bassist_lewis Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 I've had a recurring problem with my solderless cables and wondered if anyone else had the same issue and/or had a solution. A few times now the copper core has broken off inside the jack connector, rendering it useless. This is very frustrating because I now have a pile of jacks that I can't do anything with, and I loathe to throw them away. Any advice appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) Yep, that happened to me, useless on a gig. No useful advice I'm afraid. After a while, I just cut my losses and swapped all my solderless patch leads out to Van Damme soldered ones. Edited March 12, 2021 by peteb 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmidget209 Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 I have a George l kit from maaany years ago, when they were allegedly the final word in patch cables. I've had a few die on me but usually could repair just by disassembling and reassembling. Sometimes cutting the tip of the cable worked as well. However the more I learn the more I hear it's an inherently flawed system. You can apparently solder them yourself, there's a bunch of videos on YouTube. Vertex effects have a bunch of videos on the subject and he's only mildly annoying! 😁 That could possibly be an option if you don't want to waste your jacks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbobothy Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 ... what system do you use? I use Evidence Audio SIS ones and no breakages yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassist_lewis Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 1 hour ago, jimbobothy said: ... what system do you use? I use Evidence Audio SIS ones and no breakages yet. Also Evidence Audio. I follow the instructions and think I'm cutting them right but, it's hard to tell. The only thing I can think of is leaving too much of the copper core exposed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbobothy Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 ... 2 mm copper 3 mm white outer isn’t it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, bassist_lewis said: Also Evidence Audio. I follow the instructions and think I'm cutting them right but, it's hard to tell. The only thing I can think of is leaving too much of the copper core exposed. I put together loads of them. I thought that they looked alright, but not a single one worked. I ended up getting a tech to re-do everyone of them. He originally said that he would just fix what I had done as a favour, but ended up saying he would have to charge me £5 a cable because they were taking so long to get them to work. Despite that virtually every single one failed after a number of gigs. I'm afraid that they are way too much of a hassle / risk for a very marginal gain, certainly not feasible for live work. Edited March 14, 2021 by peteb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgie Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Being solderless they are bound to fail if you you are one of those people that reorganises their board a lot, or just a lot of plugging/unplugging. And it is definitely a pain when one goes down. I use Lava cables and have to admit the failure rate for me is not far off as with soldered cables! I had a load of spare jacks and cable that I'd bought years ago, and was frustrated when I attempted to make a a few new ones up from memory and they didn't work, but after watching this video to refresh myself with the procedure, every single one has worked perfectly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxelF Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 I've used the Evidence Audio ones for a few years now and have put together probably ~50 or 60 cables throughout numerous board rearrangements, teardowns and pedal swaps, and I think I've only ever had one not work. I've never experienced any stop working over time once they're installed. I've no dog in this fight, but if you're after solderless they've worked brilliantly for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 I use the Boss kits now after switching from the planet waves kits, never really had a issue. i know soldered will take more abuse but a sturdy board of well tested cables that are gonna move alot will be just fine, and sound just as good. i do feel alot of these solderless kits get bashed on when for the most part its user error that causes the failure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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