Guitar cable sudden death

M

MacDaddy

New member
Hi, I have a bit of a weird situation here, apologies if I'm not posting this in the right section:

I was experiencing a bit of hum on an A/B box I use to switch between amps in my rig. During my troubleshooting I thought it might be one of the cables I was using out to one of the amps (one amp was humming louder than the other) so I tested for continuity using a digital multimeter. The cable in question is a 20 ft Fender Custom Shop, not real expensive but a good quality cable in my experience for the money.

Anyway, after testing the cable it is now all but dead with barely an audible signal from the guitar to the amp! Now I've done the same test on countless cables before and never had a problem so have I somehow done something to the cable by testing it this way or is it just a massive coincidence that it has chosen to give up right after I tested it? Is there a tiny component in the Fender cables that I've managed to bugger up by testing it this way?

Just to prevent the obvious questions people might ask, I have tried a different cable, different guitar and different amp to rule out the weak signal from any other cause.

Thanks in advance,

Chris
 
Re: Guitar cable sudden death

testing no

is it one of the cable ends you can unscrew and look at the solder joints

there are only two conductors
center and shield in an instrument cable

like the coax for your tv



the jack on the a/b may be bad

did you try just the cable to amp

when you tested it did you test tip to tip
and sleeve to sleeve

what were the results?
 
Re: Guitar cable sudden death

I haven't unscrewed the jack plugs yet as they're still covered in heat-shrink. When I have the inclination I'll cut it off and have a butchers inside.

I tested the cable straight to the amp, nothing between the guitar and amp input, there is a signal but it's extremely weak. The A/B box issue was just a loose ground wire and has nothing to do with my suddenly dead cable.

I tested tip to tip, which gave a reading of 0.004 on the audible continuity test setting, not sure what the scale is as the meter doesn't state it, and the ring to ring was 0.004, those values haven't changed as I've retested it since. I tested the values on the 200 ohm scale (the next smallest scale on the meter) and they were/are 0.9 tip to tip and 0.7 ring to ring - I also tested for continuity between tip and ring and that was, as you would expect, open circuit.

It looks like the cable just decided to suddenly die at a coincidental moment.

Cheers,

Chris
 
Re: Guitar cable sudden death

The act of manipulating the (already damaged) cable to test it probably broke the last few strands of copper that had been carrying the signal.
 
Re: Guitar cable sudden death

I have a couple of other cables and they all work OK, it's just this one that seems dead.

Thanks for the Schrodinger link, in my semi-inebriated state that is quite hilarious!

The only reasonable explanation is that there's a break, most probably in the inner core of the cable, but only manifest when flexed in a certain way. I removed the jack plug covers and everything is OK in there, I'll probably cut a foot off each end and re-solder the plugs back on. That might work, otherwise it's a new cable but at about £20.00 a pop it's hardly a catastrophe even if it is more than I'll make at the next gig.

Thanks y'all, if nothing else I've enjoyed the exchange.

Chris
 
Re: Guitar cable sudden death

Why would you fix a cable with a lifetime warrantee? Take it to Guitar Center or what ever shop you bought it from and they will give you a new one with no questions asked.
 
Re: Guitar cable sudden death

ive fixed two custom shop fender cables recently, they seem to be prone to breakage. quick fix though. on both it was the center conductor broke
 
Re: Guitar cable sudden death

RealtyViking said:
Why would you fix a cable with a lifetime warrantee? Take it to Guitar Center or what ever shop you bought it from and they will give you a new one with no questions asked.
Click to expand...

Where did the OP say he has a lifetime warranty on the cable? Did I miss something? I know Monster has one but I honestly don't know about Fender Custom Shop cables.

Also, I'd just fix it because:

a) The 5 minutes to heat up the soldering iron opposed to the 45-60 minute round-trip drive to Sam Ash/Guitar Center. Gas might cost more than the cable.
b) I'm competent at soldering, and I could easily make a solid connection.
c) It is an inexpensive cable in the first place. I don't mind voiding the warranty by fixing it to where I know it will work.

But that is just me. If the OP decides to return it no-questions asked, good for him.
 
Re: Guitar cable sudden death

Myaccount876 said:
Where did the OP say he has a lifetime warranty on the cable? Did I miss something? I know Monster has one but I honestly don't know about Fender Custom Shop cables.

Also, I'd just fix it because:

a) The 5 minutes to heat up the soldering iron opposed to the 45-60 minute round-trip drive to Sam Ash/Guitar Center. Gas might cost more than the cable.
b) I'm competent at soldering, and I could easily make a solid connection.
c) It is an inexpensive cable in the first place. I don't mind voiding the warranty by fixing it to where I know it will work.

But that is just me. If the OP decides to return it no-questions asked, good for him.
Click to expand...
An 18.5 foot Fender Custom Cable runs about $40. The only real reason to spend that much on one is because of the warrantee.

Here is Guitar Center's specifications if you are interested:

Fender cables are designed specifically for live performance - engineered to avoid twisting, kinking, and having any "physical memory" and ultimately delivering the best sonic balance between your performance and your equipment. Backed by a lifetime warranty, Fender cables are an excellent choice for all your cable needs.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-Custom-Shop-Performance-Series-Instrument-Cable-108425521-i2741031.gc
 
Re: Guitar cable sudden death

MacDaddy said:
Hi, I have a bit of a weird situation here, apologies if I'm not posting this in the right section:

I was experiencing a bit of hum on an A/B box I use to switch between amps in my rig. During my troubleshooting I thought it might be one of the cables I was using out to one of the amps (one amp was humming louder than the other) so I tested for continuity using a digital multimeter. The cable in question is a 20 ft Fender Custom Shop, not real expensive but a good quality cable in my experience for the money.

Anyway, after testing the cable it is now all but dead with barely an audible signal from the guitar to the amp! Now I've done the same test on countless cables before and never had a problem so have I somehow done something to the cable by testing it this way or is it just a massive coincidence that it has chosen to give up right after I tested it? Is there a tiny component in the Fender cables that I've managed to bugger up by testing it this way?

Just to prevent the obvious questions people might ask, I have tried a different cable, different guitar and different amp to rule out the weak signal from any other cause.

Thanks in advance,

Chris
Click to expand...

#1. What A/B box are you using? Some are equipped with ground loop transformers and if your two amps are on a different frequency you can experience Hun know as ground loop. I would just get a new cable and try it but if the hum persists you may need to replace the A/B box with one that has ground loop transformers
 
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