Solderless cables for pedal boards...

[colejustesen]

I have been wanting to get some bulk cable and plugs to make my pedal board a lot cleaner in appearance. I have cable now, but it seems a bit messy. I have a Pedal Train Pro and want to run the cable underneath the board along the frame piping to keep in organized and clean. I figured my easiest option would be to do the solderless setup. I have a soldering iron and could make my own cables, but I am not going to lie, the solderless would be tons more convenient.

I have looked at cable and plugs from GFS, Lava Cable, George L, Wilde Pickups, and Planet Waves kits. I love the size of the George L, Lava Cable, and Wilde Pickups [though it doesn't appear they have R/A] plugs. Based off of what I have seen, the Lava Cable and George L seem like they would be the most durable. The Planet Waves and GFS have a lot large plugs. This could be an issue if I were to use R/A at my switcher, since the loop in/out jacks are fairly close together. I have seen this unit wired up with either George L or Lava Cable R/A and they seemed to fit together meticulously.

That being said, I am being cheap, and want to get the best bang for my buck. I will need to make 14 cables and I want to stretch my money the most appropriately. I have this fear that the solderless kits could be problematic for conductivity/durability in the long run and I would be better off just using solder plugs...

Can any of you give the rundown on any of the manufacturers and which would be the best way to go. Also, any insight on the solderless setup in general would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Cole

[Nateispro]

This may just be my experience with them but i have never had good luck with my george L's staying seated in the plug.. It seems like one end always comes un seated every couple weeks or so.. They work great if you don't move your pedals or pedalboard around much but i wouldn't trust them for gigging.. just my two cents

[colejustesen]

This may just be my experience with them but i have never had good luck with my george L's staying seated in the plug.. It seems like one end always comes un seated every couple weeks or so.. They work great if you don't move your pedals or pedalboard around much but i wouldn't trust them for gigging.. just my two cents

That really is my big fear. Do you think the GFS or Planet Waves kits with the screw that is tightened down onto the cable would be a better way to go? Or should I just solder my own? It is definitely cheaper to do the solder plugs over the solderless...

Cole

[Nateispro]

This may just be my experience with them but i have never had good luck with my george L's staying seated in the plug.. It seems like one end always comes un seated every couple weeks or so.. They work great if you don't move your pedals or pedalboard around much but i wouldn't trust them for gigging.. just my two cents

That really is my big fear. Do you think the GFS or Planet Waves kits with the screw that is tightened down onto the cable would be a better way to go? Or should I just solder my own? It is definitely cheaper to do the solder plugs over the solderless...

Cole

I would go with making your own cables but if not i would think the Planet Wave cables would hold up better since they seem to screw down better than the planet wave ones.. Making your own can be a pain but i think in the long run they'd last longer and hold up better, and like you mentioned if one of your solderless plugs craps out you're out a lot more money than a solder plug

[NaturalBornBoy]

I've been using Planet Waves pedalboard kit for many years. They're great.

But, if you're the type who likes to move pedals around and re-arrange your board frequently, I would feel safer with soldered cables.

If I knew how to solder, I would make my own cables with Mogami wire.

[soundgardener75]

CoreX2 used to make some too, and you can order more plugs (i ordered mine through eBay), since the cable is long, so there's more for you to make cables with.

I have the Planet Waves too, and while their plugs are a tad bigger, they're pretty good too.

Either one worked fine for me, since I loved the fact that you can make your own length accordingly to suit your board.

[colejustesen]

I am glad to hear some good feedback on the Planet Waves stuff! I looked for the CoreX2 and couldn't find any kits available... They look nice!

I also came across a kit I could use with solder plugs on Amazon... The plugs/cable is by GLS Audio and they seem to get great reviews. There was only one negative review and the guy said the cable was crappy by looking at it and didn't even test it...

Cole

[soundgardener75]

I'll show you the difference in their sizes. I'll look later or tomorrow morning. I remember the PW has two sizes on the 1/4" and the smaller ones for their 1/8" cable (kinda odd because they don't offer a kit with that size ).

[colejustesen]

I'll show you the difference in their sizes. I'll look later or tomorrow morning. I remember the PW has two sizes on the 1/4" and the smaller ones for their 1/8" cable (kinda odd because they don't offer a kit with that size ).

That would be great to see a comparison in the sizes... Do you think you could throw a pick, quarter, or something in a picture with the PW plug for me? It would be greatly appreciated!

Cole

[soundgardener75]

I'll show you the difference in their sizes. I'll look later or tomorrow morning. I remember the PW has two sizes on the 1/4" and the smaller ones for their 1/8" cable (kinda odd because they don't offer a kit with that size ).

That would be great to see a comparison in the sizes... Do you think you could throw a pick, quarter, or something in a picture with the PW plug for me? It would be greatly appreciated!

Cole

Good idea, will do!

[colejustesen]

I'll show you the difference in their sizes. I'll look later or tomorrow morning. I remember the PW has two sizes on the 1/4" and the smaller ones for their 1/8" cable (kinda odd because they don't offer a kit with that size ).

That would be great to see a comparison in the sizes... Do you think you could throw a pick, quarter, or something in a picture with the PW plug for me? It would be greatly appreciated!

Cole

Good idea, will do!

Sweet! Thanks a lot!!!

Cole

[NaturalBornBoy]

I'll show you the difference in their sizes. I'll look later or tomorrow morning. I remember the PW has two sizes on the 1/4" and the smaller ones for their 1/8" cable (kinda odd because they don't offer a kit with that size ).

The 2 sizes are for the straight connectors. Only one size for the right-angled ones.

[colejustesen]

I'll show you the difference in their sizes. I'll look later or tomorrow morning. I remember the PW has two sizes on the 1/4" and the smaller ones for their 1/8" cable (kinda odd because they don't offer a kit with that size ).

The 2 sizes are for the straight connectors. Only one size for the right-angled ones.

Oh...

Cole

[NaturalBornBoy]

http://www.planetwaves.com/pwCableStationPlugs.Page

[Diddlybo]

I've used Planet Waves cables I made from their kit for about 4 years now...not one single problem. I move pedals around quite a bit so the cables get a good amount of movement. Not one problem.

I had George L cables before that, the skinny ones. They were constantly breaking down and I ended up throwing them away. Not a fan of the George L stuff at all.

[Keebz]

I dont like the Planet Waves solderless kits at all. Yes they are convenient but they make too much noise! I used to have a bunch of them in my rack system and got rid of them all except for one....which I kept for emergencies.

[Marc G]

I've been using Planet Waves kit on my board(s) for over 5 years now and never had a problem...

[NaturalBornBoy]

Yeah I've never had any noise issues with PW cables. Solder-less or otherwise.

[NinjaRaf]

About 7 years ago my friend bought that planet waves solderless kit. Those cables still work today. Hes never had a problem.

[phrophus]

Do not buy the gfs kit. I'm now looking at the planet waves kit since the gfs shit just doesn't work.

[GAS KING]

I also came across a kit I could use with solder plugs on Amazon... The plugs/cable is by GLS Audio and they seem to get great reviews. There was only one negative review and the guy said the cable was crappy by looking at it and didn't even test it...
Cole

I have this kit waiting to be soldered.
I've got to build a larger pedalboard, now that I found a larger hard case.......need to lay that out before I decide on the lengths.


Anyway, it's a quality kit. Nice connectors and nice cable.
I don't normally order the kits, but it was an Xmas present.

If I order bulk cable and connectors, I use this place: http://www.best-tronics.com/guitar-cabl ... nAodAVgAsg

That's if you want to solder them.

[SexWithRobots]

I have the lava cable solderless kit and have not had a single cable I made go bad. I had 1 store bought cable on my board and that one went bad before the ones I made.

[SexWithRobots]

[colejustesen]

That is what I am talking about! That pedal board is CLEAN!!! Those Lava Cable plugs are such a low profile that they really clean up the board.

Thanks everyone for your input, there has been some great feedback! I really wish the Lava Cable didn't cost as much as it does... I would have to buy 3 kits to make my pedal board clean. The same goes for the Planet Waves, I would need to buy multiple kits to make it work out for me.

The more I think about it, the more I am second guessing myself on getting the solderless kits... I can get those GLS Audio plugs for $30 for 25 plugs, and then I could buy cable of my choice...

Cole

[colejustesen]

I also came across a kit I could use with solder plugs on Amazon... The plugs/cable is by GLS Audio and they seem to get great reviews. There was only one negative review and the guy said the cable was crappy by looking at it and didn't even test it...
Cole

I have this kit waiting to be soldered.
I've got to build a larger pedalboard, now that I found a larger hard case.......need to lay that out before I decide on the lengths.


Anyway, it's a quality kit. Nice connectors and nice cable.
I don't normally order the kits, but it was an Xmas present.

If I order bulk cable and connectors, I use this place: http://www.best-tronics.com/guitar-cabl ... nAodAVgAsg

That's if you want to solder them.

Thanks for the feedback! I will look around that site and see what they have to offer.

Cole