Marvin Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 One of my instrument cables is a bit odd. The output/signal when I use this particular lead is noticeably lower and the tone (passive bass) barely makes any difference when you rotate it. I thought it was one of my basses playing up, but it's definitely this one cable. Regards the tone it's like you've dialed back the tone control half way. Anyone come across this or know what the issue with this cable might be? (It's Van Damme cable and Neutrik jacks) Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Rumble Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 Have had this problem with an instrument cable tried it with different instruments, amps ect with out it changing checked both jacks but unable to find any kind of fault so I just stopped using that cable. I guess the insulation must have been breaking down/faulty or some such thing I'm no expert on these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 Yes, it needs throwing away. Obviously some kind of breakdown in the cable, no point having something like that around (probably keep the plugs and ditch the lead). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 If ya handy with a soldering iron... i'd cut an inch or two off each end, or past any strain relief... and solder the plugs back on... worth a go... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velarian Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 When I was gigging many eons ago we assumed any cable problems were likely to be caused by issues near to the plugs due to the increased flexing at those points. A possible solution is to chop a foot off one end and re-solder the plug, try it again and if still an issue, chop a foot off the other end. After that chop the cable in half with a chance of possibly saving half of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velarian Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 3 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said: If ya handy with a soldering iron... i'd cut an inch or two off each end, or past any strain relief... and solder the plugs back on... worth a go... Ha! You beat me to it. Although I’m suggesting a foot rather than a couple of inches. 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 Depends what ya can afford to loose... 😉 Also watch out for any other thin conductive screening or wrap that might be around the inner insulator and betweem the braid... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 Cheers, I'll get the soldering iron out and 'prune' my the lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obbm Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 Before you chop the ends off open up the jacks and make sure the black conductive plastic screen is well clear of the central signal wire. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimike Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 Swop leads with the guitarist ! Double Whammy . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 Is there an old Neutrik Silent Plug involved? There were few issues with them in the early days. Other than that the cable may be lost because of misuse (speaker cable), or too much and hard bending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2x18 Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 If it is the Van Damme Classic instrument cable, the problem I have found is that the centre core has 2 shield coverings -- The inner one white with a black one over it. If the black one is not trimmed back over the white by a few mm it alters the conductivity and you loose tone. Hope the photo helps to show how it should be stripped back. Will. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigguy2017 Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 On 24/04/2022 at 19:01, PaulThePlug said: Depends what ya can afford to loose... 😉 Also watch out for any other thin conductive screening or wrap that might be around the inner insulator and betweem the braid... Yes, this. Be sure to remove any conductive plastic (thin black layer) around the central conductor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mybass Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 Cut the ends off and re-solder…..I found a single strand of the earth woven wrap was causing intermittent volume drop, took weeks to spot it on the well used cable, now working as new. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ567 Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 Not a solution, but related. I would thoroughly recommend getting a cable tester like this one. It's helped me on a few such cables, which looked fine on visual inspection and tested fine with a mutli-meter. Somehow the lights on the tester are way more sensitive to these sneaky shield problems. Cheap gadget and worth its weight in gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mybass Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 1 hour ago, AJ567 said: Not a solution, but related. I would thoroughly recommend getting a cable tester like this one. It's helped me on a few such cables, which looked fine on visual inspection and tested fine with a mutli-meter. Somehow the lights on the tester are way more sensitive to these sneaky shield problems. Cheap gadget and worth its weight in gold. Aaaargh....forgot I had an old Peavey cable tester in the 'stores', I should have tried that first....will now keep it out of storage!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 In my experience, the older Van Damme instrument cable is very prone to breaking near the plug. I don't know about the newer stuff as I stopped buying it/them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted April 28, 2022 Author Share Posted April 28, 2022 On 24/04/2022 at 22:59, obbm said: Before you chop the ends off open up the jacks and make sure the black conductive plastic screen is well clear of the central signal wire. On 25/04/2022 at 19:02, 2x18 said: If it is the Van Damme Classic instrument cable, the problem I have found is that the centre core has 2 shield coverings -- The inner one white with a black one over it. If the black one is not trimmed back over the white by a few mm it alters the conductivity and you loose tone. Hope the photo helps to show how it should be stripped back. Will. Thank you. It was exactly this. I trimmed the black conductive plastic screen on both ends and the cable works perfectly now. (I'm not showing you my soldering though because it's truly awful...but functional). It was a cable I'd put together myself, so a bit less speed next time and a bit more research. Thanks to everyone for your help. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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