Rewiring a pedalboard, which cables?

[Darg1911]

Re: Rewiring a pedalboard, which cables?

Mogami, Switchcraft and GLS incoming. Time to get the soldering iron fired up...

Just a tip for the GLS pancake plugs. Use a hobby knife or a small piece of sand paper or emery board to rough up the plating on the solder tabs before soldering. I do that and then do a quick clean with some alcohol and a q-tip. That makes it much easier to flow the solder. Personally, I use a little flux as well but it's not necessary. And with the 2319 cable, you may find that shrinking a short piece of heat shrink over the cable, where it clamps in the plug, will build up the cable so it clamps more securely.

This is kind of an obvious thing, but one may not think about it if they haven't used pancake plugs before ... check the orientation of the plugs before you solder. In other words, if you are connecting two pedals with side inputs, the connectors would be soldered with the tips of both connectors oriented in the same direction (ie, both facing up on the finished cable). But if one pedal has a top connector and the other has a side connector, the connectors would be soldered with the tips facing opposite directions (ie, one tip facing up and the other facing down). The Mogami 2319 is so flexible that you could probably just solder the connectors on with no thought of orientation and just twist the cable to form it. But personally, I prefer to avoid that and get the orientation right when I build the cable.

Good luck. Have fun. It will turn out well.

[PFDarkside]

Re: Rewiring a pedalboard, which cables?

Thanks for the tips!

Additionally, it seems that 2319 has a layer of black that appears to be insulator but is actually conductive and needs to be stripped as well. Is a razor blade the best method to strip this cable, it'll be my first experience with it.

[Darg1911]

Re: Rewiring a pedalboard, which cables?

Thanks for the tips!

Additionally, it seems that 2319 has a layer of black that appears to be insulator but is actually conductive and needs to be stripped as well. Is a razor blade the best method to strip this cable, it'll be my first experience with it.

That's common on most instrument cables. It helps prevent handling noise. It almost feels like rubber. It just cant contact the center conductor or you'll have a short. It's easy to peel off, just get a fingernail under it and peel it off before soldering.

[XSSIVE]

Re: Rewiring a pedalboard, which cables?

Good choice with the 380s, 2319 and GLS pancakes, that's what I use all the time. It will take longer than solderless but you can plug and unplug it 100+ times without any fear of failure or loosening.

As for stripping, skip the razor blade, you're bound to nick the inner wire and lose a few strands.

I use this for the outside of the cable...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JTI1LK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The smaller size of this set for the inner (and it works great for real fine pickup wires too)...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000X4X23U/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and my thumbnail to remove the thin black jacket from the inner, it comes off real easy no need for a tool.

[PFDarkside]

Re: Rewiring a pedalboard, which cables?

Awesome, you're the man!

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Rewiring a pedalboard, which cables?

George L's are great!

Use a razor when you cut them and use the little coloured caps and you'll never have an issue with them.

[PFDarkside]

Re: Rewiring a pedalboard, which cables?

What are some options for low capacitance bulk cable to lead into the first buffer? (I go guitar -> wah -> vibe -> Fuzz Face -> buffer) I figure it's easier to add capacitance to a Strat with a coily cable rather than remove it with Humbuckers.

[PFDarkside]

Re: Rewiring a pedalboard, which cables?

Maybe I'll try my George L's first for the pre buffer links and compare that to the direct-to-buffer tone. Seems like a reasonable thing to do....

[Darg1911]

Re: Rewiring a pedalboard, which cables?

It's 3 short cables if the pedals are all next to each other ... wah - vibe, vibe - fuzz, fuzz - buffer. It may not be enough to make a difference. Certainly worth experimenting though.

[PFDarkside]

Re: Rewiring a pedalboard, which cables?

In theory, yes. We'll see where this layout takes us.

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Rewiring a pedalboard, which cables?

What are some options for low capacitance bulk cable to lead into the first buffer? (I go guitar -> wah -> vibe -> Fuzz Face -> buffer) I figure it's easier to add capacitance to a Strat with a coily cable rather than remove it with Humbuckers.

Dunno mate...that's a lot of words I'm not sure I understand...

If I can string it together and be happy with the sound then I'm good...

[PFDarkside]

Re: Rewiring a pedalboard, which cables?

Dunno mate...that's a lot of words I'm not sure I understand...

If I can string it together and be happy with the sound then I'm good...

Too much thinking, not enough playing.