making my own speaker wires?

[Gintaras]

I've made a few speaker cables and found it was just not worth the time. Once I gathered the materials, made the cables and looked at the value of my time, the cables cost me more to make then buy .......rather be playing.

 

[Bassamatic]

If you are GOOD with soldering, and have access to GOOD quality cable and GOOD quality connectors, then it is OK to make your own instrument cables, and other audio cables (not talking about speaker cables).

However, the quality of the wire is very critical. The higher the capacitance per foot and the longer the wire the more of your top end is rolled off (acts just like your tone cap) and group and phase delays are increased.

It is probably best to buy signal cables for connecting your instrument, mixer, preamp, etc.

The BEST instrument cables currently available are from Elixir - the capacitance is amazingly low and those that have tried them say that the difference is clearly audible.

 

[Lowtonejoe]

If you are GOOD with soldering, and have access to GOOD quality cable and GOOD quality connectors, then it is OK to make your own instrument cables, and other audio cables (not talking about speaker cables).

However, the quality of the wire is very critical. The higher the capacitance per foot and the longer the wire the more of your top end is rolled off (acts just like your tone cap) and group and phase delays are increased.

It is probably best to buy signal cables for connecting your instrument, mixer, preamp, etc.

The BEST instrument cables currently available are from Elixir - the capacitance is amazingly low and those that have tried them say that the difference is clearly audible.

Baloney.

When I first started out playing I was so short on cash that I was making instrument cables out of CB antenna coax!

It is incredibly EASY to make cables that are far above 'adequate' quality with basic tools, skill and material.

You can pay LOTS of money for cables that will do just as good of a job as you midline cables. As you get into 'lower' quality cables it is usually just a matter of making sure that the wires are soldered correctly.

In otherwords making your own cables is the EASIEST THING THAT YOU CAN DO when it comes to any sort of electronics. There is NO HOCUS POCUS involved.

The best thing that you can do for yourself as a musician, as far as electronics goes, is to learn to make your own cables.




Joe.

 

[fdeck]

If you are GOOD with soldering, and have access to GOOD quality cable and GOOD quality connectors, then it is OK to make your own instrument cables, and other audio cables (not talking about speaker cables).

However, the quality of the wire is very critical. The higher the capacitance per foot and the longer the wire the more of your top end is rolled off (acts just like your tone cap) and group and phase delays are increased.

It is probably best to buy signal cables for connecting your instrument, mixer, preamp, etc.

The BEST instrument cables currently available are from Elixir - the capacitance is amazingly low and those that have tried them say that the difference is clearly audible.

It is true that cable capacitance has the potential to affect tone. Most cables come in around 40 to 50 pF (picofarads) per foot. George L is around 20.

Of course capacitance won't have any effect on active basses.

I suspect that most of us deal with cable capacitance in the following way: Plug in, adjust the EQ, and play. In my case, I don't care for sizzling highs anyway.

 

[Rick Auricchio]

I would never use screw connectors for any cable. They'll come loose at the worst possible time.

Capacitance is also not a factor for speaker cable.

 

[fdeck]

I would never use screw connectors for any cable. They'll come loose at the worst possible time.

Capacitance is also not a factor for speaker cable.

Thanks. I edited my post to reflect this good advice.

 

[fdeck]

Wouldn't it make sense to use a right angle plug to shorten the lever?

Yes, though it could just get pulled the other way instead. Once you are using good connectors, the main problem with the lever action becomes the stress on the innards of your bass or amp. For this reason, good practice is to support the cable by something other than the jack, such as the strap on your bass or a handle on the amp.

 

[Jazzdogg]

I would never use screw connectors for any cable. They'll come loose at the worst possible time.

Capacitance is also not a factor for speaker cable.

Neutrik Speakon connectors use screws. The only time I ever had a problem with one was when a cable was prepped incorrectly. I was thankful that the connection was via screws, because I was able to complete the repair in just a few minutes - without a soldering iron.

 

[fdeck]

Neutrik Speakon connectors use screws. The only time I ever had a problem with one was when a cable was prepped incorrectly. I was thankful that the connection was via screws, because I was able to complete the repair in just a few minutes - without a soldering iron.

Speakons use a more reliable type of screw terminal. The Switchcraft plug that I referenced was the old style where you wrap the wire around a big screw and tighten it down. Wiggling the wire will make the screw come loose eventually.

 

[TimmyGT]

whats the difference between the wire of a 1/4" cables and a speakon cable or are they the same thing with better connections?

I do see that the speakon has 4 posts where the 1/4" only has 2.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

I would never use screw connectors for any cable. They'll come loose at the worst possible time.

Capacitance is also not a factor for speaker cable.

Screws are fine, that's what Speakons use, and being well engineered there's no reason why they should come loose. OTOH 1/4" plugs aren't made to the same standard, and are better soldered. As for capacitance, it is a factor in speaker cables, as is inductance, but not in the wire lengths we use from a head to a cab. Capacitance and inductance are a major factor with instrument cables if you have a passive bass, as is the shielding. However, low capacitance/inductance and high shielding percentage does not equate to expensive. In those respects $100 a foot wire is no better than $1 a foot wire.

I was so short on cash that I was making instrument cables out of CB antenna coax!

Antenna coax has very low capacitance and inductance and makes great cables in terms of signal quality. It's designed to handle frequencies in the mega and giga Hz range, so the mere 20kHz audio bandwidth is a piece of cake. But its stiffness and the difficulty attaching it to audio connectors makes it impractical.

 

[busmandan]

whats the difference between the wire of a 1/4" cables and a speakon cable or are they the same thing with better connections?

I do see that the speakon has 4 posts where the 1/4" only has 2.

Timmy,

I'm guessing that since you didn't have previous knowledge of Speakons that your current gear doesn't have them. In that case, I recommend you get the "fat" 1/4" plugs sold by Parts Express or elsewhere, get some 14/2 SJ wire from Home Depot/Lowe's or anywhere else that sells electrical wire, and solder them up yourself (or find a buddy to do it for you).

As for Speakons having four poles instead of two - you don't have to use all four poles. They are labeled internally as +1, -1, +2, and -2. All musical gear that I am aware of uses the +1 and -1 terminals (excepting the odd case of bridged power amps which I won't get into here). Neutrik does make a two-pole Speakon but they are highly unpopular.

-- Dan --

 

[TimmyGT]

Antenna coax has very low capacitance and inductance and makes great cables in terms of signal quality. It's designed to handle frequencies in the mega and giga Hz range, so the mere 20kHz audio bandwidth is a piece of cake. But its stiffness and the difficulty attaching it to audio connectors makes it impractical.

lol, I totally have like 100+ feet of this just sitting in my practice room and now I find out I can use it for instrument cables! ha ha, I'm thinking I'm going to have to make a set of wires for my mixer and all the stuff that doesn't have to move much!

 

[TimmyGT]

Timmy,

I'm guessing that since you didn't have previous knowledge of Speakons that your current gear doesn't have them. In that case, I recommend you get the "fat" 1/4" plugs sold by Parts Express or elsewhere, get some 14/2 SJ wire from Home Depot/Lowe's or anywhere else that sells electrical wire, and solder them up yourself (or find a buddy to do it for you).

As for Speakons having four poles instead of two - you don't have to use all four poles. They are labeled internally as +1, -1, +2, and -2. All musical gear that I am aware of uses the +1 and -1 terminals (excepting the odd case of bridged power amps which I won't get into here). Neutrik does make a two-pole Speakon but they are highly unpopular.

-- Dan --

well it isn't that my gear doesn't have it but my old speakers didn't so I had to use 1/4. if I end up picking up these new JBL speakers I was looking at the other day (the whole reason I found out about speaker cables vs instrument cables) then that speaker uses it.

I was reading it over in my amp and it says that the upper speakon uses +1, -1 and also +2, -2 but the lower one is only +1 and -1. so if I use both the 1 and 2 output of the upper jack does it raise or lower the resistance of the 2 speakers?

 

[ulrich]

Instrument to amp = instrument cable
mixer to amp = instrument cable
pre-amp to amp = instrument cable
amp to speakers = speaker cables

The above is correct, for affordable consumer gear. For pro gear with balanced connections, balanced cables should be used, from pre to amp, and mixer to amp. 1/4" TRS to 1/4" TRS, XLR to XLR, TRS to XLR, or XLR to TRS.

Using instrument cables, from pre to amp, or mixer to amp, or pre to rack compressor to pre, will work, but is much more likely to introduce unwanted hum.

The bible of hooking gear up:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[hired hand]

If I may ask a related question....
Is there a source for buying some type of jacket for making speaker cables. I have a lot of 16 and 14 guage speaker wire, but I do not have any kind of outer sleeve, jacket, tubing, for the wire to run inside of. You know what I am talking about, usually some kind of heavy duty, black, tubing that protects the wires. Where can I get some of that stuff? Or would buying that make my own cables more expensive than if I just bought from Bayou?
Thank You

 

[ggunn]

If I may ask a related question....
Is there a source for buying some type of jacket for making speaker cables. I have a lot of 16 and 14 guage speaker wire, but I do not have any kind of outer sleeve, jacket, tubing, for the wire to run inside of. You know what I am talking about, usually some kind of heavy duty, black, tubing that protects the wires. Where can I get some of that stuff? Or would buying that make my own cables more expensive than if I just bought from Bayou?
Thank You

Don't worry about it. The insulation around the two wires is sufficient.