What Did I Do Wrong

[alack]

I've never been one to think I could hear the difference in cables until today. I was tweaking my rig using a brand new budget cable purchased form MF. At some point in the process I switched to an identical cable I had repaired some time ago. I could clearly hear the loss of high frequencies with the repaired cable. I assume it says something about my lousy soldering skills. Any suggestions? Are there solderless ends I could try (preferably right angle ones)?

 

[JimmyM]

I've never been one to think I could hear the difference in cables until today. I was tweaking my rig using a brand new budget cable purchased form MF. At some point in the process I switched to an identical cable I had repaired some time ago. I could clearly hear the loss of high frequencies with the repaired cable. I assume it says something about my lousy soldering skills. Any suggestions? Are there solderless ends I could try (preferably right angle ones)?

Such a tough question to answer without seeing and hearing the cable in question.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

One mistake I made when soldering plugs on is that the black inner jacket is conductive:

make sure it's not touching the signal wire

 

[Bob_Ross]

One mistake I made when soldering plugs on is that the black inner jacket is conductive:

View attachment 3064033

make sure it's not touching the signal wire

Wait, wut...?

 

[Killed_by_Death]

The black inner jacket, on the right in the photo, is conductive.
Not knowing this, I accidentally had part of it touching the signal wire & it was making a funny sound on certain notes.

I didn't even notice it for about 6 months with an active bass, but when I switched to a active/passive bass I noticed the strange sound in passive mode.

 

[Bob_Ross]

The black inner jacket, on the right in the photo, is conductive.

If the black inner jacket on the right in the photo was conductive the center conductor and the shield would short out and the cable wouldn't work. That black inner jacket has to be an insulator on any properly designed cable.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

On Mogami wire it is indeed conductive & it's called the Sub-Shield:

MOGAMI® - Bulk Guitar Cables

 

[Bob_Ross]

Well I'll be damned, ya learn sumpin' new every day! Thanks.

...though in fairness, they still have to be using some kind of an actual insulator between the "sub-shield" and the regular shield and/or center conductor.

 

[MD]

There's a clear, insulating jacket around the center conductor, no?

 

[walterw]

If the black inner jacket on the right in the photo was conductive the center conductor and the shield would short out and the cable wouldn't work. That black inner jacket has to be an insulator on any properly designed cable.

@Killed_by_Death has it right.

what happens is the black conductive layer ends up barely touching the hot signal, and since it's not conductive enough to kill the signal entirely it just bleeds some of it off, you have a cable with a "resistor" between hot and ground choking the signal down.

i think that layer is there for handling noise reduction or something.

 

[walterw]

..though in fairness, they still have to be using some kind of an actual insulator between the "sub-shield" and the regular shield and/or center conductor.

right of course, the black stuff is a thin tape-like film surrounding the cloudy white insulating layer underneath.