Your opinion on patch cables

[alanp]

Whenever I read your posts Cortexturizer I cant help but begin with "<making patch cables> is like making love to a beautiful women..."

... thank you for putting that in my head. Now, until he changes his avatar, that will float through my mind when I'm on MBForums.

More ontopic, I just use cheap Rock Shop patch cables. Tried soldering my own, but I really hate working with coax.

[pickdropper]

Most of my boards have George L, which I am starting to really hate.  I fiddle too much and they go bad.

I've got some Lava, which I never really liked.  They are more work to put together than the George L's but still solderless.  With that level of effort, soldered connections make a lot more sense.  I do really like the geometry of the connectors, however.

I have a bunch of Amphenol soldered plugs.  They are nice, but quite a bit larger than George L cables, so they take up more pedalboard real estate.  Soldered cables are less convenient for changing boards around as well as you are locked into cable length (unless you resolder, of course).

Pancake connectors are somewhat cool, but are too wide for a lot of places I use them (like my 1590a boards).

I bought some cheap Hosa molded cables and, so far, they actually work perfectly fine for my 1590a boards.  I don't need long patches for those, so their size is perfect.  Time will tell if they are reliable, but I am probably going to pickup some more of them.

[chromesphere]

Yeah they look great pickdropper!  Did you get something like this?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/6-HOSA-Right-Angle-PATCH-CABLES-6-15cm-for-Guitar-Effects-Pedal-Boards-CFS-606-/131038520772?pt=AU_Instrument_Accessories&hash=item1e828125c4


EDIT: these are the solid connectors I was talking about in my original post.  For connecting pedals I hate them.  They never line up properly and are ridged on the jack.  But their actually pretty good for testing!  Attaching a signal to the input, testing TRS, etc.

Mine are straight through not 'cranked'
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hosa-Guitar-1-4-Inch-Male-To-Same-Pedal-Patch-Crank-Connector-GPP-146-NEW-/400610613338?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item5d4640d85a

[pickdropper]

Yep, those are the cables I got .  They seem solid enough.  So far, so good.

[chromesphere]

Yep, I think you hit it pickdropper!  This is what I need.  Short, assembled, cheap, right angle, soldered.  I don't play live, if I did I would go with one of the other options.  Thanks to everyones suggestions I appreciate it!

Order 6 of them from this guy, bit cheaper then my previous post if anyone's following along:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Hosa-6-Inch-Patch-Jumper-Instrument-Guitar-Cable-CFS106-Right-Angle-/261309933614?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item3cd749282e

[jimilee]

I've got a bunch of those, they work great, but are too short if you have a mixture if top mounted and side mounted jacks.

[chromesphere]

I have a timeline (damage control) that has the in's mounted on the back but I have a couple of other longer cables for that so we should be good!  All my built pedal are side mounted bar a couple.  Might be good to get a couple of extra 12" cables as well!

[Gledison]

I have a timeline (damage control) that has the in's mounted on the back but I have a couple of other longer cables for that so we should be good!  All my built pedal are side mounted bar a couple.  Might be good to get a couple of extra 12" cables as well!

Paul, don't forget please to add some pics after your pedalboard organization
I've seen some videos of people organiying pedalboards, etc.. But not really a Close up to the conections between pedals. I think a tough thinking is to decide the quality/flexibility of the cables. I had a couple of this thin ones and with the time they break around the right angle, and of course, its not reparable!!.
cheer

[croquet hoop]

I've got some Lava, which I never really liked.  They are more work to put together than the George L's but still solderless.  With that level of effort, soldered connections make a lot more sense.  I do really like the geometry of the connectors, however.

While checking their offering yesterday, I discovered that they now offer a soldered version of their mini plugs: http://www.lavacable.com/index.php?id=152

But the Hosa cables you use seem to be the best choice to get small connectors without shelling too much $.

[pickdropper]

I've got some Lava, which I never really liked.  They are more work to put together than the George L's but still solderless.  With that level of effort, soldered connections make a lot more sense.  I do really like the geometry of the connectors, however.

While checking their offering yesterday, I discovered that they now offer a soldered version of their mini plugs: http://www.lavacable.com/index.php?id=152

But the Hosa cables you use seem to be the best choice to get small connectors without shelling too much $.

Yeah, I think it's a partially soldered version.  I believe that the tip is soldered but the ground is still crimped.  I could be remembering it wrong, however.

I have to admit that I was a little bit put off after meeting the Lava guys at a guitar show.  The connectors are nice, but their sales tactics for the cable were based on an awful lot of hyperbole.

[croquet hoop]

Yeah, Monster takes most of the flak, but unfortunately many high-end cables manufacturers want to make you believe that the moon is made of cheese. "Awesome sound clarity"? It's just copper, dammit. I am not sure there are many honest high-end cable companies that sell their product for their objective qualities.

I'm just using their connectors anyhow, and don't bother with their cable 

[pickdropper]

If you really want to piss of a cable manufacturer, it appears the most effective way is to ask them what measurements they made to establish their claims.

[junkemail86]

FWIW, I had a bunch of these go bad on me.  They are cheap enough where it doesn't really matter and most of them did last me a few years, but I try to avoid gigging with them.

Yep, I think you hit it pickdropper!  This is what I need.  Short, assembled, cheap, right angle, soldered.  I don't play live, if I did I would go with one of the other options.  Thanks to everyones suggestions I appreciate it!

Order 6 of them from this guy, bit cheaper then my previous post if anyone's following along:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Hosa-6-Inch-Patch-Jumper-Instrument-Guitar-Cable-CFS106-Right-Angle-/261309933614?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item3cd749282e

[playpunk]

re: Lava - I have a bunch of the Lava mini soldered cables (DIY, duh) and they work just fine. I don't think I'd necessarily shell out the bucks to get em again, though.

And as pickdropper mentioned, the ground isn't soldered, but crimped by the screw in cable end.