Best pedal board cables?

[Disturber]

I will redo my pedal board in 2018, that is my New Years resolution. 

The solderless Lava cables can not be trusted. I feckin' hate 'em. Useless p.o.s. Like at our last rehersal, the pedal board was maintained in September. I tightened every plug with a flat nipper, as hard as I could. Secured the m.f's. once and for all I thought. But, not. This past week when we rehearsed the board had not been used for three weeks. When I plugged in one loop in the board was dead (again!). WFT. I had to unscrew the top of the connector and mess with it. Somehow it had lost contact even when I did not use it. These solderless connections are just accidents waiting to happen. If this would happen when I set up on a stage with a ten minute window before we where about to go on, then I would go bananas.

So, out with the Lava shit, and in with old school soldered connection cables. What should I buy, the Hamer of soldered pedal board cables? I would need two lenghts. One short version and one a bit longer. That should be enough. 

[bubs_42]

I've used the George L's for years and honestly id did take me a while to get them down. I had a lot of failures in the beginning. I did receive a 3 Monkeys Solderless with my T Shirt I ordered and I have to say that was really simple to use as well. You just stick the cable in the end and twist until it bottoms out DONE. So I ordered a set of the DC Solderless for the board i'm doing now. 

[Disturber]

2 hours ago, bubs_42 said:

I've used the George L's for years and honestly id did take me a while to get them down. I had a lot of failures in the beginning. I did receive a 3 Monkeys Solderless with my T Shirt I ordered and I have to say that was really simple to use as well. You just stick the cable in the end and twist until it bottoms out DONE. So I ordered a set of the DC Solderless for the board i'm doing now. 

That sounds exactly like Lava cables? Don't know... All I know is I will be using pre-soldered cables from now on. I need them in two different lengths, short and a bit longer. No more of that solderless stuff, it's useless in the long run if you lug your board a long a lot. No parts that can get unscrewed or moving parts. Solid stuff. And some extra cables in the bag. If one cable goes bad, I'll just threw it out and replace it with a fresh one. No more of that irritating cutting, twisting, turning and screwing connections.

The Fender cables look nice. Are they good? 

[Jeff R]

-If you want to work one-on-one with a custom hardwired cable to-your-spec source, reach out to "Ru" at RuYokoSonic.  A mutual friend introduced me to Ru when he started his venture as a side gig. He's no longer in Boise, and I'm not 100 percent sure he's still in business per se, but he made me some NICE, NICE bulletproof overbuilt patch cables with top-grade cable and tips. Won't hurt to hit him up by e-mail and talk shop.  Tell him Jeff from The Fret Shack sent you.

https://www.facebook.com/RuYokoSonic/

From my shop's Facebook page when I published the above photos:

List of components of the beta patch cables in the pictures: Canare GS-6 (orange), GS-4 (black), Abbatron RF2PNGG (for the orange), Amphenol ACPM-RN-AU (for the black). Kester lead free solder (Sn96.5Ag3.0Cu0.5). The Canare GS series Cables have Oxygen-Free Copper Conductor with double layer shielding with Conductive Carbon Plastic Film and Woven Oxygen Free Copper. Abbatron plugs have Oxygen Free Copper core (visible on the tip). My Instrument cable also uses Neutrik NP2X-B and/or NP2RX-B (gold plated and stress relieving). I guarantee all of my products for the workmanship!

[scottcald]

Wow, those cables you can tell they're good without having to plug them in.  That solder joint is perfect.  

[bubs_42]

3 hours ago, Disturber said:

That sounds exactly like Lava cables? Don't know... All I know is I will be using pre-soldered cables from now on. I need them in two different lengths, short and a bit longer. No more of that solderless stuff, it's useless in the long run if you lug your board a long a lot. No parts that can get unscrewed or moving parts. Solid stuff. And some extra cables in the bag. If one cable goes bad, I'll just threw it out and replace it with a fresh one. No more of that irritating cutting, twisting, turning and screwing connections.

The Fender cables look nice. Are they good? 

Unless you use unorthodox routing of your pedals. Just like "Which cables are the best" it is all up to the end user in the end. I still use the George L's because i'm not invested and all I have to do is order cable, but being able to route my own DC Power was a huge bonus for me. 

[cmatthes]

https://www.3monkeyssolderless.com/

 

 

[bubs_42]

 

[tommy p]

7 hours ago, Disturber said:

I tightened every plug with a flat nipper, as hard as I could. Secured the m.f's. once and for all I thought. But, not.

This might be the problem.  IIRC, the George L's instructions specifically say NOT to overtighten them - just finger tight.  Since you mentioned Lava is very similar, maybe they say the same thing.

[Jakeboy]

Bill Lawrence solderless Cables pre-date The George L. Cables. No issues thus far on the pedal cables.

But you want pre-soldered. Contact Butch Ammon at Bayou Audio Cables. He uses quality stuff and I love the Canare cable he uses. Top-notch work and I have never had a cable of his fail....been using them on guitar since q005 and I am clumsy and step on the cable, even when looped in the strap...no failures...man I hate when I do that on a gig...

Butch does great work.

[HamerDave]

I’m using George L’s and haven’t had any problems with them. I’ve used Lava (crap) and Planet Waves previously. The Planet Waves are reasonably priced and very reliable. I find them a bit bulky for my board. Can’t go wrong with a well made soldered cable though.  

[polara]

2 hours ago, HamerDave said:

I’m using George L’s and haven’t had any problems with them. I’ve used Lava (crap) and Planet Waves previously. The Planet Waves are reasonably priced and very reliable. I find them a bit bulky for my board. Can’t go wrong with a well made soldered cable though.  

Yeah, several years with Planet Waves here: pedalboard and guitar cables. I do agree that you need to tighten the screws ENOUGH but I think you really power them down they go right through the conducting part. I've never had a failure on mine.

[jaberwock]

    If you're handy with a soldering iron, or have a friend that is, make your own with pancake jacks, custom length cords really tidy up your board, plus the pancake  jacks free up some valuable space; I made mine three years ago, and numerous shows later absolutely no problems.

 I went for a mid-priced jack , about two dollars a piece , Switchcraft ones  are around eight dollars if that will give you extra peace of mind.

 

    Jaberwock

[Disturber]

6 hours ago, jaberwock said:

    If you're handy with a soldering iron, or have a friend that is, make your own with pancake jacks, custom length cords really tidy up your board, plus the pancake  jacks free up some valuable space; I made mine three years ago, and numerous shows later absolutely no problems.

 I went for a mid-priced jack , about two dollars a piece , Switchcraft ones  are around eight dollars if that will give you extra peace of mind.

 

    Jaberwock

Yeah, been thinking of this. Would be so much better than solderless.  Probably does not take more time to solder them either, than to mess with the solderless contacts, they are tidious the get right. Thanks for the input.

[hamerhead]

I love those flat plugs but you have to be sure not to put a big glob of solder in there - there's not enough room!

I picked up a bunch of cheap Hosa 6" and 12" cables and after 8 years they are all working just fine. But I keep a couple spares tucked up under my board just in case.....

I've also taken some extra-cheap cables and put like 3" or 4" of shrink tube over the ends and up the cable for added strength/durability. They still work, too.

[jaberwock]

One of these will make the job a lot easier.

[geoff_hartwell]

If you’re still looking for well built commercial cables check out the Planet Waves Custom series.

they sell packs of two 6” right angle cables for very reasonable price, and they have 1ft ones as well.

Im an endorser so I’ve tried every version of cable they make.

Skip the “classic” series, they’re cheaply made and prone to break, but the Customs have been great and far less than their more expensive lines.