I just bought a Shure SLXD wireless for my bass rig. Overall I've been pretty happy with it, with one GLARING exception. The cable going from transmitter to instrument looks and feels cheap as h*ll. Tiny little cable that looks like it will fail sooner rather than later. My old wireless (XWire905) had a Switchcraft plug, sturdy braided cable. Gigged with it for 14 yeas with zero problems. We will see how this unit fares with time. Anyone else have a Shure wireless for bass? Problems with the cable/long term reliability? Anyone make their own replacement cable?
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Shure SLXD, cheap cable?
- Thread starter ivanthetrble
- Start date
I bought this right away when I got my GLXD
Shure WA304 2' Instrument Cable, 4-Pin Mini Connector (TA4F) with Right-Angle 1/4" Connector
Amazon.com: Shure WA304 2' Instrument Cable, 4-Pin Mini Connector (TA4F) with Right-Angle 1/4" Connector : Musical Instruments
Buy Shure WA304 2' Instrument Cable, 4-Pin Mini Connector (TA4F) with Right-Angle 1/4" Connector: Instrument Cables - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
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I'll give that a look. The straight cable that comes with the unit looks long and the cable has a sharp bend in it with almost all my basses.
Back when I was using a first generation GLX16 I made a few spares because, like you, the stock cable looked a bit dodgy to me. The nice thing about making your own is you get to choose the type of cable and phone plug. For two of the cables I made, I used "permanent install" 22/2 mic cable. I chose it because its shield was foil & therefore gave 100% shielding, it would hold its bend shape, and its outer jacket was very low friction (almost like teflon) so it was far less prone to snag on something. One of those cables lasted me about a year, the entire time I was wireless, before I went back to a wired connection for unrelated reasons. That cable never failed. The TA4F connector is a bit of a pain to solder wires to because its pins are so tiny, but with the right tools & technique it's no more difficult than working with phone plugs or XLR connectors. A low-power headworn magnifier helps.
I ordered some of the TA4F connectors to make my own. They aren't here yet but yeah, the little pins and crowded work space has been on my mind.
I clamp the connector in a small electronics vise with padded jaws. Then I tin the 2 connector pins I'm going to use, then tin the cable hot and shield conductors. Then all you have to do is hold a conductor to a pin, touch it with a (cleaned and tinned) soldering pencil tip, and the connection is done. A 15 watt soldering pencil is perfect for this sort of work. Whatever cable you use, make sure it'll fit through the connector's strain relief.
I don't know if the connector with the threaded locking collar is a TA4F variant or a different base part number. Never worked with one. I've worked only with the button-lock TA4F connectors that fit the original GLXD16, now superseded by the "+" variant.
I don't know if the connector with the threaded locking collar is a TA4F variant or a different base part number. Never worked with one. I've worked only with the button-lock TA4F connectors that fit the original GLXD16, now superseded by the "+" variant.
