[sdiy] building your own instrument/patch cables

[Tom Arnold]

On Wed, Mar 04, 2009 at 02:33:06PM -0600, Horton wrote:
> Hey, guys - I'd like to try to build some of my own 1/4" instrument
> and patch cables. They're so expensive and hard to find in certain
> shorter lengths, and I need a million for my modular synth anyway. Can
> somebody recommend some good web tutorials on doing this? How about
> some general advice if you've done it, too?

Its not "cheap" to build'em yourself and do a nice job.

Best price I've found on Switchcraft 280 plugs is $1.99ea. ( guitarcenter )
although you can occasionally find them cheaper there ( on sale for $1.55
when I last bought'em ) buy 50 and get free shipping.

I lucked out and got a 500' roll of Philmore brand 1 conductor with shield
mic/insrument cord for $119.  Quality is tolerable but its no Belkin.  So
even if you luck out and catch sale prices on stuff you're looking at $4.10
for a 4' patch cord plus the time to assemble it.  Dont forget a few cents
for strain relief like heatshrink tubing.

Looking for a quick price comparison, the Horizon cables I used to buy which
are Horizon branded cable ( about the same as the Philmore ) with
switchcraft plugs and come in 8zillion colours, are $7.99 pre-made for a 15' 
cable.  If you made your own you'd only save a dollar or so.  And odds are
yours will all be black, maybe with different colour strain relief.

Its not much savings and a lot of time.  Not a big deal for me, making
cables is something I can do to keep my hands busy while I watch TV or
something.

Now, when it comes to 1/8" cables, I've yet to find any off the shelf that
weren't molded connectors, or had tolerable metal connectors.  They are
usually the cheapest crap connectors they could find.  I make my own with
Belkin cable and Neutrik connectors and they are better then any I've seen
commercially although more expensive ( connectors 60cents and cable about
15cents/foot ).  They are seriously tedious to make however.

-- 
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 - Tom Arnold       -  Free Synth DIY webspace http://www.sdiy.org 
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