Jack leads??

[Gripbass]

Could you wise folk lend me some wisdom please, How long do Jack leads last? I seem to need a new one every six months. Around that time I get a bad connection which creates cracking and banging through speakers. I had a new socket fitted to my Bass but it still happens, is this a regular thing?? 

[BreadBin]

I have some that are years old. Are you buying decent ones? Also are you standing on them? Do you coil them neatly and not too tight with a velcro securing loop?

[BassBunny]

If you buy decent quality leads and coil them like BreadBin suggested they should last years. I only ever buy from our own BassicBits or Award Session. Never let me down and haven't bought a lead in the lat 8-10 years.

[itu]

I have a cable that I soldered in early '90's. Still going strong. Key words:

- Neutrik

- Gotham (Cordial) silicone cable

- decent amount of shrink tube

- velcro to keep the cable tidy

[Frank Blank]

Definitely a combination of the quality of the lead in the first place and how you look after them, especially the coiling correctly. It’s worth investing in good leads initially because it makes you look after them.

Of course @obbm‘s http://www.rock-wire.co.uk/

and

https://www.amazon.co.uk/designacable/s?k=designacable

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by Frank Blank

[Stub Mandrel]

My brother is proud of the fact that he still gigs an (expensive) cable I bought him in the 80s; I have one as well although it had about 23 years off...

[Bill Yellow]

14 hours ago, itu said:

I have a cable that I soldered in early '90's. Still going strong.

+1

The leads that have lasted me longest are those I have soldered myself.

Genuine Neutrik plugs are my choice.

I also like Klotz pre-made leads with rubberized plugs.

Good quality basic spec is better than OFC, gold-plated, directional, and all those marketing hype terms.

Avoid eBay or Amazon deals. I bought some rugged looking 'guitar' cables, but when I spliced them to fit new plugs I found they were not even shielded cable, just twin-core.

 

[Reggaebass]

I don’t shop anywhere now , I just contact @obbm and he makes me anything I want, all top quality fittings and cables , job done 🙂

[nightsun]

I have leads over 20- years old that are still going strong, treat them well and they will last.

[Newfoundfreedom]

I don't think I've ever paid more than about 12 quid for a lead, and I've never had one crap out on me. 

Edit. Although I've only been back playing for about a year so there's time yet. 😋

Edited September 18, 2019 by Newfoundfreedom

[EliasMooseblaster]

The weak points are (usually) at the jack ends. If you buy cables with jacks that can be opened, pop them open when they start playing up and see whether the connections are fraying. They're easy enough to re-solder.

That said, I haven't had to solder one myself for a very long time: I agree with others on here that there is a lot to be said for being kind to your cables!

Edited September 18, 2019 by EliasMooseblaster

[geoffbyrne]

I'm still using a curly lead (for practice) I bought in the '70's, although it has had new jacks on more than one occasion.

G.

Edited September 18, 2019 by geoffbyrne

[Dan Dare]

On 18/09/2019 at 11:19, Bill Yellow said:

+1

The leads that have lasted me longest are those I have soldered myself.

Genuine Neutrik plugs are my choice.

I also like Klotz pre-made leads with rubberized plugs.

Good quality basic spec is better than OFC, gold-plated, directional, and all those marketing hype terms.

Avoid eBay or Amazon deals. I bought some rugged looking 'guitar' cables, but when I spliced them to fit new plugs I found they were not even shielded cable, just twin-core.

 

This. Switchcraft plugs are also excellent. You can save quite a bit making your own.

[chris_b]

My Whirlwind instrument cable is coming up to 30 years old and my OBBM cable is about 8 years old.

Never put any stress on any part of the lead (cable or plugs), keep neatly rolled up, roll them up correctly, don't twist the wire inside the casing and never ever stand on or put any weight (cabs or cases) on your cables.

I play with a guitarist who has cable failures almost every other gig. They are strewn all over the stage and he stands on all of them, all the time!!!

[Stub Mandrel]

Always take a baseball bat to gigs.

Use this to apply corrections to your drummer's timing instead of whipping them with your lead, and they will last much longer*.

 

*the leads that is, not the drummer.

[BreadBin]

52 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Always take a baseball bat to gigs.

Use this to apply corrections to your drummer's timing instead of whipping them with your lead, and they will last much longer*.

 

*the leads that is, not the drummer.

Welcome to baseballbatchat.co.uk, try to avoid politics and religion and you'll be just fine.

[gjones]

I own a planet waves lead that has lasted me about 10 years. The previous one did as well. I estimate that's about 500 gigs per lead.

I fold them up, end over end, and then tie them in a loose knot.

Supposedly you're not supposed to do that.

But my leads last a long, long time.

So I'll keep on doing it 

 

[mcnach]

On 17/09/2019 at 13:34, Gripbass said:

Could you wise folk lend me some wisdom please, How long do Jack leads last? I seem to need a new one every six months. Around that time I get a bad connection which creates cracking and banging through speakers. I had a new socket fitted to my Bass but it still happens, is this a regular thing?? 

 

Years.

I have some that I've owned for at least 15 years. I only stopped using them live because they're black and I lost a couple in very little time, so I started using coloured ones that nobody can easily "borrow by mistake". These have been going on strong for 8 years or so.

Buy good quality cables.

You can get good ones here in Basschat from OBBM, or there's an ebay shop called "designacable" that uses good cable and connectors and have a lot of colour choices, connector types etc. They are good too.

Is the problem the cables you use, or the socket in your bass, 'though? 

[Gripbass]

Thanks for the input everyone, very helpful. I'll definitely look for a better quality lead next time (any suggestions). 

But I would like to say the issue is more a jack to socket fault & not a wire to jack issue.... 

[BreadBin]

Well that's a slightly different issue! Sockets can loosen and need the contacts bending in, again quality matters too.

[itu]

Try these:

https://m.thomann.de/gb/guitar_cables.html?keyFeature_11507=3%2C00+m|6%2C00+m&keyFeature_47036=Jack&keyFeature_52381=Jack&manufacturers=Cordial|Sommer+Cable

With these you can not go totally wrong.

If the manufacturer is something like "Fender", or "Harley Benton" your cable will be the weakest link of your sound.

[chris_b]

IMO forget Thomann and the other companies out there. Many of us here use cables made by OBBM. My reasons; he's a great guy (so supporting our own) and he makes exceptionally good cables at good prices.

The link again. . . .  http://www.rock-wire.co.uk/

 

[Oopsdabassist]

I've 3 planet waves cables with green molded plugs that I bought about 12 years ago, I had no idea what I was buying at the time, but they just keep going, by comparison one of the guitarist was grumbling at last rehearsal as one of his leads was playing up again, he only got it back in May...and the one in his pedal board is a straight out jack with 45 degree bend in it where he kicked it by mistake!!

 

I might offer to get him some OBBM custom leads

 

[itu]

@obbmas far as I have learned from here, produces excellent hand made pro stuff. Probably equals or surpasses my suggestions.

Edited September 22, 2019 by itu

[lemmywinks]

Neutrik connectors and Klotz cable, just get good quality basic stuff and it will last ages without costing the earth:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Klotz-Guitar-Lead-Cable-Neutrik-Straight-1-4-Jack-Plug-AC106-Colour-Ring-Option/251906401887?hash=item3aa6caa65f:m:mp6kdjMI5FastV8rMAXJ-iw