i made a bunch of cables--but they are "quiet"...

[Screwdio]

Hey all-

Got an odd, perhaps simple problem. I made a bunch of (about 15) standard 1/4" guitar cables of varying lengths, say 2-15ft long. I used Neutrik NP2X connectors and Redco TGS-HD instrument cable. After I was done I tested them, but all except 2 of them were "quiet". There was a signal, just not loud at all. Just a very weak quiet signal. And yes I checked tham all-- the hot is going to the tip and ground to the sleeve on all of them. I took four of the cables and unsoldered and cleaned the connectors. I snipped 2 inches off each cable end and started again. All joints/connections were solid and the solder was nice and shiney. Out of the 4 that I redid, only 2 worked properly and the other two were still quiet. A 50% positive return rate after making the same cable twice is not good....!!

Now, I'm 33 years old. I build my own guitars and custom wire them by hand. I build speaker cabs and wire them. I've built my own patch cables for pedal boards out of cheap Radio Shack cable and connectors without a problem. I've made cable that didnt work before, due to reusing bad cable or having a bad solder joint--but they either worked or they didnt.

Does anyone have any idea what going on...?

[XSergeantD]

I'm not familiar w/ Redco's cable, but in order to avoid noise and/or microphonics on this low I flow of instrument cable, some cables have a conductive layer underneath the shield. Check to see if there's something you don't recognize as either the shield or the hot copper. May look like a thin layer of film. If there's some in there (or you can call Redco and ask), then you should peel that back from your hot signal area. Hope that's all you're experiencing

[Screwdio]

Thanks for the reply. All layers have been stripped back. Its all exposed shield and copper that I'm dealing with. I made all the cables atthe same time, same way. To anly have 2 out of 15 work is just wrong....!!

[AMIEL]

I may think maybe the Redco Cables....did you switch the connectors of the good cable to a bad one? that may give you an answer...if are the cale or the connectors.....

[Berolzheimer]

Maybe partial shorts or broken wire within the length of the cable. Did you do an ohms test between the hot & ground & between the contact at either end? Was it used cable? if not, maytbe just a bad batch.

[rjd2]

i had the exact same thing happen to me this year.

as said above, check the resistance on the ground. im betting you will see an actual resistance. i would bet its the cable. it was in my case.

its a bitch, huh? you go to all this trouble, thinking you are gonna get a reliable cable, and wind up with the exact opposite.

[WTMNMF]

Redco TGS-HD uses a Conductive Carbon Plastic Shield specially designed to minimize handling noise transmitted through the cable. Be very careful when stripping cable, removing the plastic shield, and soldering, since the “inner sleeve” can cause a short if it comes in contact with the center conductor!

Build it carefully and check with an ohm meter!thumbsup

[Screwdio]

All-

Thanks for the great feedback !! Both the cable and the connectors are brand new.

rjd2--I hear ya.... It really is a bummer !!

The crazy thing is the fact that I rebuilt 4 of the cables using the same connectors on the same wires and only two of the four ended up being "fixed".

If it is a bad batch of cable, how do I "prove" this...? Likewise, how do I prove that it is user/operator error on my part...?

[The Byre]

What does your multimeter tell you?

[stevep]

Yes Check it with your meter

For the record
I have never had any troubles with either Belden or Gepco

[Screwdio]

Will do...!!

[chrisredco]

Chris from Redco here. Forgive me if this was addressed, as I see it was brought up but maybe not resolved.

As mentioned above, out TGS-HD has a black conductive plastic layer between the copper shield wrap and the inner clear insulation that protects the center conductor. This is there to eliminate extra handling noise during cable use.

When you strip back the outer jacket and unwrap the copper shield to twist and make your ground wire, make sure you strip that inner layer of black plastic as far back to the outer jacketing strip length as possible. You can then just strip the very tip of the inner clear insulation under the black plastic to expose the center wire for your tip connection.

You must make sure there is no place the inner conductive plastic can touch your center (positive) lead or the tip of your 1/4" connector. This will cause a horrible sounding or non-functioning connection to occur.

As always, if all these instructions are followed and checked and the cable is still no good (hey, it can happen!), please send it back to my attention and we will replace it immediately.

Hope this helps.

Chris Stubbs
Redco Audio

[Screwdio]

Hey Chris-

Thanks so much for your reply. I really appreciate it. I will double check the connections based on what you described below. I've never worked with this cable before, so what you described as a potential issue is quite possible.

Again, many thanks...!!!