megazap63 Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Hi y'all I recently bought a DIY George L cable kit to connect up pedals in my board and would now seriously NOT recommend these as a good option. In theory a good idea if you want a neat pedalboard and they're easy enough to put together, but if you screw down the cap on the jack all the way down - which, presumably you're supposed to do to lock them in place - they tend to eat into the plastic coating and then the wiring. The result is a cable that either doesn't work properly or is destined to fail. Also, the sound is pretty disappointing - thin and hissy. Apparently these cables are consistently voted as winners in a number of US guitar player mags. Can't think why...... I also bought them as a slightly less expensive option but on reflection, they were quite expensive for what they are. The verdict: a crappy product. Save your hard-earned cash and stick to conventional soldered patch cables. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbass4k Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Are you sure you put them together right? I've never used George L's, but you mention the cap eating into the plastic indulation, but I'd assume the wire you were screwing into the cap would need to be fully stripped? That would explain the crappy sound if it was only making slight contact with the actual bare wire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megazap63 Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 [quote name='bobbass4k' post='484270' date='May 10 2009, 12:48 PM']Are you sure you put them together right? I've never used George L's, but you mention the cap eating into the plastic indulation, but I'd assume the wire you were screwing into the cap would need to be fully stripped? That would explain the crappy sound if it was only making slight contact with the actual bare wire[/quote] Hi, I put them together as demonstrated on an 'official' instructional video - just cut with a stanley knife and insert without stripping the plastic coat. Interestingly, I've just finished reading a number of reviews on the Harmony Central site which report the same problems.......admittedly, however, most of the reviews rate this product as ok. Either way, its seems like a lot of dicking around when a soldered cable is just plug into pedal and you're ready to go.... Cheers, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burno70 Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 It does eat into the plastic but I haven't heard any hiss although at the same time I've read reports that your sound should improve dramatically from using moulded plastic patch cables and I didn't hear that either. It's just neater. FWIW I didn't really see the set up as a chore or hassle but enjoyed putting it all together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megazap63 Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 [quote name='burno70' post='484290' date='May 10 2009, 01:24 PM']It does eat into the plastic but I haven't heard any hiss although at the same time I've read reports that your sound should improve dramatically from using moulded plastic patch cables and I didn't hear that either. It's just neater. FWIW I didn't really see the set up as a chore or hassle but enjoyed putting it all together.[/quote] Yeah, they were kind of fun to put togerther, especially for a DIY type of dude. But bottom line is the product doesn't stack up to its reputation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_D Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 [quote name='megazap63' post='484325' date='May 10 2009, 02:28 PM']Yeah, they were kind of fun to put togerther, especially for a DIY type of dude. But bottom line is the product doesn't stack up to its reputation.[/quote] Are you OBBM in disguise?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I thought the screw was supposed to eat thru a bit to make the earth contact, but you don't tighten too much...just enough to "bite"? My complaint is with the cable itself - I put together two leads a while ago, and they keep curling up. Its quite stiff cable (the thicker one) and combined with its desire to curlup...makes for a useless guitar cable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megazap63 Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 [quote name='The_D' post='484386' date='May 10 2009, 04:55 PM']Are you OBBM in disguise?! [/quote] Who?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megazap63 Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 [quote name='BassBod' post='484406' date='May 10 2009, 05:27 PM']I thought the screw was supposed to eat thru a bit to make the earth contact, but you don't tighten too much...just enough to "bite"? My complaint is with the cable itself - I put together two leads a while ago, and they keep curling up. Its quite stiff cable (the thicker one) and combined with its desire to curlup...makes for a useless guitar cable![/quote] All up, I think conventional soldered jobs are the way to go.....for both pedals and instruments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Bass Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Ive been using George L's on my pedal board for about a year and haven't had any of the problems described. I felt the tone was improved from what i was using before and the tone sounds a lot more like my bass with nothing in the signal. What kind of music do you play? Also how many pedals are you running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshorepunk Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 I've been using these on my PB since I built it, no problems, never heard of any either! Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuticleThorns Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 I've just put together my third set of these and they are absolutley brilliant. I've never had a problem with a single one. I use a lot of pedals & suffer no tone loss. I use the right angle ones with thin cabling. Is that what you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanOwens Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 I can't solder for toffee so I bought some George Ls. I'm with the above posters that the way they work is to cut through the plastic coating to make the ground connection. It was a fuss when I coupled it all together and I hadn't correctly assembled one of the ends. No sound or a hum. But ultimately I love the transient nature of the product. I can switch my board up on a whim and it'll still be tidy and sound good. I haven't heard a change in tone, but I do have a very tidy board!! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obbm Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 [quote name='The_D' post='484386' date='May 10 2009, 04:55 PM']Are you OBBM in disguise?! [/quote] Not guilty. BTW as a matter of principle I never comment on competitive products. It's just not professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 [quote name='obbm' post='484946' date='May 11 2009, 11:54 AM']....BTW as a matter of principle I never comment on competitive products. It's just not professional....[/quote] I will though. I have no axe to grind here, but I have used both cables and OBBM's cables are way better than George L's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 I've only ever made up one duff George L's cable - the first one I did. It's a pretty fool-proof process IMO. The only thing that bothers me about them is getting fizzy fingertips from all the tightening, if you make up a dozen patch cables or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 The screw cap is meant to cut into the coating wire as that is where the shileding is. I've used these cables for something like 15 years and I'm completely happy with them. I will admit that the thinner cable can be quite curly if used as instrument cable, the thicker stuff is better. But tonewise I think they're great YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuticleThorns Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 [quote name='thisnameistaken' post='485090' date='May 11 2009, 02:34 PM']I've only ever made up one duff George L's cable - the first one I did. It's a pretty fool-proof process IMO. The only thing that bothers me about them is getting fizzy fingertips from all the tightening, if you make up a dozen patch cables or so.[/quote] are you sure your northern!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 [quote name='CuticleThorns' post='485159' date='May 11 2009, 04:23 PM'] are you sure your northern!?![/quote] Of course. What I meant to say is my fingertips go fizzy but it doesn't bother me because I'm rock hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuticleThorns Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 [quote name='thisnameistaken' post='485227' date='May 11 2009, 05:59 PM']Of course. What I meant to say is my fingertips go fizzy but it doesn't bother me because I'm rock hard. [/quote] Thats better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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