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Jack leads??


Gripbass

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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?? 

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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 by Frank Blank
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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.

 

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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 by EliasMooseblaster
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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.

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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!!!

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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.

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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 :)

 

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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? 

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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 :)

 

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