old parts - speaker cables, terminals, jacks etc. That is such a risk friends. What did Mason say right at the start, about frustration and failed parts? Applies to patch cables, power cables, speaker cables, pickup wiring etc. I just bought a used cab made by the "Elite Prestigious" company, but not quite in the "Ludicrously Expensive Boutique" class. There was a rattle at high vol on the low strings at the 1st and 2nd frets. Sigh. Took it apart. Very well made cab but there was a stray screw lodged in the speaker frame. Easy. Relieved. However, plastic jacks were used so I put in metal Switchcrafts. Today, I was working on a "Merely Big Famous Name" cab and not only were the jacks plastic, but they were paired together on a little 1 inch PCB! Arrgghh! So I grafted the somewhat better "Elite Prestigious" plastic jacks (held together with soldered wire) in place of the PCB mounted "Merely Big Famous Name" jacks. What I really wanted was metal Switchcrafts but the jack plate was flimsy plastic anyway (the rest of the cab was first rate. Why do they skimp on the jack plate???) If you are a DIYer at all, study every detail of this video as Gospel and get skilled. It will save you SO much grief. If it's too tedious, no shame, pay someone to do it. The middle ground is where ALL the misery happens. PS - I use velcro on the base of my "3rd hand" to move it around as needed. Sorry for yakking.
Thanks Steve! Hopefully it helps a few people feel confident to give it a try!
Your videos are incredible!
Thanks for watching!
Love your videos, thank you so much for clearing up a lot of misconceptions I had 😁👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Fantastic upload, another keeper for reference.
Mason, great video. Convinced me to make my own cables for building my Temple Audio Duo 24/Boss Pedals/MXR 238 setup. I have one major concern however. I was going to install the Temple Audio 4X module (the $49.00 one) as well but after reading some reviews about noise being a problem I'm having second thoughts and maybe just doing without. It's absolutely quiet right now. Would the smart move be to just go without? Thanks and keep up the great videos!
If it's passive (the 4x) I don't see why it would add noise. I don't know much about it. You could also build a DIY interface, we provide free diagrams and tutorials here on RUclips to build your own.
Do you have a video on how to make a dual mono to TRS cable? I need them for my RJM 6X and I’m struggling to get this to work.
Great stuff, thank you so much. I noticed the heat gun in the products list, but no shrink sleeves. Do you ever use shrink inside the housings?
That's a great question. Hi, I'm obviously not Mason but I've wired a ton of cables for myself and others. For me it depends on the diameter of the cable I'm using and the size of the hole that the cable goes though on the jack housing. Some cables need it and some don't. It's easy to see if after you've soldered one end there's way too much play even after you've used the strain relief. It's best to use a jack whose housing diameter is closest to the diameter of the cable but sometimes they aren't made or difficult to obtain. That said you don't want it too stiff either because it makes moving the cable around on the pedalboard difficult. When I do use it on a cable I like it to stick out a tiny bit on the end of the jack but not too far just enough that you can see it.
@@BeachJazzMusic many thanks! Great answer, cheers bruce.
@@heathband If you're using the right size plugs, the heat shrink won't help, and in fact detract from the stability of the cable. If you're using our recommended Mogami Cable with SP400/500 or SPS4/5 there won't be any need for heatshrink as it's only used to reduce lateral movement in the plug itself. These plugs are so tight, there is no lateral movement..
@@VertexEffectsInc right on. Much appreciated. Have a good one Mason.
@@VertexEffectsInc I totally agree. That's why I always try to use the plugs that are designed for the cable. Plus heat shrink tubing is a pain in the ass to get off if you have to repair a cable for whatever reason.
I’m timid about such high temperatures! Is this why Warren Zevon wrote “I Was In The House When the House Burned Down”?
Hey Mason! I’m a regular listener of Chairmen of the Boards and used your recommendations to get Mogami 2319 and SP400 connectors. It wasn’t until watching this video that I realized that combination might be incompatible. Will I have to order new cable / connectors or will this combo still work, just with a tighter fit? Thanks for all the incredible content!
2319 will still work with SP400 but it'll be tight. I normally use 2314 with SP400.
Thank you for all of the great content and advice!
Do you have any advice on the Switchcraft 228 (pancake) plugs?
Thanks!
It will be very similar here except for the ground lug, that will need to be soldered to the housing itself, no solder lug.
@@VertexEffectsInc Thanks for your reply! Can it be soldered anywhere on the housing?
Mason, thanks for this amazing rundown! My inner control freak is very pleased to have all the same cables on my board. I took your advice with the high wire buffer from your other video, and my rig sounds better than plugged straight in to my Mesa lonestar special. I get even more responsive nuance and dynamic from this gorgeous amp thanks to your help! One quick question: when I was stripping the plastic shielding from the center conductor, I lost some of the center conductor strands in the process. Do I need to worry about that causing any tone loss? Should I redo my cables so I don't lose any material when doing this? It's not a lot. Maybe one or two strands of copper. Thanks again!
No, don't worry, the wires inside the insulation are all touching each other so the full connection is still made once it travels another mm or two into the cable.
Probably the most informative and comprehensive video on this topic, thank you.
Is the process for TRS cables different?
Not really. There are two internal connectors instead of just one, but that's the only difference. You don't need a 15 minute video for that; just a knife, cheap pliers and a $ 5 soldering iron.
Thank you very much for your efforts with those videos, they are a host of information. My main issue with cable management in my pedalboard is how to deal with pedals like Boss LS-2 and NS-2 which add a ton of extra cables. Do you have any suggestion on how to deal with stuff like that? Also, do you have any opinion on flat patch cables like those from EBS or Rockboard?
The NS-2 can accept all SP400 or SP500 and you just feed them the opposite direction when dressing them, on cable goes 3:00 and the other 9:00 so they don't bump into each other. The bottom cable should loop around under itself so you can get it going in the same direction as the same cable on that side. These cables I recommend are a professional solution. EBS and Rockboard are a consumer level solution that is not at all comparable, but better than most solderless varieties out there.
@@VertexEffectsInc Thank you for the info, I appreciate it.
now we only have to learn to solder TRS cables!
Not for this pedal.
Cables are expensive for what you get. Off topic a little is network cable. Best thing I did was learn to splice my own network cable.
The cables I recommend here are pretty cheap, under $1 per foot.
Besides continuity, any test in case there is any noise (not sure if there would be any but curious)? Thanks.
You can test each on as you finish them to see how they compare to say a "baseline" cable you've already built and qualified.
I dig it!
Thanks Walter!
I watched this yesterday, amongst many other videos, and I'm watching the Lindsey Ell video now. I notice you use different patch plugs in different places. Looks like straight on top jacks, and angled on side jacks? Any particular advantage to straight plugs, over angled?
Just depends on the spacing and what puts the least stress on the cables. There's not "wrong" way just what makes for the least pulling and most natural path into the input/output jack.
@@VertexEffectsInc thanks!
@@SD_Marc sure thing!
Can jacks be reused? Like if I have patch cables that use a cheaper cable but I want to upgrade the cable to mogami, can I unsolder the old cable and solder the mogami cable to the jack?
That's more depending on your ability to disassemble them; some are molded on and can't be removed. If you can properly disassemble the jack then you can reuse it.
ah thats why all the sp 400 plugs were sold out all the time.
Did they increase the price?
For pedalboards the more shielding the better the tone but in guitar tube amplifiers I have heard if you use shielded cables it makes the tone worse that is why they use unshielded cables but then you get a lot of noise, RF interferences, microphonic issues. I'm not sure why the tone gets worse when using shielded cables in guitar tube amplifiers but its the cable capacitances of the center conductor and shielding that makes the tone worse in guitar tube amplifiers. It recommend using very Low cable capacitance for pedal boards which is considered good, but in guitar tube amplifiers its best to use non-shielded cables because it has even lower cable capacitance because it doesn't have the shielding compared to using shielded cable it seems?
More shielding the better...don't know if I'd totally agree. There needs to be a certain amount of shielding but after that it's diminishing returns and just makes for a bigger thicker and more difficult to route cable. Mogami 2524 for example has more shielding than a 2319, however using 2524 on a pedalboard would be a nightmare for routing and won't improve the tone, especially in a low impedance environment like a pedalboard. On amps, the location that you use shielded wires is important, but won't help you in other locations. Also wire gauge in certain locations is important as well to help keep the amp as quiet as possible and also to maintain the voltage and current in critical areas.
@@VertexEffectsInc High impedance signals you need to use thicker gauge cables that have a bigger thicker shield? For lower impedance signals to need to use thin gauge cables that has thin shield?
What's the difference between the SP400 and SP500? As well as the SPS4 vs SPS5? Is it just the size of cable going in?
Mechanically, they're the same, it's just the diameter of cable that will fit in them. The 5/500 series does larger cable diameters, the 4/400 series does smaller. I stick with the 4/400 series using Mogami 2314.
Great video and very informative, but for those that would like to avoid soldering, do you know if the 2319 cable can be used with solderless connectors? I have a bunch of Evidence connectors that I like but would like to switch to the Mogami cable.
I think the solderless plugs require their native cable.
If you want a great solderless cable try Evidence Audio SIS, it's a solid copper core that screws directly into the plug
Mason love your videos and really enjoying the new Chairman of the Boards Podcast! Just curious if it is worth it to try and salvage already used SP400's for a new board, or if its not worth the frustration and just get new plugs. I'm sure for you, there are hundreds on tap to grab in the shop, but for some of us DIYers they aren't as readily available. Just curious as to what your thoughts are!
If the plugs aren't damaged you could re-use them.
Grazie mille pisano! Molto utile! 🤗
I just repaired a cable I have been using for a while. When I opened it up the sheath of the cable was conected to the tip of the connector at both ends so it did funtion . What affects could wiring a cable up like this have?
This is so useful, thank you! :D
I watch all of your videos and follow all of your advices. What millimeters do you use to cut the patch cables? I bought Mogami 2319 and I keep cutting the copper strands.
I normally use the 8-10 AWG size strippers.
Excellent video, thank you for that. I plan to redo my entire Bass board during the holidays and found some SP400 and SPS4 plugs... 2314 however is basically impossible to get in Europa, so I went with the Sommer Cable Tynee. Do you have any experience with it? It looks good, but the SP400 does not really tightly grab the cable, so there is no strain relief. Is this similar for 2314 or are they maybe a little bit thicker? I also got some 2319, which is a very tight fit with the SP400, but it does work (but I prefer the thinner cable)...
Watching this, and realizing I didn't strip back that black material, now I have to go open all my patch cables lol
Oh no
Do you ever add heat shrink tubing to the cable for strain relief?
It’s not doing strain relief in most cases, typically your plugs are doing that and in some cases the heat shrink is limiting some lateral movement at best.
If I’m getting a 0.1 or 0.2 reading when testing the cable, 1) is that acceptable to use on a board? And 2) any suggestions on why I might be getting this resistance and how to eliminate?
You mentioned SPS4 in the material list - can you comment on when to chose SPS4 or SPS5?
I'm guessing the insulator on the 2319/2314 won't melt at 650-700? That's the problem I run into, but I haven't used the mogami stuff. Also LOL'd at forgetting to put on the boot before soldering the second plug. I have *NEVER* made that mistake. :D
I prefer the EBS patch cables because they're the thightest cables out there for a pedalboard
It’s pretty negligible comparatively to the SquarePlugs, and the quality of the cable that you can use in addition to the plug is 10 X better. There’s a certain point where is diminishing returns in size, but a huge deficit in town by using EBS compared to some thing like Mogami.
I use George L`s cables and plugs. No need for soldering iron😉
When I strip the inner plastic, sometimes i cut a few of the inner strands, is it a big deal ? I am using Mogami 2314
I did the same but had no issues. Try a fresh Xacto knife next time.
What model Hakko Solder Iron/station is that?
There is only a link for the Weller WE1010NA digital soldering station....
We're using a Weller here, not sure the equivalent model in Hakko.
@@VertexEffectsInc Weller WE1010NA digital soldering station is your recommendation? I have a solomon sr965 so I want to be sure what to get next. Thanks
Mason I had a question about soldering irons, how high should the temperature go to for soldering instrument and patch cables?
Using around 700 degrees F.
@@VertexEffectsInc Thank you so much.... and awesome response time!!🔥 🔥 🤘 🤘. I learn so much every time I watch one of your tutorials or I listen to the podcast. FUKKN AWESOME
Are you familiar with WBC soldered patch cables.I purchased two kinds from them,one is Mogami and the other is Gotham model 4 times shielded that is a little bigger diameter. They're both about $33 for six 6" cables.My question is are they any good?They both use eminence plugs that are too big to work on most stereo pedals.Also do you know if the Fender custom shop patch cables are soldered or not??Thanks for all you do for this community.
Mogami and Gotham are good brands.
Maybe someone has asked this but do you have a diagram on how to make your own y / splitter patch cable?
They make great patch cables!
And now you can build them too or you can still purchase them from us :)
I believe if any of the square cable pancake ends are slightly touching each other its shorting out my signal, you ever run into this? Like the outsides are touching when plugged into the back of a pedal
You shouldn't have a grounding issue unless there is a problem elsewhere on the rig.
When powering all the pedals with the same adapter in daisy-chain, would you unsolder the sleeve on one end of each cable to avoid ground loops? This is what I have done to my patch cables.
Ideally you should have an isolated power supply. You shouldn't float your cables.
PRS has talked about every signal patch being a point of resistance that effects tone… what are your thought on direct wiring pedal out put to pedal inputs and bypassing the jack?
Impractical.