# D.I.Y Guitar Cables



## scotth (Mar 26, 2012)

Anybody here make their own guitar cables & pedalboard patch cables? 

I thought I might be able to save a buck, if I could make my own. Plus it would be nice to be able to build the exact lengths I need and with the type of connector I need.

Is there anywhere in Canada that I can order cable and connectors in bulk? recommend a brand?

Here's a noobish question: what length of cable do you use on stage? (from your guitar to pedal board & from your board to your amp?)


----------



## keto (May 23, 2006)

Here's how, or at least how I did it, with a few usefull pointers I hope. http://www.guitarscanada.com/showthread.php?53655-DIY-Patch-(or-Guitar)-Cables&highlight=pancake

Most electronics supply places will carry both shielded wire and any kind of plug you want.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I have made several cables for amp heads to cabs, etc (i.e., speaker cables) and guitar cables. I have not made cables with pancake plugs as depicted in keto's excellent thread.

I would highly recommend Neutrik or Switchcraft brand plugs. 

Canare, Mogami and Belden are brand names of quality cable products. However, many other brands also work quite well. 
I am not a believer that one must purchase extremely expensive cable...others might disagree.

Cheers

Dave


----------



## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

On the off chance that it may save you some grief...

Be aware that on SOME cables (Evidence Reveal is one) the thin inner black layer surrounding the further-in white interior insulation is CONDUCTIVE. That means that if you don't trim the inner black back from the end of the white you risk having it touch whatever you're soldering your main conductor to and causing a short in the cable or, worse, an intermittent short. I believe this is not the case for many cables, but it is for some.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

boyscout said:


> On the off chance that it may save you some grief...
> 
> Be aware that on SOME cables (Evidence Reveal is one) the thin inner black layer surrounding the further-in white interior insulation is CONDUCTIVE. That means that if you don't trim the inner black back from the end of the white you risk having it touch whatever you're soldering your main conductor to and causing a short in the cable or, worse, an intermittent short. I believe this is not the case for many cables, but it is for some.


This is very important to know. It happened to me with Mogami cable.









@ boyscout...Thanks for taking the time to write this warning/info.

Cheers

Dave


----------



## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

*Anybody here make their own guitar cables & pedalboard patch cables? 
*Yes, I make all of my pedalboard patch cables, including the ones that go to my amp from the board. 

*I thought I might be able to save a buck, if I could make my own. Plus it would be nice to be able to build the exact lengths I need and with the type of connector I need.
*Very nice to have custom lengths. makes for a very clean board, I find

*Is there anywhere in Canada that I can order cable and connectors in bulk? recommend a brand?
*I usually order south of the border, from Redco and Lava cable. I've ordered lots of bulk cable from the GC ebay site as well.(which I think might be gone now)

*Here's a noobish question: what length of cable do you use on stage? (from your guitar to pedal board & from your board to your amp?)
*board to amp I use 10-12' IIRC. usually it's long enough. from guitar to board, I use a Lava coily. I think they're 20', a little over 5' coiled.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

1) Cable quality will not matter very much between pedals since they will generally have appropriate buffering to counteract the evil that cable does. The exception would be if you have an entirely true-bypassed pedalboard, such that all your patch cables might add up in series, were you to have all your pedals bypassed. But since that is rare these days, economy-priced cable should be fine for most pedal-boards.

2) Cable quality WILL matter more for that first step between guitar and pedalboard (assuming your guitar does not have lo-impedance out, active electronics or any other form of onboard buffering). The greater the distance travelled, the lower the capacitance you will likely want. Twenty feet of 35pf/ft cable is like placing a 700pf cap across your guitar output. How critical that is will depend on what sort of pickups and tone you prefer. Curly cords have a notoriously high capacitance yet players like Hendrix relied on them to carve away the top end of a Strat, so that a dimed bright amp, like a Marshall, would yield their desired tone. I can see where players using overwound humbuckers, or otherwise not relying on maintaining a bright crisp clean tone, would not find higher-capacitance cable much of a hindrance, and would have the luxury of focussing on characteristics like physical hardiness instead.


----------



## scotth (Mar 26, 2012)

keto said:


> Here's how, or at least how I did it, with a few usefull pointers I hope. http://www.guitarscanada.com/showthread.php?53655-DIY-Patch-(or-Guitar)-Cables&highlight=pancake
> 
> Most electronics supply places will carry both shielded wire and any kind of plug you want.



I read your thread before posting Keto. It's a good, helpful read. Will read again before doing any work.




boyscout said:


> On the off chance that it may save you some grief...
> 
> Be aware that on SOME cables (Evidence Reveal is one) the thin inner black layer surrounding the further-in white interior insulation is CONDUCTIVE. That means that if you don't trim the inner black back from the end of the white you risk having it touch whatever you're soldering your main conductor to and causing a short in the cable or, worse, an intermittent short. I believe this is not the case for many cables, but it is for some.


Excellent tip. It seems to be a common problem amongst the DIYers. It's mentioned in every internet thread i can find. lol




blam said:


> *Is there anywhere in Canada that I can order cable and connectors in bulk? recommend a brand?
> *I usually order south of the border, from Redco and Lava cable. I've ordered lots of bulk cable from the GC ebay site as well.(which I think might be gone now)
> 
> *Here's a noobish question: what length of cable do you use on stage? (from your guitar to pedal board & from your board to your amp?)
> *board to amp I use 10-12' IIRC. usually it's long enough. from guitar to board, I use a Lava coily. I think they're 20', a little over 5' coiled.


I don't really want to shop in the States right now. The exchange rate is terrible. Be nice to keep my money in-house.
Thanks for the answer on the stage cable. Anyone else want to chime in on cable lengths?



mhammer said:


> 1) Cable quality will not matter very much between pedals since they will generally have appropriate buffering to counteract the evil that cable does. The exception would be if you have an entirely true-bypassed pedalboard, such that all your patch cables might add up in series, were you to have all your pedals bypassed. But since that is rare these days, economy-priced cable should be fine for most pedal-boards.
> 
> 2) Cable quality WILL matter more for that first step between guitar and pedalboard (assuming your guitar does not have lo-impedance out, active electronics or any other form of onboard buffering). The greater the distance travelled, the lower the capacitance you will likely want. Twenty feet of 35pf/ft cable is like placing a 700pf cap across your guitar output. How critical that is will depend on what sort of pickups and tone you prefer. Curly cords have a notoriously high capacitance yet players like Hendrix relied on them to carve away the top end of a Strat, so that a dimed bright amp, like a Marshall, would yield their desired tone. I can see where players using overwound humbuckers, or otherwise not relying on maintaining a bright crisp clean tone, would not find higher-capacitance cable much of a hindrance, and would have the luxury of focussing on characteristics like physical hardiness instead.


This I didn't consider. I was going to go with one type of cable. I figure I can build my pedalboard cables first, then with the leftover, I can do my guitar cables.

So far I've found one Canadian retailer for the cable. http://www.economik.com. and they only sell Mogami W2524 and W2319

I have not found anyone that sells connectors.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

scotth said:


> I have not found anyone that sells connectors.


Qcomponents is in Waterloo, Ontario:

Good prices on Neutrik...IMHO

http://qcomponents.ca/manufacturers...ort=price&sort_direction=&objects_per_page=50

http://qcomponents.ca/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=15

Cheers

Dave


----------



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

greco said:


> Qcomponents is in Waterloo, Ontario:
> 
> Good prices on Neutrik...IMHO
> 
> ...


This is where I shop. Very fast and friendly service and they always seem to have the stuff in stock. They've been around a long time too, which usually indicates to me that a business has its shit together.

Peace, Mooh.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

scotth said:


> This I didn't consider. I was going to go with one type of cable. I figure I can build my pedalboard cables first, then with the leftover, I can do my guitar cables.
> 
> So far I've found one Canadian retailer for the cable. http://www.economik.com. and they only sell Mogami W2524 and W2319
> 
> I have not found anyone that sells connectors.


Well it's not like you HAVE to use cheaper cable for pedalboard connections, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with aiming for highest quality. But if wherever you end up getting your cable from charges some ungodly price by the foot, or else sells rolls of "the good stuff" that are long enough to do your from-guitar and to-amp cables, but not long enough to do your pedalboard connections, don't feel compelled to buy an additional roll. Balance off your priorities, comforted in the knowing that pedalboard connections can often not require as much.

You haven't raised the topic, but I'll bring it up now. And that is cable for *power* connections. Many pedalboards are essentially sudoko puzzles in which the placement of pedals is often a function of which you wish/need to access most and fitting a bunch of different footprints onto a platform of limited space. The end result is that daisy-chain cables may not match your particular pedal layout, or may involve having a bunch of slack that needs to be tucked away somehow. If can often be more convenient to make your own power-connector cables that can be cut to the appropriate length. If you intend to have one of those pedalboards and power supplies that involves different supply voltages or polarities (e.g., outside neg), you can use different-coloured cable or plugs for different voltages or polarities, just so you don't plug the wrong things into the wrong places.

Big picture: making your own power and patch cables for your own pedalboard with YOUR layout can end up being neater, even if it isn't that much cheaper.


----------



## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

mhammer said:


> Well it's not like you HAVE to use cheaper cable for pedalboard connections, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with aiming for highest quality. But if wherever you end up getting your cable from charges some ungodly price by the foot, or else sells rolls of "the good stuff" that are long enough to do your from-guitar and to-amp cables, but not long enough to do your pedalboard connections, don't feel compelled to buy an additional roll.  Balance off your priorities, comforted in the knowing that pedalboard connections can often not require as much.
> 
> You haven't raised the topic, but I'll bring it up now. And that is cable for *power* connections. Many pedalboards are essentially sudoko puzzles in which the placement of pedals is often a function of which you wish/need to access most and fitting a bunch of different footprints onto a platform of limited space. The end result is that daisy-chain cables may not match your particular pedal layout, or may involve having a bunch of slack that needs to be tucked away somehow. If can often be more convenient to make your own power-connector cables that can be cut to the appropriate length. If you intend to have one of those pedalboards and power supplies that involves different supply voltages or polarities (e.g., outside neg), you can use different-coloured cable or plugs for different voltages or polarities, just so you don't plug the wrong things into the wrong places.
> 
> Big picture: making your own power and patch cables for your own pedalboard with YOUR layout can end up being neater, even if it isn't that much cheaper.


All excellent points. 

In terms of power, I really like the flexibility of using something like the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2, because you're not limited by daisy-chaining off your TU-2 or your Godlyke (but you can certainly incorporate daisy-chains if you like!) and you can usual route cables a lot more neatly. I end up using mini zip-strips to tidy up the underside of the board. The other benefit of a PP2 (or similar) is the isolated power supplies. This keeps noise down quite a bit! Lastly, those PP2s are really well-built and can handle a LOT of power. I'm currently powering up the following of ONE PP2 - ST200 tuner, Carl Martin Plexitone, Disaster Area DMC7 controller, Barber Tone Press, CAE Wah, Klon KTR, Strymon Mobius, Strymon Timeline and a Line 6 G30 receiver. Try that with a Godlyke  (actually, don't).

A word of caution about custom cables. It's great to make a bunch of cables custom-cut to your desired length, but keep in mind that if you're like most of us here, you're likely going to change your pedalboard fairly often and that means some of your fancy custom cables end up being useless. I'd recommend to get some cable that is nice and thin and flexible. When you go to cut your lengths, add a couple inches. If it's flexible enough, it shouldn't affect your ability to route the extra length through somewhere. You'll end up with cables that are more likely to be re-used later. Either that, or buy more cable!


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

hollowbody said:


> I'd recommend to get some cable that is nice and thin and flexible.


What cable do you prefer for this....GeorgeL brand?

I found this in a forum FYI:

_The George L's (standard small diameter black cable) consistantly measured 23pf per foot. We measured several different length cables that I had and they all came out with the same 23pf/ft measurement. 
The cables I did get from Sam Ash are "Groove Plug" guitar cables and they measured 37.2 pf/foot. 
Another cable I made with Mogami #2319, obtained from Mars music measured 47.4 pf. 
I checked two other cables, Another unbranded cable which checked 136.25 pf/ft 
and an imported plastic cable with moulded plugs which measured 171.42 pf/ft!!! 
__The George L is still king of the heap, and if there is any lesson here...it's to stay away from unbranded, strange cable._

I could not find any other specs for George L cables on the internet (specifically the gauge of the inner conductor and the percentage of shield cover)...but I didn't spend much time looking.

Out of interest and curiosity, do you think RG174/U would work OK? 

The outer diameter is .110 inches...or about 1/8 inch for us old folks

*"The stranded 26 AWG centre conductor produces a very flexible cable for tight fit applications."

*








It is not as expensive for sure.
However, (in my experience using it) you have to be quite quick with soldering as the inner insulation can melt easily. I put shrink tube over the (almost) clear inner insulation to help a bit when soldering.

I checked the capacitance of RG174/U ...28 pF/ft. Not bad!
26 gauge stranded inner conductor with 90% shield coverage. 

Apologies to the OP. 
This post is possibly/probably a bit more detailed information than you want to be bothered with. Hopefully, it is helpful in some small way. 

Cheers

Dave


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

hollowbody said:


> A word of caution about custom cables. It's great to make a bunch of cables custom-cut to your desired length, but keep in mind that if you're like most of us here, you're likely going to change your pedalboard fairly often and that means some of your fancy custom cables end up being useless. I'd recommend to get some cable that is nice and thin and flexible. When you go to cut your lengths, add a couple inches. If it's flexible enough, it shouldn't affect your ability to route the extra length through somewhere. You'll end up with cables that are more likely to be re-used later. Either that, or buy more cable!


Great advice.
I will also put in a word for picking up some heat shrink tubing to add a bit of strain relief and hardiness to the junction between cable and plug. Smaller gauge heat shrink is also good for insulating and reinforcing the connection between lead wire and hot/positive lug on phone plugs. Also helpful if you use metal-jacket phone plugs. You don't want the hot lug to short out against anything.

You CAN shrink the tubing with the side of your soldering iron, but it's generally better to use a heat gun, or at least a hair dryer, so that it shrink evenly all round.


----------



## dtsaudio (Apr 15, 2009)

I highly recommend the Neutrik plugs, as they are the easiest to solder, have an excellent cable strain relief and have better overall quality than most. They also make a really nice plug with a switch in it. Use on one end of a guitar cable a the guitar end. If you accidentally unplug, it shorts and you don't get any noise.
http://www.neutrik.com/en/audio/plugs-and-jacks/professional-1/4-plugs/silentplug/

I also use Gotham cable. Very flexible, easy to use, and quiet.


----------



## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

greco said:


> What cable do you prefer for this....GeorgeL brand?
> 
> I found this in a forum FYI:
> 
> ...


Currently I'm using a mix of George L's and Lava Cables. The George L's are .155 diameter cables and are really great for getting in and out of tight spots. I find that the smaller diameter makes them less prone to strain, which is a big problem with Lava Cables. The Lavas I'm using are the Mini ELC and they are .195 diameter. While the cable is flexible, I find the extra thickness adds strain to the run of cable and can can the solderless jacks to unscrew themselves. This is irritating at home and unacceptable on stage. 

I actually prefer the sound of the Lava Mini ELC cable, but they unsoldered connections just aren't reliable enough for me. I'm looking into the Lava Soar cable, which has the same .155 diameter of the George L's. I'm planning on picking up some bulk cable, a bunch of 229 jacks and soldering up some patches. 

As for the coax cable, it seems interesting, especially given how thin it is, but it seems to be a solid core conductor, which might cause problems, but maybe not. Unless you're looking at a different cable, because you mentioned stranded, but the link took me to a cable that was listed as solid.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

hollowbody said:


> As for the coax cable, it seems interesting, especially given how thin it is, but it seems to be a solid core conductor, which might cause problems, but maybe not. Unless you're looking at a different cable, because you mentioned stranded, but the link took me to a cable that was listed as solid.


 Saro, sorry for the wrong link and thanks for catching it and letting me know. 

It is stranded. I "adjusted" my other post.
Let me know if you ever want to try this stuff and I'll mail a few feet to you. There is a local supplier close to where I live.

Cheers

Dave


----------



## ronmac (Sep 22, 2006)

Most wire manufacturers have detailed spec sheets for their products. For pedal boards you need to be careful about the minimum bend spec. Core and shield separation can render a cable useless if the bend spec is not respected.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

ronmac said:


> Most wire manufacturers have detailed spec sheets for their products. For pedal boards you need to be careful about the minimum bend spec. Core and shield separation can render a cable useless if the bend spec is not respected.


RG 174/U.....Min. Bend Radius/Minor Axis: 25.400 mm (~1 inch).

Cheers

Dave


----------

